Action in the North Atlantic Page #7

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- I got an idea you can take plenty.

- I hope so.

- Oh, that's your girl?

- Yes, sir.

Well, she's nice- looking.

- What's her name?

- Emily Jordan.

We want to get married,

but we've got to wait

till I get my third mate's papers.

You're young enough to wait.

- How'd she feel about your going to sea?

- Well, she didn't feel good.

Same as my wife.

Here. Take a squint of this.

- Say, she looks swell.

- Yeah.

Yeah, we didn't have time to have

a real good picture taken.

You know, it's kind of nice to have

somebody at home

- thinking about you, ain't it?

- Yeah.

How'd you ever happen

to join the Merchant Marine?

That's what I wanted to do

even when I was a kid.

I guess I've read everything

written about ships.

Dana, Conrad, Marriott, Melville.

I never got around to reading that stuff.

I've been too busy doing it.

It seems to me like the toughest,

most important job anybody can do.

- Both for now and after the war.

- You're right, son.

There's no job bigger than this.

Let me tell you something.

No matter how many planes and tanks

and guns you pile up,

no matter how many men you got,

it doesn't mean a thing, unless the men

get the stuff when they need it.

That's your job and my job

to see that they get it.

Gee, Mr. Rossi,

when you have your own ship,

I hope I have a chance to sail with you.

I'm afraid I'm a little too easygoing

to be a skipper.

Well, you better turn in

before you go on watch.

- Good night.

- Good night, sir.

Fog bank dead ahead!

Fog bank dead ahead!

It's getting thicker every minute.

If it gets much thicker,

we'll have to chop our way through it.

- Parker?

- Yes, sir.

- Take a man aft and rig the towing spar.

- Aye, aye, sir.

Come on, let's get this spar overboard

before that ship back there climbs our tail.

I wish we had one of these

sticking over the side.

- What for?

- To keep that Dutch ship off us.

I don't want no 10,000 tons of TN smacking me in the kisser.

You got nothing to worry about.

He's just as scared as we are.

- I don't know. Ready?

- Heave.

Spar dead ahead!

- Slow her down five turns.

- Slow her down five turns.

Mac, slow her down five turns.

What's the matter?

Have you got fog up there?

Thicker than your skull.

- Ship close aboard! Port beam !

- Hard right!

Hard right, sir.

Wake up, you dumb son of a sail fish.

You dead or gone blind?

- Hard right!

- Wheel's hard right.

Ship swinging right all the time, sir.

Well, we've just missed

some nice fireworks.

Whew.

Well, Brown, it's a relief to get clear

and have so many

of the convoy astern of us.

Yes, Admiral. Signal force reports

practically all ships in sight.

Good.

All ships resume your positions.

Take normal distance and intervals.

Check the number

of those ships, Mr. Rossi.

- Yes, sir.

- All ships resume your positions.

Take normal distance and intervals.

There's that old Dutch tub

right abeam of us.

They're all over the place.

Looks like they'll have to

shuffle the pack and deal again.

- Signal attack formation.

- Aye, aye, sir.

From convey commander to 371 and 406.

371 to convoy commander. Go ahead.

Room 406 to convoy commander.

Go ahead.

Search and attack submarines

on starboard quarter of convoy.

All engines ahead, flank speed.

Back to your stations.

Sound general alarm.

All hands on the board deck.

Set out your fire equipment.

This attack may be a decoy.

Have the rest of the escort

remain on station.

The main attack may come

from another quarter.

Aye, aye, sir.

On the searchlight.

Emergency pennant. Dog. King.

Emergency pennant. Dog. King.

Periscope two points abaft the port beam.

- Signal 308 submarine's position.

- Aye, aye, sir.

Convoy commander to 308.

From 308 to convoy commander.

Go ahead.

Periscope two points abaft

of port beam of flagship.

Distance, 1,400 yards.

- Left full rudder, Quartermaster.

- Aye, aye, sir. Left full rudder.

All engines ahead and flank speed.

Thirty- eight seconds,

let go your first charge.

Aye, aye, sir. Thirty- eight seconds.

- Stand clear of the depth charge racks.

- Stand clear of the racks.

Stand clear of the racks!

- Let go number one.

- Let go number one, sir.

Number one gone!

Number one gone.

- Brown, signal the convoy to disperse.

- Aye, aye, sir. One pennant. Easy cast.

- Signalman, one pennant, easy cast. Hit it.

- Aye, aye, sir.

- Fire dispersal rocket.

- Aye, aye, sir.

- Stand by to fire your rocket.

- Ready with the rocket, sir.

Fire.

- Looks like the Nazis are all around us.

- We've run into a wolf pack.

That depth charge brought him up.

After gun, train on target off port quarter.

If this keeps up,

somebody's gonna get hurt around here.

Forward gun.

Submarine on starboard bow.

Control. New target on starboard beam.

Concentrate all guns.

Come right 20 degrees. We'll ram her.

There's one they won't have to ram.

- Grades 1650. No change.

- Ready.

That one had his name on it,

for the little one

with the moustache, Schickelgruber.

Oh, we did it.

- Scratch one sea skunk.

- Come left and steady up on 290.

Come left and steady up on 290, sir.

Torpedo three points of starboard bow,

1,000 yards.

- We're going sky- high.

- Rudder amidship.

- Rudder amidship, sir.

- Turn your guns to starboard.

So long, baby.

- That was close, sir.

- Yeah.

Break out one of the cargo booms,

put a sling on this bomber

- and get it in place.

- Aye, aye, sir.

Four men with lines!

Over the side and secure those chains.

If we ever get to Murmansk,

I'm gonna buy me a barrel of vodka

and get stinking.

You better get two, then you'll have one.

You know, it's a funny thing,

now that it's all over,

my corns is burning like a house afire.

You got more sense in your feet

than you got in your head.

- At least your feet know we're in trouble.

- What're you beefing about now?

Well, what chance have we got here

all alone in the North Atlantic?

They can pick us off here

like a duck in a barrel.

Well, the convoy's gonna

get together again.

- Who says so?

- They got it all fixed.

They got one of them things

like you have with dames.

- What things?

- You know, a fellow and a dame.

Yeah, the...

A guy's been going with a dame

for a long time,

then he don't see her for a long time.

Then he... Then they get together again.

Rendezvous.

Abrams, get your tail off that deck.

You're not parked in the bleachers!

Pulaski, get the lead out of your breeches.

This is no Bronx picnic.

Aye, aye, sir.

Who does he think he is, Simon Legree?

Go on with this...

Hey, take a look at that.

- What do you make of it?

- It's a sub.

- Mr. Wright!

- Yes, sir.

Off the port quarter.

That's a U- boat all right.

She's out of range.

She's playing tag and we're it.

- Hard right, Quartermaster!

- Hard right, sir.

Now, gentlemen, as you know,

a submarine's been tailing us for hours.

I deliberately changed my course

to lead them away from the convoy.

You know what that means?

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