The Cruel Sea Page #4

If we don't buy it now, Jerry

doesn't deserve to win the war.

Come on! Come on!

Bless you for stopping!

Full ahead!

- Will you have one?

- Non, merci.

- Morning.

- Morning.

News?

From the Admiralty.

"There are now estimated

to be 11 U-boats in your area.

"Destroyers Lancelot and Liberal

will join escort at approximately 0600."

I say, two L-class destroyers!

That's grand! They're terrific ships!

They'd better be terrific.

11 U-boats works out at one

to each ship left in the convoy.

I very much doubt

whether their lordships intended

such a nice balance of forces.

Getting rattled, John?

Whatever we do, those U-boats

seem to get through every time.

We've lost almost half our convoy

and an escort,

and we're still two days away

from Gibraltar.

It's an odd thing to think

that even if nothing else happens,

this is probably the worse convoy

in the history of sea warfare.

- Something to tell grandchildren.

- Yes, indeed.

If you can guarantee

I will have grandchildren,

I shall recover my spirits immediately.

How can he guarantee

you have grandchildren?

If they're as stupid as you are,

I hope I don't have any!

Oh, I say!

Destroyer reinforcements, sir.

Liberal and Lancelot.

Proper show-off!

All very well for them to dash about

lik e grand new bints

on Chatham High Street,

but they haven't had

the last week along of this lot.

- Starboard 20. Full ahead.

- 'Starboard 20, sir. '

- Sweep from 220 to 280.

- Sweep from 220 to 280, sir.

- Midships?

- 'Midships, sir. '

- Steer 190.

- 'Steer 190, sir. '

Echo. Bearing 225, sir.

- 'Echo. Bearing 225... '

- Starboard ten!

Starboard ten, sir.

- Steer 220.

- 'Steer 220, sir. '

- Cut left! Cut left!

- Cut left, sir!

That's it!

Target moving left fast, sir.

- Bearing 200, sir.

- Bearing 200. Range 800.

Port ten.

What's it look lik e, Number One?

Submarine, sir.

Can't be anything else.

'Bearing 195. Range 600.'

- Steer 190.

- 'Steer 190, sir. '

Course 190, sir.

- What's it look lik e now?

- Clear and solid, sir.

Slight doppler. Must be a U-boat.

- Still moving left?

- 'Yes. '

There are some men in the water

just about there.

'Bearing 193.

Range 400.'

- What's it look lik e now?

- 'Just the same.

'lt's the firmest contact

we've ever had. '

There are some chaps in the water.

Well, that's a U-boat

just underneath them.

'Bearing 191. Range 300.'

- Attacking! Stand by!

- Stand by!

Range 200.

Range 100.

Instantaneous echo, sir.

Fire one!

Bloody murderer!

Starboard 20. Slow ahead.

- 'Lost contact, sir. '

- Carry out lost-contact procedure.

Come in.

- Who...?

- Good evening, Captain.

We came back

to thank you for our lives.

Oh. I didn't recognise you.

Ashore we bought clothes.

Captain Richer. Captain Joslevsky.

- I am Mathieson. Norwegian.

- Oh...

Well, come in and have a drink.

- Thank you, no.

- Thank you, yes!

I wish to drink with this brave man

who stopped his ship

and gave me my life.

And me. Me, I have the same wish.

Much stronger.

And for my wife, too.

And my three children.

Oh. That's fine.

We know that you have much

to think about.

Yes. I have been thinking.

Are you sad?

Yes, I am pretty sad.

The men in the water?

- Yes.

- The men you had to kill?

The men I had to kill.

It was necessary.

Yes, it is war.

There is no blame.

There may be thoughts.

There will be thoughts.

And for thoughts there is gin.

- Sk ol.

- Sk ol.

Are you all right, sir?

No. I don't mind telling you.

I'm not.

You've got to forget all about it.

There's no good worrying about it.

You can't change anything.

There was a submarine there.

And I'm sure of it.

It's where a submarine

making an attack would have been.

And if it was a submarine,

how many more men and ships

would it have killed?

I had to do it.

Anyway, it's all in the report.

It was my fault.

I identified it as a submarine.

If anyone murdered those men, I did.

No one murdered them.

It's the war.

The whole bloody war.

We've just got to do these things.

And say our prayers at the end.

Have you been drinking,

Number One?

Yes, sir. Yes, I have.

And so have I.

First time out of home port

since we commissioned.

Good night.

Good night, sir.

Sir, you... You'd better get to bed.

You've just about had it,

haven't you?

Well, I can't get you to bed,

my dear and revered captain,

but I can at least snug you down

for the night.

You're going to have quite a hangover

when you wak e up.

Bless your heart!

There we are.

Get your legs out straight.

That's the best I can do for you.

I wish it could be more.

Good night.

I didn't think Gib

was such a bad place.

Do you know

what a chap there said to me?

- What?

- I said we'd been escorting AG93.

He said anyone sailed in that convoy

ought to be dead or round the bend.

- Well, he could see you weren't dead.

- I'm not round the bend!

Aren't you supposed to be doing

casualty drill on the two pounder?

Oh, yes, sir, but... Aye-aye, sir.

- Captain, sir?

- Well, Chief, what is it?

I've got a coupling

breaking loose down aft.

Brok en bolt by the look of it.

I'd like to stop and secure it, sir.

You mean you want me

to slow down?

If we k eep the shaft turning at all,

it's liable to crack up.

I can't tak e the coupling out

to replace it unless we stop engines.

It's one of those awkward corners.

The after-coupling

right up inside the gland space.

- All right. Be as quick as you can.

- I'll be that, sir.

- Stop engines.

- Stop engines.

I wonder if the hole is damaged.

- Suck it and see.

- Cut that out!

Get a spanner, a flogging hammer

and a blowlamp.

I'm going up

to report to the captain.

Viperous is coming back, sir.

Calling!

"What is the state of repairs?"

Mak e, "Trouble located,

"but estimate repairs

will tak e several hours yet."

- We'd better dark en ship now.

- Aye-aye, sir.

Have the boat slung out

ready for lowering.

- Raft lashings cast off too, sir?

- Yes.

Reply, sir. "I'm afraid I cannot

spare you an escort for the night."

Mak e, "That's quite all right.

We'll sleep ourselves."

Number One, impress on everybody,

we mustn't have any noise.

No banging about. It could be heard

miles away on a night lik e this.

- Aye-aye, sir.

- We may as well darken caps, too.

Yes, sir.

Reply, sir. "I must leave you

to your virtuous couch.

"Good night, fair maiden.

"Best of luck."

If anyone else mak es a noise,

I'll have his guts for a necktie.

Look, go down and see what's...

Tell him to stop the hammering,

or muffle it somehow.

- Tell him a torpedo will hit him first!

- Sir.

Come to see the fun, sir?

It won't be long now.

Fine, Chief. But the captain's

a little worried about the noise.

Could you do anything

to tone it down a bit?

Pretty well finished now, sir.

We're flogging up the knots.

- Did you hear the hammering up top?

- Hear it?

There were U-boats popping up miles

around complaining about the rack et!

- Any sign of a submarines, sir?

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