We Dive at Dawn Page #6

Go through the drill,

same as if we were in Blackhouse Creek.

And keep your eyes on

that reservoir pressure.

OK, Chief. Blinking DSM for him

if we make a hit, and well he knows it.

Perhaps they'll make him mayor!

- Stand by, all tubes.

- Now we're off.

What's happening?

Keep your face out of this.

Leave it to me and the captain.

He gives the orders and I get 'em there, see?

- Slow boat. Steer 010.

- 010, sir.

Bearing Green 6-0,

doing 270 revolutions.

Steady on 010, sir.

There she is.

One lovely battleship.

- Bearing?

- Green 6-0, sir.

Range... 23 minutes...

...15 degrees on the port bow.

- 50 feet, Number One.

- 50 feet, sir.

Last range 3,000, sir.

Gives you a speed of roughly 30 knots.

30? Bit much. Make it, er, 25.

Right, bring the boat up.

Clear away attack periscope.

- Group down.

- Group down, sir.

- Hydrophone bearing?

- Bearing Green 5-9, sir.

- Bearing on.

- Green 6-5, sir.

30 degrees on the bow.

Destroyer, port wing of screen, 1500 yards.

Next time's going to be troublesome.

Stand by to take her down low, Number One.

We shall be bloody close.

800 yards off track, sir. On the same course.

Right.

Well...

- Looks faster than 25. Give her 28 for luck.

- 28, sir.

- Control Room. All tubes ready.

- Captain, sir. All tubes ready.

Good.

Watch your steering and keep her down.

Dive helm, Coxswain. Open bow buoyancy.

- Well?

- Victor angle, 17 degrees, sir.

17 degrees.

- Stand by...

- Stand by.

Stand by.

- Fire.

- Fire.

(Muffled thuds)

Two gone.

- (Thud)

- Three gone.

- (Thud)

- Four.

- (Thud)

- Five gone.

- (Thud)

- Six gone. All torpedoes fired, sir.

All six running, sir.

Take her down, Number One.

Pass the word, stand by for depth charges.

(Klaxon blares)

Torpedos! Steuerbord voraus.

Should have our first strike

in a few seconds, sir.

Keep her right down, Number One.

Stop boat.

- Stop boat, sir.

- Steering planes in hand.

- Steering planes in hand, sir.

- Pass the word, all hands keep quiet.

- Keep quiet in the boat!

- Damned if I know if we hit her.

- Hobson?

- I wouldn't swear to it, sir.

- It's hard to tell with these depth charges.

- (Loud blast)

What's all the fuss about?

Don't half shake us up, those bangs.

Shut your mouth

and mind your ruddy pump.

All right, chum. Only if I've got to die,

I want to know how it happened.

Matter of interest.

Listen all round carefully.

Something on Red 3-0, sir.

Coming this way.

Increasing speed.

Coming in to attack.

- Steady bearing.

- Damn.

- Stand by for a burst of speed.

- Passing very close, sir.

Passing overhead now.

(Explosion)

(Explosion)

Pump on engine room bilges.

Secondary lighting.

Hold her up, Coxswain.

Can I use speed, sir?

We're dropping down astern.

- Half ahead together.

- Half ahead together, sir.

Captain, sir, we've got a nasty leak

and we can't get suction on the pump.

- Get a bucket team going.

- Aye aye, sir.

Get all the buckets you can find

and bring them along.

You need more plugs. Fetch some more plugs!

(Explosion)

Come on, boys! Bail out with these.

- Don't forget the divers!

- Here you are. More coming along.

- Aye, just in time.

- Here you are. Come on, chain up!

TI, the main line's gone off. We've got

to dump this stuff in the fore-end bilges.

All right, we'll make a chain.

Tom, Ted, come along.

- There you are.

- Du, Hans. Ich glaube der Fritz stirbt.

- Na und wenn schon.

- Du brutaler Kerl, sag's dem mal.

- Here.

- What's the matter with you now?

It may not interest you, mister,

but I think the patient is dying.

Oh. You take my place, then.

Go on, come in there.

(Explosion)

Right, don't you be worried by them bangs.

There never was anybody...

I'm afraid he's finished dying.

- He's dead. I'll report to the captain.

- OK.

Still fill the bilges at this rate.

Don't worry, chum. We got four teetotallers

drinking 'em at the other end.

Getting near now.

Heading faster.

Speed increasing.

Right overhead now.

Captain, sir. I have to report

the death of German prisoner Fritz.

- Oh.

- (Explosion)

- Coming up, Number One.

- Stern's beginning to rise, sir.

- What did you say, TI?

- German prisoner dead, sir.

Oh, yeah, I'll pick that up later.

Keep working on that forward pump there.

Water dropping, sir. If we keep this up for

another hour, we'll have broke the back of it.

- That's the stuff. Keep them at it.

- Aye aye, sir.

Coming in to attack again. Increasing.

Hope he makes a muck of it.

What about all our sweets, Coxswain?

- Beg your pardon, sir?

- Sweets.

Sweets? I'll send for them, sir. Lofty.

Go forward and open up the magazine.

Next to the ammo

you'll find a tin marked White Lead.

They're suckers. Bring them here.

If you're after fuel, sir,

that last package done it in.

Barely 500 gallons left

and we're still losing it.

Apart from losing oil,

we must be leaving a trail on the surface.

Destroyer coming in to attack, sir.

So it's only a question of time...

As I was saying, it's only a question of time

before they hit the bull's-eye.

Until these Jerries think we're a goner,

they're going to keep at it.

Talking of Jerries...

I wonder.

Coxswain.

Come on, hurry up, we haven't got all day.

- Talk about Bundles for Britain.

- That's not funny.

What are you taking that up for?

That won't float.

I want to wash it.

- You put those papers in his pocket?

- Yes, and that old stopwatch too.

OK.

Was machen sie mit dem?

That's all right, cock. Don't worry.

- Leave it to me. I'll manage for you, sir.

- Fine.

Warn everybody we're taking a big angle on.

Take over, Number One. I'm going forward.

(Explosion)

- Everything set?

- Yes, sir. Body's in number-one tube, sir.

In the navigator's coat and cap,

Coxswain's underclothes and my trousers, sir.

Fix another tube full of water.

I want a really good splash.

- Wait for the order, hang on like grim death.

- Aye aye, sir.

Pass the word.

Watch out, we're taking a steep angle.

Pay attention there. From the captain.

Look out for standing on your ruddy heads.

- (Explosion)

- Stand by. Fire, blow out oil.

Fire one.

Number-one tube fired, sir.

Open valve oil, Ted. Flood A. Flood B.

Flood tubes.

That's what I call a nice quick funeral.

(Man calls out)

- Watch up.

- Half ahead together.

Half ahead together, sir.

10... 12... 15.

Lovely.

- Stern's well out of the water now, sir.

- Stop blowing aft.

Flood after-tanks. Let her go down.

(Cheering)

(Man) The latest example

of the British Admiralty's foolhardiness

is witnessed by the fate of the submarine,

Sea Tiger.

This unfortunate vessel entered the Baltic

to make a senseless attack

on an unarmed fishing smack.

It may interest the wives of the crew

of the Sea Tiger to know

that she is now lying a total wreck...

You ought to be ashamed of yourself,

listening to that pack of lies.

I hope you're right, missus.

No, no news from the Admiralty.

- Well, cheers.

- Cheers.

- Have a drink, Scratch?

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