Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1916-10-20
1917 !?
BY
EDWIN BALMER
Continued from page 6

Fire by salvoS!'
Salvos! All six forward guns togeth-
er, both turrets firing at once. The
other guns in Wendells turret, hidden
behind their bulkheads, were ready.
They were bulwarked up, but they
were aimed as a unit. A pressure on
the firing key In Louden's hand could
fire them all together. The buzzer Oh
Louden's breast was sounding now for
the simultaneous discharge Of all, but
the mar strained less as he stopped.
and he waited only an instant before
his fingers closed on the key.
"Up a hundred; one right! Up a hun
dred; one right!' Corrections were com
ing both for elevation and detection.
So all six shells had missed. They had
fallen short a little and had gone
astern. Were the enemy's ships salts
fed with having drawn the American
ships out so far7 Were they pushing
at full speed to run away?
Smoke-not the yellow, gaseous
clouds from the guns just fired again,
but a wide, black pail which did not
clear away, but rose higher and spread
thicker and thicker and blinded Wen
dell's glass as his guns were ready to
fire again. The smoke, blown by the
wind, clouded over the battleship, and
more smoke and more poured up ahead
and on both sides and shut out all
sight from turret No. 2. The forward
turret also was silenced by it, shroud-
ed In blacknesS-a heavy, oil smelling.
sooty pail through which the Arizona
now rushed. 1t came from the Ameri-
can destroyers which had been trailing
only the usual streamers of brown be-
hind them as they raced ahead of the
battleships. Now they had flung them
selves across the battleships' course
with tunnels belching up the black pail
which came to curtain the ship. and as
the Arizona's great guns were silent
the sharp, incessant "pang" of the de
stroyers' quick firers came back on the
wind.
Submarines! The regents subma-
rinesi"
The smoke as well as the clatter of
the torpedo defense guns proclaimed
that; the ~destroyers, sighting perl
scopes, were throwing the screen of
smoke to hide the battlesh1ps, while
with their four inch guns they were
driving the submersibles, blind, be-
low.
But, before they were fred upon,
had the submarines taken a success
ful sight? Had they started their tor
pedoes straight on their ways through
the water? Bob Wendell turned from
the smoky cloud outside the turret to
the light of the battle lanterns which
showed him his men standing idle.
staring at each other and helplessly
waiting beside the uselessly loaded
guns in the armored trap Of the turret,
while, hidden In the smoke, the Arizona
sheered suddenly and altered speed to
try to escape, at the last instant, the
strike of the torpedoes which had
been launched.
There is a span of minutes following
the learning that torpedoes have been
dispatched at a ship In action and be-
fore the instant of their impact-or of
their passing harmlessly-which re-
sembles few other intervals. The time
Is not long, usually; but, since the eff
fective range of a torpedo has length
ened to more than 5000 yards, the
interval may be almost ten minutes:
and during those minutes there Is lit
tie for any o~ne-except the engine crew
and navigators-to do but to think.
All preparation for torpedo attack
had been made on the Arizona. Long
before, when the gun crews were run
ming to their battle stations, their
mates below had closed every water
tight door, isolated each fire room and
the engine room. and the heavy "col.
lision" mat was ready to be brought
up and lowered over the side and
drawn over the chasm, which a torpedo
would make, In an effort to stay the
first thrush of water. There was alb.
solutely nothing for Bob Wendell to
do after his guns were loaded again
but to stand silent and cool before
his men, waiting either for the clouds
of smoke to clear away and show the
gun pointers their target. or after the
crash and ~concussion of the torpedoes
to direct his division In order as the
bugles would be blowing the command,
abandon ship.'
The bugles, If they blew, would not
call for practice this time. And third
perhaps half-of the officers and men
might be saved; that was the English
experience with battleships hard hit
by mine or torpedo. The others would
go down with the ship. Wendell's
throat contracted spasmodically as the
vision mastered him for the moment;
Nellie al before him-his young wife
with wide eyes and brave little lips
as she met him at the door when he
~A
~ -