Norwich bulletin., 1919-01-03
DANIEL L. BROWNS
SEA EXPERIENCE
Continued from Page Severn

SEA EXPERIENCES
Continued from Page Severn
doing in keeping supplies going across
the bridge OF ships so steadily that our
doughboys were able to carry on and
get the Huns started on the double tor
Berlin !
A couple of days before l signed on
as Junior officer. with five others, on
the Nansemond, one Of Uncle Sans
biggest cargo carriers, an interned
German ship taken over at the begin
ming of the war and operated by the
shipping board
The Nansemond had carried passen-
gers before the war, and there were
still a few NVerboten" signs LETT that
had been scattered about the ship for
their benefit Sheets, towels. china
and silverware were all emblazoned
with the names of one of the big \
German steamship companies and we
felt quite as If we were Kaiser Bits
guests for the trip. But if Bill got
straight report from the U-boat cap
| tain who made an afternoon call on US
| one day. I'm afraid he'll think we
hardly acted the perfect guest-but of
all that little later.
Mountains of Supplies.
We were carrying an enormous car
| %, II
| becn hustled aboard in remarkably few i
| DAYS, Us only American stevedores |
can, Put in freight cars this would |
| make a train over four miles long.
| figured No wonder Fritz had tried |
| especially hard to get her on former
trips, and that the chances for some
excitement on this one looked good.
| But big as this cargo was, it hardly
seemed to leave any hole in the Inoun
| - tho Y1in-E and
the warehouses of the supply base
| where we were locked. ! remember
one little item which will give an idea
of the scale on which supplies were
going across. This was a shipment Of
bottled catchup. There was a pile of
it as big as a large suburban house,
but it would have taken you some time
to find it on this huge dock tucked
away insignificantly in one corner
This is the way everything our army
used, from safety pins and oatmeal to
locomotives. went across American
shipbuilders and merchant sailors were
making good the promise they made to
their brothers in France to put 1t
across.
. | wish every American could have
seen one of these supply bases. He
. would then have realized that ships
: and sailors were the keystone of the
Rhine.
, Once out in the stream, we headed
I down the channel for the lightship.
S beyond which our convoy and escorts
were waiting for us.
:, All were slowly under way when we
= reached them. The leading ships Of
2 the different columns took their places
q and after a few minutes confusion and
! lively work on the signal halyards, the
4 CHI Of Tnf infO
J. place.
o We were guarded above by dirigi-
bles, hydroplanes and anchored blimps
p | (balloOnS), and on the surface by a
u feet of patrol boats as well as our
ocean escort. America soon dropped
below the western horizon, aud al
9 sunset we were we'll out to sea.
O Conveys and depth bombs were beat
II ing the L boats, so the men who had
: been III the game since the great wal
: started told me. In the army we haC
| turned back to medieval helmets anc
armor and on the water to mediaeva
IS naval tactics so far as the CONVOY
g | went; but instead of conveys of Span.
n ish galleons and frigates of the l7tI
5 century from the new world to thu
70 old, our conveys were Of American
IN transports and destroyers.
Even the old sailmaker, who has
a been On the ocean ever since he ship
re- ped as cabin boy on down east blu
w noser so years ago, admitted that tHi
IN convoy game was d new one on min
ID and hung over the rail watching on
s. many war colored neiehbors just lik
l. the new boys VINO came off the CalFi1
" Austin the week before.
il 1t was not hard to sec why the con
hit voy system had proven so effective
is Take the case of a convoy of > ship
id az IS the largest number | heard Of i
rs one convoy: the mate told me of bein
cacght in a T2-ship convoy in 3 sail
ID ing ship in the Bay of Biscay on
re | tirne). When these ships went in con
", voy, instead Of there being - differ
liz | ent units scattered all over the zone
g. for the U-boats TO find. there was onj
ID one. That is, here the Hun had oni
% one chance of meeting a ship. where J
or had % before. And if he did meet tn
i'll convoy. he found it usually with
Of naval escort whose sole business wa
IN sinking submarines. He found, TOO,
lookouts on watch for him, 25 sets {
~ guns ready for him, where there va
Ut one set before. OF course, with favor
he ing weather the Hun sneaked in an
er sunk one or two ships occasionally
d. but if he showed himself TO a convo
lie and it's escort, the odds were that i
rs. was due for quick trip to the DO;
~ tom.
by What a Convoy is Like.
m The usual convoy formation was
ed columns in a rough square. This va
p the most compact and the inside shir
ut we're practically immune from attac'
is The escorts could circle the convoy,
ng necessary, and the outside ships coul
go concentrate their fire on any subma
rine that might appear.
aN Conveys were made up according
to different speeds of the ships and eve
n the rustieSt old tramps were provide
est fGc in a six knot class. In spite
This, some captains imaginations q
int ways tackled a couple of knots to the
Xix ships speed. There seems to be
er- nautical version of Home, Swe
we Home" "be it ever so humble, there
ms. no ship line mine
is Many nine-knot ships on BrOadWa
me make a bare seven off Fire Island.
lev These were the fellows who were a
re ways falling back, slowing up the col
if voy, and bringing gray hairs to Il
heads of naval escort commanders.
on. was renlarl1a BILE what q. snappy esco
nd commander could 90 with ms cnarge
1e After a. day or two together he HI
md them naneuyering in position like
on second grand fleet; maybe Zigzaggil
to dark through a black night, not
led ray OF light showing anywhere, if tn
ted were in the danger zone or ''tin fisl
by was reported near.
II The lifeboats were swinging out
the davits as soon as we left the 90
= and remained there all the time Y
were at sea, ready to be launched at