Evening star., 1943-12-22
Destroyer Crews
Find Vacation DAYS
In Mediterranean
BY ROBERT J. CASEY,
War Correspondent Of The Star and
Chicago Daily News.


War Correspondent Of The Star and
Chicago Daily News.
WITH THE ROYAL NAVY AT
sEA.-Things have changed. around
the Mediterranean-so much 50 that
an experienced traveller in these
parts really might be surprised If
he were to be killed before morning
This ship is just rounding out q
3,000-mile trip around the Mediter-
ranean ports Of Italy and North
Africa, and except for the fact that
she Is somewhat battered destrov-
er instead OF luxury liner with a
swimming pool and deck chairs, her
passengers have had all the relax
alton OF a vacation cruise: "Bask in
the sunshine of the bright blue
Mediterranean-l4 dreamy days for
5000"
Men whose Jobs 1t is to toss ash
cans at submarines, men who con-
stantly watch the blue Of a cloud
less sky, complain that nothing hap
pens any more. Oficers of watch
play chess In the wardroom and
reminisce Of more dangerous-and
more interesting days.
Maybe you don't have to 20 out
on deck and look at the guns and
torpedo tubes and such to convince
yourself that there is still q war
going on, but it helps. OF course. to
be technical about it, not every-
thing about this yachtman's para
disc is as it seems. Ships still 20
warily and still earn their keep.
Hunted for Submarines.
Consider, for example, this ship.
The night before last, at clip that
would have won a cup in an ordi-
nary speedboat regatta, we tore
around couple of hundred miles
OF ocean, hunting submarine. Last
night we hunted another. And there
will be few nights until the war
ends when the flotilla command
will be able to take his attention en-
tirely off the possibility of U-boats
IN this vicinity. This bit of the
Mediterranean turns out to be sin
eularly uneventful, but really, that's
why it is singular.
In the last three months. this
destroyer, which Is typical of this
portion of the mosquito fleet, ran
28.700 nautical miles in 1900 hours.
The average speed was more than
II knots, which figure is mislead-
ing because normally her targets
were so far from her base that she
had frequently to steam at top
speed for as much as "a hours on
end. Her record 24-hour-run was
62l nautical miles, not long ago and
not far from here.
In three months the ship has
never been three consecutive days
in port even for upkeep and repair
seldom has she been in longer than
II hours. In two and one-half
months she has not had a consecu-
tive "a hours rest. With other ships
of the fleet, she has been out on
missions nearly every night, pene-
trating enemy harbors through un-
chartered channels, blasting Ship
ping and battering shore artillery
that always replied. During this
time 875 rounds of heavy shell were
fired in action, $50 rounds of two
pound ack-ack shell and and 1000
rounds of oerlikon ack-ack.
Considerable luck rode with her
In these operations. as with others
In what has been called the train
schedule bombardment service" She
was worked over by shore batteries
seven different times, bombed from
the air 10 times-escaping once or
twice by q margin hardly thicker
than her paint - and she rode
through minefields two or three
times every "a hours that she was
at sea.
Conditions Vastly Improved.
That she got away with all this
IS not a typical feature Of these op-
erations. Enemy bombers and ar
tillery are sometimes good and de-
stroyers are little more than tin cans
filled with dynamite There were
hits, damage was sometimes severe,
and there was considerable loss of
life; and the possibility Of repeti-
ton of these unlucky incidents still
fingers.
Yet as you look up from the writ
ten record, across the blue water to
a gray streak which is the coastline
Of North Africa, you can't help re-
turning to your oginigal impression
that things are vastly changed and
for the better. For this section of
the Mediterranean Is squarely in
E1e course taken by Malta conveys
and is not great distance from
Hell's Corner.
Maybe we've had to chase couple
of submarines around the area, and
admittedly there's always the pos
sibility of enemy planes coming over
the horizon from the north. But
one recalls trips down here In
1910 when a sky without Ger
man Stukas in it was novelty,
when bombs were unloaded from re-
lays of planes for as long as II hours
at time, and submarines ran about
the premises submerging and sur
facing just about as they pleased.
Vessels Sunk Along Route.
1t was along this route that the
H. M. S. Barham was sunk, and the
Malaga, Queen Elizabeth and Illus
trious were battered out of action.
Along the entire course, the sea
bottom is streWn with the carcasses
OF the merchantmen, transports,