Then I'd guess at one of the Archer class CVEs, but no idea which one (the ill-fated Dasher perhaps?)
Spot on Adrian HMS Dasher it was. HMS DASHER (March 27, 1943) US-built merchant ship, the Rio de Janeiro, was later converted to an escort aircraft carrier in 1941 and loaned to the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease Agreement. Renamed HMS Dasher (7,866 Tons) she saw service in the Mediterranean and on convoy duties to Murmansk. In 1943 she was being used as a Fleet Air Arm Training ship. It was in this capacity that the ship blew up in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, between Ardrossan and the Isle of Arran, while heading for the port of Greenock. At about 4.45pm, on this hazy Saturday afternoon, while her Swordfish planes of No. 891 Squadron were practicing take offs and landings on her deck, one of her pilots misjudged a landing and crashed into a store of aviation fuel drums and explosives. The subsequent fire and violent explosion sent the Dasher to the bottom in less than five minutes, her bow rising almost vertical before plunging stern-first to the bottom. Oil from the sinking ship caught fire and spread over the water in which the survivors were swimming. A total of 358 officers and men drowned but 149 sailors survived and were picked up from the sea by dozens of small rescue vessels which sped out from Ardrossan to give what help they could. The Dasher lies upright in 170 metres (310 fathoms) of water, her flight deck some 30 metres above the seabed. As the 50th anniversary of her sinking approached, the Royal Naval Association undertook to erect a memorial at Ardrossan so that those that perished shall not be forgotten. (On June 28, 2000, a Memorial Plaque was fixed to the flight deck of the Dasher the site of which is now a war grave) The British aircraft carrier HMS Dasher
Peter Where did this info come from? I once found a book in the library which suggested that the loss of Dasher was a complete mystery, that the Admiralty had something to hide, that witnesses and investigators were told to forget that it ever happenned, etc etc. Is this a case of someone inventing a conspiracy where there is none? I'll post another quiz question in the next couple of days - probably in the New Year. Adrian
Peter Where did this info come from? I once found a book in the library which suggested that the loss of Dasher was a complete mystery, that the Admiralty had something to hide, that witnesses and investigators were told to forget that it ever happenned, etc etc. Is this a case of someone inventing a conspiracy where there is none? I'll post another quiz question in the next couple of days - probably in the New Year. Adrian Was that they book which suggessted that one of the bodies was used as "Major Martin" of "The Man who never was" fame? If so, then it was someone creating a conspricecy where none was actually happened.
Was that they book which suggessted that one of the bodies was used as "Major Martin" of "The Man who never was" fame? If so, then it was someone creating a conspricecy where none was actually happened. Yes, the MWNWas bit rings a bell. As usual, the truth is probably a tragic accident rather than a conspiracy. That said, I came across one other factor that made me wonder. I have a fascinating book, "Sailor in the Sky", the autobiography of Vice-Admiral Richard Bell-Davies VC. He was awarded the VC while flying with the RNAS in the Eastern Mediterannean in 1915, later was the first person to land on a full-deck carrier (HMS Argus), and elected to stay in the Navy rather than be transferred to the RAF when the RNAS became part of the RAF. In WW2, among other things he was the first commander of Dasher, supervising her construction and working-up: so he was quite intimately involved with her. And yet he never mentions her fate. It is tempting to wonder if he was one of those ordered to remain silent on the issue. Or maybe it was just too painful to discuss? Curious, at least.
Thats right. The large funnel would suggest a steam vessel. This one is SGB8, Grey Wolf (though the pennant number that I blacked out said S308) The Steam Gun Boats were supposed to be the answer to the E-boats (German S-boats), having better sea-keeping qualities than the British MTBs. Not very successful; too complex, and were made of steel that was prioritised for destroyers. Initially they were fast enough but too lightly armed to deal with the S-boats; when modified they were very heavily armed but therefore heavier and slower; and were always vulnerable to a shot in the boiler room. I believe Peter Scott, the famous naturalist and conservationist and son of Scott of the Antarctic, commanded one in WW2
This vessel probably had the shortest name (Anglicised) of any WW2 vessel. What was her name and class?
Oi. Kuma-Class Light Cruiser Shame you added the last bit - I was hoping someone would just type "Oi!" so that I could reply "I'm not deaf you know" or "You talking to me, mate?" I wonder if Oi means the same in Japanese as in English? Your turn Spidge
I wonder if Oi means the same in Japanese as in English? There are a number of transliterations using the anglicised OI (from the japanese おい) of which the obvious of course the similar to the English (but seen as ruder). However, in this context the following meaning is likely is : 追い打ちPursuit 追い討ちChasing attack but can be translated as: final blow; attacking while pursuing; attacking the routed enemy
Shame you added the last bit - I was hoping someone would just type "Oi!" so that I could reply "I'm not deaf you know" or "You talking to me, mate?" I wonder if Oi means the same in Japanese as in English? Your turn Spidge From my info......... Kuma class Kuma: "Wounded Valley", a river in higo province Tama: "Mountain Top", or "Wetlands", a river in Musashi (q.v.) province, also a mountain and a place name Kitakami: "Territory" - a river and a mountain range in Rikuchu province Oi: "Greater Fountain", a river Kiso: "Steep Slope", a region near Nagano
