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OFF HORN REEF

STORIES OF THE BIG SEA FIGHT

BRITISH OFFICER'S ACCOUNT HIS INTERRUPTED SMOKE , The following interesting letter to a naval friend in Sydney by a British officer who was through the big sea fight off Horn Eeef appears in the "Sydney bun . First Battle Squadron, June i, 1916. On. the afternoon of tho 31st I was peacefully caulking on tho smokingroom sofa when tho messnian woke me up, and said they had piped, "Prepare for immediate action." We thought for somo time it was only a stunt for the benefit of Major W.. a staff officer from 1' ranee, who Was spending his leave with us, to have a look at the Grand Fleet, but when wb wove prepared we sounded off "action," and, at about 4 p.m. we heard that the battle-cruisers and fast bntleships were in touch with the German battle-cruisers. At about 5 p.iu. we saw distant flashes. The weather was misty, and we could only see. abput 10,000 yards. At about tho samo 'time we. heard the High Seas Fleet was coming up to support their Battle Cruiser Squadron.- At about 5.40 we could make out our B.C.S. on our starboard bow firing hard, and wo could also seo the flashes of tile German guns. Soon after this a few shells began to fall fairly near us; and at about G. 30 we opened on a German cruiser -(wo think the Elbing) 6n our starboard beam. Of course, the poor beggars had no chance, and about ten minutes settled -their hash, when wo lost them in tho mißt. They wero stationary, not firing, were very low in the water, and burning hard. After this there was a lull .as far as we were concerned, during which we passed one of our destroyers temporarily disabled, with the crow on deck cheering like mad as our battleships went by. We next passed a sinking German light cruiser about 3000 yards off on the starboard side, with Her upper dock awash. We then passed . the remains. of the . Invincible, only her tow and stern showing. Liickily we could not read her name, as the captain's brother went down with her; in fact, we thought she was a German. End of the Defencc, About this time a torpedo was fired at us, probably from a submarine, but ran short, and stopped about 200 yards from- us. At about 6.50 we saw the Defence and JVarrior tearing down about halfway between our lines and tho Germans on the opposite course, firing furiously, but apparently not being fired at. Just before tuey got level with us tho German .battle-cruisers opened on them, concentrating on the Defence. Their first two salvos'fell all round her, and tile third, which fell,as,she just passed us, hit her. In two minutes, there wasn't a trace of her left. It was a marvel the poor old Warrior didn't go up, too, but she hung on till she had to bo abandoned next morning. At about 7.10 wo sighted a squadron of the High Sea Fleet deployed in line of battle, and opened on them at once. Our opposite number was one of the Kiaiser class (their latest class but one). After a few salvos her shots got very close to us, but then we got into her, and rattled her thoroughly. I personally saw three hits on her, one which pitched just under her bridge, and tho other two set her on fire aft; columns of liame rising over one hundred feet high. . It then dawned oil the Germans they were up against tho Grand Fleet, and not only tho battlecruisers, as they had thought, and the ships that had deployod into lino turned and left them. Just after they turned wo got another salvo into our target end on.

As soon as their battleships' turned away their destroyers, who had been waiting behind their lino, dashed out at us, belching black smoke 'from their funnels to shelter their battleships, and tried to attack us. Our destroyers and light oruisers met them, sank three, and sent the rest back. It was a magnificont piece of work on the part of the German destroyers, and their smoke screen undoubtedly saved the remains of their battleships. Just after their' smoke screen had hidden their ships we saw an immense cloud of grey smoke rise behind the black smoke of the screen, and we liopo and believe it was caused' by the ship we had been firing at blowing up. So wo have the satisfaction of knowing that we accounted for both tho ships we took on. GERMAN GUNNERS" *' RATTLED " . -h. correspondent of the "Scotsman" writes: She was a light cruiser bearing tho name of a famous seaport, and carrying the pennant of a commodore whose name is a household word. What he has not seen of action in all its modern forms during the last 22 months in tho North Sea no.ono has seen; for the duty that falls to such craft as he commands— and his squadron is as dainty aud swift and workmanlike as any that floats—is the duty of seeing aud knowing everything. ■■'Tis a duty that takes them into danger far, far ofteuer than the British public ever knows. And as far as any man can say 'that lie saw and knows all that can, humanly speaking, be known of the battle of Horn Reef, he' is that man. But it is not his voice that you aro about to hear. It is the voice of one of his junior officers; a sub. with a great sense of confusion as tho' abiding impression made on him by tho great naval action.

"You see, I can't see how anybody'll ever be able to put the thing together properly. The mist madß the whole business so chancy. One minuto the Herman line would be as clear as the silhouettes on a 'turret, about 10,000 yards away, and the next you could see nothing but the leading ship, and so for hour 9 we dodged one another like that, thoiigh I think they had a bit of advantage from the mist. Anyway, we sank a great many more than wo have claimed, and the rest wont home with such a bellyache that they won't be able to move for months.

"AVe were about the first in iici.'on, ;:nd for us the action lasted with intervals for over twelve hours; and during; that time we were engaged wich every kind cf ship in the German fleet, except submarines, I think. I never saw a eabinarino at all. The destroyer attacks were picnics; they must have '.t.st q-.iite hulf their flotillas; you would see them biung blown out of' the water all the time. We got into action, as I say, one of the first, and were engaged with light crm'sors and the leading' battle-cruisers. But our battlecruisers wero coming on, loosing eff their thirtcen-point-fives at the Huns, and so we' were left with craft of our own size to deal with; but they were so far off that we couldn't-do one another much harm. The Queen Mary was maintaining a perfect, steady fire on her opposite number in the German line. A moment later she was overwhelmed. A storm scemod to burst over her, 011 her, right inside her. She broke up and sank in a wild confusion of red glare and smoke so thick that it looked solid—and a terrific thunderclap of an explosion that sounded Mud above the steady mar of the guns. "A Most Hellish Din." "Then the Invincible. She .was farther off. But I saw ono of her picketboats go hundreds of. feet up into tho air, spinning liko u leaf in ,in eddy of wind, followed by a huge lick of flame as high as her masts. A great belch of smoke, and then it was all over. I heard very little. But then you, must remember we were loosing off at the Ifuns nil tho time, and they were loosing off at us; and the din was pretty fair. 1 guess that there was a salvo of eight heavy guns every five seconds—probably more. It was tho most hellish din yon can imagiuo. And so we went on; "the battle cruisors and the \Varnpites giving the Germans such hell that some of thorn must have sunk. We saw ono sink —a big three-funnelled chap; .1 don't know what sho was. Beatty did the job beautifully.

"As you know, when the Grand Fleet did come up, looming out of tho thick weather in tho north, a groat sickness

fell upon the Huns; and, like the fellows in tho parable, they nil with one accord befrnn to make trucks for home. Our big ships fired several salvos with good offect; but funk und the mist between them saved tho Huns from sure destruction. Well ,ifc wasn't really funk: you know; it was quite their lino of strategy. Only compared with the Boatty touch, the Hun looks a bit poor. They can't help it; thor.e it is; and so we've come home frightfully bucked because we can meet 'em when the odds are in their favonr mid hold our own. How much the Grand Fleet succeeded in doing, I don't know; but I saw that even before they arrived, and very noticeably after .they'd fired a salvo or two, tho German gunnery was simply all over the place. A little later in the evening, for instance, one of their big ships loomed out of the darkening haze at. 'perhaps, 7000 yards, aud gave us a salvo—the rottenest shooting you ever saw; calibration bad, dreadful."

"I don't know much' about gunnerv, but it seemed to me- th«at the Huns couldn't keep their gunners up to scratch in any action. If so, cheer-oh, when we meet them again. For our follows were simply wonderful. (For an expert opinion oil the German gunfire, see below, 'll—From Afar.') And I ought to know; for fighting in our craft isn't liko gunlaying behind lOin. armour. You'ro in tho open, hearing, seeing eevrything; and if the gods are so'unkind as to leave you idle for a moment (as ws often wero localise the enemy was invisible!) imagining everything and more. As the night draw on ttio sight of the battle becaJne more awful than the sound; all along the horizon, and sometimes in the air and sea, the night was rent by lurid red flashes, with hero and there the towering flamo of a ship on fire, a.nd hero and there a vast explosion, heaving the inside of a ship to heaven. German Gunners "Rattled." , "Wo were at dinner iii tho wardroom of one of our ships. Tlio talk was all speculation of tho losses of tho German fleet. The gunnery officer of the ship, entering late, murmured, his apology to the mess president, and took his seat beside me. Ho joined in the speculations, but soon passed on to a subject nearer his heart, the enemy's gunnery. There was much to puzzle him in the action- as he had seen it. No surprises certainly in the guns thomselves, for the Germans produced no novelty. He was eager to compare .notes with, brother-experts in the Battle Cruisor Fleet, to fill in the gaps of the evidence, which, he was trying to piece together, and to get at sound conclusions at the end of it all. His experience, as far as it went, confirmed a reasoned belief in tho superiority of tw.o things—first, tie British system; second, the British gunner. And he was inclined on the whole bo lay the greater stress on tho man rather than the system.

."But what a I do think is that the men wero rattled. Probably too new to tho job. And I dbnbt whether the Germans had foreseen what a terrific disturbance a jiaval action nould create. Whenever wo really began to get home on one of their ships, their destroyers would rush out ajid mako a great smokescreen to hide him. They did that iu great style; and they suffered for it, 100. They must have lost a lot of small craft at that game, for wo simply let loose a turret at the lcadiug destroyers and destroyed them. Later on tHe destroyers took their turn in attack, but made nothing of it. We manoeuvred too well for them. And when they gave us a chance we gave it them hot. Once three of them came up for a torpedo attack, 'but before tliey could get their position wo blew them out of the water, so that there was literally nothing left. That kind of thing went on all night, and, of -course, our destroyers were at the same game, too, with somo success, as you know. It was a perfectly amazing seonc. Tou didn't realise it whilo it was going oil. It was impossible to think that tlio great spouls of water al round wert> meant for you 5 you simply thought of jiothing but getting your own salvos home into tho guts of the Hun. All the same, I shall never forget the sight we had that night." Nor will thc> Germans."

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19160807.2.36

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2843, 7 August 1916, Page 6

Word count
Tapeke kupu
2,200

OFF HORN REEF Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2843, 7 August 1916, Page 6

OFF HORN REEF Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2843, 7 August 1916, Page 6

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