Mice! Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 Just watching this series on channel 5, can't believe the conditions they faced, just been showing pictures of the ship in the arctic with the entire deck covered in ice which had to be constantly chipped off because of the weight it added. Talking about the battle with the Scharnhorst a much bigger ship, fascinating stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prem1234 Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 Yes I watched that.....very interesting...I used to work in London and walked past it everyday for 2 years but did not realise she was almost sunk by a magnet mine !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rewulf Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 Read HMS Ulysses many years ago , a bit of a dramatisation, but men freezing to death at their posts, no chance of survival if you ended up overboard or abandoning ship , and that's if the Germans didn't kill you first. Much respect to the men who did the north Cape run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbie to this Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 I'll give it a watch if it is on catch up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmytree Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 I saw it when it was shown earlier. Very sobering and humbling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sha Bu Le Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 12 hours ago, Mice! said: Just watching this series on channel 5, can't believe the conditions they faced, just been showing pictures of the ship in the arctic with the entire deck covered in ice which had to be constantly chipped off because of the weight it added. Talking about the battle with the Scharnhorst a much bigger ship, fascinating stuff. Dad did the Murmansk run on convoy escort, he would have been around 22/24 at the time. Said the same thing regarding the ice. Plus the way they dressed, ended up almost as wide as they were tall. Never would say which destroyer he was on, don't know why, to late to ask him now. He also said the attitude of the Russians was disgraceful, treated the sailors (RN & Merchant) with total contempt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandspider Posted December 11, 2018 Report Share Posted December 11, 2018 17 hours ago, Rewulf said: Read HMS Ulysses many years ago Great book! A bit of dramatisation, but definitely some truth in it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol p Posted December 12, 2018 Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 I used to love trips to the city and tours of the Belfast. My dad would wind up the curators, many who had actively served on the Belfast, by calling it "a crabby old tub". My dad served on HMS London, a superior county class heavy cruiser, from 46 to 49 when the Chinese filled her full of holes from shore artillery on the Yangtze River during a rescue mission. I've got some excellent pictures of the ships he served on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mice! Posted December 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 9 minutes ago, Pistol p said: I used to love trips to the city and tours of the Belfast. My dad would wind up the curators, many who had actively served on the Belfast, by calling it "a crabby old tub". My dad served on HMS London, a superior county class heavy cruiser, from 46 to 49 when the Chinese filled her full of holes from shore artillery on the Yangtze River during a rescue mission. I've got some excellent pictures of the ships he served on. Some great pictures and stories I'll bet, i didn't know the Chinese had fired on us , did they fire back?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mighty Prawn Posted December 12, 2018 Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 2 minutes ago, Mice! said: Some great pictures and stories I'll bet, i didn't know the Chinese had fired on us , did they fire back?? Google the Yangtze River Incident - it's quite a tale with most of the officers taken out in the first action and then a lethal game of hide and seek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mice! Posted December 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 6 minutes ago, The Mighty Prawn said: Google the Yangtze River Incident - it's quite a tale with most of the officers taken out in the first action and then a lethal game of hide and seek Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12gauge82 Posted December 12, 2018 Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 3 hours ago, Pistol p said: I used to love trips to the city and tours of the Belfast. My dad would wind up the curators, many who had actively served on the Belfast, by calling it "a crabby old tub". My dad served on HMS London, a superior county class heavy cruiser, from 46 to 49 when the Chinese filled her full of holes from shore artillery on the Yangtze River during a rescue mission. I've got some excellent pictures of the ships he served on. Just read up on that, really interesting and not something I knew about until now so thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rewulf Posted December 12, 2018 Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 20 minutes ago, 12gauge82 said: Just read up on that, really interesting and not something I knew about until now so thanks. Surprised you've never seen the film , called Yangtze incident. It's an oldy but a goody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol p Posted December 12, 2018 Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Rewulf said: Surprised you've never seen the film , called Yangtze incident. It's an oldy but a goody. Yes, dad did watch "some" of it. He said it was twaddle. It didn't show how the rear admiral, who was aboard to negotiate the release of the HMS Amethyst, was hiding in X turret and refused to come out. It was subsequently hit and damaged. Or how the white sheets that were draped along the sides of the ship and super structure to show peaceful intent had to be pulled down, ripped and used to stuff the shrapnel wounds of the injured crew men. The Chinese were using horse drawn cavalry and would set up a rolling bombardment, the London returned fire with 8 inch and 4 inch guns using up to 400 rounds. London did retreat with considerable damage. It eventually returned to Hong Kong to be de-ammunitioned, fuelled and sent to Chatham for damaged assessment. It was considered beyond repair and sent to Barrow-in-Furness to be broken up for scrap. The end of the "Lovely London ". 15 killed. 93 wounded. Edited December 12, 2018 by Pistol p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12gauge82 Posted December 12, 2018 Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 1 hour ago, Rewulf said: Surprised you've never seen the film , called Yangtze incident. It's an oldy but a goody. No i hadn't, I'll have to watch it, regardless of how accurate it is. 32 minutes ago, Pistol p said: Yes, dad did watch "some" of it. He said it was twaddle. It didn't show how the rear admiral, who was aboard to negotiate the release of the HMS Amethyst, was hiding in X turret and refused to come out. It was subsequently hit and damaged. Or how the white sheets that were draped along the sides of the ship and super structure to show peaceful intent had to be pulled down, ripped and used to stuff the shrapnel wounds of the injured crew men. The Chinese were using horse drawn cavalry and would set up a rolling bombardment, the London returned fire with 8 inch and 4 inch guns using up to 400 rounds. London did retreat with considerable damage. It eventually returned to Hong Kong to be de-ammunitioned, fuelled and sent to Chatham for damaged assessment. It was considered beyond repair and sent to Barrow-in-Furness to be broken up for scrap. The end of the "Lovely London ". 15 killed. 93 wounded. I'm amazed Id never heard of this incident, really fascinating stuff and some real bravery and determination shown by the sounds of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mice! Posted December 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2018 1 hour ago, 12gauge82 said: I'm amazed Id never heard of this incident, really fascinating stuff and some real bravery and determination shown by the sounds of it. Just had a read now, chances are I've seen the film. Not sure if I'm more surprised we were that involved in an incident in China, that the Chinese were firing on a British ship or that we fired back at what must have been very close range. certainly an interesting read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol p Posted December 13, 2018 Report Share Posted December 13, 2018 9 hours ago, 12gauge82 said: No i hadn't, I'll have to watch it, regardless of how accurate it is. I'm amazed Id never heard of this incident, really fascinating stuff and some real bravery and determination shown by the sounds of it. Any information you'd like can be acquired by contacting Michael Overton, he runs an association covering the Yangtze incident. My father is to be seen standing on top of the bridge in this picture taken from a pathe news reel. It was shown in cinemas, my mum saw it and commented on " the idiot standing on the tower". A year later they meet for the first time outside the same cinema in Colchester and were married for 55 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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