Captain Schofield describes RAF ocean rescues - Daily Telegraph, Sept 23, 1939

[Andy Wright]

A period story published online last September that I stumbled across earlier today. Quite well told without going into too much operational detail. I wasn't sure where to put the thread but figured, since it revolves around a merchant ship being attacked by a U-boat, The Sea War (of which the flying boats were a vital part) was the way to go.

World War 2: Captain describes RAF ocean rescues - Telegraph

The full thrilling story of the rescue in the Atlantic of a tramp steamer’s crew by two RAF flying-boats was told by the ship’s captain and the pilots of the planes when they met yesterday at the Ministry of Information.

Rubber dinghy used as ferry

The steamer, the 4,863-tons Kensington Court, was sunk by a German submarine on Monday, and the crew of 34 were taken from the sea and flown to safety.

“If all the officers and men of the RAF are like these young fellows who rescued us, then England has nothing to fear”, said the ship’s master, Capt J Schofield, of South Shields.

Capt Schofield said that his ship, which was bound for Birkenhead from the Argentine with a cargo of wheat, sent out an SOS when the U-boat appeared and attacked them without warning. They turned the vessel’s stern to the submarine, which kept firing at them from a range of about a mile.

“After she had fired about five shots”, he said, “she came very close to the ship’s stern and I decided it was time to stop the ship. I gave three blasts on the whistle and the crew took to the boats.

“One of the boats was lost. Shortly after we got away in the port boat there was a big explosion in the star-board well. We did not know whether it was a torpedo or shell. We started rowing away and soon afterwards sighted an aeroplane.

“I said: ‘This has come in reply to our SOS’. Everybody was pleased and we all started to cheer. Still, we did not think it was possible for them to rescue us that way.

“We thought they would give a signal to a warship or something like that. When the first plane alighted on the water and someone signalled to us from the wing we began to realise that they were going to take us on board.

“There was a second plane there. We told the officer that there were 34 of us and he said he would take about 20 and the other plane would take the rest.

“While we were getting on board a third plane came over and flew round. We wondered how they would get us on board, because the sea was choppy, but a door in the side of the flying-boat opened and a small collapsible boat was pushed out.

“It was all very remarkable to us. It was the modern method of rescue and we had never had any experience like it. When we got on board they gave us cups of tea and cigarettes”.

Submarine leaves

Capt Schofield said that they sighted the first plane half an hour after they took to the boats. The submarine steamed away after seeing that the ship was settling. She had left before the planes arrived.

“The submarine”, he declared, “gave no warning at all that she was going to sink us. The first shot she fired was straight at the ship, and it was an explosive shell. We saw the submarine for a few minutes before she opened fire”.

The pilot of the first machine on the spot, a 23-year-old flight-lieutenant whose home is in Wimbledon, explained that they picked up Capt. Schofield’s SOS while they were in the air on patrol duty.

“We at once set our course for the spot indicated”, he said, “and eventually found the Kensington Court sinking”.

Picked up three at a time

“We alighted and, after signalling the men in the boat, blew up our rubber dinghy and pushed it out with a line to each end, and by this means we were able to ferry the men across two or three at a time”.

The pilot commanding the other flying-boat, a 25-year-old flight lieutenant from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, revealed in his story that the third mate who was rescued by his flying-boat was Morris Byrne, son of the former Lord Mayor of Dublin, with whom he had served his apprenticeship at sea on the Vancouver City, which was sunk the day before.

South African pilot

“When we arrived”, he said, “we saw the other aircraft on the water and had a darn good look round for the submarine. We saw that the other plane was making attempts to take off the men. Quite obviously there were a lot, and so we decided to go down.

“In the meantime another aircraft arrived and we signalled it to look out for the submarine. We took off 14 men”.

One of the crew of the second flying-boat was a young South African, who was second pilot.

“We were patrolling quite independently”, said one of the pilots. “The ship sank while the remainder of the crew were getting into a position to be taken off by us. The rescue was not very difficult”.

Here Capt Schofield interposed with the remark: “It was not difficult because they were efficient there was a swell on the sea at the time”.

No instructions for the rescue method used by the RAF men have been issued, but one of the pilots said, “There were no other means available”.

The photographs of the sinking of the Kensington Court published in The Daily Telegraph yesterday were taken from one of the flying-boats with an RAF camera.*

Through the wonders of modern technology, a few little additions to the story...

The first pic (from the Australian War Memorial) is interesting in that it was taken the month before the sinking and shows the embarked DEMS gunners exercising the stern-mounted 4-inch. Perhaps this is why the ship placed the U-boat on her stern (other than presenting the smallest target while attempting to put more distance between the two ships). Were the DEMS gunners embarked at the time of the sinking? Edit - this does not appear to be the same ship. See further posts below.

The second pic comes from here - http://www.historyofwar.org/Pictures...nderland3.html (but sourced from Coastal Command, 1939-1942, HMSO, published 1943, p.117) - and I think this is the photo referred to above (*) with the second 'flying boat' arriving.

http://www.historyofwar.org/articles...d_service.html

This was followed on 18 September by the first air-sea rescue mission of the war, when two aircraft from Nos. 228 and 204 Squadrons rescued 34 crewmen from the tramp-steam SS Kensington Court, after the ship was sunk seventy miles from the Sicily Islands.

Sicily Islands? Scilly Islands perhaps? :)

[Hugh]

Were the DEMS gunners embarked at the time of the sinking?

Andy, if the ship was armed I would expect a gun crew aboard but the only way you would find out for sure would be to check the ships last crew agreement.

Attached from the War Illustrated is a photo of Captain Schofield meeting his rescuers. F/LT Thurston M.W. Smith [centre]. I presume far left would be the other pilot F/LT John Barratt but I could be wrong with that. I believe both pilots were decorated.
Regards
Hugh

[Billy McGee]

The story is quite well known to those of us who research Merchant Navy losses during WWII and this will help enlighten those who never knew the story.

One small point I feel I must point out is I don't believe the ship in the first photograph is the Kensington Court. As she was lost only fifteen days into the war and was on voyage from Rosario, Argentina, the ship must have been overseas or even at sea when war was declared. There would of been no possible way to mount a stern gun and embark DEMS gunners in a neutral port at this time. Also in the second photograph, you can see there is no DEMS platform visible on the stern.

[Hugh]

Billy, I agree. I dont think it's the same ship - the funnel markings are not correct for Court Line [Haldin & Phillips].
Another photo of KENSINGTON COURT
Regards

[Andy Wright]

Billy and Hugh

Thanks guys. I have to admit I was wondering exactly the same thing when I posted the second photo as I had come across the photo that Hugh posted above. I compared the aft section still above water in my second shot with the first one and managed to convince myself but since you guys are saying it's not, I will edit accordingly. Thank you - why I didn't voice my thoughts when I dribbled out just about everything else, we'll never know.

[Amrit]

Attached from the War Illustrated is a photo of Captain Schofield meeting his rescuers. F/LT Thurston M.W. Smith [centre]. I presume far left would be the other pilot F/LT John Barratt but I could be wrong with that. I believe both pilots were decorated.

Indeed they were:

Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. 3 November 1939

1. Flying Officer (acting Flight Lieutenant) Thurston Meiggs Wetherall SMITH (39621).
2. Flying Officer (acting Flight Lieutenant) John BARRETT (37341).

Acting Flight Lieutenant SMITH and acting Flight Lieutenant BARRETT were, respectively, in command of the first and second of three flying boats which, having intercepted messages from a torpedoed merchant ship in September, 1939, proceeded to the scene of the sinking ship (some 70 miles from the mainland) to undertake rescue work. A lifeboat was seen in the vicinity containing about 34 men and, as no submarine could be sighted, the first aircraft alighted and took on board 20 of the survivors. A thorough search for enemy submarines was made by the second aircraft which afterwards alighted and, in spite of the heavy swell, took on board the remaining survivors from the lifeboat.

And I attach an article mentiong the two, plus other stories from the early months of the war. There is a picture of the two, in a group, on the second page.

[Amrit]

Kensington Court

and attached, from the Britain at War Magazine

[Amrit]

http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/italy_bladelli.htm

In the afternoon on 6 August Capitano Luigi Monti, Maresciallo Emiro Nicola (84a Squadriglia) and Sergente Bladelli scrambled from T3 and intercepted a Short Sunderland 30 kilometres north west of Tobruk. Nicola was obliged to turn back when his guns jammed while Monti and Bladelli attacked the flying boat.
The British aircraft was Sunderland N9025 ‘OO-Y’ of 228 Squadron from Aboukir flown by Flight Lieutenant T. M. W. Smith DFC (crew; Flying Officer D. R. S. Bevan-John, Pilot Officer I. T. G. Stewart, Sergeant H. J. Baxter, Leading Aircraftsman P. F. O. Davies, Leading Aircraftsman W. J. Pitt, AC1 W. D. Price, Leading Aircraftsman A. McWhinnie and Leading Aircraftsman Colin James Cambell Jones (RAF No. 525815)), which had replaced another Sunderland of 228 Squadron flown by Squadron Leader Menzies, which had shadowed a small Italian convoy from the early morning.
Attacking from out of the sun the Italian fighters firstly put the rear turret out of action, and then with two separate attacks they disabled the right flank gun and the left flank gun. Inside the Sunderland the situation was very difficult; Baxter was wounded three times, Jones was hit in the stomach and died one hour later while the flank gunner Davies was severely wounded in the stomach and the left eye. Two other members of the crew – Price and Pitt – were less severely wounded. One of the engines on the right wing was put out of action and the right fuel tank started to burn. The attack lasted fifteen minutes and Smith was forced to ditch at 16:20 near Tobruk (position 32o 19’ N 23o 42’ E).
Monti ordered Bladelli to return to T3 and with the last fuel left he directed the Italian torpedo-boat Rosolino Pilo to the Sunderland before returning to Tobruk T2bis. Here he immediately took off in a CR.32 to continue to guide the Italian ship toward the British aircraft, which was reached at 19:00. The Sunderland had maintained w/t contact with base and this only ceased when the Italian ship came alongside.
A CR.32 of the 160a Squadriglia, flown by Sergente Giovacchini, witnessed the whole action and continued to signal the position of the sinking Sunderland to Rosolino Pilo’s crew while Monti was away.
The British crew was captured except for Jones who had succumbed to his wounds and thus was left inside the Sunderland which sank while the Italian sailors were trying to take it in tow.
This was the first Sunderland admitted lost to the Italians in North Africa and was shared between Monti and Bladelli.

[Oggie2620]

As usual the "cinderella" command doing sterling work!
Dee