NAVY NEWS, JULY 1993 I

BATTLE OF THE

ON MAY 31,1943 the Battle of the Atlantic had beenwon, the tide of the battle changing when AdmiralKarl Doenitz, commander of the U-boat Fleet,ordered the withdrawal of submarines from theNorth Atlantic.

Fifty years on the victory was remembered and com-memorated in style in Liverpool, headquarters of the Wes-tern Approaches Command and Britain's main convoyport throughout the Second World War.

Despite the gloomy weather which surrounded the five-dayprogramme of events, thousands of veterans, from as far afieldas Canada and the USA, joined over a million visitors to paytribute to those who took part in the battle.

Among the ships visiting Liverpool after taking part in theFleet Review were the Russian destroyer Gremyashchy, theCanadian Annapolis Class frigate Nipigon, the Polish frigateKaszub and the South African Fleet Replenishment Vessel Dra-kensberg. The Mersey also played host to the German U-BoatU-25 which berthed alongside HMS Oracle at Birkenhead's Al-bert Dock.

Royal visitors to the city included the Queen and the Duke ofEdinburgh and the Prince and Princess of Wales who attendeda Service of Commemoration at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral.

"The major events of the weekend will be remembered bymany people — the outstanding marchpast, which was thebiggest naval marchpast since the Second World War, the fly-past, the gala charity concert at Goodison Park and the deeplymoving service of commemoration,' said Flag Officer PlymouthVice-Admiral Sir Roy Newman.

"Many of the estimated one million people who visited Mer-seyside, including those who took the opportunity to visit theships, will have a lasting imression of the spirit of internationalco-operation that has been so evident during thecommemoration."

• Above: HMS Liverpool,along with ships of theinternational fleet, enjoyedcalmer waters at Moelfre,off Anglesey, during theReview rehearsal. Theweather was to deteriorateconsiderably before theFleet Review took place.

• Right: Among the Royalvisitors to the city were thePrince and Princess ofWales who attended a Ser-vice of Commemoration atthe Anglican Cathedral.After the service thePrince took the salute onthe cathedral steps duringthe Parade of Standards.• Left: A rousing cheerfrom the people of Liver-pool as over 3,000 veter-ans and 1,000 sailors, fromUK and foreign ships visit-ing the Mersey, marchthrough the city centre ledby one of the Bands of theRoyal Marines.

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FORCE eight winds, grey skies, driving rain and mountainousseas-weather which used to keep the U-boats at bay duringthe Battle of the Atlantic.

Fifty years on and in similar con-"Having been in Liverpool throughout the

ditions, the image of the convoys commemoration of BA 93, 1 am in nowas vividly recreated as one of the doubt that it was an outstanding success.largest peacetime gatherings of This success was sounded upon the hardwarships since the Jubilee in 1977 work dedication and imagination of allmet off Anglesey for the Fleet those involved in the setting up and run-Review. ning of the organisation and to all those

who took part. It was a faultless perfor-The 26 warships and seven merchant yes- mance which reflects the greatest credit on

sels had gathered at Moelfre - the old con- all our people.voy-assembling ground - but as theweather worsened overnight several of thesmaller ships, including HMS Biter, Charger

"Despite the weather, all the ships andpersonnel were uniformly smart, cheerful

and Puncher, were forced to withdraw. Other and professionaL The whole event hascasualties included the American mine shown the Royal Navy at its best andcountermeasures vessel USS Devastator, drawn the most favourable and warmwhich sought shelter with her sister ship comment."USS Scout, after losing power and snapping First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Benjaminher moorings, and UMAS Loyal Volunteer, BathurstChancellor and Watcher. One of the smallestships to survive the battering was HMS Hum-bar, Commodore RNR, which managed tostay in line throughout the review.

HMY Britannia, already delayed by half anhour, was forced to reduce her speed from

As the wind lessened and the clouds mo- 16 to 12 knots but, despite the conditions

mentarily parted a fly-past of naval aircraft the Duke of Edinburgh and King Herald of- without two Second World War Swordfish, Norway, wearing the uniform of Honorarydeemed too fragile to survive the rough con- Colonel Royal Marines, braced themselvesditions - and two 21-gun salutes fired by on the deck to take the salute and acknowl-the Fleet's Flagship, HMS Cornwall, her- edge the cheers of the gathered ships'aided the start of the review, companies.

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beneath gigantic wavesl) anduardship HMS Active, leading the's Cambria with over 800 veterans

)U5 review had been held in sucher but the spirit of the inter-&et remained high as Britannialute from RN and RFA ships in-rpool, Chiddingtold, Quom, Mid-FA Olmeda, anchored alongside

ii Commonwealth frigates and

Iters were also at anchor in tn-28,000 merchant seamen lost

Battle of the Atlantic.

w was the curtain-raiser to corn-s held in Liverpool and, on com-my of the ships headed for thesin in the week-long celebrations.of Edinburgh was joined the fol-by the Queen who visited Alberthe opening of the Baffle of theallery at Merseyside Maritime

",acting a Royal Guard of Honourock she met many veterans in--year-old Owen Tracy.

mad the Royal Navy in 1908 andFirst World War destroyers andi Pensioned in 1922 he went ona piermaster on the Mersey dur-Ic.

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Pictures (clockwise from centre):HMY Britannia ploughs through heavy seas past the Danish mine-layer Sjaelland (N83) and the Brazilian frigate Defansors (F41).

Inset: The Duke of Edinburgh and King Herald of Norway (secondleft) on board the Royal Yacht as HMS Cornwall fires the first of two

21-gun salutes marking the start of the Review.

The ship's company of HMS Cornwall raise a cheer as Britanniasails by.

HMS Bulldog almost disappears beneath the waves giving many ofthe embarked Press a rough ride.

Hunt Class mine countermeasures vessels HM ships Middletonand Quorn alongside in Albert Dock.

A proud moment for 102-year-old Owen Tracy as he is presented tothe Queen during her visit to Albert Dock.

Standard bearers march through Liverpool city centre during thecommemorative parade.

The Fleet Tanker Olmeda, the RFA's representative at the Review.

Dressed overall are the French destroyer Aconit and the Polishfrigate K.ezsub.

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Photos: PO(Phots) Tel Harding and Fez Parker -DPR(N); LA(Phots) Tony Power and Gary Davies -,FOSFPU; LA(Phot) Andy White - Flag Officer Ply-mouth; PO(Phot) Paul

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IV NAVY NEWS, JULY 1993

Secrets of wart/meHO revealed

BENEATH an office block in the centre of Liverpool the secrets of the nervecentre of Allied operations during the Battle of the Atlantic lay forgotten. Now, 50years on, the Western Approaches Combined Headquarters has been fullyrestored on its original site, Derby House, and was officially opened during thecelebrations by CINCFLEET Admiral Sir Hugo White, accompanied by FlagOfficer Plymouth Vice-Admiral Sir Roy Newman.

At the centre of the re-stored bunker, built on theorders of Winston Churchillto replace the first com-mand centre set up in Plym-outh, is the huge operationsroom complete with wallcharts on which the move-ments of Allied and enemyships were plotted — theheadquarters commandedoperations over 12 millionsquare miles of sea.

Operations roomOriginal furnishings and

equipment have been collectedand Admiral Sir Max Morton'sglass-fronted office, whichoverlooked the operationsroom, has been fully recreatedright down to the original in-tray.

One of the first visitors toDerby House was 68-year-oldNaomi Whittal, pictured rightwith Commandant WRNSAnne Spencer. Sitting at the re-stored switchboard she was

Survivors of HMS Manners, torpedoed by U-1051 22 miles offHoly head in 1945, held a remembrance service at sea over thespot where the ship was lost. Pictured before the service are,front left, Adalbert Walczak, a former U-boat submariner, andCapt. Denis Jermain, the frigate's commanding officer.

aircraft in an hour-long displayover the Mersey.

Crowds lined the banks onboth sides of the river to watchBattle of Britain Spitfires andan American B17 Flying For-tress sweep low over HMSCornwall, berthed in theMersey.

SwordfishHighlight of the display was

the appearance of two FaireySwordfish, one of which wasthe only aircraft in the flypastto have taken part in the Battleof the Atlantic. Built in 1943 itflew from the Merchant Air-craft Carrier (MAC ship)Rapana.

The display also included anacrobatic display by two Lynxhelicopters from RN air stationPortland, five Sea Harriers andtwo Sea Kings from RN air sta-tion Yeoviltpn and a furtherthree Sea Kings from RN airstation Culdrose.

able to recall her wartime daysas a telephone operator work-ing day and night in the secretbunker.

Another permanent memori-

STAMP OFAPPROVAL

al to those who served in theconvoys is the new Battle of theAtlantic Gallery at MerseysideMaritime Museum which wasopened by the Queen.

The gallery highlights therole of the Merchant Navyalongside that of the RoyalNavy and among objects ondisplay are original guns, depthcharges and bombs, a 22ft, tor-pedo, a German enigmamachine — used for sendingand receiving coded messages— and personal memorabiliafrom those involved in thecampaign.

Archive filmThere are also full-sized re-

constructions, archive film andtaped reminiscences whichbring the battle to life.

The Merseyside Marit imeMuseum, in Albert Dock, isalso staging an exhibition of 26oil paintings, called War at Sea,by John Hamilton, a leadingpainter of the Second WorldWar at sea.

Further tribute to the heroesof the convoys was paid by 35modern and historic military

Two Fairey Swordfish from the Second World War fly over theMersey during the hour-long display of modern and historicaircraft

Bands mass at Goodison

COMMANDING officer of the Russian destroyer Gremyashchy,Captain 2nd Rank Viktor Belkin, signs and stamps a specialbatch of RN Philatelies BA93 commemorative covers in hiscabin watched by, left, Charles Stirling, RN Philatelic Officerand Robert Lavery, interpreter at the Defence School of Lan-guages, Beaconsfield. The ship was alongside in Liverpoolduring the Battle of the Atlantic celebrations.

The covers, which were also signed by Vice-Admiral Y. G.Ustimenko, First Deputy Commander of the Russian NationalFleet, are to be offered by Charles Stirling for auction with allproceeds going to the KGFS.

Anyone who wishes to bid for one of the covers shouldcontact him at 1 Woodhenge, Badger Heights, Houndstone,Yeovil, Somerset BA22 8TT.

COLD winds and drivingrain could not dampen thespirits of all those whopacked the stands at Goo-dison Park for the MassedBands Charity Concert, at-tended by the Prince ofWales.

The concert, held in aid ofthe KGFS, included perfor-mances by the Massed Bandsof North West Area SeaCadets, the King's Squad RMand RM Corps of Drums andthe Massed Bands of theRoyal Marines.

Parachutists from the RMFree Fall team also "droppedin" on Everton's ground butlost one team member whenhe overshot the stadium onlyto land, safely, in an adjacentpub car park!

Highlight of the evening wasa performance by opera DivaLesley Garrett who sang ex-cerpts from the specially-composed Battle of the Atlan-tic Suite. Protected from therain by a gallant Royal Marinesporting a large umbrella sherounded off the concert byleading the audience inseveral rousing renditions ofSecond World War "favour-ites".