Our unreported war
THE FLEET'S in town … or it will be when they re-open the naval base on Salisbury Island. And, just by chance, a fascinating document comes this way about the protracted and almost completely unreported naval engagement off our coast during World War II.
Durban – Salisbury Island - was right in the thick of it, though nobody spoke of the emergency and hardly anything has been written about it.
An astonishing 26 Allied ships – troopships and merchantmen – were sunk by enemy submarines off the coast of Natal and Pondoland between 1942 and 1944, according to the document, produced by the Natal Society Foundation.
Imagine if Salisbury Island had not been there as a naval base to counter all this. It was the key to control of the Indian Ocean. Nobody would wish anything similar to happen again and, true, it's not even on the horizon. But the easiest way to get engulfed by war is to sit back and hope it won't happen.
St Lucia
ANOTHER key was the squadron of Royal Air Force Catalina flying boats based at St Lucia, which conducted huge sweeps over the Indian ocean. A Catalina sank a German U-boat – U197 – 100 miles east of St Lucia and south of Madagascar, according to the document.
I have a little peripheral knowledge of this because my Dad was stationed with the artillery battery at St Lucia and they often hitched a ride with the Catalinas, just for the heck of it. He brought back some fascinating photographs. One series was of a submarine being sunk by a Catalina. They were automatically taken by the aircraft's cameras.
It was graphic and horrifying stuff. The crew were taken completely by surprise as they did their washing on the submarine's deck, unaware of the Catalina's approach as it came out of the sun and against the wind, this muffling the sound of the engines.
Then absolute horror on their faces as they looked up to see what was approaching. Then great gouts of water as the Catalina straddlled the submarine with depth charges.
But here's a puzzle. My Dad always said this was an Italian submarine, not a U-boat. Could it be that St Lucia's kill rate was rather higher than believed?
Empty ocean
ANOTHER very poignant Catalina photograph was of two lifeboats from an Allied ship that had been sunk a long way offshore. They were under sail and the occupants waved to the Catalina as it circled and radioed back their position.
But something went wrong – either a navigational error or some kind of catastrophic squall. When the crashboat got there from St Lucia, the lifeboats were not to be found.
Empty ocean. There's nothing glamorous about war.
Catalina Bay
YET ANOTHER photograph showed the aftermath of when a Catalina crashed on landing on the lake. It was at a spot still called Catalina Bay.
That Catalina had on board a full payload of depth charges. They never were defused or detonated. The sands of St Lucia soon enough covered the wreck and everyone forgot about it.
How long does it take for depth charges to corrode until they are no longer a danger? Tread carefully!
Bite the coin
THE FINANCIAL fundis have been writing lately about a commodity called Bitcoin, which was apparently a kind of internet currency, existing only in cyberspace as a theoretical abstraction. But it had a value, which virtually disappeared when the bubble burst.
Dear me. Here I was a traditionalist thinking Bitcoin meant a return to sanity and the gold standard; that we would be biting coins again to test their gold content.
But it was just another cybertrick. Cruel hoax!
Tailpiece
PADDY and Mick go into a chocolateur's. Mick surreptitiously lifts three chocolate bars and puts them in his pocket. Outside, Paddy says: "Well done, Mick. But I'll show you someting better. Follow me."
They go back into the shop. Paddy marches up to the shopkeeper.
"You want to see Irish magic?"
"Okay."
"Give me a chocolate bar!"
The shopkeeper complies. Paddy chomps it down.
"Give me anudder!"
He gives him another chocolate bar, Paddy chomps it.
"Now anudder!"
The shopkeeper hands over a third chocolate bar and again Paddy chomps it.
"But where's the Irish magic?"
"Ah, just look in me friend's pocket. You'll find all tree in dere."
Last word
If a thing isn't worth saying, you sing it.
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