HMCS Huron Association - Were You Ever Torpedoed?

Were You Ever Torpedoed?

The following is a true story and no element of it has been enhanced. It started from a question that was posed to me some time ago in Arizona. “Were you ever hit by a torpedo?” This could be a good title for the explanation that I gave them. I had almost forgotten about the incident, but then it all came back to me like it was yesterday.

In the spring of 1944 prior to the invasion of Europe a number of ships were deployed to the English Channel to form up with the 10th Destroyer Flotilla. Their duty was to clear the channel of German shipping and naval vessels. The first four Canadian Tribal Class Destroyers were assigned to that duty, HMCS Huron being one of them. From the cold of Arctic convoy duty to the warmth (??) of the English Channel was sure a pleasant change for the crew.

This also meant exercises in preparation for the invasion. One day it was a practice torpedo run where we fired off a dummy head at a target vessel, not to hit but to lay off it. On the date of the exercise we left Plymouth Harbour with a small Skate Class Destroyer that was to be our target vessel. The crew was closed up to action stations as we were always in danger of German air attack. In due time all was ready and off went the torpedo towards the target ship. It was about that time when a message arrived at “B” gun for Eric (Stormy) Ross and myself to muster at the sea boat (whaler) with our life jackets. When we arrived we were met by Leading Seamen Salty Godsell, Robbie Robinson, Alex Polowin, and another seaman whose name I have forgotten. We were the ones chosen to crew the whaler to locate the torpedo and tow it back to the ship. The 1st Lt., Patrick Budge was overseeing the launching. When the whaler was lowered to deck level we boarded it and went through the ritual of getting it under way. When we were out of hearing distance we asked Salty how far we would have to row the boat. With a grin on his face he said that the torpedoes rarely went further than five miles. My arms were getting tired and we had not gone much more than half a mile. It was then that we noted that our ship was steaming away at full speed and the Skate Class Destroyer had long disappeared. Now we were alone with the wind freshening up fast and no torpedo. It seemed that we had been pulling on the oars forever with waves splashing over the gunwhales when Salty said that he thought that he could see the torpedo. We eventually got up beside the torpedo, which was on end with the dummy head breaking water and then disappearing slowly below the surface. It was then that a wave picked the whaler up and se it right down on the head of the torpedo. With a loud crash it came through the hull of the whaler where my feet were. The next wave picked us up off the torpedo leaving a large hole where the water came in quickly filling the boat up over the seats (thwarts) we were sitting on. Now the waves were coming over the gunwhales but the flotation tanks kept us from sinking and with some luck, Salty was able to get a line on the torpedo. Now without a ship in sight anywhere all we could do was to try and hold the boat into the wind. Sitting in cold salt water up to our waists we were not the happiest of seamen. It seemed like an eternity before someone spotted smoke on the horizon. Fortunately it turned out to be the Huron returning and not a German ship. We then tried to row to the ship and with a lot of effort we got within hailing distance only to be told that someone should be bailing the boat out. The torpedo party then relieved us of the torpedo and the whaler was made ready to hoist out of the water. We were then told we could scramble up the ladder onto the deck. We thought that we would be able to get some dry clothing but were told to proceed to our action stations again as we were still under the risk of an air attack. That was just a day in the life of a sailor in World War Two. So, to answer the fellow’s question “Were you ever hit by a torpedo?” The answer should be “Yeah, sort of, but never in a ship!”

Submitted by George MacDonald