Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length.

[justboatonic]

Goodness me. Watched a proggie on tv this afternoon about HMS Manchester on the Malta convoy and the Captain's decision to scuttle his badly damaged ship. The stories from some of the veterans when the ship was hit by Italian torpedoes really opened my eyes.

Remarkable men in a remarkable time.

[Daryl]

HMS Manchester is mentioned in the book' HMS Gloucester the untold story' by Ken Otter. Her captain got court martialled over her scuttleing which is scandelious as he was in a no win situation and his thoughts were for the safty of his crew. He should have got a medal.

HMS Gloucester on the other hand wass ent out with hardly any ammunition with the prospect of heavy air raids, her crew were machine gunned in the water and their story of how they survived is amazing.

Here in Gloucester we are very proud of our modern ship D96, and her predesessors, long may she serve our country and we all hope there won't be a long wait before another one is commissioned.

Daryl

[Colin Bishop]

If I remember correctly, Manchester was unique among the Southampton class cruisers in having a pronounced knuckle to the bow and being painted in China colours before the war, white hull and buff funnels. Am I right? A model in China colours would be something differerent indeed.

[DickyD]

Took me a while Colin but you were right.

[DickyD]

By the way Manchester was Gloucester Class not Southampton Class Colin.

[Colin Bishop]

You've earned yourself a Smartie Richard.