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Author Topic: Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A  (Read 11669 times)

pugwash

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #25 on: August 13, 2013, 12:03:17 am »

I was once told by an old WW2 yeoman of signals that the Admiralty believed it was easier to
conn and fight a destroyer (or smaller ship ) if it had an open bridge - Also weight was a critical factor
as the bridge roof , windows and framework would probably equate to a couple of 20mm oerlikons.
Had 2 1/2 yrs on an open bridged Battle class - fantastic out in the far east and the med. A right pain
when we went up to the Arctic Circle
Geoff
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Mad Scientist

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #26 on: August 13, 2013, 01:44:52 am »

Not being in the navy, (though my eldest sprog was trying - has to wait three years now), i assume closing up is shutting any hatches / doors etc to the elements to prevent ingress of water  :} , the anotomy series book will give you a layout, though from memory, the rear section was taken up mostly by the engine.
 
As for mods - more like ommissions, in the book it mentions that some arnament was dummy as they had nothing available, and in some cases was anything they could get their hands on, mine has an airfix single bofors in the rear bandstand and a German 88 - yes an 88 on the forward bandstand - looks better than the kit version.  :D
One of the early RCN corvettes left Canada without a gun on the fo'c'sle - just an empty gun shield, with a piece of wood substituting fore the barrel. As if that wasn't bad enough, the 'gun barrel' developed a pronounced droop during the voyage to the U.K. How embarrassing!
Tom
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derekwarner

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #27 on: August 13, 2013, 02:22:10 am »

A little of track........ :embarrassed:
One of our HMA DDG's arrived back at Garden Island from a RIMPAC exercise with what appeared to be two Rathon CWIS gatling guns????????????????  O0
Turned out that the skipper was very imaginative ....they were each made from a 44 gallon drum with a dome on the top & six pieces of 1/2"NB water pipe as barrels
Our DDG also had its pennant number painted over.......... :o
This then placed the US vessels as not prepared to send a wargame Tomahawk missile at the ship as the silhouette showed she had CWIS capability  {-)
Cruel sea these war games.........Derek
 
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warspite

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #28 on: November 01, 2013, 01:06:59 pm »

It's been back on again, watched it twice now, would love to know why they may have missed picking the sub on the asdic, was it range.
 
The scene where there were men in the water and they thought it was a sub - could it not have been the sinking ship they had just been thrown from as it went to the bottom - all ships become subs when they sink below the waves - ideally they should have circled and picked up the survivors before determining if it was the sinking vessel - just my opinion.
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Martin (Admin)

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #29 on: November 01, 2013, 01:12:30 pm »


I know it's a film, but would a WWII Captain have authority to do depth charge in an area of people in the water??
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Stu

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #30 on: November 01, 2013, 02:08:27 pm »

What a film brings back many a memory of when I joined my first ship it was tradition to watch the film on a Sunday and all new joiners had to wear foul weather gear for the duration.
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rnli12

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #31 on: November 01, 2013, 02:20:20 pm »

Hi,
If memory serves me right, preservation of life was secondary to the fighting abilty/capability of the ship; fight, float, move etc.
And I was one of those with the baptisim of the cruel sea in foulies  :-)) 
Rich
 
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Liverbudgie2

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #32 on: November 01, 2013, 02:20:41 pm »


I know it's a film, but would a WWII Captain have authority to do depth charge in an area of people in the water??

It is not a question of "authority" The CO of a warship had virtual "carte blanche" to do as he thought fit in any given situation. His orders, probably, were to escort and protect convoys from any enemy activity, if that meant dropping depth charges on a suspected contact that was taking shelter under survivors then so be it; after all what was the loss of a few survivors to the destruction of a U-Boat that could be the cause of many hundreds, maybe thousands of  deaths. Remember also that Nicholas Monsarrett wrote from experience, and that peoples attitude to life was not so soft as it is now, mores the pity.
LB
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Bryan Young

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #33 on: November 04, 2013, 02:45:14 pm »

It's been back on again, watched it twice now, would love to know why they may have missed picking the sub on the asdic, was it range.
 
The scene where there were men in the water and they thought it was a sub - could it not have been the sinking ship they had just been thrown from as it went to the bottom - all ships become subs when they sink below the waves - ideally they should have circled and picked up the survivors before determining if it was the sinking vessel - just my opinion.

The "Men In The Water".....When I was a lowly 3/O on "Norseman" circa 1962, our Ch.Steward used to find work as an"extra" in films. One of them was "The Cruel Sea". He was one of the guys in the water when Jack Hawkins drove his ship through them.
It was all done in a shallow "pool" at the studio...in fact all the "swimmers" were actually standing on the pool bottom and just thrashing about. The Corvette was only a DIY mock-up of the bow area pushed along from the (unseen) back of it. Apparently all good fun, but he recalled that the water was brass-monkeys cold. BY.
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Pondweed

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #34 on: November 04, 2013, 03:56:45 pm »

It's been back on again, watched it twice now, would love to know why they may have missed picking the sub on the asdic, was it range.
 
The scene where there were men in the water and they thought it was a sub - could it not have been the sinking ship they had just been thrown from as it went to the bottom - all ships become subs when they sink below the waves - ideally they should have circled and picked up the survivors before determining if it was the sinking vessel - just my opinion.

You mean drop rafts for the survivors. With a uboat around, I don't think a captain dare stop to lower a boat.

Watched a bit of this on TV the other day: Ericson orders abandon ship and a man 'losing his head' jumps from the gunwhale unprepared, next scene is 'Tonbridge', the seaboats coxswain(?) who takes a few seconds to prepare himself, adjusting his lifebelt, see it is inflated, etc. We see Tonbridge again by a carley float calling for survivors, you don't see the unprepared guy.


p.s. about the original question to 'pipe the silk'. I don't think the ensign was ever called silk, maybe he said 'pipe the ship'?
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Netleyned

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #35 on: November 04, 2013, 04:18:05 pm »

It would be the Still
 The still is a single note shrill pipe
when anyone on the upper deck comes to attention and faces
aft as the ensign is raised or lowered.
The next pipe is the carry on.  A shrill note that goes lower
at the tail off.

Ned.
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Martin (Admin)

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #36 on: January 31, 2017, 03:35:18 pm »

 
BBC Radio 4 Extra: Nicholas Monsarrat - The Cruel Sea. Searing tale of how the Second World War was fought in the North Atlantic.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qxyw3


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ballastanksian

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #37 on: January 31, 2017, 07:57:01 pm »

Watching HMS Barham roll over and explode her magazines under hundreds of crew shows me what a U Boat can do, so while sad, if killing a few sailors means that a sub cannot kill hundreds, then it is worth it. Without doubt, a good number of those on Barham would have been under eighteens.
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Nemo

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #38 on: February 01, 2017, 11:40:19 am »


BBC Radio 4 Extra: Nicholas Monsarrat - The Cruel Sea. Searing tale of how the Second World War was fought in the North Atlantic.http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qxyw3

 What a co-incidence! Last night I was searching for stuff on Flower-Class and I found this on YouTube and listened to it all. Very good. Thing is, having watched the film so many times, I know the script by heart!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LDkgcSex9o

BTW: Here it is from the man himself Donald Sinden (First Lt.) on how some scenes were filmed .....................

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRp9n5imXzo

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Martin (Admin)

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #39 on: February 01, 2017, 12:00:50 pm »

.....  having watched the film so many times, I know the script by heart!!


Me too!
   O0
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Nemo

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #40 on: February 01, 2017, 01:08:47 pm »

My muttering in advance drives my wife mad! {-)

Was there ever a better British war film acted like this? I don't think so.

Slight boob though - Did anyone else spot the depth-charge markings? Hardly likely in action in wartime!
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Bob K

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Re: The Cruel Sea - Q & A
« Reply #41 on: February 01, 2017, 05:43:29 pm »

I would have liked to have watched that, but it is only a radio adaptation.  There is a film on youTube, but it is only the centre of the screen, peoples heads cut off above the mouth etc.  Being B&W it is unlikely to be shown on television nowadays, so if you want to see it buy the DVD from Amazon at £14.50
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