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Atlantic Express, Chapter 36, by justjames17.
Foxhound slewed away from the huge dark menacing shape, her hull heeling over as she raced away into the darkness. Bradley, Bryce and Mark slid across the steel deck to fetch up against the hot funnel in a tangle of bodies arms and legs flailing about trying to arrest their movement. The hot steel burning their bare flesh caused them to throw themselves away as the destroyer righted her heel and straightened up. The black night was suddenly bright as day as a searchlight flashed on behind them illuminating the fleeing destroyer as the vessel behind them spat fire and smoke, the sound of 15inch guns deafened those on her decks and bridge as the roaring rush sounded as the massive shells passed overhead to splash down far ahead of her bows.
Huge gouts of spray soared high into the black night as Fox Hound began to weave from port to starboard to throw off the gunners on the enemy battleship, the enemy destroyers gave chase but stayed to port and starboard giving the capital ship an open range on the tiny fleeing destroyer. The heavy guns boomed again and again but their accuracy was out one shell glanced off the aft funnel as it passed overhead ripping it out of the deck snapping the wire stays and sending it crashing overboard, Bradley, Bryce and Mark were lucky it was the aft funnel not the forward one they were close to. The three scrabbled to get off the open deck and under cover; the gaping hole where the aft funnel once stood belched fumes and sparks as the engines strained at maximum revolutions driving her slender hull through the calm but shell splashed seas.
Slowly the Fox Hound opened the range on the slower battleship but her escorts still came after her shelling her unmercifully, luck was with the British as the Italian gunners were hopelessly inaccurate and the Fox Hound had the edge in speed the enemy pursued her for some distance before turning about and racing back to take up their positions guarding their massive consort. Fox Hound sped on, her crew breathing a sigh of relief, Charles was worried they had been seen and hoped the enemy didn't realise where she was bound. She raced on through the night arriving off the coast before dawn; Fox Hound crept close into the harbour cautiously not knowing if the enemy had seized it or if it was still in allied hands. She crept to the long wharf in the gloom and gently nudged her hull against the rubber tyres hanging as buffers the squeal of tortured rubber on steel shattered the quiet early morning air as she stopped. A group of figures appeared from the loom of a long shed and an Australian voice called out, "What ship?"
Charles called back, "H.M.S. Fox Hound bringing commandoes to help you beat back the Germans."
The voice replied, "Thank God for your arrival we need every man we can get, the Jerries are nearly into the town."
In the distance Charles could hear the sounds of gunfire as the commandoes formed up on deck to go ashore, Bryce and Bradley stood talking to young Mark wishing him good luck and hoping he would be ok. The commando's colonel ordered the men to fall in and the men soon filed off to march proudly away into the night, the Australian officer asked Charles if he could lay down some heavy fire on the large hill looming over the city as that was where the enemy were moving on and their forces were falling back to the outskirts of the town. Charles peered through his binoculars into the gloom, which was lightening as dawn approached. He told the officer he could lay down fire as they moved out of the harbour if he thought it might assist and the army man thanked him as he checked with his radio operator that their own forces were clear, he told Charles all was ready if he could lay a barrage on the hill it would help them greatly.
Charles agreed and asked that the wounded be quickly brought aboard, a line of stretcher-bearers appeared carrying the wounded troops to the destroyer where they were quickly loaded aboard and taken below decks. Fifty three wounded men were taken on and Charles thanked the officer and ordered the lines cast off and the mooring lines were pulled aboard.
Fox Hound cast off and her engines running astern she moved slowly out away from the wharf and turned broadside on to the shore as her guns moved to line up on the now visible hill. The order given, her guns belched shaking her narrow hull as she slowed and drifted, broadside after broadside roared flinging their harbingers of death and destruction towards the brooding hill. Flashed lit the early morning air as her shells impacted exploding violently amidst the rocks and trees. She peppered the hill with shells doing huge damage to the overconfident massed enemy, who were not expecting a warship to be there pounding their advance. Confusion set in as men and equipment were pulverised by the shells, fire broke out in the area where much of this units munitions were being stored, the dry scrub catching fire adding to the confusion.
The allied forces opened fire engaging the disorientated paratroops driving them back up the hill, Charles ordered cease fire and saw the army officer on the wharf wave his thanks as Charles ordered the ship slow ahead and steer 090, Fox Hound slowly turned her bow to the east and the open sea and began steaming away from the port. She increased speed her white frothing wake spreading behind her on the blue Aegean as she made good her departure from the troubled shore, hoping the enemy air force were too busy elsewhere to attack a lone destroyer.
Fox Hound raced at flank speed until well over the horizon as she steered towards the island of Crete, Charles day dreamed of the fleets of yore that sailed these waters. The Greeks sailing to do battle at Troy and the Phoenicians and Roman galleys that plied around both the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. Charles sat on his stool at the windbreak day dreaming of the daring adventures of Jason and the Argonauts in their search for the Golden Fleece. The bridge crew watched their captain as he sat head on hands staring into the distance.
Charles awoke from his reverie and shook his head looking about the bridge, the crew snapped alert as he turned and the lookouts scanned the horizon with renewed eagerness. Charles stretched and stood up paced across to the port bridge wing to look at the upper deck where the aft funnel once stood, he saw the heat fumes and hoped the engines were not affected by the change in draft. He walked to the engine voice pipe and blew into it listened then hearing the chief's braw Scottish accent asked him if all was well below since the rude demolition of the funnel. The chief chuckled and said, "Och aye sir it takes more than that to upset my engines, they are fine sir."
Charles grinned and thanked the chief then told the first lieutenant he was going below to see the wounded troops and he was to be called if anything untoward occurred. He made his way below and began working his way from stretcher to stretcher seeing the pale unshaven faces some swathed in blood soaked bandages, the dark circled eyes staring back at his as he spoke quietly to each wounded soldier. The sick berth attendant was busy changing dressings and trying to make the tired and pain filled men as comfortable as he could with the limited supplies and medical knowledge he had, Fox Hound had no surgeon to take charge so the young sailor was doing his best.
Charles complimented the youth and told him he was doing a sterling job then made his way back to the bridge, his mind filled with the visions of pain and misery he'd witnessed below and the moans of the wounded echoing in his ears. He took a deep breath of sea air to get rid of the smell of blood, sweat and excrement as he looked about the ship; he picked up his binoculars and scanned the horizon looking for any sign of enemy retaliation. Nothing blemished the shining blue sea and Charles turned Alan his first officer and said, "I think we need to give young Purvis a helper he is overloaded with all these wounded men to look after, designate someone to give him a hand number one."
Alan turned to Charles and said, "Aye, Aye sir, what about I send Bryce below to assist?"
Charles nodded and said, "Carry on number one, I'll get Bradley to also give the lads a hand, he has some first aide training."
The problem dealt with Charles resumed his constant scanning of the sea and sky searching for any trouble that might be coming their way, all was quiet and peaceful and Charles breathed a sigh of relief that they had escaped retribution for their act of shelling the German forces. Only time would tell if their luck continued but the further away the steamed the safer they were from attack. Crete loomed on the horizon as Fox Hound made good her escape, the island was well off the starboard bow when the port lookout called out, "Torpedo tracks off the port bow."
Charles spun around and there in his glasses he could see four crisp white wakes heading straight at their side he bellowed hard to port trying to swing the boat to head towards the submerged missiles so Fox Hound could comb the tracks allowing the torpedos to pass on each side. The bows swung as the huge rudder gripped the resisting water dragging the hull around, the bridge crew held their breaths as the bows swung towards the racing missiles, time seemed to stop everything in slow motion but eventually the bow centred between two approaching wakes and the torpedos raced past the destroyer's hull.
Charles was ecstatic the manoeuvre succeeded and as Fox Hound continued down the fading wakes he ordered the asdic dome be lowered and the hunt was on. Ping after ping echoed through the depths with no reply to indicate the enemy was there and Charles knew it was only luck if a single hunter could locate a submerged sub; the odds were heavily in the submarines favour as it could dodge the hunting vessel easily. Charles also knew he couldn't spend time hunting her as he needed to transport the wounded soldiers quickly to Alexandria where they could be hospitalised and their wounds treated.
The Fox Hound coursed back and forth over and across the area before turning her bow back on course for her destination. The rest of the trip was incident free except for the loss of two badly wounded troops. Foxhound raised the breakwater at Alexandria and made her number to the shore station as the old boom defence tug, puffing thick smoke into the clear blue sky, opened the protecting antisubmarine net. Fox Hound steamed slowly into port and made her way to the wharf she was directed to, as she slowly moved alongside a fleet of military ambulances drove up to stop at her berth. The mooring ropes were passed ashore and the brow or gangplanks run out while the wounded were being brought on deck, Charles rang down finished with engines and Fox Hound's engines became silent.
The wounded soldiers were swiftly carried to the waiting ambulances, thanking the crew and were driven away towards the sprawling city. The Fox Hound was safe in harbour surrounded by a huge fleet of warships, Charles relaxed and went to inspect the damage done by the battleships shell, he peered down into the black sooty outlet in the deck feeling the residual heat still emanating from the now silent engines. The chief engineer appeared with the second engineer to look at the mess and it looked like they would be in port till the damage was repaired.
A signal was sent to the dockyard and Charles went to have a shower and change out of his sweaty grubby uniform. After showering Charles put on the clean uniform Bradley had laid out for him and he sat down to eat the hot meal prepared while he was showering. The ship was quiet without the engines running and the huge fans silent that sucked air down into the oil fired furnaces to create the heat to turn water to steam for the turbines. Only the sound of the odd footsteps passing past the closed cabin door as crewmembers went about their duties. Charles finished his meal and relaxed pulled out a packet of Players cigarettes from his desk drawer and took one out lighting it and taking a mouthful of smoke into his lungs, Charles rarely smoked but he felt the need after the tension of the last sortie.
He wondered how the defenders were faring against the Germans and hoped the commandos were all ok especially young Mark whom he had found very appealing and sexy, he heard Bradley pottering about in his nook and called for him to come into his cabin. Bradley appeared wiping his hands and Charles intimated that he sit down as he offered him a cigarette. Bradley smiled and thanked Charles as he took a cigarette and lit it, Charles looked at his old friend and steward and asked, "How were those wounded lads Bradley? They didn't look in good condition when I checked on them."
Bradley nodded blowing a plume of smoke from his lips and said, "No some of the poor devils were badly wounded and I doubt they will last more than a day or so, we did all we could for them on the way here now its up to the hospital to care for them."
Charles nodded sadly then changed the subject, "How was the little adventure with Bryce and the young commando Mark, did you enjoy yourself?"
Bradley smiled and replied, "Immensely sir, that young soldier was exceptionally tight and loved having sex and I'm sure young Bryce liked him as well. We were lucky when that shell hit the aft funnel that we weren't killed."
Charles smiled and said, "I'm glad you had some fun old friend and I think young Mark will remember that voyage for ever, I just hope he is ok back there in Greece."
Charles said, "I think we will be laid up here for some time with the number of ships damaged during the convoy, a lowly destroyer will be last on the list with capital ships having bomb damage. It will give the crew a little time to take leave and check out the wonders of
Alexandria. They will be able to experience the delights of the East, it is a bustling and very varied city where anything goes I believe."
Bradley grinned and replied, "It is that sir, I was here before the war in the HMS Warspite, I had the most incredible time in the native quarters and bazaars, sex abounded both male and female. I was glad to get back to sea after a week."
Charles laughed and said, "That doesn't sound like you Bradley I thought you were unstoppable in bed."
Bradley grinned and said, "If you haven't experienced a hot Arab lad sir you don't know what it is like."
Charles raised his eyebrows and replied, "Hmmm I think I'm going to enjoy this port."
To be continued
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