Submariner (2008) Read Online Free

half a chance – and the pongos they’re picking up – hell, tank crews, gunners, SS, whatever
     – Afrika Korps anyway, for God’s sake!’
    Mike had known he’d be called on to explain this. He said, ‘The one fish I had left in a tube, sir, was a Mark IV.’
    ‘Oh. Oh,
was
it …’
    With Mark IVs, 1914–18 vintage, you couldn’t alter the depth-setting, as you could with Mark VIIIs, once they were in the
     tubes. So that deep-set torpedo would have run under the shallow-draft destroyer and been wasted, pointlessly. He added to
     Shrimp, ‘I thought of bottoming and putting a shallow-set reload in – would have taken half an hour though –’
    ‘By which time they’d have cleared off. The transport having sunk.’A nod. ‘Only reason for hanging around would have been to
     hunt
you
. And they could have had others join them and take over.’
    ‘Did seem wiser to skedaddle. I was a bit nervous of the air too – in those shallows. And as you say, sir, that close to Benghazi.
     I’ve roughed out a patrol report – only in longhand so far, but –’
    ‘I’m sure Miss Gomez will help out.’ Shrimp glanced at the sheaf of signal-pad pages in Mike’s hand. Miss Gomez was Shrimp’s
     secretary. ‘In the morning. She’ll have gone home by now. What about your mail?’
    ‘Hell, yes …’
    As if it hadn’t been in his mind, at least in the back of it, from the moment he’d walked in here. Well, for
weeks
. Only exercising restraint – whether or not Shrimp would have given a damn. But delving now in
Ursa
’s pigeon-hole, shuffling the pack and dealing out his own, two air-letters and a bill from Gieves the naval tailors – instantly
     recognisable, they’d been sending it repeatedly over recentmonths. With all respect to them, they rather encouraged late payment, by having allowed it to be known that when an officer
     who owed them money was killed on active service his debt was automatically written off.
    The air-letters were from his father, and Ann Melhuish. Hers familiar enough to him despite her having scribbled a fictional
     name and address as ‘Sender’, in that space on the back.
    He poked the Gieves envelope back into the hole, folded the air-letter forms together and stuffed them in a pocket. She was
     taking a hell of a risk, he thought. Might not have appreciated the degree of it, if she’d written this a few weeks ago –
     which she might have done, it could have been lying here, courtesy of Fleet Mail, while they’d been disporting themselves
     in and around Haifa. He followed Shrimp out into the arcade and to the right. ‘You mentioned not long ago, sir, that Charles
     Melhuish was joining us with a new U-class?’
    ‘Melhuish …’
    Giving it thought, the name as yet unfamiliar. Then getting there: ‘Melhuish – yes.
Unsung
. Sailing from Gib tomorrow, as it happens. Yes, that’s another.’ Counting on his fingers: ‘Three already out, those two on
     their way, three still to come from Aegean patrols – then
Tango
passing through and
Swordsman
on loan from the 8th Flotilla – and you, of course. Is Melhuish a contemporary of yours?’
    ‘Two or three years junior to me. Roughly that. Since his Perisher he’s had a training boat based on Campbeltown. Well, last
     I heard –’
    ‘
Unsung
’s his first operational command, then. Good Lord, hang on …’ Stopping, pointing at a Chief PO who’d saluted him in passing.
     Shrimp staring for a moment, then his face clearing.
    ‘Dennison.’
    ‘Spot on, sir.’ Broad smile. ‘Served with you in
Porpoise
. Killick torpedoman I was then, you put me through for PO.’
    ‘Haven’t wasted your time since, have you. Well done.’ Shaking hands. ‘What are you doing now?’
    ‘TGM in
Unbowed
, sir.’ The letters stood for Torpedo Gunner’s Mate. ‘Joined her in Haifa. Got sunk in
Medway
, then in Haifa so happened
Unbowed
’s TI got ’isself landed to hospital, so – pierhead jump!’
    ‘Sorry for the other