Petersburg High School - Missile Yearbook (Petersburg, VA)

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10 The Missile minutes later one of the lookouts reported a torpedo on port beam. A torpedo was headed directly for us. We again sounded the siren and by a quick movement we swung to starboard, the torpedo running down our star- board side not ten feet away. A narrow escape that was. Several minutes later the Wyoming and Delaware were fired at, but missed. The Delaware sighted the subma- rine that fired at her and retaliated with her five inch bat- tery. No definite knowledge could be obtained as to whether any submarines were destroyed. We headed southwest and got out of the nest of sub- marines, but as soon as darkness descended we went back again and picked up our convoy. This is just one of a great many exciting adventures that we had while performing duty in the winter months. February , igi 8 — TheU. S. S. Texas arrived at Scapa Flow about 1:05 P. M. to join the Sixth Battle Squadron, after having made the trip overseas alone and without accident. March 8 t igi 8 — The Sixth Battle Squadron left Scapa Flow at 12:10 A. M. to make a usual convoy trip. We had fairly good weather on the 9th and 10th, and put our con- voy into Bergen about 10 P. M. on the 10th. We steamed around in circles that day and night, intending to pick up our return convoy and start back about 6 A. M. the next morning. The next morning we were called at four A. M. to mount our battle stations, as we were in the heart of the submarine zone. German cruisers and raiders were also frequent visitors in this vicinity. About 4:45 P. M., just daybreak, we could see the day was going to be cloudy and dark. About 5:15 A. M. an excedingly dark fog settled. We could not see parts of

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The Missile 9 Bergen, Norway. Of course this carried us directly through the North Sea, and not many miles from where the German Fleet was lying. We put our convoy into port about noon on the 8th of February, and were wait- ing for another to come out to take back south, when about 2 P. M. the submarine warning was given. The four of us were steaming abreast. The New York and Wyoming were on our port and the Delaware on our starboard. The Wyoming was the first to sight the sub- marine and gave the warning. Almost instantaneously with the receiving of the warning two torpedoes were seen several hundred feet off headed directly for the Flo- rida. We hoisted signal that a torpedo was crossing from starboard to port and gave two long blasts on the siren to denote our changing course. The Delaware made a sharp turn to starboard. The Florida made a sharp turn to port, while the Wyoming and New York turned quick- ly to starboard. The torpedoes went between the Flo- rida and Wyoming, missing each about twenty-five feet. Quick, masterful directing by our Captain, now Rear Ad- miral Thomas Washington, saved us from an almost cer- tain accident. We again fell into battle formation. But peace was not long ours. Suddenly, not five hundred feet away, directly between the Florida and Delaware, a periscope was discovered, no doubt getting a range on us. We could not fire for fear of hitting a torpedo boat that was near. This torpedo boat made for the peri- scope. The submarine commander evidently saw it com- ing, for he immediately submerged. The torpedo boat passed directly over this spot and dropped several depth bombs, which are supposed to have damaged the subma- rine. This was an afternoon of excitement. About ten

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The Missile ii our own ship, and as for the other ships we had no idea where they were. We were in constant danger of running down or being run down by some of the other ships. There were sixteen torpedo boats scattered around the battle ship. Lights of every description were posi- tively prohibited when in the submarine zone, still, to safe- guard the lives of thousands of sailors, and the ships too, we were forced to use our large searchlights, which, as strong as they are, failed to pierce this thick fog for more than about five hundred feet. We also ran great risks in blowing our siren every few minutes to warn the other ships. The fog got thicker, and we reported to plotting room that visibility was zero. The uncanny stillness was often broken by the dull, abrupt sound of a siren, now on this side and then on the other. The ships had be- come separated and were groping about blindly. Sud- denly, on our port bow, coming through the fog like a ghost, we caught the faint glimmer of a light. We could not tell whether it was headed towards us or going par- allel with us. It seemed to grow brighter. On it came. We could not tell whether this light was being focused over the bow of the ship or over the side. Each second now its brightness increased until suddenly the huge for- ward guns of the Texas broke through the fog and bore down on us, and we could see that she was headed straight for our port beam, and not six hundred feet away. She was too close and going too fast to stop in time. We thought we would be crumpled and sunk. (My battle station at this time was in the forward “crow’s nest,” and I instinctively looked down into the dark North Sea to see just how far I would have to fall or jump.) We rang for full speed ahead and hard left rudder.