Thunder at Dawn (23 page)

“Hard astarboard!”
Thunder
heeled as the helm went over. “Port torpedo tube stand by!” The forward-turret was grinding around. The after-turret would not bear as
Thunders
bow came around to intersect
Wolf’s
course again. The forward of the starboard six-inch still bore but pointed at the sea in that tight turn. The rangetaker’s chanting came down the voice pipe: “Eight-five-oh! … Eight-hundred! … Seven five-oh! …”
Thunder
pounded along, still heeling in the turn. The 9.2 fired from the forward-turret, the searchlights slashed once more across the dark sea but were beaten this time by the impact as the range closed. They stabbed probing white fingers that showed
Wolf
leaping at them broadside out of the dark, fresh columns of yellow flame soaring and smoke balling up. She was rushing at them but
Thunder’s
helm was still hard over.

Kennedy shouted, “Torpedo running, sir!”

Smith lifted one hand in acknowledgment and shouted in his turn, “Midships!
Thunder
hurtled down past
Wolf
at an acute angle, passing at their combined speeds of forty knots. In the swift-flying seconds as
Thunder
began to respond to the change of helm he saw on
Wolf
, lit now by a dozen fires, that her forward turret had swung to meet
Thunder’s
attack but too late. As searchlights shot their beams from her to chase
Thunder
a thumping explosion came from forward on
Wolf
. Then one more leaping flame.

Wakely screamed, “Torpedo hit, sir!”

They were barely a cable’s length apart.
Wolf
seemed to stumble in her headlong career as the torpedo struck. Orange flames spurted but this time it was her guns firing and there came a crashing impact as a shot hit
Thunder
. But now they were charging right past
Wolf’s
stern and the after 9.2 and port side six-inch guns fired right into her.

Smith did not see the result of that. As they cleared
Wolf’s
stern he ordered, “Hard astarboard!” So just as
Thunder
had settled to an even keel she heeled again into that swinging circle.

Wakely yelped, “
Jesus
!”

Kondor
was also heading to cross
Wolf’s
stem, seeking for a sight of the attacker who had burst from the night and was masked from her by
Wolf
.
Kondor
and
Thunder
were on a collision course. All of them on the bridge grabbed hold and hung on like grim death, instinctively preparing for that collision. There was nothing they could do. But they missed
Kondor
, it seemed by only feet, and swept past her in the blinking of an eye but in that blinking the forward-turret hurled a shell into her. And Smith saw that already
Kondor’s
forward-turret had a gun pointing drunkenly;
Thunder
had done that thirty-six hours before. Guns fired on
Kondor
but they fired at a ship already storming away into the night, fired blind into that night.

Thunder
still canted in the turn. Smith swallowed. “Midships!” He clawed his way out to the starboard wing of the bridge. They had been at it only minutes but mad, hellfilled minutes.
Thunder
had been hit, one of the port six-inch being put out of action and the after-bridge wrecked but she had come off relatively unscathed compared to the damage she had inflicted on
Wolf
. He could see her now, lit by flames from end to end and in that light she looked down by the head and scarcely moving. He could see
Kondor
too, clear of
Wolf
now and heading out to sea in pursuit of
Thunder
. He could see her against the growing light in the east but they would have their work cut out to see
Thunder
in the outer dark.

“Starboard ten … Midships!”
Thunder
steadied on the new course and the starboard six-inch battery and the afterturret bore on
Kondor
. The guns recoiled and bellowed. “Hard aport … Midships!”
Thunder
headed out to sea again. “Port ten … Midships!” It was the turn of the after-turret again but this time with the port six-inch battery.

Thunder
dog-legged erratically out to sea and she was scoring. Smith could see
Kondor
and he could see the hits. He could also see that she was firing hard and steaming hard after him, but she was firing at a dimly-seen, jinking target. He saw the water-spouts of the falling salvoes and some were close but none of them hit.
Kondor’s
course was diverging from that of
Thunder
, not making a stern chase of it but trying to claw her way out of that stretch of sea that lay between
Thunder
and the growing light, light that she knew marked her in sharp silhouette for
Thunder’s
rangefinder and layers.

That diverging course meant that despite
Thunder’s
swerving the range was opening.

“Range five thousand!”

They were nearing the extreme effective range of
Thunder’s
old six-inch guns.

She fired her starboard broadside and he ordered, “Hard astarboard!” And this time she kept on turning through sixteen points and headed back into the light, and towards
Wolf
.

*

Smith could see all of his ship now in that grey light and the faces of Aitkyne and Kennedy and Wakely, all the bridge staff, all their faces strained but excited.
Thunder
was fighting a good fight and they knew it.

He had a bleak moment in that dawn. He conned his ship, keeping her jinking to confuse
Kondor’s
guns, but he looked ahead with cold certainty. The element of surprise was gone, the advantage of the dark was going and
Thunder
was still badly out-gunned. And
Kondor
was shooting well, very well indeed. A salvo plummeted into the sea close alongside, emphasising the point as the hurled water lashed across the bridge.

Finally,
Kondor
would have the edge in speed.

And
Wolf
? He thrust off the mood as
Wolf
took shape again.
Thunder
was racing down on her and she was still burning and she was not moving at all. He thought he could have left
Wolf
to her fate, would have wished to, but he needed her. Away to port
Kondor
had also turned and was roaring back towards her consort.

He said, “We’ll shift to the conning-tower,” and himself passed the word to Garrick before leaving the bridge. From the circular conning-tower below it, with its eleven inches of armour, their view was restricted to what they could see through the observation slits. It would have to serve. In the darkness he had risked fighting his ship from the bridge because he had to see. But now the day was upon them, from the conning-tower he would see enough and it was senseless to stay on the bridge.

They were under fire from both
Kondor
and
Wolf
now though the latter’s firing was ragged.
Thunder
scored hits but was hit herself. And again. A starboard six-inch gun was reported out of action with the loss of its crew of ten men.

Smith warned, “Pass the word to look out for torpedoes!”
Wolf
still had teeth.

They ran down across her stern and a mile away and at Smith’s order Garrick shifted the target from
Kondor
to
Wolf
and fired a broadside, raking her.
Thunder
turned to port and ran down past
Wolf
, pounding her. She was shrouded in smoke and the sun was above the mountains now so that
Wolf’s
rangefinders and layers had to peer through that smoke and squint against that low early morning glare, but she fired and, as
Thunder
pounded her, was pounded in return across two miles of sea.

They left
Wolf
astern and came under fire from
Kondor
. Smith ordered the target changed to her and, as the guns roared out, the change of course that pulled
Thunder
right around again in a sixteen-point turn to pass once more the blazing hulk of
Wolf
.

She was not only down by the head but listing to port now. Fires sprouted all along her hull and they saw her through rolling clouds of smoke.
Thunder
fired into her twice more and Smith thought he saw a solitary gun flash in reply but it might have been the flash of a burst.

He turned from her because they were done with
Wolf
but she had served her purpose.
Kondor
was driving inshore of her to chase
Thunder
.
Kondor
had not finished with them. She was chasing and firing hard, Smith could see the salvoes as the flashes rippled along her hull in awful beauty. But she, too, had been hurt, her second funnel leaned crazily against the next astern and —

Aitkyne drawled, he had to shout but being Aitkyne it still seemed a drawl, “I don’t reckon she’s making up on us, sir.”

It was hard to tell but the feeling was there. And if she was making up on them it was so slowly as not to matter. She should have the legs of them but she had been punished. Smith grunted.

And then the salvo hit them.

Aitkyne was thinking that because of Smith they had still not felt the weight of
Kondor’s
fire.

Then the salvo struck. They had left
Wolf
astern and Smith’s mouth was open to order yet another change of course when the salvo roared in like a train. It skittled them all except the Coxswain at the wheel and he staggered, recovered, picked up the course again. Smith pawed his way to his feet and felt
Thunder
listing. From the rear of the conning-tower he saw the cause of that list, the after funnel a battered cylinder of wreckage hanging over the starboard side. It slipped and the ship heeled further, slipped again and then ground over the side with wire stays parting and flailing and
Thunder
righted herself.

She steamed on and Smith croaked, “Starboard ten!” And: “Midships!”
Thunder
headed out to sea once more, the smokewrapped hulk of
Wolf
came between them and
Kondor
– and the guns fell silent. He called up the voice-pipe to Garrick: “Engage the ship astern of us!”

Garrick’s voice came back, rusty and metallic, “Port an’ starboard batteries don’t bear on this course, sir, and the afterturret is out of action. No contact with them and I can’t see much because of this damn smoke —”
Thunder’s
three remaining funnels still rolled it out — “but I think they took a direct hit. Can’t see the other cruiser.”

Yet. Smith said, “You will. You’re doing very well!”

He found Kennedy at his elbow, who said, “After-turret a total loss, sir. We’ve a fire aft —” Smith could see that, flames leaping pale in the sun and bending on the wind — “and damage in the after boiler-room.”

Thunder’s
speed had fallen away.

Smith ordered, “Port ten! Steer one-seven-oh!” He stepped to the voice-pipe and called the engine room. The Chief’s voice was strained. In the background a man was screaming and another shouted, “Put the poor sod out of his agony or get him
out
!”

Smith asked, “What speed can you give us, Chief?”

A second’s hesitation, then Davies began: “I think —” He stopped, knowing Smith would not like that woolly answer. He said definitely, “I can maintain revolutions for fourteen knots.”

“Thank you!” Smith called to Garrick. “Engage the enemy when sighted.”

“Sir!” And Garrick added: “This light is hell.”

It would be lancing into Garrick’s eyes as he strained them towards the rising sun. Smith said, “Do your best.” He had
Kondor
where he wanted her, where he had to have her and the bad light was a price they would have to pay for that. They would pay far more before they were done.

Kondor
thrust out from behind
Wolf
, pointing at
Thunder
who steamed broadside to her on the new course, and opened fire as
Thunder
heeled again to her broadside. The battle closed down around them.