The World's Worst... Ship
by Paul Hooper
After our look at incompetence in the Generals of the world I think it
is time that we turned our attention to the Navy. Now I have three contenders
for the the award of The Worlds Worst Ship!
Now as the Royal Navy was the largest navy in the world during most of
the 16th - 20th C then it is unsurprising that it wins all the awards
in this category.
First in this class must be H.M.S. Trinidad, a destroyer that
in 1940 had been based in the Med, but in 1941 was transferred to the
Arctic convoys. It fired a torpedo at a passing German Destroyer but the
crew had overlooked the effect of the icy water on the light oil of the
steering mechanism designed for the Med. The crew watched as the torpedo
travelled at nearly 40 knots towards its target and slowly became aware
that it was starting to follow a curved course. In less than a minute
it was pursuing a semi-circular route straight into the path of Trinidad.
Next up is HMS Ulster, On 17th May 1966, during training exercises
in the estuary at Plymouth its starboard engine control became stuck in
the 'half astern' position. Attempts to free the it only jammed the handle
on 'full astern'. The engine room obeyed the signal and soon the ship
was gathering speed and sailing backward straight for a stone jetty! The
captain phoned the engine room but there was no reply as the phone couldn't
be heard above the engines.
The captain then ordered both anchors to be dropped in attempt to slow
the ship down while he sent an officer down to the engine room to tell
them what was happening. On the way down the officer met the entire crew
all going in the opposite direction to emergency stations ordered by the
captain. He was unable to make any headway.
The frigate hit the jetty travelling at 8 knots. The impact shortened
the ship by seven foot and compressed the air inside it. This caused the
only casualty, a rating who was half way through a hatch at the moment
of impact was shot fifteen foot into the air and landed on the jetty and
sustained a broken arm.
Last but not least is HMS Endurance. She greeted the yacht Adventure,
entered by the Royal Navy for the 1974 Round the World Race, by firing
a nine gun salute. Yes you've guessed, part of the sixth shot hit the
headsails and wrecked them. The ten man crew, which had just won the previous
leg of the race, had to spend the rest of the day sewing them up!
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