d into Havelfjord after its
capture on the 27 August. It remained alongside Hecla for three weeks
being made seaworthy. On the 29 September U-570 proceeded to
Barrow-under-Furness under its own
power with a prize crew and was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS
Graph (P715), the only submarine to serve on both sides in the war. Jim Coulton, now
living in Lancashire, went aboard the U-boat and Engine Room Artificer
(ERA) Jabez Skelhorne helped repair it and salvaged tubes of German
cheese and a
large lump hammer to take home which his grandson, Simon Skelhorne,
still uses today.
Iceland's main town and capital, Rekjavik, was close to where Hecla was moored in Havelfjord Courtesy of Simon Skelhorne
George Male had a poor opinion of
Iceland's capital Rekjavik. He thought it was a shabby place and the
people were not at all friendly. Prior to the war the Germans had piped
hot water forty miles from thermal springs to supply all the houses in
the town and had become very popular. The British expelled the Germans
when they took over the island as a base for the convoy escorts but did
nothing for the Icelanders and their presence was naturally resented.
"Peter E. Karetka, served USN 1940 to 1946, aboard the USS Hughes
DD-410 honourably and proud as a
signalman. We anchored just beyond the breakwater at Rekyavik for
liberty in that city. I was ashore at the time. USS Hughes DD-410 while
at anchor was rammed by a freighter, nationality not known. We
tied up alongside HMS Hecla for repairs for an extended period, we had
to wait for plate steel to arrive from the USA. The hull was split to
about 10/12 inch's above water line. While alongside HMS Hecla we
were invited as guest's for meals and movies on the fantail. I was in
possession of their menu's and hat band. The Skipper of Hughes,
Donald J. Ramsey, an Englishman (sic), was a proper host while at
anchor at Havalfjord. He invited members of the British garrison for
meals and gave them a guided tour of the ship."
E-mail communication from Peter E. Karetka ("Flags").
Photograph of USS Hughes on right (Courtesy of Simon Skelhorne)
In September to safeguard against a possible breakout of Tirpitz from its base in Norway the USN sent Task Force 4 to Iceland. This comprised the aircraft carrieer, USS Wasp, the battleships USS Mississippi and USS Wichita, the depot ship USS Vulcan, and a screen of four destroyers.
HMS Hecla at Havelfjord in the Summer of 1941 Courtesy of Dr Peter Hetherington
Two USN destroyers of the Benson / Gleaves Class and the destroyer depot ship, USS Vulcan (on right) at Havelfjord, Summer 1941. Photographed by Eric Pountney, Wireless Telegraphist on HMS Venomous
Christmas 1941 the ship's company's own "Hecla Players" put on performances of Outward Bound by Sutton Vane, a huge success on the London stage in 1923 and on Broadway in 1938-9 but a rather ominous choice for HMS Hecla:
"The play is about a group of seven
passengers who meet in the lounge of an ocean liner at sea and realize
that they have no idea why they are there, or where they are bound.
Each of them eventually discovers that they are dead, and that they
have to face judgment from an Examiner, who will determine whether they
are to go to Heaven or Hell."
Three of the eleven who took part as players or back stage
assistants would not live to see another Christmas: Eric C. Bond,
Ordinance Artificer, Donald A. Preece,
Leading Supply Assistant (and talented artists) and Cyril B. Boyle,
Electrical Artificer, died on the night of the 11 - 12 November 1942
when Hecla was torpedoed off the coast of north Africa.
The programme was printed aboard HMS Vulcan, the American destroyer depot ship which had joined Hecla at Havelfjord in September.
USS Vulcan replaced Hecla
as the depot ship for the convoy escorts and in early 1942 Hecla returned to the
Clyde for a short refit. With Capt E.F.B. Law RN in command, Hecla
left Greenock on the 15 April 1942 as part of Convoy WS.18 "outward bound" for South Africa
to join the Far Eastern Fleet, a welcome change from the tedium of Havelfjord.
Edward Coleman and Les Pr