The scrap iron flotilla

Resource Information

The work The scrap iron flotilla represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Randwick City Library. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

The scrap iron flotilla

Statement of responsibility

Mike Carlton

Creator

• Carlton, Michael

Author

• Carlton, Michael

Subject

• Destroyers (Warships) -- Australia -- History
• Tobruk, Battles of, Tobruk, Libya, 1941-1942
• World War, 1939-1945 -- Naval operations, Australian

Language

eng

Summary

When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, the British asked Australia for help. With some misgivings, the Australian government sent five destroyers to beef up the British Royal Navy in the Mediterranean. HMAS Vendetta, Vampire, Voyager, Stuart and Waterhen were old ships, small with worn-out engines. Their crews used to joke they were held together by string and chewing gum; when the Nazi propaganda minister Josef Goebbels heard of them, he sneered that they were a load of scrap iron. Yet by the middle of 1940, these destroyers were valiantly escorting troop and supply convoys, successfully hunting for submarines and indefatigably bombarding enemy coasts. Sometimes the weather could be their worst enemy -- from filthy sandstorms blowing off Africa to icy gales from Europe that whipped up mountainous seas and froze the guns. Conditions on board were terrible -- no showers or proper washing facilities; cramped and stinking sleeping quarters; unpleasant meals of spam and tinned sausages, often served cold in a howling squall. And always the bombing, the bombing. And the fear of submarines. When Nazi Germany invaded Greece, the Allied armies -- including Australian Divisions -- reeled in retreat. The Australian ships were among those who had to rescue thousands of soldiers. Then came the Siege of Tobruk -- Australian troops holding out in that small Libyan port city. The Australian destroyers ran 'the Tobruk Ferry' -- bringing supplies of food, medicine and ammunition into the shattered port by night, and taking off wounded soldiers. But the four destroyers now left were struggling, suffering from constant engine breakdowns, with crews beleaguered by two years of bombings, wild seas and the endless fear of being sunk. In late 1941 the ships were finally sent home, staggering back to Australia, proudly calling themselves the Scrap Iron Flotilla in defiance of the Goebbels' sneer. That flotilla is now an immortal part of Australian naval legend, and this is its story

Cataloging source

SALS

Dewey number

940.545994

Illustrations

• illustrations
• maps
• portraits
• plates

Index

index present

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography

Target audience

adult