General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
RE: SS Guelma July 1941 - rumours for George!?
Posted by:
John Griffiths
()
Date: March 15, 2001 06:15PM
<HTML> Hi George,
>>Capt. George W. Duffy wrote:
-------------------------------
Hello John:
Interesting tale! It is now compounded by the fact that, according to Rohwer, the GUELMA was torpedoed by the Italian MALASPINA on July 17, 1941. Who told what to whom?<<
Hmm...okay, the book I have - see previous post - says that the message regarding the Guelma\'s shadowing was told to the ship\'s Master by the local Chandler. If that is so, it says that there were enemy agents - or certainly an agent provocateur - operating at the time. I\'d go for the latter.
Ho hum, here we go then! As an ex Matelot, I know that a lot of rumours were spread via galley radio or galley wireless aboard ship. You know, if you are ex UK MN, that The Channels was usually preceeded by the cook ( or steward ) making a remark about where the port of discharge on the trip home was going to be. Usually wrong - it depended on how well in you were with the 2nd or 3rd Mates!
I don\'t doubt that anyone in a port like Funchal who dealt with ships also picked up the messages via galley wireless - or it\'s oppo in German - from storing the ships in port. Could it be that it was just a wild guess which came true?
I don\'t know George! It has a ring of truth both ways - although whether any German merchantmen ran the risk and got back to occupied France or Germany is, of course, another thing. And on Guelma\'s coal too!
Yours aye,
John
</HTML>
>>Capt. George W. Duffy wrote:
-------------------------------
Hello John:
Interesting tale! It is now compounded by the fact that, according to Rohwer, the GUELMA was torpedoed by the Italian MALASPINA on July 17, 1941. Who told what to whom?<<
Hmm...okay, the book I have - see previous post - says that the message regarding the Guelma\'s shadowing was told to the ship\'s Master by the local Chandler. If that is so, it says that there were enemy agents - or certainly an agent provocateur - operating at the time. I\'d go for the latter.
Ho hum, here we go then! As an ex Matelot, I know that a lot of rumours were spread via galley radio or galley wireless aboard ship. You know, if you are ex UK MN, that The Channels was usually preceeded by the cook ( or steward ) making a remark about where the port of discharge on the trip home was going to be. Usually wrong - it depended on how well in you were with the 2nd or 3rd Mates!
I don\'t doubt that anyone in a port like Funchal who dealt with ships also picked up the messages via galley wireless - or it\'s oppo in German - from storing the ships in port. Could it be that it was just a wild guess which came true?
I don\'t know George! It has a ring of truth both ways - although whether any German merchantmen ran the risk and got back to occupied France or Germany is, of course, another thing. And on Guelma\'s coal too!
Yours aye,
John
</HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
SS Guelma July 1941 - rumours?
|
John Griffiths | 03/14/2001 10:02PM |
|
RE: SS Guelma July 1941 - rumours?
|
Capt. George W. Duffy | 03/15/2001 12:07AM |
|
RE: SS Guelma July 1941 - rumours for George!?
|
John Griffiths | 03/15/2001 06:15PM |
|
RE: SS Guelma July 1941 - rumours for George!?
|
Capt. George W. Duffy | 03/15/2001 11:40PM |
|
RE: SS Guelma July 1941 - rumours for George!?
|
John Griffiths | 03/16/2001 04:25PM |