Ahoy - Mac's Web Log

Hi Mac,

My dad, Bob Mc Donnell, was permanent navy from 36 to 47.

He tells a story of a crossing of the Indian from South Africa to Fremantle when all ships were called home when the Japanese came into the war. I think he was in the Canberra at the time. The whole trip was done at full speed and she shook all over for the full trip and the transom was well down in the water.

Until he died dad often wondered if it was the fastest crossing of the Indian, the Blue Ribband so to speak.
With your obvious historical skills perhaps you could verify or investigate this. If it were so it would merit some publicity or acknowledgement. These things and the appreciation of them are often lost in wartime as there are
other more important things going on.

Hope to hear from you one way or the other.

Regards,
Christopher Mc Donnell
 

Hello Christopher,

Thank you for your message.

When Japan came into the war in 1941, Canberra was already at Sydney, and I joined her as a Sub Lieutenant
that December, having been away for almost 2 years in the Atlantic in Australia, and doing my Sub's courses in UK. I came home in a Blue Star ship, Tuscan Star via Panama, arriving in Melbourne on Pearl Harbor day.

But your Dad's story about her making a fast crossing of the Indian ocean is quite true, but it was in 1940, from my records.

The ship was on the South African station, and on the 27th. of July 1940 developed a knock in one of her shaft brackets, it looked serious enough for her to be sent home to cure the problem, that is what all her company hoped for anyway.

The next day divers went down to look for the problem, and found the port outer shaft bracket damaged, and dry docking was wanted. The shaft was bent and badly worn, and the shaft bracket badly damaged, the propeller was removed and secured on the quarter deck.

Canberra undocked on the 4th. of August, and went to sea, the Captain announced her destination Fremantle. The ship's speed was between 24 and 26 knots, with the sea quite smooth, and it was considered that Canberra's return trip from the Cape to Femantle must have been one of the fastest crossings ever made.

With only three shafts operating, the ship vibrated considerably, and the funnels began to turn brown with the heat. Sleeping was made very difficult because of the awful vibration.

By the 12th. the ship was very light on oil fuel, and her stability was effected, with heavy rolling the result.

"Each roll lays bare a large portion of the huge, black blister that is our protection against torpedoes and the gaping mouths of  sluices gurgle and grumble as they are plucked clear of the water to grin in a grotesque fashion for long seconds before plunging back into the foaming coolness of the sea."

When the ship arrived at Fremantle on the 13t. of August, she had completed a voyage of 4,680 miles in 9 days at an average speed of 24 knots.

I have not been able to confirm whether this trip by Canberra would have given her the Blue Ribbon for the fastest crossing of the Indian Ocean from west to east. There is just nothing that I can find on the net, to help us in this regard.

I do trust this information is of some value to you, and again thank you for your interest. Our exchange of messages will go up in my letters section on our Ahoy site.

This site is a joint effort with my friend Terry Kearns in Atlanta Georgia who translates all my writing into what appears on AHOY. Without his expertise the site would not exist.

With kindest regards,
Mac. Gregory.

Thanks Mac.

It was probably the fastest trip as the fast liners all used to come through Suez from it's opening and only passenger/cargo ships usually went from Oz to Capetown. However if one of the large liners converted to a troop ship ever used that route our assumption of fastest trip might fail. It would however be interesting to know what was the fastest crossing of one of the major oceans of the world was. The lack of glamour compared to Southhampton/New York probably has something to do with nobody taking note. I wonder if the Port Authorities at Capetown or Fremantle would know?
 
BTW, as a perm did you ever bump into Dad? He was in signals.
 
Regards, 
Chris

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