Torbay was on patrol west of Greece in March 1942, when a convoy
of troopships was sighted. The only conceivable destination for troops in
these waters had to be Corfu. Torbay followed them.
Corfu Roads, where the anchorage lies, is between Corfu Island and the
Greek mainland. It has two entrances, a northern and a southern channel.
Navigation in the shallows was difficult.
It was into this anchorage, defended by continuous anti-submarine patrols
carried out by trawlers and aircraft, and with additional escorting destroyers,
that Commander A.C.C. (Tony) Miers brought the Torbay. He had 40 miles
to cover from the first sighting of the convoy before he could find the ships
again in Corfu Roads. His battery was low and before he could carry out an
attack he would have to come to the surface and charge them. It was one day
after full moon, too, which would inevitably be an added danger by making the
Torbay easier to spot.
By dusk of that day the Torbay reached the outer end of the southern
channel and surfaced. She proceeded slowly, trimmed right down, up towards
the anchorage till she was forced under by a small motor vessel entering
harbour. As soon as it had passed, Miers brought the Torbay to the
surface and followed the motor vessel almost into the harbour. An hour or
two before midnight the submarine was within five miles of the anchorage.
Here she stopped, trimmed down till only the conning tower was above the
surface, and began to charge her batteries with her stern towards the moon
in order to present the smallest possible silhouette.
At about 0200, Torbay was again put down by a patrolling trawler.
Miers then decided to cross the bay submerged and to attack by the light of
the moon. Half an hour later he was in the middle of Corfu Roads but could
see no sign of the ships he had followed. There was nothing for it now but
to wait for daylight, in the hope that the sun would reveal them tucked away
in a remote part of the anchorage.
Torbay's officers at Buckingham Palace - l to r: Lt Chapman, Lt Kidd,
Lt Verschoyle-Campbell, Cdr Miers VC.
For the rest of that night the Torbay lay in wait, with a glassy sea
and a bright moon to make the hours particularly hazardous. When the sun rose,
Miers found the troopships were not in the Roads. Again it was a bitter
disappointment, though there was some small compensation in the sight of
two supply ships. As there was no other target available, he attacked them
and hit them both with his torpedoes. The Torbay at once went deep
and, under counter-attack, made for the open sea again, navigating blind
through the narrow channel. For this exploit - and for the patrols on
either side as well - Miers was awarded the Victoria Cross, the fourth
to be won in the Mediterranean. The First Lieutenant during the first
commission, Lt. Paul Chapman, wrote a full account of Torbay's exploits
in the book "Submarine Torbay".
Torbay's crew at Buckingham Palace in July 1942, after receiving
decorations from King George VI. Miers stands in the middle.
Left to Right: Ldg Stoker Bennett, ERA Collins, PO Rayner,
Ldg Stoker Webb, Stoker PO Monk, LSea Hammond, Chief Stoker
Skerrat, AB Vine, Lt Kidd, LSea Guinelly, Lt Chapman, CERA Pinch, Cdr Miers VC, EA Rintoul,
Lt Verschoyle-Campbell, PO Kember, Ldg Stoker Jones, Stoker PO Belcher, CPO Baker,
LSea Cusator, PO Armishaw, PO Jefferson, Stoker Conaty, AB Gavin, PO Batten,
POTel Clark, LSig Maclean, LSea Phillips.
Torbay Leaving Valetta Harbour, Malta: drawing available
from http://www.subart.net/out_of_malta.htm |
