They travelled two hundred yards apart
Heroes Remember
They travelled two hundred yards apart
Transcript
Convoy of ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
thing. They travelled 200 yards apart and destroyers would come in amongst that 200 yards. They weaved their ways in there. That's your escort. They'd circle and they come in and around. Well we were equipped so that we could go by ourselves and we had the speed, so... But you'd go out, and you'd find, hell, it might be hundred ships. And the next morning, there might be ten. And the next day, you might be by yourself and the next day, you might be fifty. But the convoys went out, broke up, dispersed, came back in, met, joined other convoys or other ships from different places and it was a constant movement at sea. That we could cross the sea in maybe four, four and half days but, usually, we were looking at twelve, fourteen days. The convoy travels only as fast as the slowest ship. So, your speed, unless you were on your own, didn't mean much. And we had enough speed to be on our own, and we had the armament. No submarine was gonna surface anywhere near us. They might torpedo us, but he ain't coming up on the surface. Same as he wouldn't on a destroyer. It's, it just isn't done. We had too much gun power.Description
Mr. Stewart describes the changing makeup of convoys at sea.
Edward Stewart
Mr. Stewart was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1926. Following his father's footsteps, he attempted to join the navy, but was under age. Drafted at the age of 18, he was selected for naval duty. Mr. Stewart served aboard troop ships during the latter stages of the Second World War, both on deck and in the engine room, and spent considerable time ashore in Germany, France and Denmark. He also sailed on one of the mass-produced Liberty ships. Mr. Stewart eventually moved to Harriston, Ontario, where he worked 38 years for Canada Packers.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 01:47
- Person Interviewed:
- Edward Stewart
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Second World War
- Location/Theatre:
- Europe
- Battle/Campaign:
- North Atlantic
- Branch:
- Navy
- Units/Ship:
- Europa
- Rank:
- Able Seaman
- Occupation:
- Deck Crew, Engine Room
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