The Rainbow. A World War One on Canada's West Coast Timeline
- Thread starter YYJ
- Start date
Dave Shoup
Banned
The Norwegians wrecked Blucher at Drobaksund with two shells and two torpedoes. At what amounts to point blank ranges in constricted waters - constricted by geography, hydrography, or the defense (mines, etc.) - a warship is incredibly vulnerable to coast artillery.
Dave Shoup
Banned
Yep. Exactly what I was thinking of ...
I read in one of the reviews that although the Blucher is CGI, the film makers actually got the Norwegian coast artillery museum to fire blanks from the actual gun, which strikes me as amazing if true... the piece is a century old, or more.
Those guns were maintained as active weapons well into the 70s so its not as shocking as one would think
Driftless
Donor
I believe both the guns were from the 1890's and the torpedo batteries from 1901. Apparently, quite well maintained!
(This result reinforces Cryhavocs101's point from a page or two back.)
And very well made. Say what you want about the Austrians torpedo factory at Fiume and Krupp but they made fine pieces of hardware
Dave Shoup
Banned
Even so, the film was shot in 2015 or so, so even then, the guns hadn't been maintained for about 40 years.
Dave Shoup
Banned
The smaller powers tended to take care of their equipment; they didn't get much, after all.
Someone (Robert Heinlein I think) once made the point that obsolete military technology does not cease to be lethal and that in the right circumstances a crossbow can kill you just as dead as a SMG.
Is this online somewhere? (Apologies if I've missed it somewhere in the previous pages) I used to do this for a living (Ordnance), and it has aroused my formerly professional interest. I realize it seems an area of arcane interest but man, this is, words fail me. I'm hoping to get some nugget of terminology in what's written that gives me an inkling of how and what. TIA!
"A two thousand pound education dropped by a ten-rupee jezail"
“Arithmetic on the Frontier” By Rudyard Kipling
There's also High Crusades by Poul Anderson, where a mediæval English village ends up ruling the Galaxy....
A series of coincidences
Aug 17, 1820. Prince Rupert Telegraph office.
URGENT CRUISER NURNBERG REPORTED ANYOX 1900 HOURS AUG 16 STOP REPORTED TO BE RAVAGING THE TOWN STOP
The telegraph operator had telephoned and sent runners immediately and had summoned the acting Chief of Police, the Harbour Master, and militia Captain Evelyn Fry of the Duke of Connaught’s Own Rifles. Fry had arrived riding through the fog on a horse he had happily managed to requisition. The Captain had only been in town for little over 24 hours, arranging for a barracks for his company of infantry, and as he had recently been told, surveying a location for a coastal defence battery. But he was the ranking military officer, so coordination of Prince Rupert’s defenses fell on his shoulders. The telegraph office became an impromptu command post.
“Is this reliable information?” asked Fry?
“No way of knowing that,” said the telegraph operator. “Rumours are simply rampant these days. I’ve heard a hundred less likely reports this week alone. First thing SOP we should repeat his message by telegraph, just so the report is logged.”
“I think you can turn the certainty down just one notch there,” said the Police Sergeant.
CRUISER NURNBERG REPORTED ANYOX 1900 HOURS AUG 16 STOP
“There, that has been sent to Vancouver and Victoria,” said the operator.
“So what is our situation here?” asked Fry. “Is this report at all plausible?”
“Other than the fact that Anyox is fifty miles inland, can’t say, I haven’t been able to reach Anyox by wireless or telegraph since…” the tone of his voice now changed from conversational to suspicious, “… about 1800 hours yesterday.”
“Could that be a coincidence?” asked Fry, becoming slightly alarmed.
“Oh yeah. Telegraph goes out all the time,” replied the operator. “Wireless is usually more reliable, but it does break down too.”
“What about steamships connecting?” asked the Police Sergeant. “When was the last ship to arrive from there?”
“Well, the Prince Rupert should be here,” said the Harbour Master, “and the Camosun is coming down from Kincolith. We could ask them. But they are both… overdue. Other than that the Czar was towing a copper scow down the Inlet yesterday. But she is also overdue.” The men looked at each other. “Doesn’t mean nothing. Ships are overdue all the time, especially in the fog. But they usually call.”
“Operator,” said the Harbour Master, “try and raise the Prince Rupert.” The operator keyed a message to the Digby Island Wireless Station, for them to relay with the their powerful transmitter.
“That’s funny,” said the telegraph operator. ”The line is down, it was just there a minute ago. Oh. Now the telegraph line is down too.” The men looked at each other again. The operator picked up the telephone. “Hello Agnes,” he said “please connect me to the Western Union office in Vancouver. Oh. I see. For how long? Just now? Thank you.” He looked up at the other men. “Telephone is out too. Now… all this does happen from time to time, but usually in a wind storm.”
“But these coincidences are getting to be a bit much,” said Fry. “Can we send a boat to Anyox to look?”
“The CGS Galiano is tied up at the government wharf,” said the Harbour Master. “She is armed with a 6 pounder gun. Her crew are Fisheries Protection and Naval Reserve, so they are almost navy. We could dispatch her. It would take her a long time to get there in the fog.”
Fry rubbed his temples. “Alright. We can send the Galiano to investigate. If we shift our direction for a moment from confirming the veracity of this report, to defending this city, how long would it take the Nürnberg to get from Anyox to here, with a start time of 1800 yesterday and current weather conditions?”
“Any time,” said the Harbour Master, “she could already be here.”
“And not being a sailor,” said Fry, “A fisheries protection vessel with a 6 pounder would stand no chance against a cruiser like the Nürnberg?”
“No chance,” said the Harbour Master.
“What else do we have,” asked Fry. “I know we should have a couple of 4 inch naval guns, with crews, and my company of infantry. But they haven’t arrived yet. All I can turn out is five officers with side arms over at the Pacific Inn, and myself. Then there are the six local militia on guard at the wireless station, the rail bridge, and the coal docks, and another 6 off duty. ”
“I have four police on duty,” said the Police Sergeant, “and I could call up another dozen including reserves.”
“Do it,” said Fry.
“There is a Russian Armed Merchant Cruiser at anchor.” said the Harbour Master. “The Anadyr. She is waiting to load coal and cargo for the Russian navy. She might have some fight in her.”
“Have her sent a message to go to action stations, right away.”
“How? We don’t have a wireless.”
“By boat if you have to.”
“We can call her with the wireless on the Galiano, or the Princess Charlotte. She is tied up at the Government Dock.
“Should we consider evacuating the harbour?” asked Fry.
A long silence followed.
The Harbour Master spoke up. “There are 16 ships in harbour at the moment. This shipping stop has the anchorage jammed to capacity. He looked out the window. There might be up to 100 yards visibility in this fog. If we tell them ‘The Germans are coming! The Germans are coming!’ We are going to have collisions, and groundings. We won’t even need the Germans to bring us to wrack and ruin. It will be one great bloody own goal for the merchant marine.”
“So we do nothing then?” asked the Police Sergeant.
“Not nothing. Sergeant, call up all your men, I will do the same. We can at least fire the coal supplies if the Germans do show up to prevent them from replenishing. And Harbour Master, get word to the Galiano and the Russian to get up steam and go to action stations.”
Leaving the telegraph operator behind, the rest of the men stepped out into the foggy street, to head on their separate ways. “And then, it could all be a series of coincidences,” said Fry. “If this turns out to be nothing, at least we will get a jolly good drill.”
The sound of distant explosions echoed across the harbour. The men stopped in their tracks. The police Sergeant looked at the Harbour Master. “Could Norwegian Village choose just this time to go blasting stumps?”
“I guess they could,” he mused “but that would be quite…” All three men said at the same time, “… a coincidence.”
Captain Fry mounted his horse and left at a gallop in the direction of the hotel where his officers were billeted. The Sergeant headed for his station house, the Harbour Master for the waterfront.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Galiano
URGENT CRUISER NURNBERG REPORTED ANYOX 1900 HOURS AUG 16 STOP REPORTED TO BE RAVAGING THE TOWN STOP
The telegraph operator had telephoned and sent runners immediately and had summoned the acting Chief of Police, the Harbour Master, and militia Captain Evelyn Fry of the Duke of Connaught’s Own Rifles. Fry had arrived riding through the fog on a horse he had happily managed to requisition. The Captain had only been in town for little over 24 hours, arranging for a barracks for his company of infantry, and as he had recently been told, surveying a location for a coastal defence battery. But he was the ranking military officer, so coordination of Prince Rupert’s defenses fell on his shoulders. The telegraph office became an impromptu command post.
“Is this reliable information?” asked Fry?
“No way of knowing that,” said the telegraph operator. “Rumours are simply rampant these days. I’ve heard a hundred less likely reports this week alone. First thing SOP we should repeat his message by telegraph, just so the report is logged.”
“I think you can turn the certainty down just one notch there,” said the Police Sergeant.
CRUISER NURNBERG REPORTED ANYOX 1900 HOURS AUG 16 STOP
“There, that has been sent to Vancouver and Victoria,” said the operator.
“So what is our situation here?” asked Fry. “Is this report at all plausible?”
“Other than the fact that Anyox is fifty miles inland, can’t say, I haven’t been able to reach Anyox by wireless or telegraph since…” the tone of his voice now changed from conversational to suspicious, “… about 1800 hours yesterday.”
“Could that be a coincidence?” asked Fry, becoming slightly alarmed.
“Oh yeah. Telegraph goes out all the time,” replied the operator. “Wireless is usually more reliable, but it does break down too.”
“What about steamships connecting?” asked the Police Sergeant. “When was the last ship to arrive from there?”
“Well, the Prince Rupert should be here,” said the Harbour Master, “and the Camosun is coming down from Kincolith. We could ask them. But they are both… overdue. Other than that the Czar was towing a copper scow down the Inlet yesterday. But she is also overdue.” The men looked at each other. “Doesn’t mean nothing. Ships are overdue all the time, especially in the fog. But they usually call.”
“Operator,” said the Harbour Master, “try and raise the Prince Rupert.” The operator keyed a message to the Digby Island Wireless Station, for them to relay with the their powerful transmitter.
“That’s funny,” said the telegraph operator. ”The line is down, it was just there a minute ago. Oh. Now the telegraph line is down too.” The men looked at each other again. The operator picked up the telephone. “Hello Agnes,” he said “please connect me to the Western Union office in Vancouver. Oh. I see. For how long? Just now? Thank you.” He looked up at the other men. “Telephone is out too. Now… all this does happen from time to time, but usually in a wind storm.”
“But these coincidences are getting to be a bit much,” said Fry. “Can we send a boat to Anyox to look?”
“The CGS Galiano is tied up at the government wharf,” said the Harbour Master. “She is armed with a 6 pounder gun. Her crew are Fisheries Protection and Naval Reserve, so they are almost navy. We could dispatch her. It would take her a long time to get there in the fog.”
Fry rubbed his temples. “Alright. We can send the Galiano to investigate. If we shift our direction for a moment from confirming the veracity of this report, to defending this city, how long would it take the Nürnberg to get from Anyox to here, with a start time of 1800 yesterday and current weather conditions?”
“Any time,” said the Harbour Master, “she could already be here.”
“And not being a sailor,” said Fry, “A fisheries protection vessel with a 6 pounder would stand no chance against a cruiser like the Nürnberg?”
“No chance,” said the Harbour Master.
“What else do we have,” asked Fry. “I know we should have a couple of 4 inch naval guns, with crews, and my company of infantry. But they haven’t arrived yet. All I can turn out is five officers with side arms over at the Pacific Inn, and myself. Then there are the six local militia on guard at the wireless station, the rail bridge, and the coal docks, and another 6 off duty. ”
“I have four police on duty,” said the Police Sergeant, “and I could call up another dozen including reserves.”
“Do it,” said Fry.
“There is a Russian Armed Merchant Cruiser at anchor.” said the Harbour Master. “The Anadyr. She is waiting to load coal and cargo for the Russian navy. She might have some fight in her.”
“Have her sent a message to go to action stations, right away.”
“How? We don’t have a wireless.”
“By boat if you have to.”
“We can call her with the wireless on the Galiano, or the Princess Charlotte. She is tied up at the Government Dock.
“Should we consider evacuating the harbour?” asked Fry.
A long silence followed.
The Harbour Master spoke up. “There are 16 ships in harbour at the moment. This shipping stop has the anchorage jammed to capacity. He looked out the window. There might be up to 100 yards visibility in this fog. If we tell them ‘The Germans are coming! The Germans are coming!’ We are going to have collisions, and groundings. We won’t even need the Germans to bring us to wrack and ruin. It will be one great bloody own goal for the merchant marine.”
“So we do nothing then?” asked the Police Sergeant.
“Not nothing. Sergeant, call up all your men, I will do the same. We can at least fire the coal supplies if the Germans do show up to prevent them from replenishing. And Harbour Master, get word to the Galiano and the Russian to get up steam and go to action stations.”
Leaving the telegraph operator behind, the rest of the men stepped out into the foggy street, to head on their separate ways. “And then, it could all be a series of coincidences,” said Fry. “If this turns out to be nothing, at least we will get a jolly good drill.”
The sound of distant explosions echoed across the harbour. The men stopped in their tracks. The police Sergeant looked at the Harbour Master. “Could Norwegian Village choose just this time to go blasting stumps?”
“I guess they could,” he mused “but that would be quite…” All three men said at the same time, “… a coincidence.”
Captain Fry mounted his horse and left at a gallop in the direction of the hotel where his officers were billeted. The Sergeant headed for his station house, the Harbour Master for the waterfront.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Galiano
Last edited:
It is written in a book. Can type out the quote and source, but will need to do later.
Driftless
Donor
Captain Fry seems like an alert fellow. On his short ride to the hotel he's going to have that "pucker" moment where it occurs to him that his soldiers are also out there in the fog with the not-so-phantom Nurnberg. He could be the first Allied Army officer to have his command captured (or worse!) by the German Navy.