Diesel-Electric

[AlanJWhite]

29 October 1983 Prime Ministers Questions, House of Commons, London UK

The Hon Mr Richard McNeil, MP (Labour, Glasgow Clydeside):

Will the Prime Minister please apologise to the House for her Governments reinstatement of the Highland Clearances in summarily expelling ordinary citizens of Ross and Cromarty to make way for an unnecessary project of the military-industrial complex.

Cheers and paper waving from the Opposition benches as PM rises.

The Right Hon Margaret Thatcher, MP (Conservative Finchley), PC, First Lord of the Treasury:

Although the Honourable member has NOT formed a question and even his request is far from clear, I will respond. I can only assume from the location he mentions, that he is referring to the Compulsory Purchase of 5 dilapidated properties on the edge of the hamlet of Inverasdale as part of the Road improvement towards Firemore Beach.

I can report that only three of these buildings were occupied and that all the inhabitants have been successfully relocated to new or fully modernised homes close to the Center of Inverasdale with generous compensation for the inconvenience.

I offer no apology for this work since the improved road will serve a major project that will provide extra local employment as well as being an important bulwark to the nation's defences.

In passing, I note that only last year, many voices from the Opposite side were raised complaining of the closure of Her Majesties Naval Base Lock Ewe after 60 years of Service citing the loss of employment.

They may wish to consider how irrational it is to for them to argue against the new combined Development and Engineering facility built mainly with Private funds but serving mostly Public purpose only a few miles across the waters.

PM sits
Laughter from the Government Benches and the Public Gallery, boos from the Opposition ranks

Mr Speaker (in a Welsh accent)

Order, Order

_______________________________________________

Authors Notes:

Following the (relative) success of my single post to deal with the "Airship" strand of this web of fiction
I have decided to try the same method to attack other side issues that are distracting me.

Effectively this is the first of an occasional series set in the D-E ATL,
not always related to the main-line of the story, many just the landscape the story moves through
but also a few branch lines just for laughs

_____________________________

FYI this particular update came about because I decided that my fictional DEN submarine facility needed an RL location and decided to make it Loch Ewe. When I developed that idea further I found that the geography and history of Loch Ewe were far from the (nearly) blank canvases I had imagined. I began to worry that I could not position the DEN there without ASB levels of modification.

However, I did find a suitable spot .. and incredibly the only retcon I had to make to any of the DEN updates was a single word near the beginning.

 

[steamboy]

Just read the latest updates, they are wonderfully human. As I was reading it I could pretty much picture the scenes and the setting. You have a real knack for writing

 

[AlanJWhite]

12 Jan 1996, article The Telegraph, UK National newspaper, page 5

Royal Navy relinquishes control of the Basic Submarine Command Course after 80 years

Yesterday, the Ministry of Defence formally announced a measure that had been rumoured for some months. From now on British Officers who are candidates for command of one of our submarines will undergo the first 5 months of the qualification course at a new facility based in Den Helder, Holland, with only the last month being from UK bases plus an extra month for candidates for Nuclear powered boats.

The BSCC formerly known as the Commanding Officer Qualification Course is widely regarded as the "gold standard" of submariner training, with candidates from European, Commonwealth and even American navies attending.

Founded in 1916 to ensure that the hard-won knowledge of the early years of the Great War was clearly passed on to the captains of the rapidly expanding Submarine Service, it was reputed to have the toughest tests which earned it the nickname "The Perisher". This was changed to "The Crusher" in 1934 after an accident off Portland saw teachers and pupils have to perform an emergency underwater escape when a training boat was trapped aground at near it's maximum aka "crush" depth.

Since 1953 the course includes a four-week "expedition to distant waters", typically to the training grounds of an allied navy, to conduct exercises under different conditions. This year the trip was to Jamaica and reportedly codenamed "Jammin' ".

At a press conference, Captain Haynes public relations officer for the Admiralty explained the move to a new location "The Dutch and Royal Navies have been partners in training our own and our allies submarine captains since just after 1945. However submarine technology has always been changing quickly. The Royal Navy is introducing more Nuclear powered boats for deep pelagic waters, while the Koninklijke Marine is developing advanced conventional boats for the shallow littoral regions. It makes good sense for the curriculum to be split in this way, making the best use each partners skills.

I am sure that Schout-bij-Nacht van Buskirk will ensure a smooth transition and a warm welcome for all our candidates"

________________________________________

Authors Notes:

the second in the "side issue" series

This one caused by a mistake I made in the HMS Quetzal teaser
I mentioned her captain running his own version of The Crusher completely confusing Honor Harrington Sci Fi universe with RL

The above is my fix, basically true to RL with just a hint of D-E to add spice

___________________

and also a way of giving @vl100butch a laugh at the reversal of ranks

Sorry folks .. no eggs to be won here

 

[NHBL]

Seeing a new installment here is a treat. As others have said, it makes everyone seem human--a story rather than a timeline. NICE!

 

[Errolwi]

12 Jan 1996, article The Telegraph, UK National newspaper, page 5

Because G-d knows we wouldn't want to confuse it with the Aussie rag...

Really enjoying this, although I don't have enough knowledge to meaningfully contribute.

 

[AlanJWhite]

Because G-d knows we wouldn't want to confuse it with the Aussie rag...

Really enjoying this, although I don't have enough knowledge to meaningfully contribute.

Glad to have you aboard.

FYI the extra emphasis on identifying the publication was an attempt to point towards it's political leanings.

At the timeline date (and to a degree today)
the (Daily & later Sunday) Telegraph was considered to be a bit stodgy and upper class.
Politically it is definitely seen as right-wing if not outright Conservative (with capital C)

Unlike the previous paper I "quoted", the Manchester Guardian which has always claimed to be bourgeois and left wing.
More Liberal than Labour in the 20s to the extent that it opposed the OTL Bevan reforms in the 40's but now rather 'champagne socialist'

 

[AlanJWhite]

17:53 5 April 1924, the Creel Seafood Restaurant, Poolewe Waterfront

Three middle-aged men stand in front of the newly refurbished building in the bright lamplight spilling from the glass doors.
They enter and are greeted by the 'maitre d', unusually for his role clad not in tails but a well-tailored version of Highland dress (though diplomatically only a 'generic' pattern tartan).

"Welcome Mr Porter, and you both as well of course. Captain, Professor. As requested the private room is at your disposal. If you will come this way"

They walk up the central aisle between tables already mostly occupied. Horton smiles as he sees two familiar figures in a secluded side alcove, close cut brown hair leaning intimately near to a flaming auburn chignon.

"I like the changes you have made" he comments to his guide who smiles "Ah yes it remains a Stein family business but with Master Richard in the kitchen and Mister John now running front of house we expect great things from the team". Horton nods "My congratulations to both Rick and Jock and good luck for the future!"

22:07 the Private Dining room

The table has been cleared of the remnants of four great courses.
Coffee and brandy remain on the snowy white linen.
The three colleagues, fast becoming friends, are leaning back gently digesting

"Now that was one fine way to celebrate your appointment as CO of HMNB Loch Ewe" remarked Boyle.

Horton snorted "I'm not sure yet how much difference 'CO of' as compared to 'SNO at' actually makes. Still I have hopes that it is a sign that the powers that be may be moving our way"

"Well at least, your ' powers that be ' have made up their minds about your title. For us, Head Office keep switching our site designation from Design and Engineering (North) to Development and Evaluation (Naval), perming all combinations in between. Personally, I blame the Director! "

Seeing their puzzled expression because they know Alan Sugar as usually the most decisive of men, he grins and continues "As a boy, he worked in East London and became a fan of the local football club, Millwall. Nicknamed the Lions, so their ground is called ..." the other two explode in laughter.

When the glee dies down Boyle remarks "Since this is turning into a joint confessional, I may as well contribute my tuppence worth.

You know that my department was originally called 'Anti Submarine Division'? .. yes .. but contrary to common belief, there never was an Admiralty Submarine Detection Investigation Committee overseeing our work. The technology we invented was simply called ASDics because we wanted to obscure our results. Calling it Sound Search or even Hypersonics as were both also suggested would have been too much of a hint. Of course that soon got slightly shortened to ASDIC, and the committee was invented by some press officer who had to explain the acronym to a newshound.

Later, when some of us moved up from Portland, basically splitting from the ASDIC training establishment, the Admiralty wanted to give us a new name reflecting our wider role - being now working on technology used by and against subs. We now have to be both gamekeeper and poacher in the submarine world.

Sounds reasonable enough, does it not Gentlemen?

However, I am fighting a losing rearguard action against us being named Submarine Weapons Evaluation and Testing.
Heaven alone knows what that would do to the mindset my team of eccentrics if they officially became the SWEATs"

_________________________________

Authors Notes

Not sure if this episode is qualifies as a mainline or sidings update

However, though short, it does serve at least 4 purposes for me

and I hope provides another small bit of enjoyment to you

_______________

as I always try to be in most technical or bureaucratic matters the ASDics / ASDIC controversy is RL (or very close)

 

[steamboy]

Absolutely wonderful as always. Again you've got a real nack for writing characters.

 

[AlanJWhite]

09:15 2 September 1923 First Floor Sitting Room, On Na Mara

In a spartanly furnished room looking out over the Quay, the Eastern Channel and the Isle of Ewe.
Captain Horton is welcoming his two subordinates, Alexander McIver and Dr Wood from the ASD advance team.
He directs them to the small dining table with 6 straight back chairs saying

"Hopefully when Tournaig House is completed we will have more suitable locations for such meetings,
but for now, we will have to make do with this room in my 'Sea Cabin' as my steward insists on calling this apartment."

His companions all sit and expect him to begin but all he says is "Doctor Wood, your cue I believe"

The scientist rubbed the bridge of his nose, coughed and began self-depreciatingly "Well, in fairness, Professor Boyle himself should be giving this, the first formal mission briefing of the Advanced Submarine Warfare team, but since he has had to return to Canada I will do my best to substitute.

You all know that during the War, ASD developed the new ASDic system for detecting submerged submarines.
At HMS Serepta, that technology .. and the tactics to use it ...are being taught using 2 R class subs and 4 Asdic equipped Trawlers.

In addition, part of ASD relocated here to continue investigating new and better methods to do the same.
Here we already have 2 more submarines, now that Lieutenant Roberts has arrived in R8.
We will soon have 2 fairly up to date destroyers as hunters. Three months I believe, Captain Horton"

"With a fair wind, Yes" Horton sounds rather unconvinced. "If the Lords are willing that is" emphasising the plural.

"However these vessels are NOT to be used for training other crews... but for experiment and learning ready to create the next generation of training courses. You will conduct exercises - under a wide variety of conditions of place and season. But in addition, we will be exploring those conditions and testing equipment to suit them.

And that is what, the first group of missions will be - exploration and testing"

"Commander Mathews in his R7 and Mr McIver using Jamie Lad have conducted a most comprehensive survey of these waters using conventional methods, triangulating positions and testing depths with a leadline etc.

Our next step is to test a powerful new technology by applying it to verifying those results.

Lieutenant Roberts, that is why your vessel was sent to Scott's Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Greenock, fitted with an experimental ASDIC head and a set of Fessenden devices all in a new equipment room located in the former Senior Rating accommodations. I hope the loss of that room is not too arduous for your crew."

"No problems with that Dr Wood" replied Roberts cheerfully. "In practice, our cruises only last a day or two even when at war so we used that space to store torpedo reloads. Not that anyone except Commander Mathews every got to fire a salvo in anger anyway! In peace, 6 in the tubes enough for any probable exercise"

"That's good to hear. As an aside I apologise that you had to wait so long for the work to be started at Greenock.

Our original plan was to use two H class submarines that already had Fessenden Oscillators fitted but those vessels were earmarked for assignment to the Royal Canadian Navy. When we were assigned two more R class, we recognised it might be useful to add even more Oscillators than the Hs carried. Unfortunately, few RN subs were fitted with Fessendens and therefore few were kept in the stores.

In fact, R8 now has 5 of the last 15 working models left this side of the Atlantic"

"Is that why the Professor is in Canada? To buy or steal ... I mean borrow, of course ... more these Fessendens for us to use?" asked Mathews half-jokingly.

"Even better, he is trying to persuade Mr Reginald Fessenden, the inventor of these devices (and incidentally much other useful equipment) to return to Great Britain and work with us on using and improving on his work."

_______________________________________

Authors Notes:

Yes, Reginald Fessenden is RL as is his Oscillator.
iOTL (and TTL) he volunteered in 1914 and came over to the UK to work with ASD on ASDIC
but returned to his businesses in the USA and iOTL never came back

 

[El Pip]

"Even better, he is trying to persuade Mr Reginald Fessenden, the inventor of these devices (and incidentally much other useful equipment) to return to Great Britain and work with us on using and improving on his work."

Not sure that's a wise move. Fessenden appears to be quite a prickly and temperamental person to work with and, to be blunt, much of his best work is behind him at this point. I may be maligning him, I am relying on a skim read from the internet, but at this point in his career his main concern appears to be getting himself credit for his work (which in fairness he deserves) and getting into petty rows with award committees and institutions.

The team is working well, is it really worth disrupting it all for the sake of a prima dona who may no longer have that much to contribute? Of course if this is a deliberate mistake for the sake of drama, then please carry on.

 

[jlckansas]

Not sure that's a wise move. Fessenden appears to be quite a prickly and temperamental person to work with and, to be blunt, much of his best work is behind him at this point. I may be maligning him, I am relying on a skim read from the internet, but at this point in his career his main concern appears to be getting himself credit for his work (which in fairness he deserves) and getting into petty rows with award committees and institutions.

The team is working well, is it really worth disrupting it all for the sake of a prima dona who may no longer have that much to contribute? Of course if this is a deliberate mistake for the sake of drama, then please carry on.

Having the RN support him would help him immensely with getting credit. Having the connections that are here ITTL, even better.

 

[steamboy]

And don't forget that there could well be the sheen of Royal Connections considering how much 'ol Bertie's getting involved and the interest and thus support from him.

 

[El Pip]

Having the RN support him would help him immensely with getting credit. Having the connections that are here ITTL, even better.

Fessenden was never much fussed about his wartime work, he thought that was recognised enough (and in all honesty he didn't actually do much on the subject). His passion was always radio and his massive ongoing legal fight with RCA and various other companies to get his radio patents respected.

Looking into it, the Fessenden Oscillator is all well and good for simple depth sounding and so on and you can use them for crude hydrophones if you must, but they appear to have been replaced by piezo-electric transducers even before the end of WW1. For that you want to head to France and hire Paul Langevin as he's the man who invented them. Though in truth the Admiralty should still have W H Bragg on the books, who has plenty of ASDIC experience and can also fill in any piezoelectric gaps.

 

[A. Morgan]

Fessenden was never much fussed about his wartime work, he thought that was recognised enough (and in all honesty he didn't actually do much on the subject). His passion was always radio and his massive ongoing legal fight with RCA and various other companies to get his radio patents respected.

Looking into it, the Fessenden Oscillator is all well and good for simple depth sounding and so on and you can use them for crude hydrophones if you must, but they appear to have been replaced by piezo-electric transducers even before the end of WW1. For that you want to head to France and hire Paul Langevin as he's the man who invented them. Though in truth the Admiralty should still have W H Bragg on the books, who has plenty of ASDIC experience and can also fill in any piezoelectric gaps.

Well done. I am simply astonished at the level of deep knowledge people have on sometimes the most esoteric subjects. I learn something every time someone posts here (we won't mention that in my advanced years I then promptly forget).

 

[AlanJWhite]

Fessenden was never much fussed about his wartime work, he thought that was recognised enough (and in all honesty he didn't actually do much on the subject). His passion was always radio and his massive ongoing legal fight with RCA and various other companies to get his radio patents respected.

Looking into it, the Fessenden Oscillator is all well and good for simple depth sounding and so on and you can use them for crude hydrophones if you must, but they appear to have been replaced by piezo-electric transducers even before the end of WW1. For that you want to head to France and hire Paul Langevin as he's the man who invented them. Though in truth the Admiralty should still have W H Bragg on the books, who has plenty of ASDIC experience and can also fill in any piezoelectric gaps.

Should have known that the AH crew would have members that knew about even so obscure and IMHO under-appreciated character as Reggie Fessenden

RF was indeed a prime example of the cantankerous, near genius, lone-wolf inventor suited to the Late Victorian/Edwardian period. Unfortunately, he ran afoul of both better self-publicists in the 1900s and, after his volunteer war-time service, bigger commercial organisations with "better" lawyers in the 1910-20s .

IOTL he did get some acknowledgement for his radio work, at least 2 "Medals"
(although he and his family were suspicious that one was "fixed" as a distraction by one of his American legal opponents who were making big bucks by violating his patents. As often happens when an individual is in court against a rich company, RF eventually won that fight but too late for him personally)

Only after his death did he receive a smidgeon of true recognition for his early Radio work, both theoretical and practical. In an Obituary 1932 , headed "Fessenden Against the World", New York Herald Tribune said:

It sometimes happens, even in science, that one man can be right against the world. Professor Fessenden was that man. It is ironic that among the hundreds of thousands of young radio engineers whose commonplaces of theory rest on what Professor Fessenden fought for bitterly and alone only a handful realize that the battle ever happened... It was he who insisted, against the stormy protests of every recognized authority, that what we now call radio was worked by "continuous waves" of the kind discovered by Hertz, sent through the ether by the transmitting station as light waves are sent out by a flame. Marconi and others insisted, instead, that what was happening was the so-called "whiplash effect"... It is probably not too much to say that the progress of radio was retarded a decade by this error... The whiplash theory faded gradually out of men's minds and was replaced by the continuous wave one with all too little credit to the man who had been right

Fortunately, in his lifetime, he did get some credit for his "sound" work as applied to safety at sea

Also, from 1961 his work with sound waves and their analysis as applied to Geophysics was recognised by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists annual award of its Reginald Fessenden Prize to "a person who has made a specific technical contribution to exploration geophysics".

When I get there, I hope you like my solution to "squaring the circles" of his reputation, his character and his usefulness to SWEAT.

 

[AlanJWhite]

11:15 2 September 1923, HM Submarine R8, a forward Compartment

"After you, Gentlemen" Roberts said ushering his visitors out of the relatively brightly Control Room and through a hatch into a compartment lit only by a single "red" night vision bulb and a wide variety of lamps from four banks of equipment set two on each side of a central gangway. "Welcome to the 'Gloom Room' as my crew has christened it"

Mathews could see how the new kit had been fitted into the space where two sets of bunk beds had been removed leaving access to the torpedo tubes on the forward bulkhead but could only guess at the purpose of each position. There was a lightweight chair at each and a small shelf as a desk but only two were currently occupied. At the nearest to the hatch sat Mr Pike, the first officer of R8, wearing a pair of headphones and adjusting a wiring board very like the one his PO Morse used at the telephone exchange at HQ. Further into the gloom half turned away was a broad-shouldered figure, wearing civilian coveralls and what seemed to be a handkerchief knotted onto his head, who was minutely examining a gauge.

Roberts tapped his subordinate of the shoulder who started slightly, quickly pulled off the headset but did not stand up due to the wiring cabinets at head height. "Oh ... sorry about that Skipper, Noonian and I were just running some final checks ready for this afternoon's trial run."

"That OK Jimmy, we still have an hour or two before we cast off. How are things at your end, Doctor Singh?" Roberts called in a louder voice.

The other occupant turned and showed strong white teeth in a broad smile across an aquiline, brown face. "All very well Captain, and looking forward to correlating all the data our unique array of instruments can give us." The words held only a trace of accent but a plethora of barely suppressed excitement.

"Well .. not unique for very much longer." Roberts chuckled. "In a month or so the engineers at Greenock will be fitting R7 with the same set of kit - including of course any new wrinkles you professors come up with in the meantime." Singhs' eyes light up at the thought of another experimental vessel.

"Mr Singh, this is Lieutenant Commander Mathews, captain of R7, and Mr McIver, our local pilot for the initial test runs we will do on the surface. Gentlemen, be known to Doctor Singh, from the Bombay Oceanic Institute currently attached to Professor Boyle's Experimental team, specialising in analysing the water conditions."

Pausing a moment, Roberts makes up his mind and turns to his second in command. "Jimmy, since you have been most involved in the updates, why don't you explain the rest of these wonders to Commander Mathews and Mr McIver"

"Certainly Skipper. Commander as you can see we have added 4 separate .. and hopefully complementary.. banks of equipment. Forward to port is Dr Singh's domain, measuring several factors of the water "

"Pressure, temperature, salinity and .. if I can get it to work reliably, current flow with compensation for the sub's movement." put in the Sikh.

"Forward to starboard is the relocated and improved station to monitor the six hydrophones already fitted to the R Class. For now, these sound receptors are unchanged to the ones in R7 .. the same microphones housed in the same places just rewired to here. However, at the suggestion of a consultant who worked with the French Army, we have added some special recording equipment for detailed comparative analysis ashore."

"I was working on controls of the Fessenden Array, 5 devices in all - one pointing ahead, one on each beam, one on the keel and one pointing upwards. Each Oscillator can send out a burst of sound into the water but then it automatically switches to listening."

"Like using a speaking trumpet to hail and then swiftly putting it to your ear to listen for a response?" asked McIver. "I was told that the shape that sends the sound out further also catches incoming sound better."

"In principle, except that here there is no separate sound source, just the echo of your own call. Imagine being caught in a mist on a dead calm, dead quiet night near some cliffs, you might try yelling and listening for the faint echo to gauge the distance to the danger."

"You would need to be in dire straits indeed to try that trick " the Scot retorted, then added "Though I have heard that out on Staffa, the tourists love to test the echos from the Sea Caves wi' all sorts of sounds"

"Alec, it was to avoid both land and floating dangers that Mr Fessenden invented this device. He built the first models very rapidly in response to the Titanic disaster as a means of detecting icebergs, especially the low lying kind of that can hardly be seen above waves but extend deep below... " Roberts replied.

"Growlers, they are called" put in Singh. He shrugged at the surprise the others showed. "My main speciality is the warm seas around my home but being a Canadian my chief Professor Boyle will not allow any of us to forget the hazards of the icy Polar Seas"

"O .. Aye and I can well see how such a trick can help plot the direction, depth and width of any passage as we approach it but of what use is the one pointing at the stars"

"Never forget the third dimension, Mr McIver. As I understand it our purpose is mostly to help our submarines operate better below the surface" The Sikh smiles. "Despite the presence of two RN submarine officers, we are all still inexperienced in thinking that way." He pauses "Besides, some of my colleagues have interesting ideas about how seawater changes as the depth increases. Who knows what we may find?" The normally imperturbable Scot is clearly less excited about any underwater excursion.

Picking up the thread of his spoken tour, Pike continues. "Last but not least is that station". He indicates the final position that has its own set of instruments and a headset but also a horizontal wheel connected to a column through the decking. "That is the controls for an ASDIC head that was fitted at the same time. Mr McIver, ASDIC is an RN development of the echo principle but with a separate sound transmitter and in this case two separate receivers. Some RN surface ships already use these devices but this is an experimental model with changes ... hopefully improvements".

"And how is this so different from yon 'Fessendens'?" asks McIver. Pike is clearly unsure whether he should say more and Roberts has noticed that Mathews has been silent throughout so he chooses to reply. "The Fessenden uses quite low pitched sounds but ASDIC utilises much higher tones which we have found behave somewhat differently in water. We think each will have their uses for a submarine and speculate that both together could be even better. Anyway, let us go back to the charts and plan our first runs. Pike, you come too".

As their subordinates shift sternward, Roberts turns to Mathews "Everything OK Sir!". Smiling at the unusual formality Mathews replies in a whisper. "Bob, all this is very interesting and useful for research but I am sure you realise that much of this kit could not be used during a war patrol. We are nicknamed 'The Silent Service' for good reason! We cannot use all these active devices any more than an army squad reconnoitring at night can use a lamp to find their way. I'm just wondering what the Captain and the Professor have in mind for the longer term!"

____________________________________

Authors Notes

as usual, all the Technology is RL but AFAIK no RN sub of this date carried such a mix

______________

the Staffa cliffs in the inner Hebrides have caves including this, which partially inspired this

 

[AlanJWhite]

14:20 10 September 1923 west side of the Upper Minch

R8 is lying on the surface
propellor turning very slowly, head pointing south-south-west
a slight white bone in her teeth but apparently making no ground down the channel
On the small conning tower, Mathews and McIver stand shoulder to shoulder but at an angle
Each is taking a bearing on a separate distant point of land

McIver shows his friend his instrument, who looks thoughtful and then moves to the speaking tube.
"Captain, this is the Lookouts. That extra turn on the cruising motor has done the trick. Our bearings are steady now. How is Singh doing with a measure?"

Down below Roberts steps into the Systems room and calls "By Geometry, we are in a fixed position. What is your flow reading Noonian?"

Singh glances at a gauge and begins to form his reply when the PO at the Fessenden array suddenly calls "Distant object to starboard. Probably abaft the beam. No Engine sounds at my frequencies"

Roberts turns to the Hydrophone Operator who is already switching to the correct signal input combination "Nothing here either, Sir".

"Object still approaching, now getting a wider return .. it must be quite large" the PO actually has his eyes closed and is manipulating his controls like a piper on his chanter.

"Keep listening you both." He turns back to the hatch and calls over his shoulder " Dr Singh we are aborting your test run". Once back in Control, he opens the speaking tube to the conning tower. "Lookouts this is the captain, instruments show a large echo aft of the starboard beam, can you see anything?" after a moment he adds "No engine sounds"

Above, both men case their instruments and take up the binoculars hanging from their necks.
McIver as pilot sweeps the named sector, while Mathews as backup does a 360-degree sweep for safety.
When that is complete, Mathews returns to sweep the after quarter but sees nothing.
MacIver nods to him and takes over the check in all directions.
With his lens still fixed to his eyes, Mathews find the speaking tube by touch and calls
"Lookouts, nothing in sight captain. No even a boat under sail"

"Must be a mass of flotsam .. or worse jetsam. The operator says it's coming towards us. We will have to steer away in case it's solid or wreckage that might foul the propeller".

On the conning tower, McIver stiffens, turns and taps his friend's elbow indicating he wants to pickup the conversation. "Captain, you say the echo is approaching?"

Roberts confirms but MicIver shoots back "Aye, and how can that be. What'er tis is moving against the tide! Captain, can I ask that you to quiet the boat entirely, what did ye call it. 'Silent Routine'. and shut down even the cruise motor, I assure thee we are a good three miles off Tiumpan Head and the race will carry us north away in any case"

"Very well, Alec. It seems Dr Singh is correct we all have a lot to learn. All stop. Set Condition silent. Sound operators continue to report, but hushed"

R8 goes dead quiet and begins to drift north with the tide, rotating to and fro as the helmsman tries to keep control without steerage way.

"Object now close to starboard. beginning to get returns from the keel oscillator. Whatever it is, its definitely moving south-west and deeper than us ... maybe 10 fathoms." From the Fessendens.

"Still nothing" from the phones " ... no wait. Something to the north. No point source. Not engines, clicks and creaks ... almost chuckles. Either multiple locations or moving swiftly"

Hearing this McIver laughs himself and takes up his binoculars again. He sweeps quite close in and then points. Mathews follows his direction. For a minute nothing but then sees a smooth grey shape break the surface for second and then dive below. "There's at least three that I can see, probably a dozen in the pod" McIver comments

"Dolphins! you mean we have been detecting dolphins" Mathews tone is wondering.

"Nay lad, but we did hear them on your hydrophone. We see them often enough, even in the Loch. My old Da did tell me of one summer when he was a lad that a pair o dolphins would join into any swimming party for a week. They would be chattering and squeaking at the boys' heels like pups yipping and growling as they play."

"Marvellous" more wonder in Mathews' voice. "And the Fessendens found them as well? I thought they were only good for large objects?"

"Nay again, lad. That was something even better! The Dolphins are chasing dinner, a shoal of the 'Silver Darlings' moving up the Minch against the tide in search of their own supper from the shrimp washed along by the race"

"Ah ... the low-frequency sound might reflect of a mass of smaller bodies nearly as well as a solid mass of rock or ice ... "

"Might do .. ye say ... I would say we have proved that it does. But .. Do you think the Professor would allow us to add more tests of this to the program?"

__________________________________

Authors Notes

Silver darlings are a nickname for Herring (which is mostly an East Coast fish in Scotland)
but I could not resist

 

[AlanJWhite]

16 July 1997 Maine Mercury, Advert Section

For Sale: M&M FFF Model 59-B

well used but well maintained from new.

Complete: manual, controls, display and transducers ... even mountings
Works like the old time radio jingle said "Only a Fessenden finds fish just fine anytime"

Would still be using it except I have upgraded to a McLennan and McIver 95-C
(with a bigger color display my eyesight not being quite what it was in '58)

Apply: Zach Franklin, the Wharf, Cabot Cove
Can arrange fitting at a reasonable rate.
Bring your boat along for an estimate

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Authors Notes

another of the "how did that play out?" stoppers

 

[Some Bloke]

Can Noonian sing?

 

[AlanJWhite]

Can Noonian sing?

of course he Khan