Page 286 - Il Mediterraneo quale elemento del Potere Marittimo - Atti 16-18 settembre 1996

272 THEAN D. POTGIETER

as they bad clone such good work on the Tobruk Run". He signalled che Admiralty
asking for an extension of their stay, saying tbat: "Tbe loss of these efficient little
sbips and experienced crews will be deeply fele. I beg that a request be made to
the Union Government, asking that they be allowed to remain in their essential
work, which is band in hand with the fine exploits of the troops of their Dominion
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ashore., <S >. As a result of the request from the British Admiralty the Union Go-
vernment again in November decided to extend che loan period- eventually untill
che end of the war <55>.
The extension of their services in che Mediterranean implied only one thing
for the 22nd Anti-Submarine Group: active duty and a continuation of bitter figh-
ting. A glance at the frantic scribbling on many a logbook page confirms this, with
uneventful voyages being the exception. Reports from tbe Mediterranean also tell
of constane active duty: varying from convoy duty and submarine contacts to conti-
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nuous subjection to air attack <5 >. According co a war-time author the crews of these
ships were always manning their guns at an istant, and be staces that, " ... by their
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readiness to beat of air attacks, the Southerns undoubtedly earned respect .. :· <S >.
This busy schedule and the considerable rime these ships spent at sea, were having
an effect on the crews and che ships. The Senior South African Officer, as a result
warned that more ti me were needed for maintenance an d if this di d not materiali se
"the efficiency of tbese sbips will suffer considerably'· <58>.
One of the more notable exploits in wbich a Soutb African ship took pare,
occurred in May 1942. A small convoy consisting of ebree sbips (SS Hecla, the sloop
HMS Grimsby and the Southern Maid) approacbed Tobruk on Saturday 24 May. With
a sand storm over the coast, conditions were very unpleasant. Tbis meant that tbe
convoy had to enter Tobruk the following day. Bue, before entering Tobruk, they
carne under insistent air attacks, with at least twenty-sevenJu87's with fighter escorts
participating in one attack. The Southern Maid was bit severa! times, suffering four
wounded .an d o ne dea d, but zig-zaged and maintained a continues fire, expending
1750 20mm rounds in 20 minutes. As a result, severa! planes were observed co
be hit and one was downed (S9>. Both the other ships (Hecla and Grimsby), were badly
bit and later sank. The Southern Maid picked up 160 survivors, with some woun-
ded amongst them, altogether six times more than che sbips norma! complement;
and _sailed for Mersa Matruh, w h ere she arrived che following morning. Less than
a week later slie was performing similar ducies. Other South African vessels had
similar experiences, with the Southern Isles for example suffering four casualties and
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shooting down a Ju87 on che Tobruk Run < >.
On 11 July 1942, the Protea and the Southern Maid succeeded in sinking an
ltalian submarine, the Ondina. After hunting and depth-charging the submarine for
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about rwo hours it was forced to the surface "in a sinking condition·· < 0. The gun
crews of the South African ships "immediately fired" at the submarine, but as it was
sinking and its crew had abandoned ship, the Protea's boats were used to pick up survi-
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vors, taking 29 aboard the Protea and 12 aboard che Southern Maid< >. The CO
of the Protea, Lt G. Burn Wood was afterwards awarded the Distinguished Service
Order (DSO) for his pare in this action <63>.