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[page 6]
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of one. This had the effect of making the troops chary of sitting on the rails or climbing out into the boats which latter by the way were kept hung out in the davits and lowered half way to the water. No submarines were seen but the "Minneapolis" a vessel of our own size and only one day ahead of us was sunk; fortunately she had no troops on board at the time. In our efforts to avoid submarine attacks we dodged all over the place, never keeping on the same course for more than three minutes, the idea being that it takes a submarine commander fully three or four minutes to work up his aim for his torpedo ( he has to take into consideration the speed, course and length of the target ship, also the speed of his own craft and the general condition of the sea way) and by that time the target has changed her course and he has to start working up another aim. He may of course take a chance shot, but unless he is within very close range he is hardly likely to do this for fear of being strafed by Von Tirpitz for wasting torpedoes which cost about £800 each. Often six or seven big vessels would be within our field of vision at the same time and it was a most peculiar sight to see them wandering about as though playing blind man's bluff. They may all be bound for different destinations and yet they appear to be all mixed up, and it is impossible to tell which one is going in your own direction and which the opposite. The amount of extra mileage steamed must be enormous. Suddenly a destroyer will hop up over the horizon, dash up to each ship, satisfy herself as to her identity and then spin round on her tail and be out of sight within very few minutes. There seems to be a never ending supply of these craft and often we were visited by half a dozen different ones during the day. They never stop but tear up at somewhere between 20 and 30 knots, have a close look at you and then turn so quickly that they look as