Todd war diary, 3 August 1914-29 February 1916 / Arthur Todd - Page 333
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[Page 333]
torpedoes minus their warheads. The warhead is a chamber which is screwed on to the nose and filled with high explosive. When torpedoes are being run for practice the chamber is filled with some innocuous material to make up the weight and preserve the balance. As a torpedo is a valuable piece of machinery, it means hours of boatwork with divers when one is lost. When we lost ours outside Port Antonio half the ship's company seemed to be walking about the bottom in diving gear. When all the frightfulness was finished and the torpedoes were recovered, we left again for Kingston, where, as the flag was away, we propped up a wharf and went ashore without helmets. There were still no orders, so we arranged a yachting cruise to Havana in Cuba.
The ship these days was in peace routine: awnings were spread above the decks, chairs were got up, and - mercy of mercies - we were not battened down at night. There was no "darken ship" or night defence, and all hands slept peacefully in their fleabags. Off Havana we met the Descartes, our French consort, who had been cheerfully engaged in patrolling the entrance to Havana Harbour wherein the Huns were supposed to be fitting ships for sea. We passed her over some papers and food and then went close up to the town. We got there just at dusk. Havana from the sea was a pretty sight. Along the seafront is a great marine parade two miles long lit by brilliant electric lights at twenty-yards intervals. Running back up the gently sloping hill on which the town is built were the