by Phil Ward
A Ferris wheel ride at an amusement park is a cheap thrill. Being swung out over the Mediterranean in the dark of night, then lowered down the side of a ship in a two-and-a-half-ton amphibious truck and plopped in the sea behind enemy lines—that’s a real thrill.
Not to worry. Skipper Finley’s crew had trained to perform the drill until they could do it in their sleep. The DUKW splashed down as light as a rubber ducky in a bathtub.
Frank cranked up the engine and headed for shore. Skipper Finley immediately got the trawler underway, headed up the coast to drop off Captain “Geronimo” Joe McKoy and the remaining men of Duck Patrol.
The gun DUKW was on its own, sailing on a private enterprise. Capt. Kidd liked it that way. He was comfortable operating behind the lines. However, tonight was a first—Raiding Forces had never sent a lone vehicle on a mission all by itself.
Capt. Kidd was going to raid the remote hotel BOMBSHELL target that Air Intelligence had identified as a Luftwaffe hostel. The Nazis had requisitioned it for pilots to stay in while they were operating from the desert airstrips in the immediate area –flying mostly against Tobruk. Then the gun truck was to make its way overland to Oasis X.
Some people might consider their assignment a suicide mission. No one on the DUKW thought so. Raiding Forces did not do suicide missions.
• • •
Acting Provisional Sub-Lieutenant Skipper Warthog Finley made way as soon
as the DUKW was clear of the trawler. The plan was for him to sail up the coastline well out to sea and drop off Duck Patrol. The second mission was more complicated for the sailors from the purely technical standpoint of seamanship. The crew would have to launch four DUKWs with gun jeeps in the back and one DUKW with a crane mounted.
The five DUKWs would make their way ashore. The crane DUKW was along to unload all four gun jeeps. Then all five DUKWs would motor back to the trawler and be retrieved by its crane.
Then Skipper Finley would make a mad dash back in the direction of Alexandria at full speed to reach the safety of the RAF air umbrella before daybreak. By any measure of seamanship, it was a tall order.
Captain “Geronimo” Joe McKoy and Waldo Treywick were sitting in the gun jeep in the bed of the first DUKW launched over the side by the deck crane. The RNPS coxswain circled while the other four amphibious trucks were lowered into the water. Capt. McKoy was anxious to get going, but the unloading operation could not be hurried.
Duck Patrol had to land on a deserted beach, unload the four gun jeeps from the DUKWs, and then drive inland approximately five miles to the grid coordinates where Brandy Seaborn believed the 621st Radio Intercept Company was set up—the idea being to find, fix and finish the Desert Fox’s crystal ball reader.
If the SOLID GOLD target was there, Capt. McKoy’s Phantom operator was to signal Colonel John Randal (who would be airborne en route to their location) the mission was a green light. Team A would drop in and kill or capture Captain Alfred Seebohm with Duck Patrol in support.
There was nothing simple about this plan.
Finally, all four DUKWs were successfully launched, bobbing and weaving their way toward the beach. They made it to shore undetected, and the process of unloading the gun jeeps began immediately.
When the last gun jeep was on the ground, Capt. McKoy drove inland while the DUKWs went back into the water to return to the trawler. It did not take long for Duck Patrol to travel four of the five miles to the objective.
Waldo dismounted and with one of the Rangers backing him up, disappeared into the dark. As they moved out, the ex-ivory poacher said, “Sonny boy, you better be silent as a ghost.”
“Don’t worry—I’m from Kentucky, Mr. Treywick,” the Ranger whispered back. “Grew up in the hills hiding out from revenuers sneaking around looking for my granddaddy’s still—ain’t nobody gonna hear me I don’t want ’em to.”
The two quickly traveled across the desert to where the target was reported to be—and there it was. A single tent. Seebohm’s HQ—the SOLID GOLD target would be somewhere behind it in the distance.
When the recon party returned to Duck Patrol, Waldo said, “Right on the money Joe—SOLID GOLD.”
Capt. McKoy ordered the Phantom operator, “Contact Colonel Randal—target in sight.”
The plan was for Duck Patrol, with Col. Randal’s Team A onboard, to advance to within a mile of the tent Waldo had located. A small party armed with silenced weapons would advance on the target and take it out as quietly as possible.
Then Duck Patrol, with Team A on board, would come on line and drive in the direction where they hoped Seebohm’s HQ tent would be located. When they found it, the Raiders would engage with every weapon the patrol had.
It was not much of a plan.
Waldo got behind the wheel of Capt. McKoy’s command jeep and slowly drove in the direction of the 621st Radio Intercept Company. He was going to keep it under observation until Team A arrived.
Capt. McKoy climbed in the passenger seat on another jeep and led the three remaining Duck Patrol gun jeeps two miles west to a likely spot and stood by to set up a DZ for Team A.
After what seemed like a lifetime, but which was in fact less than thirty minutes, the Phantom operator said, “Five minutes out.”
Capt. McKoy pitched out a red railroad flare. The other two jeeps did the same.
Up in the Hudson, piloted by Lieutenant Pamala-Plum Martin, Col. Randal was arched out the door looking for the Initial Point (IP) when he saw the three flares on the ground.
The Vargas Girl-looking Royal Marine pilot saw them too. She was in high spirits. Captain Roy Kidd had radioed “BOMBSHELL MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.”
Col. Randal swung back inside and shouted at his stick, “CLOSE ON THE DOOR.”
Then he turned back to the door, put the toe of his right canvas-topped raiding boot halfway over the edge of nothingness. Knees bent in a crouch, he reached out and slapped his hands, palm down, outside on the skin of the Hudson on both sides of the door.
Col. Randal was not doing all that great. The pain from his first jump earlier had started to kick in. And he was beginning to feel fairly stiff. Fortunately, this jump was going to be at eight hundred feet, which should result in a much softer landing.
When the flare was just off the toe of his boot, Col. Randal shouted, “GO.”
He jumped as hard as he could, but somehow got it wrong. In his mind he was counting “One thousand, two thousand, three thousand . . .” the way Airborne Command taught at Ft. Benning. The parachute was supposed to be open by “four thousand.”
When that happened, the jumper was supposed grab the risers and look up to “CHECK CANOPY” to make sure it had deployed properly and that there were no blown panels. British paratroopers did not do that. Since they did not jump reserves, there was not much they could do in the event their chute had malfunctioned.
When Col. Randal reached “four thousand,” nothing had happened. He looked up and saw that the X-type parachute had not deployed. It was a streamer—what U.S. Paratroopers called a Roman Candle.
Col. Randal immediately began the drill. He leaned back, reached down, grabbed the handle of his reserve parachute, yanked it as hard as possible and thought he had ripped it completely off when the handle tore free in his hand—not a reassuring feeling. Again, nothing happened!
Then Col. Randal remembered he had to deploy the reserve chute by hand, which he started doing as fast as he could. The white silk canopy spilled out and blew back against his legs. This was officially not good.
He reached down, grabbed the silk parachute, gathered it up and tossed it out away from his body. The wind caught the canopy and the reserve popped open. When that happened, the main chute deployed too. Now Col. Randal was coming down under two parachutes, but by this time he was extremely low to the ground.
With two chutes pulling in different directions there was no way to attempt a parachute landing fall. He crashed flat on his back. WHAAAM!
On this jump he d
id not hit a single one of the five points of contact. Col. Randal did not immediately jump up and dust himself off in the approved Airborne manner. He was in a lot of pain.
Both parachutes drifted down and covered him like a shroud. He was not having a good night.
Captain Billy Jack Jaxx ran over.
“You OK, Colonel?” Capt. Jaxx asked as Col. Randal struggled to his feet and hit the quick release, dropping his harness.
“Just swell,” Col. Randal said, through gritted teeth.
“You’re supposed to drop the handle after popping your reserve, sir.” Capt. Jaxx said, noting that the Colonel was still holding his.
“Not a chance, Jack,” Col. Randal said. “I pulled this one so hard it’s got my finger grooves bent in it.”
“Sir,” Capt. Jaxx said, “reserve handles are made out of solid steel.”
Col. Randal said, “Yeah.”
26
PAIN
Colonel John Randal was sitting on the steps in the shallow end of the private pool of the suite he shared with Major the Lady Jane Seaborn—back from the desert. It was an hour before sunrise. He was hoping soaking in the water would make some of the pain go away. It would be fair to say his morale was low.
When Duck Patrol linked up with Waldo immediately after Team A jumped in, he reported the 621st Radio Intercept Company was gone. The Germans had struck the tent he had under observation, loaded it on a truck and driven off in the dark.
No SOLID GOLD.
Duck Patrol set off across the desert to raid targets of opportunity on their way back to Oasis X. The Rangers went with Captain “Geronimo” Joe McKoy to acquire actual patrolling experience. They would be dropped off to link up with the rest of the Five-Seven-Five later to continue their training.
Col. Randal, James “Baldie” Taylor, Captain Billy Jack Jaxx and King had been picked up by Lieutenant Pamala Plum-Martin and flown back to RFHQ in the Hudson. Except for the report of the successful BOMBSHELL mission, it had been a long, frustrating night.
Lady Jane came out and slipped into the pool beside him. Golden tan, her mahogany hair swept back—drop-dead gorgeous. She put her arm around his shoulder with her scarlet nails splayed on his chest. That felt good.
“Do you know how Prime Minister Churchill defines success, John?” Lady Jane asked.
“I have no idea.”
“He said it is ‘going from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.’”
Col. Randal said, “Well, that would be us.”
Lady Jane said, “I inherited my title at birth. It set me apart from the other children. My family was so enormously wealthy and famous I was like a little twig trying to grow up under the shadow of a giant oak tree. Until the night you appeared, my life was spent trying to conform to what others expected of me.
“You allow me to be myself,” Lady Jane said. “I love you, John.”
She kissed him on the cheek.
Col. Randal wondered if Lady Jane was the Nazi spy.
____________
To be continued in Raiding Rommel – book XI in the Raiding Forces Series
THE RAIDING FORCES SERIES CONTINUES…ALL THE WAY TO VE DAY.
____________
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ABBREVIATIONS
ORDERS & AWARDS
Bt – Baronet
CB – Companion of the Bath
CMG – Companion of the Order of St. Michael & St. George
DCM – Distinguished Conduct Medal
DFC – Distinguished Flying Cross (Royal Air Force)
DSC – Distinguished Service Cross (Royal Navy)
DSO – Distinguished Service Order
GC – George Cross
GCB – Grand Cross in the Order of the Bath
GM – George Medal
KBE – Knight Commandeer of the British Empire
KCVO – Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
LG – Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter
MC – Military Cross
MM – Military Medal
MVO – Member of the Royal Victorian Order
OBE – Order of the Empire
VC – Victoria Cross
THE SHARP END
ACRONYMS
AO – Area of Operation
AP – Armor Piercing
AT – Anti Tank
AVG – American Volunteer Group
BAR – Browning Automatic Rifle
BDU – Battle Dress Uniform
BOAC – British Overseas Airways Corporation
CO – Commanding Officer
COW – Coventry Ordnance Works
CP – Command Post
DUKW – A two and a half ton swimming tank
DZ – Drop Zone
GHQME/ GHQ – General Headquarters Middle
HE – High Explosive
HUMIT – Human Intelligence
I&R – Intelligence & Reconnaissance (Platoon)
IP – Initial Point
ISSB – Inner Services Security Board
KRRC – King’s Royal Rifle Corps
LCT – Landing Craft Tank
LMG – Light Machine Gun
LRDG – Long Range Desert Group
LUP – Laying Up Position
MG – Machine Gun
NID – Naval Intelligence Division
OKW – Oberkommando der Wehrmacht
OP – Operations (Orders)
PBI – Poor Bloody Infantry
PIR – Parachute Infantry Regiment
PWE – Political Warfare Executive
RAF – Royal Air Force
RFHQ – Raiding Forces Headquarters
RM – Royal Marine
RN – Royal Navy
RNVR – Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve
RNPS – Royal Navy Patrol Service
SDF – Sudan Defense Force
SIGNIT – Signals Intelligence
SIME – Security Intelligence Middle East Command
SIS – Secret Intelligence Service
SOE – Special Operations Executive
TO&E – Table of Organization and Equipment
USN – United States Navy
THE SHARP END
LIST OF CHARACTERS
Acting Provisional Sub-Lt. Skipper “Mud Cat” Ray, OBE, RNPS
Acting Provisional Sub-Lt. Skipper Warthog Finley, OBE, RNPS
Brandy Seaborn, GC
Brig. Raymond J. “R.J.” Maunsell
Brig. Stewart Menzies, DSO, aka “C”
Capt. Reacher
Capt. “Geronimo” Joe McKoy, OBE
Capt. “Pyro” Percy Stirling, DSO, MC
Capt. Billy Jack Jaxx, MC, SSM
Capt. David Stirling
Capt. Duke Slater
Capt. Hawthorne Merryweather
Capt. Malcom Chatterhorn
Capt. Penelope “Legs” Honeycutt-Parker, OBE, GM RM
Capt. Peter Fleming
Capt. Roy Kidd, MC
Capt. Roy “Mad Dog” Reupart
Capt. Teasdale Brown-Brown
Col. Bonner Fellers
Col. Dudley Clarke
Col. John Randal, DSO, OBE, DSC, MC
Cpl. Pettigrew
CWO Hank W. Rawlston
Ens. Teddy Hamilton, OBE aka “The Great Teddy”
Flanigan
FM Claude Auchinleck
FM Erwin Rommel
FM Sir Archibald Wavell
Frank Polanski
Gen. Douglas McArthur
Guns
His Royal Majesty King George VI
James B. McGovern, aka “Earthquake McGoon”
King
Lana Turner
Lovat Scout Lionel Fenwick
Lovat Scout Munro Ferguson
Lt. Jackson
Lt. “Dynamite” Dick Coogan
Lt. Alexandra (Mandy) Paige, OBE, RM
Lt. Butch “Headhunter” Hoolihan, DSO, MC, MM, RM
Lt. Clint Hays
Lt. Dan Morgan
Lt. Karen Montgomery, RM
Lt. Pamala Plum-Martin, DSO, OBE, DFC, RM
Lt. Randy “Hornblower” Seaborn, OBE, DSC, RN
Lt. Cdr. Ian Fleming, RNVR
Lt. Col. Randolph Johnson
Lt. Col. Valentine Killery
Maj. Mattesion
Maj. A.W. "Sammy" Sansom
Maj. Clive Adair
Maj. Edward Twitterington aka “Twitters the Taster”
Maj. Everard Beauchamp
Maj. Jack Black
Maj. Jack Merritt, DSO, MC, MM
Maj. Jeb Pelham-Davies, DSO, MC
Maj. Sir Terry “Zorro” Stone, KBE, DSO, MC
Maj. Taylor Corrigan, DSO, MC
Maj. The Lady Jane Seaborn, LG, OBE, RM
Maj. Travis McCloud
Maj. Gen. James “Baldie” Taylor, OBE
Masterson
McQueen
Mo
Mr. Jones
Mr. Smith
Pvt. Komansky
Rikke (Rocky) Runborg
Rita Hayworth
Sgt. Frank Hawkins, MM
Sgt. Ned Pompedous
Sgt. Rex Blackburn
Sgt. Tim Authury, MM
Sgt. Maj. Mike “March or Die” Mikkalis, DSM, MM
Skipper Mike “Wino” Muldoon, OBE
Sqn. Ldr. Paddy Wilcox, DSO, OBE, MC, DFC
VAdm. Sir Randolph “Razor” Ransom, VC, KCB, DSO, OBE, DSC
Veronica Paige, OBE
Wg. Cdr. Ronald Gordon aka “Flash Bang”
RAIDING ROMMEL PREVIEW
BOOK XI IN THE RAIDING FORCES SERIES
1
SNAFU
Colonel John Randal was sitting in the empty bar of the Continental Hotel on the north end of Colbert Street in Vichy French Diego Suarez, Madagascar—the third largest natural harbor in the world. He was alone at a table with his back to the wall sitting in a huge bamboo chair with a clamshell fan back that went up three feet over the top of his head. The chairs were designed so that four of them could be pulled in close together to form a discrete private booth.
It was that kind of place.