A POTTED HISTORY OF POST WW11 AMPHIBIOUS UNITS OF THE BRITISH ARMY - PART TWO

Extracted from the Journals of The Royal Army Service Corps and Royal Corps of Transport (The Waggoner)

The first DUKW Company to be formed after WW11 was 116 Amphibious Company at Cairnryan in 1951. The unit was Commanded by Major J A Abraham MC this consisted of Company HQ and 4 Platoons of 16 DUKWs each, the unit moved to Fremington in March 1952.in June 1954 it was reduced to three officers and 37 other ranks it was redesignated Amphibian Training Wing RASC in February 1960.

All extracts relate to Nuclear testing.

AMPHIBIOUS DETACHMENT CHRISTMAS ISLAND 1956/57 by Lt. A.R.R. EVANS, M.B.E., R.A.S.C. - INTRODUCTION

AT 10.30 A.M. CENTRAL PACIFIC TIME, on the 25th June 1956, H.M. Trooper Devonshire dropped anchor off Christmas Island. Our first view of the island was obscured by a tropical rainstorm—the British Army had arrived. It passed over as quickly as it had come and in the distance, the deep blue of the Pacific merged into the paler shade of a lagoon, banked by gleaming white coral, with an occasional sinister brown coral reef to break the placid scene. On the horizon, the palm trees of copra plantations stood in orderly rows a mute welcome beneath the bright sun. These copra plantations, we discovered later, were originated through the beneficence of the British Government in order to employ the two hundred Gilbertese, who lived on the island.

There were four hundred of us on the Devonshire, representing many different branches of all three services and we were the advance party of the joint force. Our task, in general, was to prepare the way for the great influx of R.A.F. and A.W.R.E. later in the year, by erecting camps with the basic mod. con. and constructing an airfield. The main function of the amphibious detachment of ten DUKWs was to support troops onshore by maintaining a ship-to-shore cargo service with a secondary role of shore-to-ship transportation. The year I personally spent in the Pacific divides itself fairly evenly into two parts:

June—November 1956 Christmas Island

December 1956—July 1957 Malden Island

The two parts presented very different problems in the operation of amphibians which I will try to bring out as I proceed further.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

Christmas Island, one of what is known collectively as the Northern Line Islands, is the largest coral atoll in the Pacific, although its dimensions are only about 35 miles East and West by 24 miles at its greatest width. The shape of the Island roughly resembles a large lobster claw, the jaws of which, opening to the North West, contain a spacious and almost semi-circular lagoon.

Surrounding the island is a fringing reef, several hundred yards in width. The day temperatures varied between 70° to 100°F, but the Easterly Trade Winds exerted a cooling influence, so that, despite the high humidity, the heat was not oppressive after the rigours of acclimatisation were over. The first four DUKWs arrived from Singapore on L.S.T. Reginald Kerr on 26th June, and the following ten days proved to be very hectic and rather unpleasant, due to the effect of the heat and the lack of certainty as to the availability of the next meal The Reginald Kerr was filled to capacity with tentage, composite rations, beer, packed P.O.L., camp structures, Elsans, beds, blankets and other stores vital to human existence. This was a critical period for the DUKWs, as they were then the only means of transportation from ship to shore.

After many alarms and crises, sufficient was landed to enable all living ashore to have a roof, a bed, and food. It was necessarily slow work for only four vehicles, a two-mile journey to the ship and a limited carrying capacity, a limitation due to bulk and not so much to weight. We were very relieved to see the S.S. Benwyvis arrive on 2nd July, for she carried L.CM's and N.L. Pontoons as well as the remaining six DUKWs. Her arrival marked the real beginning of the Port—a crane appeared on the wharf, vehicles began to come ashore, jetties were set up. At the end of three weeks, the Sappers had left us to go up country to start work on the main camp and the airfields. The Port and the Port Camp were in business.

The credit for the frantic activity of these three weeks must go to the Deputy Task Force Commander, Commodore P. W. Gretton, D.S.O., O.B.E,, D.S.C, R.N., who seemed to be everywhere, who urged us on by his example or who coerced us by the effective use of the spoken word! Through July, August, September, the cargo ships appeared—Bennevis, Benrinnes, Beachill, Pinehill more troops arrived on Charlton Star and Cheshire, and the Royal Navy arrived on H.M.S. Messina. A steady flow of craft maintained the rate of cargo to shore until the rush became routine. The necessity for using DUKWs for cargo became less urgent so that we were able to concentrate on more R. A.S.C. matters supplies and P.O.L. The supplies at this stage were brought in from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fort Beauhamois to the supply depot onshore from whence they disappeared either to the main or port camps. Fresh salad items were also flown in weekly from Honolulu.

The R.A.S.C ran its own bakery night work only, the bakers were the few without a suntan; and later the butchery flourished as the numbers increased. By December there was also a bulk tank farm for AVGAS and AVTUR as well as the packed depot. The R.A.S.C. was well established. The amphibian problems at Christmas Island were all caused by the distance involved between ship and shore. A round trip was very nearly five miles to the more distant berths and back. This long haul in low gear and hot climate caused excessive overheating of the engines which required constant observation. By dint of continual radiator flushing, "modified air-intakes", governing-down of engines, and advancing of ignition, we managed to keep some sort of check. By constant strict supervision of servicing and perpetual painting and scraping, we deferred the inevitable submission to corrosion as long as possible.

The original DUKWs became beyond economic repair eventually due not so much to mechanical faults as to unseaworthy hulls. To ensure economical employment of DUKWs at Christmas Island involved the use of six or eight on a circuit. In this way, time was not wasted at the hold of the ship and unloading parties ashore were kept fully employed An average of thirty-five to forty DUKW loads a day was achieved in this manner. By December life was reasonable. The NAAFI sold beer, the A.K.C. showed films, we had infrequent but most welcome visits from the U.S.A.F. Band of the Pacific. But anyone who thought that sameness and routine would take charge was in for a surprise.

Attention now focusses on Malden Island.

MALDEN ISLAND

Four hundred miles south of Christmas Island a desolate flat coral mass emerges from the Pacific to form the twenty-five square miles of Malden Island. Bare, but for half a dozen palm trees and some old guano workings and a few derelict buildings, the houses of the native miners and European overseers, the Island is uninhabited save for a few pigs, the descendants of those left there in 1927, when the only previous occupants of modern times departed for more hospitable shores.

As with Christmas Island, the island is fringed by a coral reef, but there is no friendly lagoon. The only gap in the reef was blown by the guano workers of the last century, who also had a wooden jetty constructed. The records of the mining company show that they shipped 14,000 tons of phosphates a year! Our efforts stood up well in comparison. During the seven months, we were there, the DUKWs (normal strength three) lifted 1,500 tons of stores and about the same tonnage of freshwater. Malden was the Forward Area for GRAPPLE. It served as the general base for the target area.

From December to March, a small army detachment of two officers and seventy other ranks (primarily R.E. with R.A.S.C., A.C.C., and R.E.M.E. in support) had the task of erecting a camp with basic facilities, constructing an airfield, and putting up the installations required by A.W.R.E. The R.A.S.C. amphibians had to bring all the stores and equipment ashore, except for the movement of vehicles and plant which was done by L.C.M's during favourable beach conditions. Our task was therefore basically the same as at Christmas. Here, however, it was even more important that the DUKWs maintained 100% availabiity5 as we had to carry anything from two-ton steel plates to delicate electronic racks. If the problem at Christmas had been distance, here, for the first time, we encountered the vagaries of an enigmatic ocean, causing difficulties on the beach and at sea. The difficulties were caused by:

(a) The gap.

(b) The variations in swell.

(c) The variations in surf.

(d) The changeable texture and gradient of the beach.

To deal with them in order:

(a) The gap as I mentioned earlier was blown by the guano miners. Because the coral had been blown up, there was a sheer drop at the water's edge from 0-2 fathoms. This drop often caused the DUKWs to "belly".

(b) Since the gap was situated on the South Western tip of the island it was governed by two swells; one from the North and one from the South. It was impossible to know when the swell would change and on many occasions, a DUKW left shore into the Northerly swell and returned in the Southerly.

(c) The direction of the surf depended obviously on the swell, but the height would change quite inexplicably heights of 6 in. to 25 ft. were encountered. Because of the drop, the surf consisted of one fierce wave with a vicious undertow, which swept across the beach.

(d) The texture of the beach varied from soft sand to fine coral shingle, so fine that DUKW tyres even at minimum pressure were unable to grip. The gradient varied from shallow to very steep depending on the surf conditions. The problems then were the drop, the swell, the surf and the beach. The swell and the surf were quickly mastered by the drivers, but the drop and the beach always caused trouble. If there was little surf, the DUKWs would "belly", if there was high surf, the beach would become too soft for the DUKWs to get up it.

The danger moment arose when the DUKW stuck and it was a race against time to free it before the surf carried it away. To this end, we used a bulldozer with a winch. The winch cable, with a clip hook attached, was unwound to the water's edge, where two men stood as close as they dared. In the event of a DUKW being unable to get itself out, the hook was attached to one of the lower towing shackles and the bulldozer did the rest. It sounds a simple procedure.

Although no one was hurt in the process, we had many narrow escapes. I would point out at this stage that we had to operate in poor conditions because of the restriction in time-and one could never be sure of the advent of good conditions. By the end of February, the stores were ashore, the airfield was built and the island was ready for the "boffins".

The middle of March saw many changes. The "boffins" arrived; we had a permanent support ship in H.M.S. Narvik^ an L.S.T. which was also the scientific control ship; fresh rations were now flown to us to augment the compo. Everywhere there were signs that something was about to happen. During this time, the tasks of the DUKWs were the transportation of fresh water and bus service. Up to the arrival of Narvik, we had our own distillation plant onshore (The Emmett Machine), but whether by design or luck, it finally died on us the day before Narvik arrived; to solve the problem a four hundred gallon tank was put in a DUKW, which would bring ashore normally 10 tons of water per day. The bus service was to enable the "boffins" to have speedy access from Narvik to shore and vice versa.

During the device tests themselves, we had yet other tasks. Many people have written descriptions of the dropping of the device, I would like to say something of what happened immediately before and after each drop, in Malden, which was only a few miles from where the explosion took place.

On the day previous, all the tents were struck, the structures (cookhouses, water tank, showers, latrines, etc.) taken down and everything buried in shelters. The personnel were then taken off to waiting ships Warrior and Messina. The DUKWs however returned to meet the last aircraft coming in, carrying V.I.P's, other observers or Press representatives. We took them away to H.M.S. Alert and ourselves swam into Narvik, leaving the rearguard to do their last-minute arrangements before being picked up by helicopter. It was strange driving across the deserted island, now much as we had found it; a few buildings; terns and boobies flying above; some shelters, silver in the evening sun; the last Dakota receding into the distance and only Narvik and Alert on the sea.

The day after the explosion, we returned to the island. One had a feeling of surprise. The boobies and terns still flew overhead, a few fires burned but little seemed to have changed, even the pigs still lived. We brought the men ashore again. By evening, the camp was reerected and we waited for the next time. Our last phase at Malden consisted of backloading all the equipment and the fourth and last striking of the camp. What a relief to know we were not to put it up again!

The weather was kind and our task was completed well ahead of schedule. Just as aDUKW was the first to intrude upon the peacefulness of Malden, so was one the last to leave, having completed another chapter in the history of R.A.S.C. Amphibians. As a result of experiences on Christmas and Malden Islands, I cannot stress the following points too much: (a) The necessity for complete and thorough servicing.

(b) The observance of all possible safety precautions.

(c) A high standard of driving ability.

(d) The ability of the driver to think for himself and be able to take charge of his vehicle in any circumstances.

To elaborate on these points further:

Daily servicing must be carried out under N.C.O. or Officer supervision. Painting and scraping must be assiduously performed. In conditions such as those on Christmas Island, AB. 406 inspections to be carried out every fortnight and a period check every week. We found the average life of a DUKW was about eight months.

Never be rash or foolhardy; the only DUKW we lost was on detachment without an escort or any beach assistance. Suitable safety precautions are absolutely essential. The driver must be of such a standard, that, for example, he does not waste valuable moments fluffing a gear change at sea. He must be able to detect defects and carry out minor repairs at sea. He must also have the ability to change himself into a sailor once on the sea.

The driver must learn that he is responsible for his vehicle and the security of his cargo or if he is carrying passengers, that they know he is in charge. He must be able to assess a situation immediately for example, at Malden it was no use approaching the beach from the same angle as one left it if the direction of the swell had changed.

The last two points regarding the drivers come with and can only be learned through experience, the first two require constant vigilance. I am sure that all those who were in the detachment at Christmas benefitted from the experience in amphibious operations and we certainly will never forget the spectacle of the explosion itself.

In conclusion, I would like to quote from the Task Force Handbook that "All in all, the work of the DUKW Detachment has been of inestimable value to the operation as a whole"

Part Three next week.