URING WORLD WAR ONE GERMAN COMMERCE D RAIDERS, USUALLY MERCHANT SHIPS CONVERTED INTO HEAVILY-ARMED HUNTERS, ROAMED THE OCEANS IN SEARCH OF ALLIED SHIPPING, TYPICALLY FORCING THEM TO HEAVE TO WHILE THEY WERE LOOTED OF ANY USEFUL CARGO. THEY WERE THEN SENT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA BY THE RAIDER’S POWERFUL GUNS, THEIR CREWS TAKEN PRISONER.
FEUER!
THAT’S THE OLD GREENBAY HEADING FOR THE BOTTOM.
STORY ALAN HEBDEN ART REZZONICO COVER IAN KENNEDY AND US HEADING FOR A PRISON CAGE.
4 BY 1916 THE GERMANS HAD BECOME EXPERTS IN SELECTING JUST THE RIGHT SORT OF SHIP TO CONVERT TO A COMMERCE RAIDER. CAPTAIN MATTHIAS SCHRODER AND HIS DEPUTY, LIEUTENANT KRISTIAN BAUER, WERE DESPATCHED TO A BALTIC PORT WHERE ONE PROMISING CANDIDATE HAD BEEN LAID UP SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR.
THE ‘MATHILDE’, WITH REFRIGERATED HOLDS TO BRING BANANAS FROM OUR WEST AFRICAN COLONIES AND TAKE BACK FRESH DAIRY PRODUCE. SHE WAS COMPLETED AS WAR BROKE OUT AND HAS BEEN STUCK HERE THANKS TO THE ACCURSED BRITISH BLOCKADE.
SO SHE’S ACTUALLY BRAND NEW, HERR COMMANDER. PERFECT FOR CONVERTING TO A COMMERCE RAIDER.
MATTHIAS AGREED WHOLEHEARTEDLY. THE 10,000-TON VESSEL HAD THE SPEED TO CATCH MOST ALLIED MERCHANTMEN, BUT AT HER MUCH LOWER CRUISING SPEED ALSO HAD ASTONISHING RANGE.
WITH EXTRA COAL BUNKERS SHE CAN SAIL ONE-AND-A-HALF TIMES ROUND THE WORLD WITHOUT RE-FUELLING, AND WE CAN LEAVE A REFRIGERATED SECTION LARGE ENOUGH TO SUPPLY HER CREW WITH FRESH FOOD FOR MONTHS AT A TIME.
AND THE DECK IS STRONG ENOUGH TO MOUNT HEAVY GUNS. WE SHOULD ADVISE HEADQUARTERS THAT WORK SHOULD START IMMEDIATELY.
5 THE “MATHILDE” WAS TAKEN TO THE NAVAL SHIPYARDS IN KIEL WHERE, IN A MATTER OF WEEKS, SHE WAS TRANSFORMED FROM A SIMPLE MERCHANT VESSEL TO A FORMIDABLY-ARMED WARSHIP AND GIVEN THE NEW NAME, “VALKYRIE”.
NOW WE HAVE A SHIP WORTHY OF HER NEW NAME. A BATTERY OF SIX-INCH GUNS HIDDEN BEHIND RAISED FALSE SIDES, TORPEDO TUBES, A DUMMY FUNNEL TO CHANGE HER APPEARANCE AND A RADIO POWERFUL ENOUGH TO JAM ANY DISTRESS CALLS BEING SENT BY AN INTENDED VICTIM. THERE’S JUST ONE MORE THING WE NEED.
WHAT’S THAT, HERR KAPITAN? ACH, IT SEEMS WE HAVE A VISITOR.
TO KRISTIAN’S SURPRISE MATTHIAS TOLD HIM TO FOLLOW HIM ON DECK. THE PILOT OF THE FREIDRICHSHAFEN-33 FLOATPLANE WHICH HAD JUST TOUCHED DOWN WAVED CHEERFULLY AT THEM. LEUTNANT HARALD LANG AND SERGEANT ERNST RICHTER REPORTING FOR DUTY, HERR KAPITAN.
REPORTING FOR DUTY? BUT THEY’RE AIRMEN!
ACTUALLY, HERR LEUTNANT, THEY’RE OUR AIRMEN! IT WAS DECIDED THAT WE SHOULD CARRY OUR OWN AEROPLANE AND USE IT TO LOOK FOR POTENTIAL TARGETS OR GIVE EARLY WARNING OF ENEMY WARSHIPS. I THINK IT’S AN EXCELLENT IDEA.
6 THOUGH SOME LARGER WARSHIPS CARRIED SPOTTER PLANES THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME FOR AN ARMED MERCHANT SHIP. WITH THE CREWMEN ABOARD THE PLANE WAS LIFTED OUT OF THE WATER.
BUT WHERE WILL IT GO?
IT’S BEEN MODIFIED SO THE WINGS CAN BE QUICKLY REMOVED OR FIXED ON.
SO WE CAN STOW THE WHOLE THING IN ONE OF THE HOLDS.
A WEEK LATER THE VALKYRIE SLIPPED OUT OF CUXHAVEN AT THE MOUTH OF THE ELBE ON WHAT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF HER VOYAGE. THE SOUTHERN NORTH SEA IS COMPREHENSIVELY PATROLLED BY THE ROYAL NAVY. WE’LL KEEP AS CLOSE TO THE DANISH AND NORWEGIAN COASTS AS WE DARE, BUT LIKE THE VALKYRIES OF LEGEND WE TOO ARE IN THE HANDS OF THE GODS.
7 SOON THE VALKYRIE WAS RUNNING UP THE NORWEGIAN COAST. THOUGH IT WAS A BREACH OF NEUTRALITY, MATTHIAS TOOK THE SHIP THROUGH THE NORWEGIAN LEADS, THE CHAIN OF ISLANDS RUNNING PARALLEL TO THE COAST.
GO TO STARBOARD, HELM.
IT’S THE RIGHT DECISION. THE WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN THIS WAY IS THAT WE RUN INTO A NORWEGIAN GUNBOAT, WHICH IS A GREAT DEAL BETTER THAN RUNNING INTO A BRITISH CRUISER.
THE VALKYRIE WAS ALREADY OUT OF SIGHT OF THE OPEN SEA WHEN A NEW BRITISH M-CLASS DESTROYER, THE MORDAUNT, CAME INTO VIEW, STEAMING FULL AHEAD TOWARDS THE OUTER LEADS.
8 MORDAUNT’S YOUNG SKIPPER, LIEUTENANTCOMMANDER GAVIN WENTWORTH AND HIS FIRST OFFICER LIEUTENANT OLLIE GIFFORD, WERE RESPONDING TO A SUSPECTED SIGHTING BY HER LOOK-OUT. HE SAYS HE ONLY CAUGHT A GLIMPSE OF SOMETHING, SKIPPER, BUT I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING.
IT WAS GAVIN’S BAD LUCK THAT A COMMERCE RAIDER ON AN EARLIER VOYAGE WAS KNOWN TO BE TRYING TO REACH GERMANY. IT CONVINCED HIM THAT THE BRIEFLY-SIGHTED SHIP WAS SAILING SOUTH, AND THAT WAS THE DIRECTION HE ORDERED MORDAUNT TO GO. THE VALKYRIE HAD HAD A LUCKY ESCAPE.
NEITHER CAN I, BUT WE WERE TOLD TO BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR ONE OF THOSE GERMAN COMMERCE RAIDERS BELIEVED TO BE TRYING TO GET HOME PAST THE BLOCKADE. WE’LL TURN SOUTH AND SAIL DOWN THE LEADS. MAYBE WE’LL STRIKE LUCKY.
A FEW DAYS LATER SHE WAS IN THE OPEN ATLANTIC AND READY TO BEGIN HER WORK. THE FLOATPLANE WAS BROUGHT OUT AND LOWERED INTO THE SEA. MATTHIAS WATCHED WITH SATISFACTION AS IT TOOK OFF. FOR CENTURIES A SAILOR’S HORIZON HAS BEEN LESS THAN A DOZEN MILES. NOW, THANKS TO THE MARVEL OF FLIGHT, THAT HORIZON HAS BEEN EXPANDED TO FIFTY, SEVENTY, EVEN A HUNDRED MILES, AND ALL THOSE SHIPS THAT MIGHT HAVE PASSED UNSEEN WILL BECOME OURS FOR THE TAKING.
HE ALMOST SOUNDS POETICAL, BUT THEN WHY NOT. OUR LITTLE FLOATPLANE HAS OPENED A WHOLE NEW WINDOW ON THE WORLD.
9 INDEED IT DIDN’T TAKE THEIR LITTLE PLANE LONG TO FIND A SHIP IN THE VASTNESS OF THE OCEAN. SHE’S FLYING THE RED ENSIGN, HERR LEUTNANT. SHE’S BRITISH. COURSE EAST BY NORTHEAST.
EXCELLENT. CAPTAIN SCHRODER WILL WANT TO KNOW STRAIGHT AWAY.
AT THAT TIME AIRCRAFT SO FAR OUT AT SEA WERE ALMOST UNKNOWN. THE BRITISH LOOK-OUTS HAD BEEN WATCHING FOR OTHER SHIPS, U-BOATS AND MINES, AND HADN’T SPOTTED THE FLOATPLANE. AN HOUR LATER THEY DID SPOT THE APPROACH OF WHAT APPEARED TO BE A FELLOW MERCHANTMAN.
SHE’S THE ISAMBARD OUT OF BRISTOL. I WONDER WHAT SHE WANTS?
10 MOMENTS LATER THE APPROACHING SHIP’S RAISED SIDES WERE LOWERED TO REVEAL HER POWERFUL GUNS.
GOOD GRIEF, IT’S A GERMAN RAIDER. WIRELESS OPERATOR, SEND A MAYDAY IMMEDIATELY!
MOMENTS LATER THE WIRELESS OPERATOR PASSED ON THE BAD NEWS.
WHAT’S HER ARMAMENT, NUMBER ONE?
SHE’S JAMMING OUR TRANSMISSION.
SIX-INCH GUNS AT LEAST, CAP’N. AT THIS RANGE THEY’LL BLOW US OUT OF THE WATER!