ENIGMA 2000 Newsletter - Issue 35

July 2006
Articles, newsreports and Items of interest :enigma2000-owner@yahoogroups.com

HJH’s E2k watch………….

Above us the waves

As those of our readership who are as long in the tooth, (and other, lower, bodily parts) will recall, the above is the title of the World War 2 movie telling the tale of midget submarines and human torpedoes in that conflict.

The author’s late Dad, an old sonar hand on Atlantic convoy escorts, took him to see it three times, the first for the author and himself, the next two purely for himself. Not that either of us complained! If nothing else, it instilled in your scribe the knowledge that the waves were, in no way, to remain above one, and the second was a determination NEVER to set sail in ANY form of submersible craft. Hence, the British Army was blessed with yet another potential Field Marshal, but, being far more perceptive than your good scribe, saw fit to never let said author pass corporal. Thus was the Empire lost! Their gain, this author’s loss!

Ask any sailor, past or present, which type of vessel is the most difficult and potentially hazardous to sail, and, as like as not, he will reply, “Submarine.” It would, therefore, make sense to ensure that the submarines of today, which are, of necessity, state of the art, have only crews, which are themselves state of the art. It has been this way in most navies with submersibles, and rightly so. Any navy asking it’s ratings to man such vessels has a duty to ensure a reasonable chance of surfacing and navigating their way around the oceans of the world. Not surprisingly, the systems installed in today’s submersibles are highly complex. Here, the author is not referring to nuclear powered submarines, but the ordinary diesel/electric powered boats, which make up the majority of the world’s submersible fleets. Most have such crews, but with the “enlightened” policy of “affirmative action” which the current post apartheid government of the Republic of South Africa has seen fit to impose. Here, it is as well to remember those South Africans of BOTH white and black, who died in the service of their country and ours ( Britain ) in both world wars. Affirmative action in the case of the South African Navy means, quite simply, that for every white rating in the crew, there must be three black. No mention of ability or aptitude, purely colour. If that is not apartheid in reverse, then this author is losing his round glass things that he used to roll at other similar things as a young lad.

On the topic of submarines, South Africa has recently ordered from Germany a state of the art submarine of the class 209. She is the product of a nation that knows about first-rate submarines, and how to build them. She is a long-range patrol vessel of non-nuclear type, and capable of long patrols, which is what submarines do. But it is only safe to do this if the crew know exactly what they are doing. The crews have been trained in Germany, and obviously their progress is monitored After much thought and, no doubt, heart searching, the current head of the South African Navy, Vice Admiral Johannes Modimo, has reached the decision that the vessel and it’s crew are not fit to undertake the long journey from Germany to South Africa. The current intention is to ship this state of the art submersible as a supercargo aboard a super freighter. This is a terrible indictment of the current policy of affirmative action being pursued by the current government in South Africa. From a good reliable source, namely the “Sharhunters” in the USA, (and who better to ask about submarines?) some facts and figures. The South African Defence Force is currently in need of 3,277 trained personnel in it’s technical branches. It has 238 currently in training. The Air Force has 354 vacancies in technical branches. It has 50 candidates in training. The Air Traffic Control branch has a shortfall of 180. 13 are being trained. (Still fancy that South African holiday, guys?) This surely is an admission that they cannot fulfil the task with which under the old Naval Agreement they were tasked, and for which they were eminently suited, namely securing the seas in that part of the world for NATO. (That’s us guys!) This government must surely stand alongside that of our nation as being one of the few capable of emasculating and neutralising as an effective fighting force what was once a well equipped and trained, highly professional, highly motivated fighting force. But the real tragedy is the possible condemnation to a watery grave of sailors of both colours. As in so many past and possibly future conflicts, the sea is, as my late father often said, not only cruel, but also neutral. For she will kill those who are not skilled in her ways with equal impunity. She is as neutral as the colour of a man’s skin should be.

HJH. (WITH GRATEFUL THANKS TO SHARKHUNTERS”.)