Tides of War

Recent documents released by the MOD now allows the public to be "let in" on the exploits of one of the League of Free Nations' most celebrated vessels: the 'Flower-class Corvette K69, HMS HEATHER:

Launched on the 17th of September 1937 from Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Yards, Kure and commisioned at the end of that year, K69 was originally Home Ported at Rabul, New Britain and successfully crippled an American 'Salmon'-class submarine that had attacked a convoy moving men and materiel for a new airstrip on Papua. In mid-'38 she, the destroyer HMIS VISHNU and light cruiser HMAS MELBOURNE took part in the celebrated "Marianas Raid" to destroy the American airbase, whose long range bombers were playing hell with local League traffic.

From then untill early 1941, HMS HEATHER was home ported in Auckland, New Zealand and escorted the fortnightly Auckland-Sydney supply convoys. This has been considered the most boring part of her career, memorable only because on August 9th 1940, she had to be laid up in Sydney when the crown plugs of no. 1 boiler melted and needed replacing. In April, 1941, K69 left Sydney for the last time, having been transferred to RNEF West at Malta. Apart from downing a pair of Hun bombers and sinking a Type VII U-boat off the cost of Crete, the journey was uneventful. However, on June 16th 1941, when being retro-fitted and refurbished at Malta for the North Atlantic, she was bombed repeatedly in a German air raid. In the wake of that raid, the Powers-that-be decided to pay her off, and turn her onto a blockhouse. So HMS HEATHER was towed to the harbour mouth, and sunk.

An ignominous end. When my ship gets cashiered, I want them to turn her into an artifical reef off the Devon coast!

Many ships ended up in a similar way HMS Agamemnon which you can see in my Avatar was used for target practice by the RAF in 1929 before being scrapped:(

One reason i like the idea of this alternative history it gives us a chance to reserect some of the older ships that did not survive due to Peace during the inter war years. however whether the Bods at TAG will grant our wishs in this matter is something else

Additional (I would have added this sooner, but for the last week my modem has run slower than Olemus Charles of Haiti. It assumes the war ended in mid-1947)

When the war ended, many warships were decommisioned, even the RNE flagship, HMS HOOD, which had reached the end of its' service life. For K69, the future looked bleak. Sister ships had been turned into coastal "puffers", but most were to be scrapped or disposed as targets for the RAF. Her fate, most likely, was to be left to rust at the harbour mouth of Malta.

In 1951, however, a film was made about the 'Marianas Raid', back in 1938. None of the three original warships had survived the war: VISHNU had been destroyed in a collision, MELBOURNE blown up when a german sub fired a torpedo that set fire to the foward magazine. The film created a lot of interest in the HEATHER and in 1953 a society was formed to salvage and rebuild K69.

On September the 7th, 1954, the "Flower"-class corvette HMS HEATHER ascended out of the murky Med and was towed to a heroes welcome in Malta. Today K69 is permenantly moored at the RNE Headquarters in Hong Kong, a tribute to the gallant men who served in the war.

Well, what do you think?

Pretty good. You could really expand n this, novelise the whole thing.

Did you enter the fanfic contest?

Unfortunately, I'm not a very good writer. If I was I would have entered the fanfic comp.

Never say that. I mean, you've put this together... Prose is one thing, but putting together believable storIes is another