Semi Submersibles & Sandbagged Jocks

[PhilB]

In his book "The Unreturning Army", Huntly Gordon describes his troopship, SS Archangel, being accompanied by a "semi-submersible destroyer". He later describes a scene at the Café Belge crossroads where "A group of mud-caked Jocks, their legs stockinged with sandbags, stood sipping coffee". Can anyone comment on the vessel described and the legwear of the Scots?

[Steven Broomfield]

Legwear makes sense - if you're in knee-deep mud, wrapping your legs in sandbags makes sense, particularly if your hose and puttees have gone missing.

 

The semi-submersible destroyer sounds like Bernard Lewis has been at work.

[PhilB]

Although he doesn't say it, I had assumed he had seen kilted men and that they had used sandbags to prevent chafing of the kilt edges onto the knees and thighs. I believe that was a particular hazard in muddy conditions. 

[rolt968]

It sounds like a destroyer (possibly older and smaller) running into heavy weather.

RM

[gmac101]

There were at least 2 classes of pre-war destroyers ( A & D ) that had “turtleback” bows that were notoriously wet in any kind of sea way. A number were scrapped before and all shortly afterwards so I expect they would have been used in secondary roles during 5he war. 

[Dave1418]

This was common practice by lots of front line units and not exclusive to Scottish troops 

 

[PhilB]

Daring class destroyer 1893 - could this be the culprit gmac?

[gmac101]

54 minutes ago, PhilB said:

Daring class destroyer 1893 - could this be the culprit gmac?

That’s the type I was thinking of.  They were designed to be fast in good weather and the hope was that the turtleback would clear water quickly but they ended up burying their bows in a wave and the lack of flare and buoyancy meant the bow didn’t rise so waves would sweep back down the vessel soaking those on the bridge.  I suspect that from a larger ship one of these vessels making progress in waves though would like they were half submerged.  

[rolt968]

1 hour ago, gmac101 said:

That’s the type I was thinking of.  They were designed to be fast in good weather and the hope was that the turtleback would clear water quickly but they ended up burying their bows in a wave and the lack of flare and buoyancy meant the bow didn’t rise so waves would sweep back down the vessel soaking those on the bridge.  I suspect that from a larger ship one of these vessels making progress in waves though would like they were half submerged.  

I agree.

I suspect that many early WW1 destroyers would look as if they were half submerged in heavy weather. The turtlebacks would look as if they had been designed to do that.

RM

[MerchantOldSalt]

52 minutes ago, rolt968 said:

I agree.

I suspect that many early WW1 destroyers would look as if they were half submerged in heavy weather. The turtlebacks would look as if they had been designed to do that.

RM

 

Any destroyer would look half submerged in bad weather!  What a miserable life it must have been Tony

 

[gmac101]

5 minutes ago, MerchantOldSalt said:

 

Any destroyer would look half submerged in bad weather!  What a miserable life it must have been Tony

 

That’s a great photo - taken from the battleship they were escorting?

[MerchantOldSalt]

I believe that is an American minelayer in the background so possibly the one being escorted.

[gmac101]

Laying the great minefield across the North Sea perhaps