The Dreadnought of the Air
()
About this ebook
IT was Thursday afternoon—Make and Mend Clothes Day as it is known in the Royal Navy. H.M.S. "Royal Oak," a Super-Dreadnought now relegated to the second class, lay at moorings off Singapore. Two cables' length ahead of her swung her sister ship the "Repulse," flying the flag of Admiral Maynebrace commanding the Special Squadron, now on a cruise round the world in order to display the White Ensign in foreign waters as a gentle reminder to petty potentates that the British Lion's tail could not be twisted with impunity.
The heat was terrific. The sun's scorching rays beat down with relentless violence upon the white awnings that shrouded the warships from bow to stern. The glare, reflected from the oily sea, seemed to penetrate everywhere on board in spite of electric fans and the latest type of ventilators. Officers and men, used though they were to the heat of the Tropics, were reduced to a state of perspiring listlessness. Alacrity seemed for the time being no longer the characteristic of the British seamen. One and all they barely existed in Nature's stew-pan and waited for the sun to set.
To add to the discomfort the crew of the "Royal Oak" were rankling under a grievance. Hitherto first in the list for prize-firing, they had been ousted from their proud position by the flagship: and the flagship didn't forget to crow over her success. Had the contest been carried out under equal conditions and the "Royal Oak" had "gone under" the disappointment would not have been so great; but the "Repulse" had gained the position of "top-dog" more by a fluke than anything else.
"Makes one feel jolly rotten," remarked Eccles, the "Royal Oak's" gunnery jack. "The Service papers at home will publish the results and add a lot about the superb efficiency of the flagship and the lamentable falling-off of the 'Royal Oak's' gun-layers. All that sort of twaddle, you know: penny-a-line stuff from a fellow who does not know a fifteen-inch from a seven-pounder."
"You'll bet your bottom dollar, Eccles, there won't be a word said about the flagship making her record with the Beaufort Scale logged as O (a flat calm), while our packet was shoving her nose into it with the fo'c'sle awash and everything battened down. Ugh! It makes me wild," rejoined Commander Bourne. "Healthy rivalry is all very well, but——"
Read more from Percy F. Westerman
The Pirate Submarine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Third Officer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fritz Strafers: A Story of the Great War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Third Officer: Maritime Novel Featuring Pirates and Daring Sea Adventures Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Scouts of Seal Island Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Third Officer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSea Scouts Abroad Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPercy F. Westerman – The Complete Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClipped Wings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fritz Strafers A Story of the Great War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mystery Ship (World Classics, Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Third Officer: A Present-day Pirate Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Dreadnought of the Air
Related ebooks
Half A Chance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNaval Occasions, and Some Traits of the Sailor-man Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeneath the Aurora: A Nathaniel Drinkwater Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tower of Dago Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRoland Cashel Volume II (of II) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ontario Readers: Third Book Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Yarn of Old Harbour Town Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWalking Shadows: Sea Tales and Others Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dreadnaught Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wild Geese Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJane by Alexandre Dumas (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Astonishing History of Troy Town Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Drake by George! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPaul Clifford — Volume 06 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTyphoon (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Works of Major Richardson Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDecatur and Somers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWaifs & Strays of Celtic Tradition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom the Log of the Velsa Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Honour of his House Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Irish Cousin: (Vol. 1 of 2) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWith Beatty off Jutland: A Romance of the Great Sea Fight Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInnocent in the Sheikh's Harem Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cruise of the Frolic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAstounding Sea Stories: Fifteen Ripping Good Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Typhoon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Star Trek: The Captain's Table #1: James T. Kirk & Hikaru Sulu: War Dragons Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Under Two Flags Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mystery Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Science Fiction For You
Warrior of the Light: A Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is How You Lose the Time War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Institute: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Who Have Never Known Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silo Series Collection: Wool, Shift, Dust, and Silo Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wool: Book One of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flowers for Algernon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blindsight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Annihilation: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Troop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sarah J. Maas: Series Reading Order - with Summaries & Checklist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rendezvous with Rama Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Psalm for the Wild-Built Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frankenstein: Original 1818 Uncensored Version Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Deep Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How High We Go in the Dark: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England: Secret Projects, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dust: Book Three of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Firestarter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5That Hideous Strength: (Space Trilogy, Book Three) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oona Out of Order: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Light From Uncommon Stars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Perelandra: (Space Trilogy, Book Two) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shift: Book Two of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Dreadnought of the Air
0 ratings0 reviews