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Cette vidéo est disponible en anglais seulement.
Description
Mr. Rusling talks about the tanker Ohio and the damage she sustained after being bombed again on the way to Malta as part of that fleet. She was the last ship to reach Malta.
Frank Rusling
Frank Rusling est né à Belton, Lincolnshire, Angleterre, le 30 janvier 1922. Son père a fait déménager sa famille dans le comté de Suffolk, en Angleterre, où il a grandi. Il s'est enrôlé dans la Marine royale à l'âge de 15 ans parce qu'il adorait l'océan. Il est entré au service des communications de la Marine et a reçu l'instruction en signalisation visuelle. Il était très doué dans ce domaine et a rapidement gravi les échelons pour atteindre le grade de timonier. Le premier navire sur lequel il a servi fut le HMS Sheffield. Toutefois, il a travaillé sur d'autres navires et s'est rendu dans diverses parties du monde avec la Marine royale. Après la guerre, il a joint les rangs des policiers du Canadien Pacifique, où il a travaillé pendant 30 ans. Il habite aujourd'hui à Saint John, Nouveau-Brunswick.
Transcription
Other, other merchant ships were just being picked off by torpedos either from submarines or by aircraft or bombed and we were gradually losing them all the way. In fact on the last day alone 5 merchant ships were lost. We only got into Malta, we got 5 merchant ships and the tanker Ohio. The tanker Ohio on the last day received a bomb right down her funnel right into the engine room; that blew the engine room to pieces. Another aircraft, German aircraft, crash-landed on her deck and another aircraft bounced off the water, that was attacking her, bounced off the water and landed on her deck. Her deck was ablaze and still the crew refused to abandon ship. Eventually they had to, she had settled into the water but they re-manned the ship a few hours afterwards and two destroyers were sent to assist her and they tied themselves, they secured themselves on both sides of her because she, the rudder had become damaged and she could not steer. And another vessel towed her and this is how she limped into Malta. She was the last vessel to come in that day or the next morning actually she came in.