CHAPTER 15 -- MARSHY POINT
Chapter 15: Marshy Point
Marshy Point was just that – the tip of a waterlogged salt marsh cradled on the east by a long scrap of land defining the East Channel of the anchorage. Beyond the East Channel lay the East Mole, and beyond that, the open water of Jade Bay. The “scrap of land” gradually built-up into the heart of the dockyard and came to be called “the Mainland”.
As the dockyard continued to develop, “Mainland” became crowded with working basins, industry, and dry docks. When a new coaling station was needed, they looked west across the salt marsh to the dry land along the reservation boundary. The dredges were set to work carving out the “Coaling Basin” and the “spoil” was dumped on Marshy Point. Still not much use, a series of pylons were driven into the seabed around the point to provide temporary berths for the growing number of dreadnoughts in the Hochsee Fleet. (See picture above.)
Eventually, little Marshy Point filled in, rose above the tides, and grew large enough for construction of a host of new facilities. Industry and warehouses moved in, roads and rail lines were laid out, and permanent berths for three battleships were constructed along with a pier for the Fleet Salvage Tugs.
On the upper side of the point, HMS Marlborough is returning after a two day “shake-down” cruise to test recent engine repairs. Having first topped off her coal bunkers, she is being maneuvered, gingerly, into position against the mooring quay. The steam tugs, small, but with powerful engines – will, literally, push the 26,000 ton armored giant sideways until snug against the dock. Once hawsers have been made fast, the crew will begin taking on stores. There will be no rest for the weary sailors until their Kapitan Zur See can report to his Admiral that Marlborough is “combat-ready”. “Peace” is but a fleeting chimera – the wise man prepares for the unexpected.
Marlborough was named in honor of John Churchill, 1st Duke Of Marlborough, and ancestor to Sir Winston Churchill. She belonged to the Iron Duke Class of dreadnoughts and joined the Home Fleet in June, 1914. With the creation of the Grand Fleet, she became Flagship of the 1st Battle Squadron and served for the duration of the war.
Present at the Battle of Jutland, HMS Marlborough engaged various portions of the Hochsee Fleet on several occasions. About 18:25 hours, the light cruiser SMS Wiesbaden appeared out of the smoke and Marlborough opened fire along with the rest of her battleship division. She fired five salvos before a premature detonation in the right barrel of “A” turret disabled the gun. Desperate to defend herself, an already damaged Wiesbaden launched torpedoes around 18:45 hours and scored a hit. The torpedo struck Marlborough near the starboard diesel generator room, blasting a 28 foot hole in the hull and causing significant flooding. The rising water eventually flooded the starboard side, forward boiler room and reduced the ship’s speed to 16 knots.
Within mere minutes, SMS V-48, a lone German torpedo boat, appeared and launched more torpedoes. This attack forced the British battleships to take evasive action and they did not resume their original course until 19:00 hours. Minutes later, Marlborough re-engaged Wiesbaden, fired four salvos, and struck her with three large caliber shells – effectively neutralizing the burning wreck.
Marlborough now shifted her fire onto the German battle line, fired thirteen salvos in six minutes, and scored three heavy caliber hits on SMS Grosser Kurfurst at approximately 11,000 yards. Marlborough ceased firing when the targets became obscured by smoke and haze.
The dreadnought maintained her position in the battle line with great difficulty, and it was not known until much later that the torpedo hit damaged some forty watertight compartments. During the later pursuit of the Hochsee Fleet, Marlborough’s boiler room bulkheads began to visibly weaken under pressure from the flooding, and speed was further reduced to 12 knots. When Marlborough and her division had fallen behind by 12 miles, Adm. Jellicoe realized the danger and detached the damaged warship with orders to make for the nearest repair yard. She managed to reach the Humber safely, but not without determination, superior seamanship, and a great deal of luck.
In her later life, HMS Marlborough was assigned to the Black Sea in 1919 as part of the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War. She arrived off Yalta, in the Crimea, on April 5th, 1919, to evacuate members of the former Russian Royal Family from nearby Livadia Palace. Among those evacuated was the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna (formerly Princess Dagmar of Denmark). The Dowager Empress was a sister of England’s Queen Alexandra and an aunt of the then currently reigning King-Emperor, George V of England.
This shot provides a detail view of the “battleship Quay”, it’s composition, and arrangement. The quay, itself, is a 2x12 “re-lotted” from the old PEG “SNM Series - Pier One”. The original lot was reduced in depth, lengthened by two “squares”, and given a complete “face-lift” with new props. The towers at each end were “borrowed” from a Maxis airport, and the light crawler cranes were added to handle “light” cargo – rather than bulky military dock cranes. The “boxes” arranged across the front are “WMP Seawalls” – chosen because they resemble wooden “caissons”. The timbers would protect the warship’s hull when snug against the quay. The dirty-gray concrete area is composed of 1x1 lots from the “NBVC Container Port Series” – customized to include a wide variety of props and “activity”. The steam train is the PEG “Tank Engine” – modified to show “steam”. Note the two engines in the second gondola – they might well be new diesel generators to replace the ones damaged in battle. Beyond the tracks, you have a line of Paeng Grunge Concrete pads – modified to include personnel and Quonset huts.
While Germany’s Battle Fleet remained small -- in both size and numbers – the naval bases were well served by simply leasing civilian tug boats and their crews. But as warship design evolved, the ships grew bigger and the tonnage heavier – and so did German ambitions at sea.
Tirpitz forged ahead with plans to make German seapower a reality, convincing the Reichstag, in 1898, to pass the first in a series of “Naval Laws” guaranteeing a steady flow of new battleships and the money to build them. Promoted to Vizeadmiral for his success, Tirpitz doubled-down. The year after the first law was passed, Tirpitz reported to the Reichstag that it was a great success. The very next year, he told the Reichstag that advances in naval technology and the increasing demands of Germany’s colonial possessions required that the Naval Law be amended and increased. This performance would be staged regularly because the Vizeadmiral was, if anything, a man with “Grand Designs”. At one point prior to The Great War, he planned a vast fleet of 68 battleships !!
With the steady arrival of new and bigger ships, it was determined that the Hochsee Fleet could no longer rely on civilian tug boats to handle the increasing work load. First, a class of steam tugs were designed and ordered from the builder’s yards to handle the constant traffic within dockyards. And as dreadnoughts grew ever larger and more complex, it became obvious that larger and more powerful sea-going tugs would have to be built to Navy specifications.
These would be known as “Fleet Tugs”, though they were largely fitted-out as salvage tugs – with a few military attributes. Mostly, Fleet Tugs were equipped with one gun, usually a 4.1 inch, and smoke generators for defensive purposes. Unlike many Fleet auxiliaries, they could communicate by signal flag or wireless. At around 15,00 tons, they were twice or three times the size of a harbor tug, fitted with powerful engines for speed and towing, large and solidly built winching equipment, and fitted with powerful pumping systems that could be connected to ships in distress. These were “rescue tugs” that could be sent out to save a crippled dreadnought. Compared to the potential loss of a multi-million Mark battleship – fleet tugs were a small expense to bear.
The Fleet Tug pier is re-lotted from the PEG “SNM Destroyer Pier Set”. I placed two piers on a 5x7 lot and borrowed the control tower from the small Maxis airport. The base texture comes from the NBVC “Container Port Series” with the same fencing. There are fuel storage tanks for the diesel-powered boats and barracks for the Navy crews that were “on call”.
In this closer shot, below, you see the Dutch Salvage Tug Zwarte Zee by "WolfZe". When launched in the early 1960’s, she was reputedly the most powerful tug afloat, and frequently made newspaper headlines with her miraculous rescues in the storm-tossed North Sea and feats of brute strength. Though much more modern, Zwarte Zee is remarkably similar to salvage tugs from the 1920’s. She has a long, thin hull (5 to 1 ratio) which improves her speed while providing adequate stability in high sea states. Her massive engines could drive her through most head-seas while the raised forecastle deck extends nearly half the boat’s length – better to prevent taking large waves over the bow (often referred to as being “wet”). You might think it odd that they do not look “military” – but you would be in error. Both the Royal Navy and the Kaiserliche Marine ordered their tugs from civilian builders to avoid taking up valuable building slips better used for warships. The builder simply used civilian fittings and built them as any other tugboat – hence the enclosed wheelhouses (unusual on turn-of-the-Century warships).
Though hard-working and dedicated, the heroic efforts of these boats went largely unsung. It is worth noting, however, that such ships as these once saved SMS Seydlitz.
The battlecruiser had been, quite literally, in the thick of the fighting at Jutland and suffered terribly with twenty-one large caliber shell hits (12 inch, 13.5 inch, and even two 15 inch). Unfortunately and unusually, six of those shells fell on the lightly armored forecastle deck and were believed to contain a powerful Picric Acid based bursting charge called Lyddite. (When it exploded, the entire surrounding area would turn a ghastly blackish-yellow.) The shells passed through the deck and exploded some fifteen feet inside the ship, causing massive damage and opening large holes in the ship’s side just above the waterline. Maneuvering at high speed, it was inevitable the battlecruiser would begin taking on water. As more and more water came inboard, the bow settled deeper and deeper. With dusk approaching, Seydlitz reduced speed to lessen the flooding and took stock of the damage to gun turrets and the rest of the ship. It was decided nothing more could be accomplished, and to remain might result in the loss of the ship. Seydlitz set course for Horns Reef and limped along with her bow already dipping below the waves. Some twenty hours later, she was still mid-way between Horns Reef and safety in Wilhelmshaven. Her bow had sunk so low the waves were breaking against her forward gun turret. With mere minutes remaining before abandoning ship, smoke from two salvage tugs appeared on the horizon. With tugs lashed on either beam and their powerful pumps operating at full capacity, they reached the mouth of Jade Bay twelve hours later. Dockyard engineers estimated the battlecruiser had taken on 5,300 tons of water. The Fleet Tugs rescued Seydlitz from a watery grave, and she survived to serve again.
Again --- MY THANKS to @Barroco Hispano for the beautiful warship models that made this possible.
If you enjoyed anything you saw – please punch the “like” button so I will know. A comment would be even more informative.
Comments and critiques requested and gratefully accepted. All questions answered promptly to the best of my ability.
THANK YOU for your visit !
NEXT WEEK…...The Double Quay.
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