 soldiers of the press this week torpedo captain captain yes what is it it's control sir they've spotted something oh yes what the range finder's picked up two unidentified planes sir left of convoy angle of elevation five degrees very well elegance to stand by my eyes are stand by gun stations ranges and speed of those planes my eyes are ages and speed of the way captain oh not at all power better stay close looks as if a story might be coming up this is the dropping in brands I hope you soon to tell you signalman or a convoy to scatter identified but have German characteristics sound general quarters very well range range I report range range 10,000 yards altitude 15,000 feet speed commenced tracking commenced tracking range 5,000 yards speed 2,3,0 20 German action stations what's that oh look at that now six they're running away jerry's are running away I'll be damned also not torpedo planes at all ju 52 probably taking Germans to no story for you this time plumber I hope not my boy I hope not secure from general quarters secure from getting quarters during the past months we have brought you many stories by correspondence of the United Press a plane crashed in northern Burma and UP flashed you the story a UP correspondent managed to slip across the Swiss border into German-held Italy and you walk with him into Como in short United Press correspondents have been in almost every conceivable kind of action from a foxhole outside Munda to a giant bomber over Rome and in every case you have been given a firsthand account of what took place this time we have a different story to tell a story filed by George Palmer of the United Press this is a story of how it feels to be aboard a convoy ship and of how it feels to be torpedoed how does it feel to be torpedoed well in the first place you don't believe you have caught a fish that's what they call being torpedoed catching a fish you're sure you've hit an iceberg only it's too hot for icebergs well anyway you run you run for the part of the ship that sticking far the side of the water in this case it was a starboard side that was high happened like this our cruiser was speeding to a choppy seat and in the frightening that covered us I stood talking to the surgeon commander and old friend of mine this night he seemed nervous almost as if he was expecting I don't know he was very nervous I'm what nervous I said you were nervous I why is this trip is nothing last time I was on a convoy going to mortar and what's that out there cruiser over there looks like a destroyer then it's a cruiser been painted camouflage dark out isn't it yeah wish it was dawn belly dust it was done so do I George we had that false alarm before I was sure those two German torpedo planes and no I'd like a cigarette right now can't smoke on deck you know we blacked out I know how to get out of my book to get one but no I'll skip it but what were you going to say well such kind of stupid but you see there's a certain spot of paint in the wall of my cabin and I keep thinking somebody's going to stick a torpedo right through that spot sound stupid than that stupid not at all every man thinks of something like that when he's in danger George every man but this trip is fine fine last convoy operation I was on was known by the code word vigorous and it was to we would attack repeatedly by hundreds of German bombers that one was vigorous all right I just saying to the captain today that since it had lived up to its name so well perhaps we should call this trip silly yeah it has been serene all right I'll trouble it all trouble at all and that's when we caught the fish I said before I dashed up hill for the higher you up higher up you go the better when you hit ice where you know aren't there and it was noise and I became aware of sickening smells vile sounds frightening sounds the shouts of men wounded in the steady cragging of a pompous I grabbed the cable up rimmed the deck felt the grease in my hand to look down for the swirling back see thick smoke fell start from our starboard powers I saw great gushes of orange flame lighting up the sea between the spits of fire the sea was black and greasy I kept looking into the sea and thinking about how glad I was I could swim swim we're listening badly now and the smoke is thicker than ever now a solid block of men pushed toward me along the deck I call to them hey come on we got a swim for it come on let's go nobody heard me so I put one leg over the rail and kind of talk to myself jump up far I said jump away from the ship and don't forget to hold your life belt with one hand so it won't come up and smack you in the chin and you got a swim like hell come on boy you can do it ready now jump I wouldn't do that if I were you huh they're rather lonely down there all by yourself leaning against the rail nice and calm as a young officer I looked at him so calm he was how about it are we going in no nobody goes over until the captain says so the steadiness of his voice was pretty reassuring I pulled my leg back onto the deck but wasn't submarine one airplane darned but it was a sub no torpedo plane no one knew he was up there holy cow quite he got away things were quieting down a bit now we pulled ourselves together the damage control party was already hard at work fighting fire and dragging bodies out of the mess when the torpedo struck I went below to help carry blankets to the quarter-dink up there some of the casualties were in mourning some were crying hysterically and one to whom I gave cigarettes look my do me a favor will you tell my girl her name was Anna tell her to write to me I haven't got any letters from her in she'd all right tell her that will you tell it to the boy died there on the deck many boys died that night among them my friend the surgeon commander and hundreds of men were injured the captain was badly injured but nevertheless it's hard at work he was barking orders through a group of men explaining how they were to steer the ship with their voices you see all our steering apparatus have been destroyed by the fire but it was still possible to steer the ship by hand and that was what the captain all right have you got that as soon as the destroyer sends a signal the returner will pick it up and call it to you Jones you in turn will call it to the seaman station midships he will shout it to you Anderson you will call it on the hatch lieutenant yes sir I want you to pick out three of the huskiest men on the ship yes sir with them right now they are captain thank you you three men I'm asking you to go down below and steer us home with your hands I will be held across the destroyer standing bass they'll signal the course by Lucas lamp the lieutenant will pick it up and relay it to the next man and so on you will get the course by relays then it'll be up to you can you do it sure we can do it and that's how it was done the explosion and flames have destroyed the wheelhouse of all our steering apparatus but those three men went down below the quarter-deck deep down to where the massive machinery which turns the rudder was housed and there they waited for the signal you come yet lieutenant no not yet wait a minute no yes there it is left to base cost and all night long orders were shouted out to those three sweating men who were steering the fire rack ship with their hands meanwhile the men forward and managed to put the fires out and somehow they shifted the ballast enough that the list in the ship was imperceptible and so painfully slowly we crawled into port safe well that's a story but that isn't all of it what about the incredibly horrible experience every man on board went through the things we saw things we can't forget sight of brave grown men screaming for their mothers and sweethearts as they died the bubble one incident stands out most vividly in my mind two hours after we were hit the chaplain who did magnificent work attending the dying men grew tired and relaxed for a moment we stood there in the cool wind watching the sea the chaplain pondering over the hundred and sixty men who had died the many others who were seriously burned the hundreds aboard who were dog tired and sick at heart looked about him at the flame sky'd worship and he looked up at the sky but the moon amongst the broken clouds looked upward for for a full minute and he turned to me and said and to think that one man just one man out there in a machine did all this thousands of other united press correspondence like George Palmer are sharing the dangers of frontline action with our boys from the Mediterranean to the South Pacific every day these up soldiers of the press send dispatches to the home front telling the tales of daily heroism which make for final victory so be sure to look for united press news in your favorite newspaper and listen for united press dispatches on the air they are your guarantee of the world's best coverage of the world's biggest news