No matter. He was adrift and away from his mooring, and under his own power as the last of the harbor tugs chugged away. Gneisenau was ready for a fight if he could find one, though he had no idea just how soon he would be heavily engaged again.
He broke out to sea, relieved to see the sharp bow of his ship knifing smartly through the ocean swells as the battlecruiser picked up speed. How long would it take before he would find anything worth shooting at, he wondered? His answer came two hours later while he slept in his wardroom.
A quiet knock on the door roused him from sleep. A Ward Officer had news the enemy was already on to him! “We’ve just been notified by Kriegsmarine intelligence, sir. The cable was decoded and reads as follows: ”Salmon and Gluckstein are out for a stroll.”
Salmon and Gluckstein were a firm of tobacconists in the U.K. at that time, but it was also an easy to remember handle the British sailors had given to the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. They were also called “the twins,” being of the same class and design, but tonight Fein would steam alone. Scharnhorst was still fussing with her leaky steam boilers.
They already had wind of him, he thought. So much for secrecy and bad weather. And it appears the British thought both battlecruisers had gone to sea. Perhaps they were just admitting to that possibility in the service of caution, but it also might mean he would soon find himself in a roiling naval chase.
“Increase speed to 28 knots,” he said, wanting to get well out to sea as fast as he could.
“Aye sir, and we also have this cable. Orders having to do with a “Tiger 1,” or so it reads.
Fein took the cable, reading it in the dim cabin light. It was addressed to a force designated Tiger 1, and simply read: “Tiger, Tiger, burning bright.” There was nothing more. Kipling, he thought. Now what in the world can that be about? He resolved to get bundled up and head for the bridge at once.
Over a hundred and fifty miles to the south, Force H was making good speed and steaming north to rendezvous with Tiger Convoy and its precious cargo bound for Alexandria. The task force was comprised of the Battlecruiser Renown, fast carrier Ark Royal, light cruisers Fiji and Sheffield along with three smaller destroyers. They had been making good speed, particularly after hearing that an old nemesis had put to sea. The two German battlecruisers were reported to have sailed from Brest after all! The RAF had pounded them for the last three weeks, but apparently the Germans had been able to make them seaworthy.
Tiger Convoy was already escorted by the battleship Queen Elizabeth, and battlecruiser Repulse on her way as part of the force to reinforce Admiral Cunningham’s fleet at Alexandria. But the Admiralty was apparently taking no chances on this mission. They wanted additional support from Force H as the convoy neared Gibraltar. All had gone off like clockwork until the cable came in: ”Salmon and Gluckstein are out for a stroll.”
The Renown was captained by Sir Rhoderick Robert McGrigor, a man of 48 years, and he was much like his German counterpart on board Gneisenau. He had risen through the ranks, serving on destroyers in the Med and with the Grand Fleet at the famous Battle of Jutland in the First World War. Dubbed “Wee Mac” for his stature, he had been in a foul mood in recent days.
Of late he had been ping-ponging back and forth between the Atlantic and the Med with Force H. Just a few days ago they had him cruising in the Med to escort a captured French steamer. The navy had it towed to Gibraltar for inspection and then set back on its course to Casablanca. But someone got it in his head that the Vichy French there might try to recover the ship, and so Renown was ordered out to provide naval cover against that possibility. It was a damn good waste of petrol, he thought, employing the efforts of a battlecruiser to guard a lowly tramp steamer!
Renown was fast and powerful, designed back in the era that had spawned ships like the pride of the Royal Navy, HMS Hood. In fact, she was very similar to that ship in design. With her six fifteen inch guns she outclassed the smaller German battlecruisers in terms of firepower, and her armor, while not as strong as later British designs, was adequate to the task. The ship had tangled with Salmon and Gluckstein once before during operations surrounding the German invasion of Norway. There Renown carried herself quite well, inflicting hits on Gneisenau and driving the two German battlecruisers off in the ensuing action, even though she was outgunned.
“Now it seems we may get another round,” he said aloud to his bridge staff. He was making good speed, but had need of haste given the close proximity of the valuable Tiger Convoy. There were too many ships laden with troops, tanks, and crated planes to put at risk. And the Prime Minister seemed to have a particular interest in the fate of this particular convoy as well. Now that it had come under threat, the coded message “Tiger, Tiger, burning bright” was sent to all ships of the fleet. It was no surprise to him, then, when Admiral Somerville ordered him to alter course slightly so as to put his task force between the convoy and any possible approach by the German raiders.
“I want to get some eyes out in front of me, what with Ark Royal along for the party,” he said. He did not want to stumble upon the Germans with a vulnerable aircraft carrier at his side. “Let’s get a cruiser out in front. Make to Sheffield: increase speed to maximum and take station in the vanguard of the Task Force. I’m sure Admiral Somerville would concur.” The cruiser’s radar set out in front would also extend his forward awareness of the battle space.
The admiral had no objection and so HMS Sheffield, under the command of Captain Charles Arthur Larcom, steamed on ahead, his watches well manned and searching the dark night for any sign of enemy ships. Sheffield could make all of 32 knots, while the Renown fell back at 28 knots as the force sped north in the dark. She held that speed for a good while until the engine room called up with a warning. The ship was having trouble with her bearings again. They had a tendency to overheat when she was running up near top speed, and in fact had been completely removed, re-metaled, and replaced some six months ago for this very same reason.
“It is number nine again?” he asked his Chief of Engineers when the man had been summoned to the bridge.
“Indeed sir, it is. That bearing gets a lot of rotation at high speed, sir.“ The number nine bearing had been the culprit last time as well, and the last thing the captain wanted as he steamed into possible battle situation was a dodgy bearing on his main engine turbine.
“If we could ease off a bit we might get her cooled off, sir,” said his Chief of Engineers.
“Very well,” said McGrigor. “I’ll roll her back to 24 knots. Would that do?”
“It would help, sir, and we’ll get it sorted out straight away.”
“See that you do, Johnny,” said McGrigor. “I don’t fancy the idea of going into a fight with a gimpy leg.”