The Wartime Memories Project - D.E.M.S - Defence Equipped Merchant Ships.



If you enjoy this site

please consider making a donation.


Search this site:

    Home

    Index of Memories.

    Index of Photographs

 Features

    Airfields

    Allied Forces

    Axis Forces

    Home Front

    Prisoner of War

    Secret Places of WW2

    Ships of WWII

    Women at War

    World War One

 Submissions

    How to add Memories

    Add Your Memories

    Can you Answer?

    Message Board

    View the Guestbook

    Sign the Guestbook

    Printable Memories Form

 Schools

    School`s Study Center

    Children's Bookshop

 Information

    Your Family History

    Contact us

    News

    Bookshop

    About

    Links


   Newsletter.


World War 2 Two II WW2 WWII

Information.

At the outbreak of war in 1939 merchant ships were fitted with a 4" gun on the poop deck and for defence against surface craft. The gun was already outdated and fired a 4" shell by means of a cordite charge which was loaded separately. Ex-Royal Marine gunners were recruited and one merchant seaman gunner was trained. The RM Gunner then trained members of the ship's company in the operation of the gun to form his gun crew. Later the guns were replaced with new 4" LA/HA guns with new safer ammunition.

Some ships were also eqipped with the Lewis machine gun

After Dunkirk the ships were also fitted with Marlin or Hotchkiss machine guns firing .303 ammunition as a defence against the Luftwaffe who had beguun to target shipping, some ships were also fitted with the 12 Pdr. Anti Aircraft gun. Later they were replaced by 20 mm Oerlikon guns. Various other air defence measures were devised some more sucessful than others, these included:

  • The Parachute Aerial Cable.
  • The Fast Aerial Mine: a rocket trailling a wire was sent up into the path of an aircraft, if the aircraft struck the wire, a grenade shot up the wire and exploded on contact with the aicraft.
  • The Holman Projector: a steam or air pressure fired grenade launcher.
  • Small barrage balloons.
  • Pillar Box; a 12 tude rocket launcher with limited range.
  • Depth charges.
  • Degaussing coils and minesweeping paravanes; as a measure against mines.


I have a copy of a book called 'A watershed in Navel History' written by an old family friend The Revd. C.A.Grant M.A,R.N who was at HMS Collingwood from 1939 to 1945. In it he mentions my father - William Wilfred Gray who was a founding member of the 'D.E.M.S' - Defence Equipped Merchant Ships. My father apparently was a survivor three times in the month of May 1941. He never told me anything about the war and I would like to know more about him.



Photographs

If you have any Photographs you would like to share please get in touch.





If you have a story which you would like to share, or a website dedicated to a ship or sailor, please get in touch.

Send an E-mail to




Links







Ships Index



Website and ALL Material © Copyright MMII
- All Rights Reserved