Riders Upon the Storm (Casemate Fiction)
In November 1917, twenty-six-year-old Benedict (Ben) Snow has been working on a Great Lakes ore carrier. He quits to join the U.S. Navy, which gladly takes all experienced sailors and assigns Ben to command a small ship (called SC 65X) designed to hunt and destroy submarines. The ship and crew, tied up on Staten Island, need help. In the middle of the day, its current chief officer lies drunk in his filthy quarters, and the crew fiddles instead of preparing to hunt U-boats. After Ben whips crew and ship into shape, they make their way through nasty winter storms over to the English Channel.
In those days before sonar, this class of sub-chasers silently lined up three abreast a mile or so apart and listened for underwater propeller beats through tubes hooked up to a hydrophone. Once the location of the propeller beats was fixed, the three surface ships rushed in, tossed out depth charges, and readied to shoot at any sub that might surface.
Parotti’s expertly detailed accounts make for constant tension. The SC 65X’s days and nights of dead quiet in fog and choppy seas are suddenly interrupted by a surfaced sub firing on it or close calls with stray mines that could easily sink the frail wooden ship. Ben, a natural leader, is clever and resourceful. His crew, their dialogue, sea-going exploits, and shore activities all feel convincing. The sub chasers often require extended repairs ashore, setting up interesting interactions with British and French locals. An unforced romance between Ben and a Scottish beauty softens the harsh at-sea action. This engaging and little-known slice of WWI deserves a sequel featuring Ben’s heroics in WWII.
