An Excerpt from my book; "Running For Home"

[Wagga]

HMS Lowestoft, Portsmouth,1975. Families day after an eight month trip.

The helicopter was rigged up with the depth charge, which naturally in a theatre of war, would be used against a submarine. Submarines are often quite visible from the air. However, there were no submarines and this was to be an impressive display which would indeed impress both the crew and the families.
The depth charge looked like a large bomb, complete with fins but with a flat nose instead of a cone. It was set at a very shallow depth which would give the maximum effect for display purposes. We took off, depth charge at the ready. It was a totally brilliant moment and one of the best in my career. It was one of those unforgettable moments that live with you for the rest of your life.
We flew along the port side of the ship. The direction of the wind was directly onto the port (left) side of the ship. After a few dummy runs the pilot said; “What do you reckon, do you think that this is about the right distance?” It was difficult to judge, after all, we’d never dropped a live depth charge before. Too far away and it would lose its impact. Too close and being a real depth charge, well no-one knew what would happen.
The pilot had the release button on his joystick. I said it looked about right. He flicked up the safety catch, hesitated then pressed it. We could feel the thing release as the weight came off. Between the conversation and the actual impact with the sea, the distance between the ship and the now loose depth charge had somehow terrifyingly diminished. Still, it would certainly be impressive for the numerous onlookers that festooned the decks of the Lowestoft.
On release, the pilot had immediately banked over to get the best view. It was naturally panoramic since as usual, we were flying without doors on. I knew F was there amongst the onlookers and indeed the decks were crowded.
The depth charge plunged into the sea. The pilot and I could clearly see its trace of bubbles as it charged below the waves. There was a slight pause. Longer than I had imagined, then, as it detonated, a large dome in the sea appeared and the shock wave shot out at an astounding rate, right through the ship. After this, came the most incredible fountain of water I have ever seen. By now, the ship and this huge spout of water seemed so close as to be quite shocking. It shot skyward and it seemed as though it was reaching out to consume us. The view was remarkable as the huge water fountain, blown by the wind continued like some sort of monsoon and began to devour the whole ship. The pilot and I looked at each other and said “oh ****!” and just smiled. Everyone on deck was comprehensively soaked, including F.
After landing, the impact of our depth charge escapade began to sink in. Everyone was talking about it. When the thing had detonated, the shock wave had indeed shocked everyone by its sheer violence. Glasses had shattered in guests hands. The oven doors in the galley had sprung off, but more ominously, the main engine water intakes had jammed. Other strange things occurred later which could not be immediately explained and all of which were to have serious consequences but at the time, it was brilliant. All the guests were well impressed, we docked and all those on first leave, did just that.

[Keith Tindell]

Hi Wagga,
Just finished reading your book on my Kindle. Very interesting read, you certainly moved around a bit, very enjoyable regards keith Tindell