Battle Ensign

 

A couple of years ago, I wrote about a novel set in the Second World War, recounting the adventures of a PT boat. It was written by Australian author and navy vet J.E. Macdonnell, who wrote something like a gazillion books about his country's navy during the war. As far as I know, the PT boat book and two others from that specific series were the only ones republished in the U.S. Perhaps Macdonnell deliberately featured an American protagonist to break into the U.S. market. 

His other books are hard to find in the States. Or at least they were. They are beginning to appear as ebooks. I recently read the first two--Stand by to Ram and Target Unidentified (both published in 1957)--and loved them. So I moved on to the third book--Battle Ensign.

The first two featured Commander Bruce Sainsbury as the protagonist. Sainsbury is the commander of the Australian destroyer Scimitar and he soon proves himself to be really, really good at his job. This job entails, at one point, ramming a much larger Japanese ship that was about to blow the Scimitar out of the water. 

Battle Ensign (1958) introduces a new protagonist, gunnery officer Peter Bentley. Newly arrived aboard the Scimitar, he soon clashes with the ship's new executive officer, but he soon realizes that Sainsbury is a highly skilled commander.

The Scimitar is assigned to an American fleet. On the way to join them, they are attacked by what they identify as a land-based Japanese bomber. But the Americans dismiss this. It must have been a carrier-based plane. After all, the only nearby islands are said to be deserted.

Well, a massive air attack by the Japanese sinks a couple of capital ships, so the American admiral changes his mind. The Scimitar volunteers to put search the islands, find the airfield and call in help to destroy it.

But Bentley, who will be accompaning the landing party, suggests that they might bring some TNT with them and perhaps do a little sabotage on their own if they find the airfield.  Bentley picks men he knows he can trust, but then the ship's exec--someone whose courage and competency Bentley has reason to doubt--is put in command of the mission. 

The chapter detailing the air attack on the American fleet is fantastic, but Scimitar's subsequent trip through a typhoon is even more intense. And then the mission on the island to locate and sabotage the airfield is even MORE intense that that. Aside from the great action, themes of courage, loyalty and redemption add to the strong emotions that run through the book's climax. 

Peter Bentley would continue on as protagonist of his own series, eventually getting command of his own destroyer. I'm looking forward to reading that series.