"Commander Ray Williams, who has died aged 94, sank a German U-boat in the Arctic and a torpedo boat in the Ligurian Sea. On January 30 1944 Williams was on the bridge of the destroyer Meteor, part of the ocean escort of convoy JW56B from Loch Ewe to northern Russia, carrying war supplies from the United States to the Soviet Union. The convoy was opposed in the Barents Sea by the Luftwaffe and by the 15 German U-boats of wolfpack Werewolf, when suddenly Williams, the second officer of the watch, heard two bangs over the loudspeaker of the Asdic (underwater detection) set. Recognising this as the sound of two torpedoes being fired, he shouted: “Hard to starboard, full speed ahead!” He combed the sea for torpedo tracks, and called his captain, who sounded “Action stations!” As Meteor ran down the bearing towards her submerged foe, Williams heard two more bangs. He ordered: “Slow ahead!” and: “Stop engines!” to avoid the noise of Meteor’s propellers attracting an acoustic homing torpedo. The captain was now on the bridge but did not interfere as Williams ordered a sweep with the Asdic, and immediately they heard the sound of the U-boat’s engines as Meteor coasted over its submerged position. Williams ordered a salvo of eight depth charges to be dropped, but as he looked astern after they had exploded he saw no flotsam, only a slick of smooth water. Meteor carried out a second attack, and the destroyer Whitehall also dropped depth charges, without any visible result, although Williams was mentioned in despatches for his initiative. All 17 merchant ships in the convoy reached their destination, however, and post-war analysis showed that Williams had sunk U-314 with its 49-man crew. On March 17 the following year, with Williams promoted to gunnery officer, Meteor was on patrol with the destroyer Lookout in the Ligurian Sea, when at about 23.00 a report was received of three German warships: the two torpedo boats TA24 and TA29 and the destroyer TA32, which were laying mines north-east of Corsica. These were the last operational ships of the German 10th flotilla. Course was set to intercept: Lookout to cut off their retreat to Genoa, Meteor to prevent them fleeing north. Just after 03.00, Lookout sighted three ships in line ahead cleaving their way through a calm sea in the moonlight. She approached at high speed and opened fire, then swung parallel to the Germans and launched torpedoes. Meteor, approaching at 25 knots from the north, opened fire at 5,000 yards with her guns. “The guns were cold so I knew the first rounds would drop short,” Williams recalled. “I ordered one correction only: 'Up 300.’ I estimated we hit the enemy with about 40 rounds.” The two torpedo boats were sunk and TA32 escaped, only to scuttle herself in Genoa on April 25, thus ending the last battle by the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean in the war. Williams was awarded the DSC. Ray Forrest Williams was born at New Farm, Brisbane, on September 21 1921, the son of a textile importer. Educated at the Church of England Grammar School, Brisbane, Ray learnt to sail during the holidays in his friend’s father’s yacht on the Gold Coast. He represented his school in athletics and swimming, and played rugby for the school and for the Citizens’ Military Forces (CMF), for which he volunteered in 1938. Realising, however, that he could not serve overseas in the CMF, Williams took his discharge in 1940 and travelled to the Navy recruiting office in Sydney, where he signed up on August 23 1940 as an ordinary seaman in the RANVR." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/12012084/Commander-Ray-Williams-obituary.html
