Taking a river paddle steamer from Bengal toward Iraq

Katari took the paddle steamer Chabbasa from Bengal toward Basra in a transfer of about twenty river steamers intended to carry supplies to the Soviet Union by way of the Euphrates. His two reserve sub-lieutenants were inexperienced, and the crew was newly inducted into water transport. His navigational equipment consisted of the relevant charts, a chronometer, a sextant, a telescope, and geometrical instruments, leaving little margin if the ship drifted off course. The steamers sailed in groups of two or three for mutual support and carried only about six rifles each; another steamer in the wider movement was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Chabbasa had never left sheltered waters and had to stop three times a day so the crew could chain the paddles and tighten every bolt, whatever the weather, to avoid losing propulsion. Speed was about five knots, falling with adverse wind and current, while conditions from the beam risked pushing the vessel off course. Keeping an unsuitable vessel and a raw team moving made the voyage a direct test of navigation, improvisation, and command.