After another air attack, the destroyer went alongside the coaster Boulder and used hoses to extinguish her fire. She then towed the damaged merchant vessel until the tug Lady Brassey could take over, while the destroyer remained on patrol. Boulder carried an improvised steam-powered launcher that fired hand grenades upward at attacking aircraft, an example of the emergency air defenses fitted to vulnerable shipping. The device could jam with a live grenade in its pipe, and its loose ammunition created another hazard when destroyer sailors collected grenades as souvenirs.
Notable Point · 37:04-38:38
Rescuing the bombed coaster Boulder
A destroyer fights a fire aboard the bombed coaster Boulder, tows her toward safety, and encounters the improvised grenade-throwing Holman Projector.