Maung Thaw Ka - Battleship 103

Battleship 103

In the life of a young naval officer, being appointed as a commander of a warship, or as a warship commander, is a very happy and proud moment. It is the most glorious moment in his life. When I was appointed as the commander of Warship 103 in September 1956, I was so happy and proud. I was the first in the cadet corps that we had joined as officers. (I will use the term warship commander in the future, in keeping with the times) I was only 29 years old.

The 103rd was one of 10 similar ships in the Navy. All 10 of the ships were small patrol boats of the United States Navy. They were built for the Coast Guard during World War II to protect the American coast. The hull was constructed of treated pine ( Deal Wood) , and was 83 feet long, 14 feet wide, and had a draft of 6 feet. Its main armament was two 40 mm anti-aircraft guns, one fore and one aft. They were called Bofors.

After World War II, many of the ships were surplus to the war effort and were moored at a US naval base. Ten of these ships were transferred to the Burmese Navy. In 1950, the Burmese Navy received a transfer of ten Coast Guard Cutters from the US Navy in Singapore. One of these ten ships became the USS 103. When the US Navy transferred the ships, it was determined that they had only three years left before they could go to sea. The ship was given three more years of spare parts. When USS 103 sank under my command, the ship had already served in the Navy for six years.

I have been with the 103rd since then. In 1950, I was still a sergeant. At that time, the commanding officer of the 103rd was Captain Maung Maung Khin, and the deputy commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Kan Nyunt. I was a corporal in wireless communications. The first batch of four warships were brought from Singapore to Yangon by the warship 'May Yu'. On the way, the diesel paper carrying the surplus diesel was blown away by the strong waves. One of the diesel paper crushed the ring finger of the warship's commander and rolled over. Warship 103 had already made its first warship commander bleed. He did not leave me out either. As if to warn the future warship commander, he pressed the tip of my left middle finger against a doorknob, causing a stream of blood to flow. Even now, my left finger is different in appearance from my right finger, and I have been injured. I was warned by the first warship commander's ring finger being crushed and the last warship commander's middle finger being cracked at the tip. I started to remember again.

Captain Ba Thaw took over the command of the 103rd battleship from Captain Win Thein Maung. The second commander was Captain Saw Oo. Captain Saw Oo and I were comrades who had joined the navy at the same time. We had joined the navy as ordinary comrades. I had joined before independence, while Captain Saw Oo had just joined after independence. However, as officers, he was later than me and had the opportunity to attend officer training, so he is now serving as my subordinate officer. Outside of duty, we spoke very warmly and greeted each other as if we had once served together on the warship “Inya”.

I had served in the Upper Myanmar Naval Bases of Mandalay and Monywa before returning to command the 103rd. The 103rd was moored in a barge at the Yadanarbon Naval Base in Thanlyin, preparing to set sail. On the day of the command, I stepped aboard the 103rd, which was moored in the sea, to take over the ship. At the top of the ladder, Lieutenant Saw Oo, dressed in a white uniform, was waiting for the new commander. As I stepped onto the deck, the guard blew the horn, “Hail!” and Lieutenant Saw Oo stood at attention and saluted.

This is the happiest moment of a young naval officer. The honor of being greeted with a pipe is an honor bestowed only on the commander of a ship and the commander-in-chief of the navy. When the pipe is blown, the officers and enlisted men on board the ship stand at attention. The next pipe, meaning "continue," is blown before they continue their duties. It has become a naval custom to perform this honor every time a captain boards or disembarks from a ship.

I continued, accepting the salute. "I asked, 'How are you, Major Saw Oo?'" and shook his hand.

“Good morning, CO,” he replied, shaking my hand. He was smiling, showing his teeth. I noticed that he called me CO because of his job title. CO is an abbreviation for Commanding Officer. I called him 1st Lieut. It means 1st Lieutenant. However, I called him “Lieut” in a friendly way .

“Congress Tulay Shin” The person who greeted me and shook my hand was the current commander of the ship, Captain Win Thein Maung. Captain Win Thein Maung was a slim, fair-skinned, and handsome man. He had graduated from the Royal Netherlands Naval Academy in England. He was to hand over the responsibilities of the commander of the 103rd battleship to me. The documents and files were also ready on the table. The young officer standing next to the table was Lieutenant Than Nyunt. He was the ship’s associate officer. Since our ship had to spend a lot of time at sea, an additional associate officer was assigned to it. Normally, only the commander and the deputy commander were considered officers.

The transfer and acceptance of work did not take long. The ship was small, so there was not much material to be transferred. In addition, since Captain Saw Oo and Lieutenant Than Nyunt would be staying, I carefully checked and signed the important military money and ammunition lists.

"These lists are definitely... Win"

"Sure, Maung Yin Ya, just sign it. The important thing is to sign it now and have a beer in the evening. Just sign it, you can't go to jail, hehehe."

The procedure is that the new CEO has completed the transfer of officers from the beer hall to the officers' residence.

“Okay, I already ordered a dozen Pilsner Arkel beers to be put in the freezer at the lobby this morning. Will Bo Saw Oo come too?”

I turned to Bo Saw U and asked.

"I can't do it, Si, my stomach is getting a gastric ulcer again, the doctor even told me to go to the hospital."

It's been a while since I last saw him. I just noticed that he was pressing his stomach with one hand, and his face was pale.

"Then go to the hospital, it would be better if you get treatment sooner."

"No problem, Si-O. It's okay. This time, I'll have to go to the hospital right after I get back from Myeik. Right now, I can just take a soda pop if I have a stomach ache."

He had a stomach ache and was stuck on the ship because he wanted to go on a trip to the Myeik Islands with me.

"What about Colonel Than Nyunt... you'll go, right?"

Colonel Than Nyunt didn't say anything, just smiled.

“Hey, Maung Yin, don’t call Bo Than Nyunt. He’s not like Maung Yin and you. He’s young and handsome.”

Captain Win Thein Maung spoke up.

That evening, at the Officers' Quarters, the Commander-in-Chief, who received the transferee and other officers, had a reception in the Commander-in-Chief's office, which included not only a dozen beers but also two Jamaican rums. The one who could drink the most was Captain Kan Nyunt. As much as she was pleased, the transfer of duties was not over. If she were to get drunk, it would be as easy as trying to take down a wild buffalo.