CHIP THE INVASION went off easily, without damage to any of Hastings’s flotilla, because they landed in Gold Beach, where the German opposition was not as strong as in the others. But on their second trip to Normandy, while they were waiting offshore at anchor for the tide to go out before disembarking their ammunition trucks, the ship was struck by a bomb from a low-flying Stuka. As there was no detonation, Chip, on the bridge, at first assumed that the bomb must have passed through a bulkhead and plunged into the sea. But the report of a search party soon revealed otherwise. It was on the tank deck in an ammunition truck. His first thought was that Hastings must at once transfer his flag. He found the commander in the wardroom, drinking coffee, waiting for him. “The bomb’s in one of the trucks. It must have pierced two bulkheads. You can see it. It’s sticking out.” Hastings was expressionless. “How near the bow doors?” “Close. Second row.” “Good.
