to sea for years and were useless except for scrap metal" could be spared. Workers were put to the task of coaxing three of these old crocks back into service. Time was of the essence and Agar regretted that for the sake of secrecy he could not tell the workmen what the ships were for, he was certain that they would have worked more enthusiastically had they known the truth. A rumour was put about that they were to be used as blockships. Another problem with secrecy was the difficulty in acquiring reliable motor-boats on which the crew would escape; there was an unwillingness to release good boats to equip ancient oilers and there was a last minute panic to get speed-boats. Oakfield (the former War Africain), and Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ships and , having been laid up for years, were now coaxed back into service but they were slow – less than six knots – and unreliable. The Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company had built War Nizam in 1918 and War Nawab in 1919. Both ships were long and abeam with a draft of and a gross register tonnage of about 5,600. Oakfield had been built in 1918 with a grt of 5,218, long and abeam. The ships were quickly made ready and each filled with Agar's Special Mixture a cocktail of 50 per cent heavy fuel oil, 25 per cent diesel oil and 25 per cent petrol developed by the PWD.. The leaky bulkheads caused the engine rooms of War Nawab to fill with fumes that caused men to pass out and later resulted in the harbourmaster concluding that the crew were drunk. To this lethal load, bundles of cordite, gun cotton and old depth charges were added to give the ships more punch. The idea was to sail at night until the fire ships were near the entrances of the target ports. All but two or three of the crew would be taken off, detonation timers would be set and each ship put to its final heading towards a harbour mouth. The remaining crew would escape in a motor boat at the last minute. When the explosives detonated, the fire ship's hold would rupture and with a ship in, or as close as possible to, the harbour mouth, a slick of burning fuel would be drawn into the harbour by the rising tide. Chief Petty Officer