 Oil painting byKenneth King depicting the moments after theIrish Oak was torpedoed after first lifeboat had just been lowered (National Maritime Museum of Ireland). | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry |
|
| Route | Cork – Tampa (1941–43) |
| Builder | Southwestern Shipbuilding,San Pedro, Los Angeles |
| Yard number | 11 |
| Launched | 24 August 1919 |
| Completed | December 1919 |
| Out of service | 1935–41 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Torpedoed and sunk, 15 May 1943 |
| Notes | Built to Design 1019 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 410.5 ft (125.1 m)[1] |
| Beam | 54.3 ft (16.6 m)[1] |
| Depth | 27.2 ft (8.3 m)[1] |
| Installed power | 359NHP[1] |
| Propulsion | Triple-expansion steam engine, Llewellyn Iron Works, Los Angeles[1] |
| Speed | 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h) |
SSIrish Oak was anIrish-operatedsteamship that was sunk in theNorth Atlantic duringWorld War II by a German submarine. As theWest Neris, she had been built in theUnited States and operated by theUS Shipping Board. In 1941, she waschartered byIrish Shipping Limited to transport wheat and fertilizer fromNorth America to Ireland. Sailing as a clearly markedneutral vessel and not inconvoy, she was nonethelesstorpedoed and sunk byU-607 on 15 May 1943 midway between North America andIreland with the crew being rescued.
There were then both conflicting reports that she had not, and allegations that she had, warned a nearby convoy of the presence of aU-boat. TheBritish nationality of hercaptain became an issue in the June1943 Irish general election, there werediplomatic exchanges between the United States and theRepublic of Ireland and questions raised in theBritish House of Commons. In Germany, theU-boat's captain received a mild reprimand.
Southwestern Shipbuilding ofSan Pedro, California, was organized in 1918 to build cargo ships for theUnited States Shipping Board. As Yard No. 11, the ship was built toDesign 1019, launched on 24 August 1919 and completed in December 1919. Hergross register tonnage was 5,589 tons, length 410 feet 5 inches (125.10 m), with a beam of 54 feet 3 inches (16.54 m),[2] and a depth of 27 feet 2 inches (8.28 m).[3]
Propelled by atriple expansion steam engine built by the Llewellyn Iron Works ofLos Angeles[3] with cylinders of 24.5 inches (62 cm), 42.5 inches (108 cm) and 72 inches (180 cm) bore and 48 inches (120 cm) stroke, the ship could go 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h).[2]
West Neris had been built for theUnited States Maritime Commission (USMC) and operated by theUnited States Shipping Board (USSB),[4] her port of registry beingNew Orleans.[3]
In 1928, she was sold to theMississippi Steamship Company.[4] She was sold back to the USSB in 1933.[4] With the abolition of the USSB, she was transferred to the United States Shipping Board Bureau in 1935,[4] and laid up inNew Orleans. During this period the ship was neglected and the condition of her engine deteriorated.[5] In 1937 she was transferred to the United States Maritime Commission.[4] On 26 September 1941 she waschartered toIrish Shipping Ltd, throughUnited States Lines at £3,245 per month.[4]
At the outbreak ofWorld War II, Ireland had very few ships,[6][7] and the United States instructed its ships not to enter the "war zone".[8] Acting for the Irish government,MinisterFrank Aiken negotiated thecharter of two oil-burningsteamships from theUS Maritime Commission's reserve fleet.[9] These were theWest Neris and theWest Hematite. Two Irish crews travelled to New Orleans to take over the ships, doing so on 9 September 1941.[10]
TheWest Neris was renamedIrish Oak, and theWest Hematite was renamedIrish Pine.[11] Both were chartered by the government-ownedIrish Shipping Limited (ISL) and managed by theLimerick Steamship Company,[10] with their port of registry changed toDublin.[12] TheIrish Oak wascaptained by Matthew Moran ofWexford, theIrish Pine by Frank Dick ofIslandmagee with Samuel McNamara ofBelfast aschief engineer.[5]
Destined to carrywheat andphosphatefertilizer, both ships sailed initially fromNew Orleans forSt. John's, Newfoundland, in October 1941 to take on cargoes of wheat[13] bound for Ireland. Sinceinsurers likeLloyd's of London charged higherpremiums for ships not in convoy,[14] theIrish Oak and theIrish Pine were painted wartime camouflage in preparation for sailing in convoy.Irish Pine joined Convoy SC 56[15] and arrived inDublin on 11 December 1941. In contrast,Irish Oak experienced a number of serious mishaps and setbacks: Chief Engineer R. Marsh, ofDublin, suffered aheart attack and was hospitalised in New Orleans; anotherengineer, O'Keefe ofDún Laoghaire, was severely burned in aboiler room blow-back[5] and hospitalised in St. John; and a locally-recruitedGreek replacement engineer caused difficulties, was reported to theCanadian authorities by the captain andjailed.[5]
Initially,Irish Oak sailed with Convoy SC 52, which departed fromSydney, Nova Scotia, on 29 October 1941. On 3 November, the convoy was attacked byU-202 andU-203 and lost four ships, turned back for Sydney and arrived on 5 November.[16] However, neglect had left theIrish Oak in poor condition. Ships from SC 52 were merged with Convoy SC 53, andIrish Oak sailed with it but had to return to Sydney.[17] Her next attempt was with Convoy SC 55, which departed Sydney on 16 November 1941 and arrived at Liverpool on 5 December. However, engine problems struck again, and she wastowed toSt. John, New Brunswick.[13]Irish Oak remained in St. John for four months while efforts were made to repair her engine. Eventually she had to be towed toBoston for repairs. The voyage from New Orleans to Dublin - including repairs - took nine months:Irish Oakberthed in Dublin on 6 July 1942.[5]
The crew of theIrish Oak became acutely uneasy after her engine failed, and she was left behind by SC 55, dead in the water to wait for a tugboat. That and the experiences of other Irish ships, especially inOG 71, the "Nightmare Convoy"[18] in August 1941, resolved Irish crews and owners to sail as neutrals, out of convoy.[19] Thereafter, Irish ships were clearly marked and fully lit, usually sailed out-of-convoy on a direct course and always answered SOS calls for assistance. Irish ships rescued 534 men;[note 1] but they lost 20% of their seamen.[22]
Irish Shipping Limited built up its fleet to 15 ships.[23] Two ships were lost,Irish Oak, andIrish Pine, with 33 lives. The ISL ships alone saved some 166 lives.[24]
At 04:44 on 14 October 1942, in very bad weather,Irish Oak received a distress call from the British shipStornest, a straggler from convoy ONS 136, torpedoed byU-706.[25]Irish Oak answered the call and altered course. Six minutes later,Stornest radioedIrish Oak of abandoning ship in life-rafts since they had lost their lifeboats in the heavy seas.Irish Oak continued to relayStormest's SOS and spent ten hours to search for survivors in a westerly gale. The rescue tugAdherent, the anti-submarine trawlerDrangey and two corvettes from convoy ONS 137 joined the search to no avail.[26][27]Stornest lost her crew of 29 and ten gunners at sea.[28]
A week later Captain Matthew Moran was fatally injured while boarding at the Dublin quayside when the gangway collapsed beneath him.[29] He was replaced by Captain Eric Jones (see Crew).
On 14 May 1943,Irish Oak wasen route fromTampa, Florida, to Dublin with a cargo of 8,000 tons ofphosphatefertiliser. Smoke from an allied convoy was visible ahead in the distance, and Irish ships then generally sailed out of convoy.
At 2.23 p.m., German U-boatU-650 came alongside. There was no contact or exchange between the vessels. They continued alongside each other all afternoon. At nightfall,Irish Oak turned on her lights in accordance with her neutral status. Apparently satisfied,U-650 departed during the night.[30]Irish Oak continued sailing astern ofConvoy SC 129.
As it happened, on the same day,U-642 reported that an aircraft carrier (theescort carrierHMSBiter with the 5th Escort Group) was joining the convoy. In fear of the aircraft, the stalking U-boats were ordered to "break off operations against convoy".[31]
As dawn broke the next morning, 15 May 1943, a torpedo hitIrish Oak at 8:19am (12:19 German Summer Time). Two torpedoes were launched. One missed, and the other struck her port side and exploded.[32]
At the time, which submarine had launched the torpedoes was uncertain. Itsperiscope remained visible as lifeboats were lowered. The submarine waited until the lifeboats were well clear before firing acoup de grâce at 9:31 a.m.Irish Plane,Irish Rose andIrish Ash responded to theSOS. The survivors were located byIrish Plane at 4:20 p.m.
Irish Oak lies in position47°51′N25°53′W / 47.850°N 25.883°W /47.850; -25.883, almost midway betweenNewfoundland andIreland.[33]
The survivors landed atCobh on 19 May.[34][35] They were welcomed by Samuel Roycroft, a director of both the Limerick Steamship Company and of Irish Shipping Limited. They lunched at the Imperial Hotel,Cork.[36] On arrival in Dublin on 21 May, they were welcomed byPeadar Doyle, theLord Mayor, and were hosted to lunch atLeinster House, home ofDáil Éireann (the Irish Parliament), on 24 May.[37]
It was common practice for crews' wages to be stopped when a ship was sunk.[38] The famed Labour leaderJames Larkin raised the issue of the survivors' treatment in the Dáil. Citing the crew member who was told by the Labour exchange to "go and get his record card", which was lost whenIrish Oak sank, he suggested for the Dáil to ask the German Consul-General to send a submarine to retrieve it.[39]
Which submarine had sunkIrish Oak was unknown at the time. The survivors knew only that it was unlikely to have beenU-650.[40] In theBritish House of Commons, SirWilliam Davidson called for a formal protest becauseIrish Oak had not warned the convoy, andDouglas Lloyd Savory called for an end of coal exports to Ireland.[41]
No official action was taken. Ireland was exportingfood to Britain at the time. Also,Paul Emrys-Evans revealed that the convoy knew about the U-boat; the British stance was that as it already knew of the presence of bothIrish Oak andU-607, there was no need forIrish Oak to have warned the convoy.[42]
DuringWorld War I, the SouthArklowLightvesselGuillemot, operated by theCommissioners of Irish Lights, had given warning of a U-boat. In consequence, on 28 March 1917,UC-65 surfaced, ordered the crew into its lifeboat and sank theGuillemot.[43] Against that background, the sinking ofIrish Oak became a hotly-debated issue.
The Irish government's stance was thatIrish Oak had not warned the Allied convoy of a U-boat presence, as stated byÉamon de Valera in the Dáil[44] and byIrish Shipping Limited.[45] De Valera went on to say that it was "no business of Irish ships to give any information to anyone".
A rumour to the contrary was picked up by theIrish Labour Party.James Everett asked, "Was information given to the British convoy that a submarine was sighted the night before?"[45] Discussion in the Dáil during the runnup to the general election focused on the possibility that a warning had been transmitted, and demands were made to know the nationality of the captain, aBritish subject:[44]
- Bill Norton: "Would theTaoiseach state the nationality of the master of the ship?"
- Éamon de Valera: "I do not know it."
- James Hickey: "I think the Taoiseach should take a deep interest in finding out the nationality of the captains of our ships."
- William Davin: "Is the Taoiseach aware that a recommendation was submitted that Irish nationals should get preference for these ships?"
Luke Duffy, secretary of the Labour Party, said that the "government was guilty of duplicity and near belligerency behind a facade of neutrality. They had placed foreign nationals on the bridge of Irish ships...".[45] The party issued an advertisement condemning the "criminal conduct of theFianna Fáil Government in sending brave men to their doom on theIrish Oak".[46]
Responding to allegations thatIrish Oak had acted in such a way as to endanger her neutral status, Irish Shipping Limited stated:
"...whether... any information had been conveyed to a British convoy that a submarine had been sighted. The company states in the most explicit manner that there is no foundation whatever for the suggestion contained in the question. No such message was sent.[37]
Seán MacEntee, of the Fianna Fáil, placed a counter-advertisement inThe Irish Times, "Licence to Sink", which stated that the Labour Party sought to justify the sinking of theIrish Oak: "But for these ships many of our people might have been hungry, would have been idle.... If our people were hungry and idle they would be more ready to listen to their pernicious doctrines".[47]
After the election, William Davin complained of "the unfounded allegations and the slanderous and libellous statements made against members of this {sic Labour} Party... had the audacity to charge members of this Party, during the recent election campaign, with having condoned the sinking of theIrish Oak. Could anything be more scandalous, or more untrue?"[48]
Although Labour increased its representation, and de Valera'sFianna Fáil party lost seats in the1943 Irish general election, he remained in power with the support of theFarmers' Party.[49]
The submarine that had sunkIrish Oak was unknown at the time, only that it was unlikely to have beenU-650.[40] Irish Shipping Limited was negotiating a lease of the SSWolverine from the United States. TheUS State Department intervened to ask why Ireland had not protested to Germany for the sinking.[50]
The Irish replied that they protested other sinkings when the attacker was known. They protested the attacks on thecolliersGlencullen andGlencree.[51] They referred to the attack on theMV Kerlogue by two unidentified aircraft, initially denied by the British but admitted by them when shell fragments of British manufacture were found.[52]
No further American ships were leased or sold to Ireland.[24]
After the war, it was finally revealed thatU-607 had sunkIrish Oak. This action andU-607's report were not well received. Captain,Oberleutnant zur See Wolf Jeschonnek, claimed thatIrish Oak was aQ-ship with false Irish markings and was sailing without lights:[53]
"The Second Lieutenant excused the sinking by saying that "IRISH OAK" was obviously a "Q" ship. He alleged that she was sailing at night without lights, zigzagging, and travelling at fourteen knots, although she appeared capable of barely half that speed."[53]
The flag officer of the U-boat said that the incident should not have happened but could be attributed to an understandable mistake by an eager captain: "The precise observance of Irish neutrality and of all Flag Officer U-boats' strict orders in this connection is the duty of all U-boat captains and is in the most immediate and pressing interests of theGerman Reich".[34]
U-607 was sunk in convoy with two other U-boats in theBay of Biscay[54] on 13 July 1943 by aSunderland flying boat of228 SquadronRoyal Air Force, assisted by aHalifax of58 Squadron.[53] Oberleutnant Jeschonnek and six of his crew were taken prisoner, and the rest perished.[45]
Nine days after the sinking ofIrish Oak, on 24 May 1943, AdmiralKarl Dönitz ordered a U-boat withdrawal from theAtlantic. Of the Gernans' operational fleet, 41 U-boats, or 25% of them, had been lost inBlack May, against a total of 50 Allied merchant ships destroyed. TheBattle of the Atlantic was over.[55]
All of the crew of theIrish Oak when she was sunk on 15 May 1943 were rescued.[37]
Official Numbers, a forerunner toIMO Numbers, were:
Call signs, the replacement of code letters from 1934:KOTK from 1934.[56]
In 1949, Irish Shipping Limited acquired a newIrish Oak (official number 174596). Built for ISL by J. Readhead and Sons Ltd.,South Shields,William Norton complained that she was to be built in Britain.[57] She would be immortalised inFrank McCourt's book "'Tis". In 1967, she was sold to Proverde Shipping of Greece and renamedVegas. In 1979, en route fromPiraeus toVietnam, she ran aground nearJeddah and was re-floated but sold for breaking up.[58]
In 1973, Irish Shipping Limited acquired anotherIrish Oak, a bulk carrier motor ship with adiesel engine.Irish Oak, 16,704 GRT, 25,649 DWT, which was in service with Irish Shipping until 1982.[59]
defined the combat area where U.S. ships and citizens were excluded
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in May 1943 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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