Deucalion 1930
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 7:27 pm
DEUCALION MALTA 2012 [1 Attachment]
Von: P Crichton <p.crichton1@sky.com>
Datum:22.08.2012 18:16
Launched 29th July 1930 by Hawthorn Leslie at Hebburn-on-Tyne, England.
GRT: 7740 NRT: 4799 DWT: 8930
Dimensions: 140.21m x 18.1m x 15.54m
21/22 December 1940 Damaged by air attack at Gladstone Dock, Liverpool.
In July 1941 DEUCALION managed a round convoy voyage between Gibraltar and Malta. When leaving Malta she was, for some reason, shelled by shore batteries but without damage. However, minutes later a mine was set off by her port paravane which resulted in some of her plates being sprung. Later, that same day, she was attacked by Italian Marchetti bombers, both of whose torpedoes missed – one by a mere three feet and the other scraping along DEUCALION’s side. One of the Italians was shot down.
DEUCALION - arrived Singapore 10.2.42. Impossible to dock so embarked many men, women and children from small boats drifting and being strafed by machine guns. Arrived Tanjong Priok, took on board approximately 480 personnel of RAF,RNZAF and RAAf together with many British civilians including women and children who had previously escaped from Singapore. Left Tanjong Priok 22.2.42 arrived Fremantle 2.3.42
The importance of the “Pedestal” operation needs no introduction here, but it is worth recalling the bare facts: of the 14 merchantmen that set out, nine were sunk, including DEUCALION, and three damaged, while the Senior Service lost an aircraft carrier, two cruisers and one destroyer, as well as having another half a dozen ships damaged. For the likes of Norman Owen, aboard DEUCALION, the moment of truth arrived on Wednesday 12 August 1942, when his ship was sunk after two separate enemy aircraft attacks - the first, in which she was hit by bombs, much reduced her speed, and the second, delivered by an enemy torpedo bomber, finished her off. Richard Woodman describes both attacks in his definitive history, Malta Convoy:
‘Leading the port column as a convoy guide, DEUCALION was soon in trouble. At 13.00 a stick of bombs fell about her. One hit the starboard after well deck, abreast the mainmast, pierced the ship and did not explode; the second struck the port gunwhale of No. 1 Lifeboat slung outboard on the bridge deck, scraped the side and exploded as it hit the water; and the third burst against the ship’s starboard bow at the after end of No. 1 hatch. Despite DEUCALION’s massive scantlings, ‘it seemed as if the ship almost went on her beam ends with the explosion and she seemed to start to settle rapidly and was evidently badly damaged’. The electric power failed, and with the operation of the ship hampered Captain Ramsay Brown stopped the faltering engines, then ordered the chief officer and carpenter Owen to sound the bells and had the lifeboats lowered to the embarkation deck. The bomb explosions along the starboard side of DEUCALION had destroyed No. 1 Lifeboat, but the crew mustering at their boat stations began to lower the other boats as ordered. Unfortunately, at this juncture ‘some greasers and assistant stewards took it upon themselves to lower Nos 3 and 6 Lifeboats and pulled away from the ship’, a circumstance which infuriated the preoccupied Brown. They were men who had been drawn from the Merchant Navy pool and put aboard DEUCALION as replacements for her normal Chinese crew of ‘Holt’s men’. Reporting afterwards, Brown was scathing about these ‘weak reeds’, fulminating that he ‘could never have imagined that any Britishers could have shown up in such poor colours.’
Once the damage had been located and assessed, and the ‘weak reeds’ re-embarked, Brown was of the opinion that his command was not in immediate danger, and consequently signalled a naval escort, the destroyer H.M.S. BRAMHAM, that he should be able to proceed at around 10 knots. BRAMHAM, thereafter, stayed in close proximity, which was just as well. Woodman continues:
‘Having passed Galita, course was altered at 19.40 to pass north of Cani Rocks, some fifteen miles further east. At 21.20, ‘after sunset when the light was very bad’, with the coast to the south now in shadow, two torpedo-bombers came in low with their engines shut off, one on the port quarter, the other on the starboard bow. Engaged by DEUCALION’s guns, ‘The first plane flew along the port side without attacking, then flew off, whilst the second bomber sail-planed to within half a mile of the starboard bow, opened up engines and flew about 50 feet high parallel with the ship not more than 200 yards away. All guns that could bear opened fire and scored several hits. Nevertheless, as the plane drew level with the bridge an object left it, evidently fired by an explosive charge, and travelled horizontally towards the ship’. This struck DEUCALION aft and ‘a tremendous fire broke out at once’ as the aviation spirit and kerosene in No. 6 ‘Tween-deck exploded. A sheet of flame shot skywards, ‘twice the height of the mast’, and the whole after end of the ship became a ‘raging inferno’. ‘The chances of extinguishing it were hopeless from the outset’, a crew member afterwards remarked. Brown ordered the ship abandoned as Baines approached in BRAMHAM. The boats were hurriedly lowered, and a fall of No. 3 slipped on the slaghorn; one end of the boat dropped, spilling those in her into the warm sea, to struggle across the water towards the looming destroyer. By 22.00 all the survivors were aboard BRAMHAM, where Baines, seeing what he took to be lights of Vichy French vessels approaching, was anxious to get away.’
At 22.40 the DEUCALION blew up, a sight no doubt witnessed from a suitable distance by Owen, now aboard the BRAMHAM. But he was not, in fact, destined to end “Pedestal” in the same ship, for, as verified in the official reports submitted by the Masters of the DEUCALION and the tanker OHIO, a number of men from the former vessel volunteered to board and assist the latter, among them Owen, who helped to operate the tow wires which were attached to the escorting destroyers that brought the stricken tanker into Valetta on 15 August 1942 - in the final 60 hours of her epic voyage she had received no less than seven direct hits and 20 near-misses. Her Master, of course, was famously awarded the G.C., ‘In recognition of the gallantry displayed by him and his crew, as a result of which the major part of the OHIO’s valuable cargo, so vital to the defences of Malta, reached its destination’: Owen received an equally well-deserved D.S.M., which he received at a Buckingham Palace investiture held on 28 November 1944, while other members of the DEUCALION’s crew amassed a tally of two D.S.Cs, two O.B.Es, four more D.S.Ms, an Albert Medal, five “mentions” and three Lloyd’s Bravery Medals.
A Royal Warrant of 15 December 1971 revoked the Albert Medal, and all living recipients were deemed to be holders of the George Cross, and offered the opportunity to exchange their A.M. for a G.C. Not all took the opportunity.
Sources: Merchant Fleets 6 – Blue Funnel Line by Duncan Haws. Mirimar.
http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?30638
http://www.dnw.co.uk/medals/auctionarch ... emid=53951
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/war-sea/19 ... ds-49.html
http://www.cofepow.org.uk/pages/civilia ... acuees.htm. http://www.bluefunnel.myzen.co.uk/.
Von: P Crichton <p.crichton1@sky.com>
Datum:22.08.2012 18:16
Launched 29th July 1930 by Hawthorn Leslie at Hebburn-on-Tyne, England.
GRT: 7740 NRT: 4799 DWT: 8930
Dimensions: 140.21m x 18.1m x 15.54m
21/22 December 1940 Damaged by air attack at Gladstone Dock, Liverpool.
In July 1941 DEUCALION managed a round convoy voyage between Gibraltar and Malta. When leaving Malta she was, for some reason, shelled by shore batteries but without damage. However, minutes later a mine was set off by her port paravane which resulted in some of her plates being sprung. Later, that same day, she was attacked by Italian Marchetti bombers, both of whose torpedoes missed – one by a mere three feet and the other scraping along DEUCALION’s side. One of the Italians was shot down.
DEUCALION - arrived Singapore 10.2.42. Impossible to dock so embarked many men, women and children from small boats drifting and being strafed by machine guns. Arrived Tanjong Priok, took on board approximately 480 personnel of RAF,RNZAF and RAAf together with many British civilians including women and children who had previously escaped from Singapore. Left Tanjong Priok 22.2.42 arrived Fremantle 2.3.42
The importance of the “Pedestal” operation needs no introduction here, but it is worth recalling the bare facts: of the 14 merchantmen that set out, nine were sunk, including DEUCALION, and three damaged, while the Senior Service lost an aircraft carrier, two cruisers and one destroyer, as well as having another half a dozen ships damaged. For the likes of Norman Owen, aboard DEUCALION, the moment of truth arrived on Wednesday 12 August 1942, when his ship was sunk after two separate enemy aircraft attacks - the first, in which she was hit by bombs, much reduced her speed, and the second, delivered by an enemy torpedo bomber, finished her off. Richard Woodman describes both attacks in his definitive history, Malta Convoy:
‘Leading the port column as a convoy guide, DEUCALION was soon in trouble. At 13.00 a stick of bombs fell about her. One hit the starboard after well deck, abreast the mainmast, pierced the ship and did not explode; the second struck the port gunwhale of No. 1 Lifeboat slung outboard on the bridge deck, scraped the side and exploded as it hit the water; and the third burst against the ship’s starboard bow at the after end of No. 1 hatch. Despite DEUCALION’s massive scantlings, ‘it seemed as if the ship almost went on her beam ends with the explosion and she seemed to start to settle rapidly and was evidently badly damaged’. The electric power failed, and with the operation of the ship hampered Captain Ramsay Brown stopped the faltering engines, then ordered the chief officer and carpenter Owen to sound the bells and had the lifeboats lowered to the embarkation deck. The bomb explosions along the starboard side of DEUCALION had destroyed No. 1 Lifeboat, but the crew mustering at their boat stations began to lower the other boats as ordered. Unfortunately, at this juncture ‘some greasers and assistant stewards took it upon themselves to lower Nos 3 and 6 Lifeboats and pulled away from the ship’, a circumstance which infuriated the preoccupied Brown. They were men who had been drawn from the Merchant Navy pool and put aboard DEUCALION as replacements for her normal Chinese crew of ‘Holt’s men’. Reporting afterwards, Brown was scathing about these ‘weak reeds’, fulminating that he ‘could never have imagined that any Britishers could have shown up in such poor colours.’
Once the damage had been located and assessed, and the ‘weak reeds’ re-embarked, Brown was of the opinion that his command was not in immediate danger, and consequently signalled a naval escort, the destroyer H.M.S. BRAMHAM, that he should be able to proceed at around 10 knots. BRAMHAM, thereafter, stayed in close proximity, which was just as well. Woodman continues:
‘Having passed Galita, course was altered at 19.40 to pass north of Cani Rocks, some fifteen miles further east. At 21.20, ‘after sunset when the light was very bad’, with the coast to the south now in shadow, two torpedo-bombers came in low with their engines shut off, one on the port quarter, the other on the starboard bow. Engaged by DEUCALION’s guns, ‘The first plane flew along the port side without attacking, then flew off, whilst the second bomber sail-planed to within half a mile of the starboard bow, opened up engines and flew about 50 feet high parallel with the ship not more than 200 yards away. All guns that could bear opened fire and scored several hits. Nevertheless, as the plane drew level with the bridge an object left it, evidently fired by an explosive charge, and travelled horizontally towards the ship’. This struck DEUCALION aft and ‘a tremendous fire broke out at once’ as the aviation spirit and kerosene in No. 6 ‘Tween-deck exploded. A sheet of flame shot skywards, ‘twice the height of the mast’, and the whole after end of the ship became a ‘raging inferno’. ‘The chances of extinguishing it were hopeless from the outset’, a crew member afterwards remarked. Brown ordered the ship abandoned as Baines approached in BRAMHAM. The boats were hurriedly lowered, and a fall of No. 3 slipped on the slaghorn; one end of the boat dropped, spilling those in her into the warm sea, to struggle across the water towards the looming destroyer. By 22.00 all the survivors were aboard BRAMHAM, where Baines, seeing what he took to be lights of Vichy French vessels approaching, was anxious to get away.’
At 22.40 the DEUCALION blew up, a sight no doubt witnessed from a suitable distance by Owen, now aboard the BRAMHAM. But he was not, in fact, destined to end “Pedestal” in the same ship, for, as verified in the official reports submitted by the Masters of the DEUCALION and the tanker OHIO, a number of men from the former vessel volunteered to board and assist the latter, among them Owen, who helped to operate the tow wires which were attached to the escorting destroyers that brought the stricken tanker into Valetta on 15 August 1942 - in the final 60 hours of her epic voyage she had received no less than seven direct hits and 20 near-misses. Her Master, of course, was famously awarded the G.C., ‘In recognition of the gallantry displayed by him and his crew, as a result of which the major part of the OHIO’s valuable cargo, so vital to the defences of Malta, reached its destination’: Owen received an equally well-deserved D.S.M., which he received at a Buckingham Palace investiture held on 28 November 1944, while other members of the DEUCALION’s crew amassed a tally of two D.S.Cs, two O.B.Es, four more D.S.Ms, an Albert Medal, five “mentions” and three Lloyd’s Bravery Medals.
A Royal Warrant of 15 December 1971 revoked the Albert Medal, and all living recipients were deemed to be holders of the George Cross, and offered the opportunity to exchange their A.M. for a G.C. Not all took the opportunity.
Sources: Merchant Fleets 6 – Blue Funnel Line by Duncan Haws. Mirimar.
http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?30638
http://www.dnw.co.uk/medals/auctionarch ... emid=53951
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/war-sea/19 ... ds-49.html
http://www.cofepow.org.uk/pages/civilia ... acuees.htm. http://www.bluefunnel.myzen.co.uk/.