Irish Oak SS Irish Oak (1919)

1 irish oak

1.1 background
1.2 initial sailing, convoys , delays
1.3 out of convoy sailings
1.4 stornest
1.5 encounter u-650
1.6 torpedoed
1.7 landfall

irish oak
background

at outbreak of world war ii ireland had few ships, , united states instructed ships not enter war zone . acting irish government, minister frank aiken negotiated charter of 2 oil-burning steamships united states maritime commission’s reserve fleet. these west neris , west hematite. 2 irish crews travelled new orleans take on ships, did on 9 september 1941.

the west neris renamed irish oak , west hematite renamed irish pine. both chartered government owned irish shipping limited (isl) , managed limerick steamship company, port of registry changed dublin. irish oak captained matthew moran of wexford; irish pine frank dick of islandmagee, samuel mcnamara of belfast chief engineer.

initial sailing, convoys , delays

destined carry wheat , phosphate fertilizer, both ships sailed new orleans st john s in october 1941, take on cargoes of wheat bound ireland. since insurers such lloyd s of london charged higher premiums ships not in convoy, irish oak , irish pine painted war-time camouflage in preparation sailing in-convoy. irish pine joined convoy sc 56 , arrived in dublin on 11 december 1941. in contrast, irish oak experienced number of serious mishaps , setbacks: chief engineer r. marsh, of dublin, suffered heart attack , hospitalised in new orleans; engineer, o’keefe of dún laoghaire, severely burned in boiler room blow-back , hospitalised in st john; , locally recruited greek replacement engineer caused difficulties, reported canadian authorities captain, , jailed.

initially irish oak sailed convoy sc 52, departed sydney, nova scotia on 29 october 1941. on 3 november convoy attacked u-202 , u-203 , lost 4 ships; turned sydney , arrived on 5 november. neglect had left irish oak in poor condition. ships sc 52 merged convoy sc 53 , irish oak sailed it, had return sydney. next attempt convoy sc 55, departed sydney on 16 november 1941 , arrived @ liverpool on 5 december, again engine problems struck , towed saint john, new brunswick. irish oak remained in st. john 4 months while efforts made repair engine. had towed boston repairs. voyage new orleans dublin - including repairs - took nine months: irish oak berthed in dublin on 6 july 1942.

out of convoy sailings

the crew of irish oak became acutely uneasy after engine failed , left behind sc 55, dead in water, wait tugboat; this, coupled experiences of other irish ships, in og 71, nightmare convoy in august 1941, resolved irish crews , owners sail neutrals, out-of-convoy. thereafter irish ships marked , lit, sailing out-of-convoy on direct course, , answered sos calls assistance. irish ships rescued 534 men; yet lost 20% of seamen.

irish shipping limited built fleet 15 ships. 2 ships lost, irish oak, , irish pine, on 33 lives lost. isl ships alone saved 166 lives.

the stornest

at 04:44 on 14 october 1942, in bad weather, irish oak received distress call british ship stornest, straggler convoy ons 136, torpedoed u-706. irish oak answered call , altered course. 6 minutes later stornest radioed irish oak abandoning ship in life-rafts, having lost lifeboats in heavy seas. irish oak continued relay stormest s sos , spent ten hours searching survivors in westerly gale. rescue tug adherent, anti-submarine trawler drangey , 2 corvettes convoy ons 137 joined search, no avail. stornest s crew of 29 , ten gunners lost @ sea.

a week later captain matthew moran fatally injured while boarding @ dublin quayside, when gangway collapsed beneath him. replaced captain eric jones (see crew).

encounter u-650

on 14 may 1943, irish oak en route tampa, florida, dublin cargo of 8,000 tons of phosphate fertiliser. smoke allied convoy visible ahead in distance; in general irish ships sailing out-of-convoy @ time.

at 2.23pm german u-boat u-650 came alongside. there no contact or exchange between vessels. continued alongside each other afternoon. @ nightfall irish oak turned on lights, in accordance neutral status. apparently satisfied, u-650 departed during night. irish oak continued sailing astern of convoy sc 129.

as happened, on same day u-642 reported aircraft carrier (the escort carrier hms biter 5th escort group) joining convoy; in fear of aircraft, stalking u-boats ordered break off operations against convoy .

torpedoed

as dawn broke next morning, 15 may 1943, torpedo hit irish oak @ 8:19am (12:19 german summer time). 2 torpedoes launched, 1 missed, other struck port side , exploded.

at time uncertain submarine had launched torpedoes. periscope remained visible lifeboats lowered. submarine waited until lifeboats clear before firing coup de grâce @ 9:31 am. irish plane, irish rose , irish ash responded sos. survivors located irish plane @ 4:20 pm.

irish oak lies in position 47°51′n 25°53′w / 47.850°n 25.883°w / 47.850; -25.883coordinates: 47°51′n 25°53′w / 47.850°n 25.883°w / 47.850; -25.883, midway between newfoundland , ireland.

landfall

the survivors landed @ cobh on 19 may. welcomed samuel roycroft, director of both limerick steamship company , of irish shipping limited. lunched @ imperial hotel, cork. on arrival in dublin on 21 may, welcomed peadar doyle, lord mayor, , hosted lunch @ leinster house, home of dáil Éireann (ireland s parliament), on 24 may.

it common practice crews wages stopped when ship sunk. famed labour leader james larkin raised issue of survivors treatment in dáil Éireann. citing crew member told labour exchange go , record card , lost when irish oak sank, suggested dáil Éireann ask german consul-general send submarine retrieve it.

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