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ONE OF FOUR.
SS Esso Buffalo
The Esso Buffalo was de live red to the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey on May 29, 1943 at the yard of the Sun Shipbuilding
& Dry Dock Company, Chester, Penna. This vessel was one of a general group of ocean-going tankers, twelve in number, for which
the Company placed construction orders in March and May of 1940. In this program, four vessels, each of approximately 18,600
deadweight tons capacity and 15.5 knots contract speed, including the Esso Buffalo, were built by Sun; the other three were the
Esso Rochester, Esso Richmond (second vessel so named), and the second Esso Columbia.
A single-screw vessel of 18,605 deadweight tons capacity on international summer draft of 30 feet, 41/2 inches, the Esso Buffalo
has an overall length of 547 feet, 23/4 inches, a length between perpendiculars of 521 feet, a moulded breadth of 70 feet, and a
depth moulded of 40 feet. With a cargo carrying capacity of 153,704 barrels, she has an assigned pumping rate of 8,000 barrels
an hour.
Her turbine engine, supplied with steam by two water-tube boilers, develops 9,020 brake horse power and gives her a classification
certified speed of 15.5 knots.
On June 6, 1943, the Esso Buffalo left Chester on her maiden voyage. Under the command of Captain Andrew L. Mellgard and with
Chief Engineer Charles E. Swedburg in charge of her engineroom, the vessel proceeded to Aransas Pass, Texas, and lifted a cargo
of 139,218 barrels of Sweden crude oil for New York, where she arrived June 29. She then carried two cargoes of Navy fuel oil from
Aruba to New York and on the intervening passage in ballast delivered 300 drums of Ethyl fluid at Aruba.
Arriving at New York on July 31, the Esso Buffalo was equipped with a spar deck at the Bethlehem shipyard on Staten Island before
proceeding to Aruba and Curacao, where she loaded Navy fuel oil for discharge at Cristobal. The tanker then returned to Curacao for
the first of two split cargoes which were consigned to the British Petroleum Board and discharged at Liverpool.
Again at Curacao, on September 27, the Esso Buffalo loaded the second United Kingdom cargo and was ordered to proceed via
New York, where, on October 7, she took deck cargo for account of the U.S. Army-sixteen P-47 (Thunderbolt) pursuit plane fuselages
and wing assemblies. She delivered these, and the oil cargo loaded at Curacao, to Liverpool, where she arrived on October 24.
After discharging a cargo of Colombian crude oil at New York, November 20 and 21, the Esso Buffalo underwent repairs from
November 26 to December 1. During this period Captain Maurice W. Carter took command, and Chief Engineer George B. Calundann
was in charge of the engineroom when the Esso Buffalo left on December 2 for Puerto La Cruz to lift San Joaquin crude for Philadelphia.
She, to, Carried Many Planes.
Ordered from Philadelphia to New York for general cargo, the vessel loaded, between December 18 and 20, sixteen P-47 (Thunderbolt)
Army pursuit plane fuselages and sixteen boxes of wing assemblies for the U.S. Army Fifth Air Force, in Australia; also two boxed
P-40 (Curtiss Warhawk) U.S. Army pursuit plane fuselage far account of Netherlands Lend Lease. She then departed for Aruba to
load 112,607 barrels of special fuel oil consigned to the Royal Australian Navy.
On December 29, 1943 at 7:30 a.m., while the vessel was en route from Aruba to the Panama Canal with the foregoing bulk cargo
of Navy fuel oil and deck load of planes consigned to Australia, the U.S. Navy intercepted a radio message from the Esso Buffalo
reporting that torpedoes had missed the ship at Latitude 10°04' North and Longitude 78°25' West. On the same day, December 29,
she arrived at Cristobal to transit the Panama Canal.
Two Torpedoes, Close Aboard.
In a report to the Management, written at sea on December 29, Captain Carter said:
"At 7:30 a.m., immediately after we changed course 35 degrees to the right while zigzagging, the wake of a torpedo was seen
crossing the bow from starboard to port about 75 feet away from the vessel. I ordered the wheel hard right to alter our course parallel
with the wake. About three minutes later, a second wake was observed, about 250 feet on the starboard side. Then a heavy jar was
feIt, apparently coming from the bow, followed by the sound of a muffled explosion and a scraping noise. No submarine was sighted
at any time. Inspection for possible damage to shell plating at bow on starboard side could not be made at the time, but as no leak
developed, I decided to proceed to our destination."
The Esso Buffalo reached Melbourne on January 24, 1944; she discharged her oil, unloaded the planes, and departed on January 28
for Cartagena.
After a trip from Cartagena to Halifax with crude oil, the Esso Buffalo was back in New York on March 9. Again ordered to Curacao,
she loaded 114,647 barrels of Navy fuel oil for Espiritu Santo.
Returning lo Caribbean service, the vessel discharged two cargoes of Colombian crude oil at New York, arriving May 20 and June 24.
Before leaving New York on June 26, Captain Harold I. Cook took over from Captain Carter, and Chief Engineer Charles A. Hicks reliev-
ed Chief Engineer Calundann.
In an interview for this history, Chief Engineer Hicks described his experience on the Esso Buffalo from June, 1944, to V-J Day on
September 2, 1945:
"We made two trips with Santa Barbara crude from Puerto La Cruz, arriving at Marcus Hook, Penna., on July 10 and 24. Then we
loaded Navy fuel oil at Aruba for the Pacific. 'Then went to Finschhafen, New Guinea, for orders and then to Seeadler Harbor, Manus
Island, arriving August 31. Between September 5 and 10 we discharged our oil into Navy lighters. The Esso Buffalo then proceeded
to Melbourne, where we took on bunkers and stores, departing on September 24 for Abadan.
"On the way back from Abadan, where we had loaded Navy fuel oil, the Esso Buffalo stopped at Sydney for orders and stores and
then went to Manus Island. Arriving at Manus November 18, we discharged the oil into Navy shore storage. We returned to Balboa
on December 14 and from the 15th to the 29th were in a shipyard there for dry docking, painting, and repairs.
Drums of Lube Oil for Hollandia.
"She loaded Navy fuel at Balboa on December 30 and 696 drums of lube oil at Manus Island on January 24 and 25, 1945. We deliver-
ed the drums at Hollandia and discharged our fuel cargo there into the Navy oilers USS Clyde (AO 144) and USS Villalobos (AO 145).
Once more at Manus on February 2 for bunkers, we were ordered back to the Canal.
"The Esso Buffalo left Aruba on March 4 with Navy fuel oil for Eniwetok, in the Marshall Islands, but we were diverted to Ulithi, in the
Carolines, where we fueled the oiler USS Tallulah (AO 50). Ordered to the west coast, we took two Navy lieutenants with us to San
Pedro, where we lifted another cargo of Navy fuel. On May 7 we sailed for Ulithi. We put in at Pearl Harbor on May 14, discharged our
cargo, and received permission to return to the west coast for turbine repairs. From May 29 to July 11 we were in dry dock at San Pedro.
Fuel and Landing Barges.
"There after we made three voyages between west coast ports. Arriving at San Pedro on July 28, the Esso Buffalo loaded Navy fuel
oil and 900 barrels of lube oil; also ten landing barges on deck. We delivered the barges at Eniwetok on August 14 and 15 and proceed-
ed to Ulithi with the lube oil and bulk cargo. After unloading the lube oil, we pumped part of our cargo into a Navy fuel oil barge, the YO 76,
before anchoring. While at anchor, on August 22, we discharged the remainder of our cargo into the fleet oiler USS Sabine, formerly
the Esso Albany (first vessel so named) , a National Defense Features tanker. On V-J Day, September 2, 1945, the Esso Buffalo was
en route from Ulithi to the Panama Canal."
The transportation record of the Esso Buffalo in World War II was in summary as follows:
Voyages Year
|
(Cargoes)
|
Barrels
|
1943
|
9
|
1,091,739
|
1944
|
8
|
980,233
|
1945
|
7
|
790,104
|
Total
|
24
|
2,862,076
|
The wartime masters of the Esso Buffalo were Captains Andrew L. Mellgard, Maurice W. Carter, Harold L. Cook, and Frank G.T.G. Bootz.
During the same period the vessel's engineroom was in charge of Chief Engineers Charles E. Swedburg, George C. Brauner, George B.
Calundann, and Charles A. Hicks.