Auke Visser's International Esso Tankers site | home
DOUBLE PAY-OFF
SS "Esso Norfolk"
On october 23, 1944, the Standard Oil Company (N. J.) tanker Esso Norfolk was allocated to continuous ser-vice in the U. S. Navy. From January to July, 1945, she arrived with Navy fuel four consecutive times at the great fleet anchorage of Ulithi. During this period carrier task forces made two attacks on Tokyo. Each was unprecedented for the size of the forces involved and the continuity, over several days in each case, of the sustained air assault.
Shortly before the Esso Norfolk entered Navy service, patrols of the 81st Division of the U. S. Army, on Sep-tember 21, 1944, made an unopposed landing on Ulithi in connection with the amphibious assault operations in the Western Carolines under the direction of Admiral (now Fleet Admiral) William F. Halsey, Jr., Com-mander Third Fleet. These operations completed the isolation of the Japanese-held Central and Eastern Carolines, including the enemy base at Truk. In his Second Official Report on the war. Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King said that "although Ulithi was not an ideal anchorage, it was the best available shelter for large surface forces in the Western Carolines, and steps were taken at once to develop it."
Eye-witness Account
Two fast carrier task forces, requiring great amounts of fuel brought to Ulithi in tankers like the Esso Norfolk, raided the "sacred soil" of Nippon in February and July, 1945.
On board the USS Baltimore, flagship of Cruiser Division 10 which took part in this action, was a member of the Marine Department, Commander (now Captain) Matthew Radom, USNR, who was on the staff of the ad-miral commanding the cruiser division. On May 15, 1945, shortly after the first carrier attack on Tokyo, Com-mander Radom wrote a personal letter to the late Captain H. A. Cunning-ham, then Manager of the Port of New York Office, Marine Department:
"By early February, our carrier forces had rested up, refueled, and taken on chow, ammo, and everything we needed to carry on. W^e were part of the Fifth Fleet and Task Force 58. Admiral Spruance didn't waste time on any preliminaries. Less than a week after leaving port we were heading for a carrier strike on the heart of Japan, Tokyo, itself!
"That first carrier air strike on Japan is history now. There's little I can add. Again, we approached virtually un-der their noses only a little more than a hundred miles from the Jap mainland and not a single Jap search pla-ne spotted us. The weather was somewhat with us. It was overcast. The air was crisp and cool, quite a change from the sultry and muggy weather off the Philippines or in the South China Sea.
"For two days we smacked the Japs and made a record haul not only on planes but, what was more import-ant, on aircraft factories and other important targets. This time it was not a job from 30,000 feet but almost hedge-hopping. Later, some of our pilots reported that Jap farmers in the fields and rice paddies had waved friendly greetings to them, thinking, of course, that only their own planes could ever fly that low and that close to Tokyo. After all, hadn't Premier Tojo said so?
"Needless to say, it was a highly successful venture. We were quite excited the next day when we saw a mass flight of planes - some 200 of them. But they could be looked at with proud eyes, for they were Super Forts going north to attack industrial targets in Japan which our carrier pilots had lighted up for them! These air attacks were of course beautifully timed to coincide with the preliminaries attending the landing on Iwo Jima."
In 1945 the Essp Norfolk arrived at Ulithi to discharge Navy fuel on January 20, March 21, May 15, and July 11. These dates fit in entirely too well with the carrier task force attack dates to be merely coincidences. By analogy then, the tanker, as well as the atoll, scored a double pay-off.
The newly constructed SS Esso Norfolk, ex SS Vincennes (U. S. Maritime Commission), was delivered to the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey under purchase agreement with the Maritime Commission, on December 30, 1942. Built by the Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company at Chester, Penna., her sisterships were the Esso Gettysburg, Esso Manhattan, Esso Paterson, Esso Washington and Esso Wilmington.
A single-screw vessel of 16,750 deadweight tons capacity on international summer draft of 30 feet, 2 inches, the Esso Norfolk has an overall length of 523 feet, 6 inches, a length between perpendiculars of 503 feet, a moulded breadth of 68 feet, and a depth moulded of 39 feet, 3 inches. With a cargo carrying capacity of 138,335 barrels, she has an assigned pumping rate of 7,000 barrels an hour.
Her turbo-electric engine, supplied with steam by two water-tube boilers, gives the Esso Norfolk 7,240 shaft horsepower and a classification certified speed of 14.6 knots.
Captain Andrew L. Mellgard was in command of the Esso Norfolk and Chief Engineer George B. Calundann was in charge of her engineroom when the vessel left Chester on her maiden voyage January 7, 1943. She arrived at New York on January 20 with 121,292 barrels of gas oil loaded at Texas City. The Esso Norfolk transported fifteen more cargoes under War Shipping Administration control in 1943. Five of these, for ac-count of the U. S. Navy, were delivered at Dakar in West Africa, Gibraltar, New York, and Cristobal (2). Three of the fifteen movements, under direction of the British Ministry of War Transport, were nominated by the Asiatic Petroleum Corporation in New York, representing cargo interests in the United Kingdom, and the discharge ports were Liverpool and Freetown, British West Africa. Three were shuttle trips to Halifax for account of British Lend-Lease; two liftings were nominated through the War Shipping Administration by the New York representative of the British Petroleum Board; and two were for commercial account.
The products carried were special Navy fuel oil, Admiralty fuel oil. Pool marine Diesel oil, and Temblador crude oil. Loading terminals were in Aruba, Curacao, and Trinidad. The Esso Norfolk transported lube oil and asphalt in drums to West Africa; unboxed vehicles to the United Kingdom; and miscellaneous refinery material to Trinidad for account of Trinidad Leaseholds, Ltd.
In the first four months of 1944, the Esso Norfolk carried 98,575 barrels of special Navy fuel oil to Dakar; completed one other voyage to New York for account of the Navy; transported two cargoes for British inte-rests, and two for commercial account.
On April 23, the tanker left the Firth of Clyde for Curacao where she loaded Navy fuel oil for discharge in the Pacific. She, sailed from Curacao on May 7 with her first cargo in this service—96,639 barrels. At Balboa she took on five PT boats, 2 motor launches, 1 motor truck fitted with crane, 1 reconnaissance car, and 225 tons of naval stores. A U. S. Navy personnel detachment of 100 men also boarded the Esso Norfolk at Bal-boa.
The ship arrived at Seeadler Harbor, in the Admiralties, on June 12 and discharged her bulk cargo into the USS Victoria (ex George G. Henry) and USS Leopard. At Dreger Harbor, New Guinea, the naval stores and part of the deck cargo were unloaded and at Milne Bay the U. S. Navy personnel left the vessel - the PT boats were also taken off there.
"Delayed by Dust Storm"
The Esso Norfolk entered the harbor of Melbourne on July 1, 1944 for stores and routing instructions. She was ordered to Abadan, in the Persian Gulf, to load cargo. While there, an entry was made in the port log that "ship was delayed on account of low visibility caused by dust from desert". The Esso Norfolk returned to Syd-ney, Australia, on August 24, where she was instructed to proceed to Milne Bay, New Guinea. There she dis-charged her Abadan cargo into shore storage and the USS Arayat. The HMS Australia and the USS General John Pope (AP 110) were bunkered.
The Esso Norfolk returned to the Panama Canal on September 29 and carried Colombian crude oil to New York, where she completed necessary repairs. Also at New York she unloaded four PT boats, which she had brought from Milne Bay. The tanker finished 1944 with a trip to Hollandia, New Guinea, arriving on November 29. In Humboldt Bay she discharged into the USS Villalobos, USS Clyde, and USS Suami-co. Chief Mate John D. Hall, in an interview for this history, said:
"We had orders to get to Hollandia as fast as we could. Upon arrival, we found a number of ships waiting for us. They had come out of battle to take on fuel. We fueled them quickly and they returned to the battle area." (Naval operations in support of the Leyte campaign were then in progress.)
The Esso Norfolk arrived at San Pedro, California, on December 24, 1944, to begin the first of her 1945 missions .to Ulithi. On three of these four voyages she transported a total of 278,860 barrels of Navy fuel oil from San Pedro and on the fourth 96,161 barrels from Navy storage at Balboa. On the first of these voyages the tanker unloaded 12 planes at Pearl Harbor. Chief Mate Hall also described what he saw on one of the occasions when he was at Ulithi:
"There was a huge number of Navy craft, including between 30 and 50 flat-tops. Admirals Halsey and Nimitz were there. There must have been at least 300 to 400 ships in the lagoon. While I was at Ulithi I met Matt Radom. He was on the staff of an admiral whose flagship was the cruiser USS Baltimore. One day he had dinner with us on the Esso Norfolk." (Mr. Radom was formerly Industrial Relations Assistant to the Operating Manager of the Marine Department. Since his return from active service he has been in the Company's Employee, Relations Department.)
The Esso Norfolk was en route from Curacao on a fifth mission to Ulithi with 98,473 barrels of special Navy fuel oil when Japanese representatives signed unconditional surrender terms on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, September 2, 1945.
The World War II transportation record of the Esso Norfolk was in summary as follows:
The wartime masters of the Esso Norfolk were Captains Andrew L. Mellgard, Walter B. McCarthy, Harry B. Darling, Olav Olsen, and Clinton W. Hayes.
In charge of the tanker's engineroom during the same period were Chief Engineers George B. Calundann, Daniel G. Dunn, John W. Balzli, and John T. Anderson. Mr. Anderson relieved Mr. Calundann.
|