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In Bristol Channel
SS James McGee.
SECOND casualty of the Panama Transport fleet, the James McGee, manned by a Canadian crew, was on her fifth wartime voyage under the Panamanian flag when she came in contact with a supposedly magnetic mine in Bristol Channel, a few miles from Nash Point Lighthouse, on June 20, 1940-the day of the fall of France.
A tremendous explosion forward on the port side lifted the McGee bodily, tore apart the first two cargo tanks, broke the back of the ship, and sent a huge volume of crude oil high into the air. The engines were stopped. Almost immediately the tanker began to founder and shortly afterward the bow went under. The stern grounded in about 9 fathoms of water and settled deep into the sand.
All Hands Escape.
The lifeboats were quickly launched and the entire ship's company, 42 officers and men, were soon rescued by a British destroyer. Some members of the crew were hurt; the master was thrown upward and tell to the deck, striking his head and suffering severe facial injuries, but he was able to carry on until all hands were safe.
At the captain's request, an inspection of the after part of the vessel was made on the evening of June 20 by the chief mate and the chief engineer. The British naval officer in charge of the boarding party decided that salvage was impossible and that it was unsafe to go below decks. He feared that the ship might break apart, due to vibration caused by the heavy tide. Therefore no effort was made to recover cargo, as it was considered too dangerous to attempt.
A few days later salvage tug officers and surveyors confirmed these findings; they reported the wreck broken in two in way of the fore side of the bridge.
The SS James McGee was built in 1917 by the Maryland Steel Company at Sparrows Point, Md. She was a sister ship of the W. C. T eagle, lost October 16, 1941.
A twin-screw vessel of 16,080 deadweight tons capacity on international summer draft of 28 feet, 6 1/2 inches, the James McGee had an overall length of 516 feet, 7 inches, a length between perpendiculars of 500 feet, a moulded breadth of 68 feet, and a depthmoulded of 38 feet, 31/2 inches. With a cargo carrying capacity of 119,310 barrels, she had an assigned pumping rate of 4,000 barrels an hour.
Her triple expansion engines, with steam supplied by three Scotch boilers, developed 3,000 indicated horsepower and gave her an average speed, loaded, of 9.5 knots.
At the outbreak of war on September 3, 1939, the then Esso tanker James McGee, commanded by Captain James LeCain, with her engineroom in charge of Chief Engineer Peter Olsen, was four days out of Baltimore on her way to Caripito; she arrived there September 6 and loaded her first wartime cargo, 101,726 barrels of crude, which was discharged at Montreal. Between then and November 9, while under the American flag, she made one voyage each to Baltimore and Halifax; including the previous delivery at Montreal, these three cargoes totaled 321,302 barrels of crude oil.
On November 10, 1939 she was sold at Halifax to the Panama Transport Company and manned by a Canadian crew. The master assigned to the vessel was Captain David G. Thomas and her new chief engineer was Henry J. Rice.
Sailing from Halifax to Cartagena under the flag of the Republic of Panama, the McGee loaded 96,803 barrels of Colombian crude oil, with which she arrived at Le Havre, France, on December 30.
In 1940, she delivered three cargoes-to Aruba, Le Havre, and Halifax-before her departure from Guiria on her last voyage.
The wartime transportation record of the James McGee, under the American and Panamanian flags, was in summary as follows:
On May 10, 1940, the James McGee sailed from Guiria, Venezuela, with 99,056 barrels of Temblador crude oil, consigned to Standard Francaise des Petroles at Le Havre.
The vessel called at Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, for British Navy routing instructions and then proceeded to Halifax; on her arrival May 20, she joined a convoy assembling to cross the Atlantic.
This convoy left Halifax on the morning of May 24. In the English Channel, on June 6, it split into two parts and the column on the port hand steered toward English ports while a starboard section, which included the James McGee, headed toward the French coast and arrived on the evening of June 7 at Brest.
While the tanker was at anchor in Brest Roads and under French naval control for about a week. Captain Thomas made every effort to have the ship degaussed, but the war situation at that time was too chaotic and confused to permit orderly procedure. The British evacuation of Dunkirk had recently been completed, June 4, and German forces were overrunning France; Paris was about to fall and the enemy was closing in on the approaches to Brest. Petroleum was urgently needed, but in the general uncertainty as to what would happen, no definite arrangements could be made.
The Master's Report.
To quote the report of Captain Thomas: "On Friday, 14 June (the day the German army entered Paris), I received instructions from the French Admiralty to proceed to Quiberon Bay, on the French coast of the Bay of Biscay, and I set sail about 6 a.m. in company with other ships. Escorted by naval vessels, we arrived at Quiberon Bay the same evening and anchored as directed by the French authorities. The James McGee lay there till the morning of June 17. Because of emergency conditions I kept on a full head of steam in the event of receiving orders to get under way immediately."
It was on June 17, 1940, that Marshal Petain announced the surrender of the French armies and began negotiations to seek an armistice.
"At about 6 a.m., 17 June," Captain Thomas stated, "a British destroyer, HMS Wolverine, came alongside and signaled us to be ready to proceed at 10 a.m. in convoy to Milford Haven, England. At the designated time we hove anchor and left the bay with many other vessels until we were clear of Belle Isle, when a convoy was formed. The James McGee took position No. 3-2 in the formation of approximately 60 ships. We were immediately astern of the commodore's vessel in the center column; the convoy was five columns wide. Accompanied by the Wolverine and an armed trawler, we sailed without incident in the general direction of Bristol Channel.
"On June 20, at about 10 a.m., when we were north of Lundy Island, the convoy was divided into two parts, one continuing toward Milford Haven and the other, a group of about 18 ships, including the McGee, going up Bristol Channel under escort of the Wolverine.
"Before passing Helwick Light's Vessel we were formed in a single line ahead, the James McGee being seventh. All went well until we arrived about 21/g miles south southwest of Nash Point Lighthouse.
"At about 3:51 p.m., British summer time, the weather was fine and clear; the wind was blowing at a force of 3 from the northwest, the tide was about half flood, and there was a slight sea from the westward. Visibility was good.
"I was on the bridge and with me were Chief Officer Frank Chenouski and Second Officer Angus Campbell. Quartermaster Malcolm Nasmith was at the wheel. On the starboard side of the bridge the lookout was Able Seaman James Bagg and on the monkey island. Ordinary Seaman George Walsh; Able Seaman Marcel Bru was in the crow's nest. I had given all lookouts instructions to report any object, floating or otherwise, that they saw, and to inform me of any circumstances that might give rise to suspicion.
"Suddenly and without warning a violent explosion occurred in the vicinity of Nos. 1 and 2 port main tanks. There was a heavy muffled roar. An immense column of oil was hurled from the forward tanks to a height of about 200 feet. I was thrown to the top of the wheelhouse and subsequently to the deck and suffered bad facial injuries, but was not unconscious. Other members of the crew were roughly tossed about but fortunately suffered no serious injuries.
"These events happened so quickly that no immediate estimate could be made of the damage that had been done. At once, however, the James McGee began to sink by the head; the ship had her back broken and commenced to founder with the middle going under. The foredeck plating was rolled back right to the bridge. In a short time the bow began to submerge.
Everything was covered with oil.
"As soon as I regained my feet I switched on the fire alarm signals. The chief officer attempted to ring the telegraph, but it was found to be jammed. A terrific roar was caused by the inrush of water and expulsion of air. There was no confusion, as every officer knew what was to be done. The first and second mates took their positions at the midships lifeboats and the third mate went aft to direct the lowering of the other boats.
Boats Away Smartly.
"Following the explosion masses of oil fell back upon the ship and drenched all hands on deck. Second Mate Campbell tried to climb to the monkey island, but the pressure of falling oil drove him to his knees. From 5 to 8 minutes after the ship was hit theboats were launched and all members of the crew safe. It was evident at this time that there was no possibility of doing anything for the salvage or beaching of the James McGee, nor could any step be taken for her preservation, as both bands of the windlass brakes had snapped and both anchors had run.
"Although my face was badly mutilated I was able to see the conditions and realized that nothing could be done beyond saving the lives of the men. My intention was to pull clear and after making observations to return, if practicable, to the ship, but I knew that a survey would have to be made by properly equipped vessels and competent salvors.
Rescued.
"The destroyer Wolverine had now turned back and was getting ready to pick us up. Our boats drew alongside and we were taken on board at 4:30 in the afternoon."
As stated by Chief Mate Frank Chenouski: "The master being under medical treatment for his broken nose and other injuries, I returned to the James McGee at about 7 p.m., June 20, with a view to judging the chances of salvage. I was accompanied by the chief engineer and the boatswain of the vessel. The inspection party was in charge of the first lieutenant of the Wolverine. "We found only the stern part of the McGee above water; from the bunkers forward the vessel was totally submerged except for the top of the foremast. Violent vibration of the hull was being caused by the tide and the first lieutenant of the destroyer gave orders that no man should go below. As the water was entirely covered by oil, only that part of the ship which was above the surface could be seen. The naval officer thought the vessel might founder at any minute and that a stay of any duration would be unwise. We therefore went back to the Wolverine after being aboard the James McGee for about ten minutes."
The Wolverine landed the survivors of the James McGee at 12:30 the next morning at Barry Island, Wales. Eight members of the crew were hospitalized for treatment of injuries: Captain David G. Thomas, Able Seamen Marcel Bru, James Bagg, Malcolm B. Nasmith, and Ronald Ramsay, Ordinary Seaman Gerald Day, Oiler Willard J. Randorf, and Fireman Frank D. Archibald.
On June 26, Lieutenant Commander George H. Smith, RNR, representing the Liverpool and Glasgow Salvage Association, went to the wreck with Mr. R. H. Wetherall, of the Anglo-American Oil Co., Ltd., Captain Thomas, and Chief Engineer Rice. Lt. Comdr. Smith reported to the British Admiralty that ship and cargo were a total loss.
Survivors of the "James McGee" - June 20, 1940.
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