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NETHERLANDS CREW RESCUED
SS F. Q. Barstow.
A daring rescue of the survivors of a Netherlands ship the MS Hector, was effected by the crew of the Esso tanker F. Q. Barstow about an hour after the enemy submarine had left the scene of the sinking. It was during the dark days of 1942 when the Axis submarine navy held the upper hand in the Battle of the Atlantic. The following is quoted from a report of the rescue by Captain Thomas B. Christenson:
"On May 24, 1942, about 2:20 p.m., while on a voyage from New York to Caripito, Venezuela, the F. Q. Barstow picked up twentynine survivors of the torpedoed Dutch vessel Hector.
"At 11:45 a.m. a lifeboat and raft were sighted and at 12:10 p.m. the F. Q. Barstow was close. The water was strewn with wreckage. The boat and raft were overcrowded and the life raft was almost broken in two.
"I hailed the lifeboat crew and inquired as to when the U-boat was last seen. The reply was 'About an hour ago. The submarine is probably not far off.' The master of the torpedoed vessel, later identified as Captain I. J. Lodewyk, asked me for a raft. Third Mate Reuben Greenspan was sent to launch one. All this was done while circling around at full speed, as I did not dare to slow down at that time.
Survivors Aboard
"A radio message was sent to the Navy Department, giving our position and requesting assistance tor the survivors, as the submarine was believed to be still in the vicinity. However, instead of leaving the area of the attack, I steamed around the boat and rafts for about two hours, after which I had the Navy coxswain fire two shots and then slewed down to pick up the survivors.
"At 2:20 p.m., the rescued men were aboard, and I resumed the voyage.
"Deciding to land the survivors at Kingston, Jamaica, inasmuch as our boat capacity would hardly take care of all in case of disaster in these submarine infested waters, I proceeded to Kingston, which was only a few miles away from our course line. I thought I would be able to land the officers and men of the Hector in the pilot boat or some Coast Guard vessel without going into the port. However, when I arrived on May 25, with signals requesting the removal of survivors, I was ordered into port to put them ashore and get new routing instructions. This delayed the F. 0. Barstow and I was unable to sail before the next morning, due to submarine activities in these waters."
Whistled in Code.
Able Seaman Oscar F. Carlson, a member of the crew of the F. Q. Barstow and an eye-witness of the Caribbean drama, described the incident in a letter written for this history:
"While we were circling the lifeboat and raft, the third mate used a life jacket whistle to talk to them in Morse code.
We found out who they were and they told us that the submarine was still around and we should leave before we were sunk, too.
"Finally, when Captain Christenson decided to pick the men up, the operation was accomplished quickly, due to his perfect handling of the ship. When the survivors came aboard, we learned that two members of the Hector's crew - the radio operator and the chief cook - had been killed when the ship was torpedoed."
The SS F. Q. Barstow was built in 1917 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company at Newport News, Va. Her sisterships were the Charles Pratt, H. H. Rogers, Wm. G. Warden, and Beacon.A twin-screw vessel of 15,955 deadweight tons capacity on international summer draft of 28 feet, 61/2 inches, she has an overall length of 516 feet, 6 inches, a length between perpendiculars of 500 feet, a moulded breadth of 68 feet, and a depth moulded of 38 feet, 31/2 inches. With a cargo carrying capacity of 119,390 barrels, she has an assigned pumping rate of 4,000 barrels an hour.
Her triple expansion engines, supplied with steam by three Scotch boilers, develop 3,000 indicated horsepower and give her a classification certified speed of 9.5 knots.
The war history of the F. Q. Barstow began on August 28, 1939, when the Esso tanker arrived at Algiers. She was commanded by Captain Frank Pharr and her engineroom was in charge of Chief Engineer Charles A. Hicks. The war clouds were gathering over Europe. At the Venture-Weir terminal, Algiers, the F. Q. Barstow went alongside the storage tanker SS Francunion VI, property of the Anglo-American Oil Company, and discharged part of her cargo
of bunker fuel into this vessel. On August 30 the Esso tanker shifted to Dakar Wharf, where she pumped the remaining cargo ashore.
Had Varied Service.
On September 4, the day after Britain and France declared war, the F. Q. Barstow left Algiers bound for Haifa, but because of the uncertainty of the European situation she departed from Haifa on September 26, having taken on only water and stores. Her next stop, October 8, was Las Palmas, Gran Canari, Canary Islands, where she took on bunkers, replenished water and stores, and proceeded to Caripito. Arriving on October 20 she loaded her first wartime cargo, 97,654 barrels of Quiriquire crude oil for delivery to Montreal. During the rest of 1939 she lifted 113,854 barrels of crude oil at Corpus Christi for Boston and 111,653 barrels of East Texas crude oil at Texas City for New York.
In 1940 and 1941 the vessel loaded twenty-nine cargoes, totaling 3,039,573 barrels of crude and fuel oils, at Gulf and Caribbean ports. Twenty-eight were discharged at east coast terminals; one cargo, of fuel oil, was delivered at Buenos Aires in December of 1941.
In 1942 the F. Q. Barstow departed from Guiria on January 6 with 118,854 barrels of Jusepin crude oil. Commanded by Captain Thomas B. Christenson, and with her engineroom in charge of Chief Engineer Earl Williams, she sailed for Aruba to dis-charge this cargo and pick up another of 104,573 barrels ot heavy fuel for Iquique, Chile, where the vessel arrived on January 28. Then followed visits to Talara, La Libertad, Montevideo, Puerto La Cruz, Aruba, and finally New York on April 11.
It was on her next voyage after leaving New York on May 11, bound for Caripito, that she rescued the survivors of the torpedoed Hector.
Five cargoes were carried during the rest of the year 1942 to east coast ports and one of 108,667 barrels of Diesel oil to the Canal Zone.
Sixteen Voyages in '43.
Her 1943 record of sixteen voyages and 1,534,087 barrels of petroleum products does not tell the whole story of her work during that year. On many occasions she carried PT boats and their crews from New York to the Canal Zone.
On September 18, 1943, Captain Rasmus H. Rasmussen was assigned as master of the F. Q. Barstow and Chief Engineer William H. Ahrens was placed in charge of her engineroom.
In an interview for this history. Captain Rasmussen said: "On the run from New York to Aruba we carried PT boats on our spar deck. Upon arrival at Aruba we took on a bulk cargo and proceeded to Cristobal, where we delivered both.
"We usually carried four PT boats, their officers, crews, and maintenance force, totaling about 120 men. When these boats were taken on at New York they were fully loaded, manned, supplied, and ready for action. The only remaining detail was to put fuses in the torpedoes. All in all, we carried sixty-nine PT boats south to the Canal and three north to New York.
Well-Armed Tanker.
"Most of the Navy men slept in their boats. The twelve senior officers were quartered in the hospital and extra rooms and we quartered some of the men between decks. As a general rule, eighteen extra motors were part of the cargo; each PT boat had three motors and was equipped with four torpedoes and four anti-aircraft guns. The guns could also be used against submarines."
Hair Raising Moments.
Third Assistant Engineer Charles W. Hardy, in an interview for this history, described a convoy incident in the spring of 1943 which placed the F. Q. Barstow in extreme peril: "On a voyage in convoy, in the Caribbean, there was an ammunition ship opposite us in the column to starboard and a tanker loaded with gasoline off our port side. During the night the gasoline tanker got out of control and to avoid a collision with her we had to sheer over toward the ammunition ship. We kept blowing our whistle to warn the ammunition ship, but she apparently did not hear us. Finally the gasoline tanker was brought under control and we breathed more easily."
On March 21, 1944 the F. Q. Barstow loaded her last wartime cargo as a member of the Esso fleet. She took on 97,807 barrels of fuel oil at Aruba and arrived at New York on March 30. Two days later, on April 1, 1944, she was turned over to War Emergency Tankers, Inc.
The wartime transportation record of the F. Q. Barstow,, from the beginning of the war in Europe until April 1, 1944, was in summary as follows:
The masters of the F. Q. Barstow during her war years of service as an Esso tanker were Captains Frank Pharr, Thomas B. Christenson, Ben M. Koerner, Elden M. MacCabe, Wesley F. Besse, Harold Griffiths and Rasmus H. Rasmussen.
Associated with them, in charge of her engineroom, were Chief Engineers Charles A. Hicks, Earl Williams, Charles K. Helton, Harry Farnum, Fred Lewis, William H. Ahrens, Walter R. Gillam, and Ernest J. Palmer.
While the F. (3. Barstow was operated for War Emergency Tankers, Inc., her masters were Captains Rasmus H. Rasmussen, Christian C. Quist, Hugh Guy, and James Raftice; in charge of her engineroom were Chief Engineers James L. Gibbs, Elaman D. Hardy, George G. Graham, and Florence A. Daniels.
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