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FIRST TO FERRYVILLE
SS Walter Jennings
The Esso tanker Walter Jennings was the first large Allied vessel to enter the Lake of Bizerte in Tunisia, North Africa, during World War II. In fact, she followed very closely on the heels of history when Bizerte was captured and, soon afterward, the North African campaign came to a triumphant conclusion with the surrender of Axis forces on Cape Bon, May 9, 1943.
It was on the preceding April 28 that the Walter Jennings left New York in a convoy bound for Algiers; she carried 75,592 barrels of 100 octane gasoline, 35,275 barrels of Navy Diesel oil, and a deck cargo of P-38 Army fighter planes. She was commanded by Captain Olav Olsen and her engineroom was in charge of Chief Engineer Andrew E. Larson.
The crossing to Gibraltar was uneventful, but two of the ships were torpedoed in the Mediterranean Sea despite the protection of a strong escort force.
War Supplies for Algiers
On May 19/1943, the convoy reached Algiers, where fighter planes were urgently needed as Allied forces prepared for the invasion ,of Sicily. The P-38s on the tanker's spar deck were unloaded immediately. Also, part of her oil cargo was discharged, but storage facilities were limited and the vessel awaited further orders which later took her to Ferryville.
At that time General Elsenhower had recently completed operations which ended the Battle of Tunisia. After brilliant maneuvers, American and British attacks caught the Axis off balance and split General von Arnim's army into two parts - one of which was trapped between Bizerte and Tunis, while the other retreated into the Cape Bon area. The Germans, before sur-rendering, did everything in their power to damage and render useless the harbors of Tunis and Bizerte.
The Job at Bizerte
When Bizerte was captured on May 7, U. S. Navy divers went to work clearing away bombed and scuttled ships which blocked the narrow, dredged waterway leading from the Mediterranean harbor into the Lake of Bizerte - on whose south - western shore lies Ferryville, with its arsenal, warehouses, and storage tanks.
Purser-Pharmacist's Mate John A. Brewin, then ship's clerk of the Walter Jennings, told the story of how the tanker reached Ferryville.
"We were in a small convoy," he said, "which left Algiers on June 18. German bombers attacked the formation in the early morning of June 20, but no damage was reported and we arrived at Bizerte that day.
"The Walter Jennings, with several other ships, remained in Bizerte harbor while the rest of the convoy steamed on. Captain Olsen received orders to discharge at Ferryville, which is situated well inland, on the Lake of Bizerte, about 9 miles from the harbor. It was impossible for the Jennings to enter the lake through the narrow passage until the wrecked ships were removed. The intensive work of clearing the channel was getting results, however, and a few days later we got under way. The Walter Jennings was the first ship of major size to reach Ferryville at a time when petroleum supplies were of the greatest war value.
Overcoming Dock Problems
"At Ferryville another problem presented itself. The dock area had been practically destroyed by the Germans but we man-aged, with difficulty, to tie up to the remains of Dock No. 1. Undamaged storage tanks were available about two miles from this dock; the pipelines had been smashed by the retreating Germans, but they were quickly replaced and we started to discharge our cargo the next day.
"Several other tankers had arrived in the meantime. As the docking of the Jennings had proved to be hazardous, it was decided that the other oil carriers would pump into lighters and barges, which then discharged into the Walter Jennings and she, in turn, filled the storage tanks. The vessels used for transferring oil to the Jennings were the Esso Delivery No. 11, the New York Socony, and the Veedol."
The Walter Jennings left Bizerte July 1, 1943 and returned to New York, arriving July 23. Her work had been a contribution to war events which followed. Sicily was invaded on July 10 and the important port of Syracuse soon fell into Allied hands.
On September 3, 1939, the Walter Jennings was en route from New York to Baton Rouge, La., taking to the refinery at that Mississippi port 6,363 barrels of di-isobutylene. She was commanded by Captain Leslie D. Cushman and her engineroom was in charge of Chief Engineer Sigurd Steffensen. Arriving at Baton Rouge on September 6, she loaded her first wartime cargo, 113,189 barrels of Essoheat and range oil, consigned to Boston.
For the rest of the year and throughout 1940, her voyages were coastwise; she went frequently to Baton Rouge for mixed cargoes. The vessel continued Gulf of Mexico-east coast runs in 1941 and during the first six months of 1942. On April 20, 1942 the' Walter Jennings was time chartered to the War Shipping Administration at Galveston.
Between July 15, 1942 and April 18, 1943, in addition to coastal voyages, the ship sailed in four North Atlantic convoys - going once each to Bristol, England, and Swansea, Wales, and twice to Liverpool. On these overseas trips she transported cargoes amounting to 469,870 barrels, mainly high octane gasoline.
Vessels Lost in Convoy
On the voyage to Swansea, the convoy was under submarine attack for 48 hours and two ships were lost. The story of these sinkings was told by Ship's Clerk Brewin.
"The two vessels," he said, "were torpedoed at night. One was an ammunition ship. Her position in the convoy was 3 points abaft the starboard beam of the Walter Jennings, in the next column. When she was hit, we could distinctly feel the force of the explosion.
"We saw the midship section of the stricken vessel blaze brilliantly for about 4 minutes, lighting up the entire formation of about 80 freighters and tankers and bringing them out in stark silhouette. Suddenly there was a terrible explosion, a blinding light, and a deafening roar. Then, in a few seconds, the ocean was again plunged into pitch darkness and silence.
"In the minutes that elapsed between the crash of the torpedo into the ammunition ship and the end of her existence, the convoy was especially vulnerable . to attack, but the escort vessels were on the job and all the remaining ships arrived safely at Belfast.
Did Many Difficult Fueling at Sea Jobs
"Coming back from Swansea to New York the Walter Jennings fueled three of the escorts while in passage, performing the hazardous operation 10 times, often in rough weather. Fueling at sea was a difficult feat at that early period of the war because the Jennings, like most tankers, was not then equipped for this kind of work. However, when Captain Olsen was requested to attempt the task he did not hesitate to comply.
"Under the direction of Chief Mate James G. Moffitt, the crew rigged a boom on the starboard side, about in line with the pumproom. A Canadian corvette drew alongside for fueling and shot over her line. With both vessels under way at about 7 knots, the Canadians hauled on board a fire hose of the Walter Jennings. Then the boom was swung out, lifting the hose and giving it enough play as the two ships rolled.
"Captain Olsen and his men received, while at sea, a note from the Canadian escort commander, thanking them for a job 'Well done' and asking for a diagram of the fueling method."
It was the next voyage on which the Walter Jennings went to the Mediterranean. Following her return from Bizerte, she made three more Atlantic crossings, delivering, at Avonmouth and Ellesmere, England, 336,961 barrels of aviation gasoline. After one more voyage, from Corpus Christ! to Boston, the Walter Jennings was transferred to War Emergency Tankers, Inc., on March 19, 1944.
The voyages and cargoes of the Walter Jennings, from September 3, 1939 to March 19, 1944, were in summary as follows:
The SS Walter Jennings was built in 1921 by the Federal Shipbuilding Company at Kearny, N. J. Two of her sisterships were the E. T. Bedford and the J. A. Moffett, Jr. Both were originally built as steamships, but were later converted to motor vessels. Other sisterships were the E. J. Sadler and the E. M. Clark.
A twin-screw vessel of 16,075 deadweight tons capacity on international summer draft of 28 feet, 10 3/8 inches, the Walter Jennings 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, 10 1/4 inches. With a cargo carrying capacity of 119,414 barrels, she has an assigned pumping rate of 5,000 barrels an hour.
Her triple expansion engines, with steam supplied by three Scotch boilers, develop 3,500 indicated horsepower and give her a classification certified speed of10.2 knots.
The wartime masters of the Walter Jennings, while she was operated by the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, were Captains Leslie D. Gushman, Charles Warner, Henry S. Westmoreland, Patrick S. Mahony, August Randall, Albert J. Thomas, Garden Dwyer, Chester C. Ballard, Olav Olsen, Gustave A. Ekiund, and Ingvald Henriksen.
Her chief engineers during the same period were Sigurd Steffensen, William R. Burrell, Andrew E. Larson, Antonio Zouli, Frank J. Balling, Laurence Erhard, Frank J. Burchalewski, Gurnie R. Lee, and Claude H. Brady.
While the vessel was operated for War Emergency Tankers, Inc., her masters were Captains Walter B. McCarthy, Bernard May, and Carl G. Benson. Her chief engineers were from other companies.
On December 23, 1944 the Walter Jennings was taken over by the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor and renamed the USS Vandalia.
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