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ATLANTIC AND MEDITERRANEAN
SS Esso Baltimore
The outbreak of war found the Esso Baltimore en route from Rouen, France, to Baton Rouge, where she arrived September 9, 1939 to load 96,321 barrels of Varsol No. 1 and kerosene for delivery at New York. Captain Guy A. Campbell was in command of the vessel and her engineroom was in charge of Chief Engineer William S. Powers. There followed an uninterrupted series of coastwise and Caribbean voyages which lasted until April, 1943.
The Esso Baltimore, at Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean ports, took on cargoes of gasoline, heating oil, fuel oil, crudes, distillates, and Diesel oil for New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Charleston, Baltimore, Norfolk, Sewall Point, Wilmington, Tampa, Portland, Halifax, Baton Rouge, and Aruba.
The tanker was time chartered to the War Shipping Administration at Charleston, S. C., April 20, 1942.
On April 1, 1943 - the day on which Berlin reported that 138 Allied merchant ships had been sunk by U-boats in March - the
Esso Baltimore sailed from New York for Milford Haven, England, with 77,531 barrels of Pool gas oil on the first of fifteen consecutive transatlantic voyages. As stated by Captain Karl M. Larsen: "We traveled in convoy every trip and were under attack each time."
Convoy in Running Battle
The convoy in which the vessel went to Milford Haven in April, 1943 was attacked bv a submarine wolf pack.
In an interview for this history, Chief Engineer Harry R. Peck, who was first assistant engineer for training on the Esso Baltimore on this trip, told the story of the running battle between Allied escort ships and the U-boats: "The attack started at 9:15 p.m. From then until about 2:10 the next morning the enemy submarines tried to lure the American and Canadian destroyers away from their stations. At about 2:15 a.m. the attack began in earnest. Out of the total of about 80 vessels in the formation, 4 were lost."
Following the Milford Haven voyage, the tanker carried gasoline and Diesel oil, without serious incident, from New York to Barry Docks, Wales; New York to Grangemouth, Scotland; Philadelphia to Casablanca, North Africa; New York to Avon-mouth, England; twice from New York to Oran and Casablanca; then New York to Oran and Bizerte, North Africa, and Bari, Italy; New York to Bari; Baltimore to the Azores; New York to Naples, Italy, and Port de Bouc, France; twice from Baltimore to Bari; then Baltimore to Naples; and finally Philadelphia to Bizerte.
"Before leaving Bari on May 7, 1944," Captain Larsen said, "a convoy was formed in which the tanker G. S. Walden, owned by Oriental Tankers, Ltd., was about 400 yards immediately astern of the Esso Baltimore. Shortly after we left Bari, at about 4 a.m., a circling torpedo nearly hit our stern but passed us about 20 feet away and struck the G. S. Walden but did not sink her."
Sailing from Bizerte June 29, 1945, the Esso Baltimore proceeded to Lake Charles, Louisiana, where she loaded kerosene
for Boston. On her next and last war voyage, she left Philadelphia August 10 with 82,993 barrels of gas oil and aviation gasoline, which she delivered at Le Havre, France.
During the war years the Esso 'Baltimore was commanded by Captains Guy A. Campbell, Andrew Weiler, Wesley F. Besse,
Ernest C. Kelson, Nils Borge-son, Charles M. Crowell, Karl M. Larsen, Harold I. Cook, Gunnar Gjertsen, Kenneth Wing, and Ralph E. Thomas.
In charge of her engineroom were Chief Engineers William S.. Powers, Myles M. Bylsma, Harold O. Laffitte, Thor O. Sandin, Everett Brown, Carl Vance, John A. Waite, John V. F. Brown, and Thomas J. O'Brien.
The wartime cargoes of the Esso Baltimore were in summary as follows:
The SS Esso Baltimore was built in 1938 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Ltd., at their Sparrows Point, Maryland, plant. She is a sistership of the R. W. Gallagher, los't July 13, 1942, the Esso Baton Rouge, lost February 23, 1943, the Esso
Charleston, and the Esso Nashville, damaged by a torpedo March 21, 1942.
A single-screw vessel of 12,960 deadweight tons capacity on international summer draft of 28 feet, 61 1/2 inches, the Esso Baltimore has an overall length of 463 feet, 6 1/4 inches, a length between perpendiculars of 442 feet, a moulded breadth of 64 feet, and a depth moulded of 34 feet, 10 inches. With a cargo carrying capacity of 106,718 barrels, she has an assigned pumping rate of 6,000 barrels an hour.
Her turbine engine, supplied with steam by two water-tube boilers, develops 4,000 shaft horsepower and gives her a classification certified speed of 13 knots.
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