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DANGER AND DARING
SS Esso Charleston
The Esso Charleston discharged her first wartime cargo, 92,175 barrels of distillates and lubricating oil, at New York on September 5, 1939, having sailed from Baytown August 30. She was commanded by Captain Abbo H. Kooistra, and Chief Engineer Edwin A. C. Book was in charge of her engineroom.
The vessel remained in U.S. coastwise service exclusively until September, 1942, continuing to carry distillates and lubricating oils in addition to various blending and base stocks, through many months of the Battle of the Atlantic. Most of her cargoes during this period were loaded at Baytown and discharged at New York. She was time chartered to the United States War Shipping Administration on April 20, 1942.
Captain Kooistra, who was master of the Esso Charleston during most of her wartime coastwise service, described some of her adventures in an interview for this history:
Before the Days of Gulf Convoys
"One night in March, 1942 we got a flash about a sinking near Cape Hatteras. We went in close to the bight there and the next morning at about 10 o'clock we passed the ship that had been sunk. Her bow was sticking out of the water.
"On one occasion, when we left Baytown, I decided to head into Heald Bank, about 35 miles off Galves-ton. Two tankers which proceeded on their voyages were sunk that night at about 11 p.m.
"These events occurred before the organization of convoys for ships loading in the Gulf."
With Captain Gustave A. Ekiund in command and Chief Engineer George B. Calundann in charge of her engineroom, the Esso Charleston answered the distress signals of the tanker SS Republic, owned by the Petroleum Navigation Company, Inc., of Houston, Texas, when the vessel was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Florida, February 21, 1942; but the Esso Charleston did not have an opportunity to rescue any of the survivors.
Crew Anxious to Help Others
"On the following evening," Captain Ekiund said, "while en route in ballast from New York to Baytown, we saw the tanker Cities Service Empire, owned by the Cities Service Oil Company, which had been attacked about 20 miles off the Florida coast while northbound and was burning as we approached. We were unarmed and had headed in for shore to hide. Thinking, however, of the men abandoning the stricken ship, I called the crew up and asked them how they felt about going to help. They were anxious to render any possible assistance and we zigzagged around, keeping a sharp lookout for survivors. We saw something and headed for it, playing our searchlight over the water - it turned out to be a Coast Guard ship. We found about three separate groups of survivors on rafts and boats and directed the Coast Guard vessel to them.
"I believe that the submarine disappeared when she saw us coming - we were making an irregular zigzag course and the U-boat commander might have feared we would ram. We were making 15 knots. Later, I figured the sub-marine had planned either to trail us as we left the scene or to go ahead and wait for us. Therefore, I went north in-stead of south and continued on this course for about 12 miles. I then headed inshore for the night and the next morning we proceeded on our regular course without incident."
The Esso Charleston made her first wartime Atlantic crossing when she loaded 84,078 barrels of gas oil at Baytown and sailed in convoy on September 4, 1942 for Glasgow.
Was in Same Convoy as Ill-fated "Barkdull"
"On the return leg of this voyage to Glasgow, in October, 1942," Captain Kooistra said, "on a night with a howling gale and a full moon, a submarine got loose in the middle of our convoy. The attack started about midnight. Several ships were sunk - I never learned the exact number. We could see fires burning to port as we steamed ahead. The escort vessels dropped a great many depth charges;, after about an hour and a half. everything grew quiet."
On her next trip the Esso Charleston left Trinidad November 30, 1942 with 80,191 barrels of fuel oil, bound for North Africa. Putting into New York she sailed in convoy on December 12. The ill-fated C.J. Barkdull was also a member of this convoy. She lost headway and, dropped back on December 13. Never heard from again, she was presumed lost by enemy action. The Esso Charleston's cargo was discharged at Mers El Kebir and Oran in January, 1943, a few weeks before the desperate German defense of North Africa reached a crisis with Marshal Rommel's attack at Kasserine Pass.
Fueled Many Destroyers at Sea
The Esso Charleston then went to Trinidad and loaded another cargo of fuel oil which she discharged at London-derry and Belfast in April, 1943. During her transatlantic service she fueled destroyers at sea on many occasions.
Captain Rasmus H. Rasmussen, who was chief mate of the vessel at that time, described the difficult operation:
"On a voyage to North Ireland we fueled four destroyers, putting 1,000 barrels into one of them in less than an hour, although a heavy sea was running and the wind was Force 7. Three fire hoses were used, w^ith a hawser added for strength. We maintained a steady speed of 9 knots and the destroyer kept about 100 feet astern. If the two ships got too close together a bight would come in the lines; if they got too far apart the lines would be broken."
Following her mission to North Ireland the Esso Charleston loaded at New York a cargo of fuel oil which she discharged at Oran, arriving there on May 18, 1943. The campaign in North Africa had drawn to a close with the surrender of the last German unit on May 13, and preparations for the invasion of Sicily were going forward.
Chief Engineer Charles A. Hicks, in an interview for this history, described a bombing raid that took place while the Esso Charleston lay at Oran:
"At first we had to stay outside the breakwater. On the first night we were able to get inside, German planes came over and started to drop bombs at about 10 p.m. We all hurried to shelter. The anti-aircraft fire was intense. A bomb dropped into the hold of a Liberty ship and set her afire, but did not sink her. She was towed out of the harbor and brought back after the fires were extinguished. The next night the bombers roared over again, but this time their target was Arzeu, some 20 miles to the northeast."
The Esso Charleston left Oran on June 3, 1943, bound for Abadan. To continue Chief Engineer Hicks' account:
"We attached ourselves to a large convoy heading east from Gibraltar. The Esso Baytown joined us at
Algiers. The convoy consisted of 105 ships in a formation 5 columns wide and 21 deep. The escorts were a British battleship, a cruiser, several destroyers, and some smaller craft. Just before sundown each night the ships in the last two columns to windward started their smoke pots to screen the formation.
"When we came abreast of Pantelleria, the U. S. air forces were bombing it. We passed the island at 6 o'clock in the evening and five hours later we could still see the explosions.
Severely Shaken by Depth Charges
"Apparently enemy submarines made several attempts to raid the convoy, although we saw no ships sunk. The escort vessels frequently dropped depth charges. Off Cape Bon, near Tunis, a depth charge exploded so close to us that the cap was jarred off the steam valve. We later had it welded at Suez. The ship was shaken so badly we feared another such shock would disable us.
"The Mediterranean was just being reopened to shipping and we were in the first convoy to go through. At the Suez Canal all northbound ships were stopped to let us pass."
The Esso Charleston then loaded at Abadan three successive cargoes which were discharged at Aden, Durban, and Taranto. Sailing from Abadan July 3, 1943 on the first of these voyages, she was proceeding through the Gulf of Oman, east of the Persian Gulf, on July 5 when the Alcoa Prospector^ owned by the Alcoa Steamship Company, Inc., was torpedoed. Second Mate John W. Bozarth told the story:
"We were in a convoy of perhaps eight or ten vessels with two escorts. The Alcoa Prospector was next to us, less than half a mile away. We could see debris flying through the air all around her before the sound of the explosion reached us. Fortunately the vessel was not sunk - we later saw her proceeding under her own power."
Short of Food Because of Monsoon
On July 31, 1943, the Esso Charleston sailed with her second Abadan cargo.
To quote Chief Engineer Hicks:
"On the way to Durban, South Africa, we had escorts for 150 miles, then went on alone. The monsoon was blowing against us and there were head winds from the south. These winds delayed us so much that, although we started the trip with plenty of food, we finally ran out of provisions. The last few days we had only spaghetti and water for every meal. In the monsoon we also lost our life rafts.
"Arrived off Durban; we found there was so much spray and mist that we could not take bearings. We radioed for an escort and also for food. The provisions were brought out on a-tug, but the escort never arrived. Finally we groped our way in until we could see to get bearings, then proceeded into the harbor."
On the third trip from Abadan the Esso Charleston was bound for Alexandria, but her cargo was not needed there and she finally discharged at Taranto, Italy, in October, 1943. Chief Engineer Hicks described incidents of this voyage:
"On our way we stopped at Aden. At about 6 p.m. on the day we arrived, we saw a Japanese submarine torpedo a ship. Two convoys, one bound north and one south, were just about to pass when the attack came.
"While passing Alexandria we saw two Italian battleships and four cruisers entering the harbor." (This was about October 1, 1943; Italy had surrendered September 8 and the bulk of the Italian fleet was turned over to the Allies on September 11.)
Second Mate Bozarth continued:
"While we were discharging at Taranto a dud 5-inch anti-aircraft shell that was lying on the dock exploded, killing several workmen and damaging a tanker."
Second Mate Chester L. Reynolds, in an interview for this history, gave an account of voyages of the Esso Charleston in the Mediterranean and the Near East.
"On December 1, 1943," he said, "when Mr. Bozarth was promoted to chief mate, I went on the Charleston as se-cond mate. Captain Walter B. McCarthy was in command. We loaded Navy fuel at Norfolk and sailed December 15 for Algiers, where the vessel arrived on January 4, 1944 and discharged all cargo.
Early in January, 1944, preparations were made for the Anzio landings, and the Fifth Army launched its attack against the line of the Garigliano River. The demand of Allied military forces for petroleum and for war equipment carried by tankers was constantly increasing.
"Returning to New York," Second Mate Reynolds continued, "we loaded and had a spar deck put on. With Captain August Bosch in command, we sailed from New York February 10 with a cargo of special Navy fuel and a deck load of thirteen P-38 planes. Deck space and the forehold carried a large amount of P-38 spare parts. (The general cargo weighed 81 tons.)
"On this trip the Esso Charleston went to Gibraltar in a large formation of about 108 to 110 ships. Our oil cargo was discharged at Gibraltar and we unloaded the planes and parts at Casablanca.
"For the next voyage, from New York to Oran, we again took special Navy fuel. Secured on deck were a PT boat and a crash boat. After delivering all cargo and the boats at Oran, we proceeded to Haifa, Palestine, where we saw the Chester 0. Swain, with Captain John S. Conaghan in command.
"Our next cargo, from Haifa, after a trip in convoy from Port Said to Augusta, Sicily, was discharged at Taranto, Italy. We then transported four more Abadan cargoes - two to Colombo, Ceylon; one to Karachi, India; and one to Suez."
28 Tripoli-Haifa Voyages
After taking two cargoes from Haifa to Port Said, the Esso Charleston proceeded to Tripoli in Lebanon and sailed October 28, 1944 on the first of a series of 28 voyages to Haifa, Palestine, with Iraq crude. This was the same service in which the Chester O. Swain had distinguished herself and earned a warm commendation from the British authorities at Cairo. On the 28 Tripoli-Haifa voyages the Esso Charleston was commanded by Captain Bosch and her engineroom was in charge of Chief Engineer George C. Brauner.
The crude thus transported was produced in the Iraq fields and piped to the coast from Kirkuk. Pipelines run to both Tripoli and Haifa, but lack of refining facilities at Tripoli necessitated trans-shipment of the oil received there. At both ports the tankers had to anchor in sea berths and fish up submarine hoses that were attached to buoys. As a rule they got into port only at Haifa when they docked there to clean tanks.
On her 28 trips from Tripoli to Haifa the Esso Charleston delivered 2,658,080 barrels of crude. Following her final discharge at Haifa, she reloaded with special Navy fuel and sailed March 19, 1945 for Oran.
Once more returning across the Atlantic the Esso Charleston reached New York on April 21, 1945, one year and eleven days after her last previous visit to a United States port. The vessel was assigned to coastwise service for the duration of hostilities.
The transportation record of the Esso Charleston during the war years was in summary as follows:
The SS Esso Charleston was built in 1938 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Ltd., at Sparrows Point, Maryland. She is a sistership of the Esso Baltimore, Esso Nashville, R. W. Gallagher (lost July 13, 1942), and Esso Baton Rouge (lost February 23, 1943).
A single-screw vessel of 12,950 deadweight tons capacity on international summer draft of 28 feet, 614 inches, the Esso Charleston has an overall length of 463 feet, 1 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.
The Esso Charleston was commanded in the war years by Captains Abbo H. Kooistra, Gunnar Gjert-sen, Frank E. Wirtanen, John O'Kelly, Gustave A. Ekiund, Alexander J. Zafiros, Ingvald Henriksen, Walter B. McCarthy, August Bosch, and Chester C. Ballard.
In charge of her engineroom during the same period were Chief Engineers Edwin A. C. Book, Reginald S. Patten, Roy A. Anderson, William M. Strang, George B. Calundann, Alvah B. Strout, William S. Powers, Jose F. Pontes, Ernest A. Larson, Emoor S. Bordelon, Charles A. Hicks, George C. Brauner, and Peter Olsen.
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