SS Irish Oak (1919) facts for kids
Oil painting by Kenneth King depicting the moments after the Irish Oak was torpedoed after first lifeboat had just been lowered (National Maritime Museum of Ireland).
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Quick facts for kids History |
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| Name |
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| Owner |
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| Operator |
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| Port of registry |
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| Route | Cork – Tampa (1941–43) |
| Builder | Southwestern Shipbuilding, San Pedro, Los Angeles |
| Yard number | 11 |
| Launched | 24 August 1919 |
| Completed | December 1919 |
| Out of service | 1935–41 |
| Identification |
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| Fate | Torpedoed and sunk by U-607, 15 May 1943 |
| Notes | Built to Design 1019 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage |
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| Length | 410.5 ft (125.1 m) |
| Beam | 54.3 ft (16.6 m) |
| Depth | 27.2 ft (8.3 m) |
| Installed power | 359 NHP |
| Propulsion | Triple-expansion steam engine, Llewellyn Iron Works, Los Angeles |
| Speed | 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h) |
The SS Irish Oak was an Irish steamship that was sunk in the North Atlantic during World War II. A German submarine attacked it.
Before becoming the Irish Oak, the ship was called the West Neris. It was built in the United States and run by the United States Shipping Board. In 1941, Irish Shipping Limited rented the ship. They used it to carry important supplies like wheat and fertilizer from North America to Ireland.
Even though the Irish Oak was clearly marked as a neutral ship and sailed alone, a German submarine, U-607, torpedoed and sank it on May 15, 1943. This happened in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Luckily, the entire crew was rescued.
After the sinking, there were different stories about what happened. Some said the ship had warned a nearby group of ships (a convoy) about the submarine. Others said it had not. The nationality of the ship's captain became a big topic in Ireland. There were also talks between the United States and Ireland about the event. In Germany, the submarine captain received a small warning.
Contents
Building the Ship
Southwestern Shipbuilding in San Pedro, California, built the Irish Oak. This company started in 1918 to make cargo ships for the United States Shipping Board.
The ship was launched on August 24, 1919, and finished in December 1919. It was a large ship, about 410 feet (125 meters) long and 54 feet (16.5 meters) wide. It weighed 5,589 tons. A powerful triple expansion steam engine built in Los Angeles helped the ship travel. It could go about 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h).
The West Neris Years
The ship was first named West Neris. It was owned by the United States Maritime Commission and operated by the United States Shipping Board. Its home port was New Orleans.
Over the years, the ship changed owners a few times. From 1935 to 1941, it was stored and not used. During this time, its engine became very worn out. In 1941, Irish Shipping Ltd rented the ship. They paid £3,245 each month for it.
The Irish Oak Years
Why Ireland Needed Ships
When World War II started, Ireland had very few ships. The United States told its ships not to enter the "war zone" in Europe. To get vital supplies, the Irish government, through Minister Frank Aiken, arranged to rent two steamships from the U.S. reserve fleet. These ships were the West Neris and the West Hematite.
Two Irish crews traveled to New Orleans to take control of the ships in September 1941. The West Neris was renamed Irish Oak. The West Hematite became the Irish Pine. Both ships were rented by the Irish government-owned Irish Shipping Limited (ISL). Their home port was changed to Dublin. Captain Matthew Moran from Wexford commanded the Irish Oak.
First Journeys and Problems
The Irish Oak was meant to carry wheat and phosphate fertilizer to Ireland. It first sailed from New Orleans to St. John's, Newfoundland, in October 1941. Here, it would pick up its cargo.
Ships that did not travel in a group (convoy) had to pay higher insurance fees. So, the Irish Oak and Irish Pine were painted in camouflage colors to join convoys. The Irish Pine made it to Dublin in December 1941.
However, the Irish Oak had many problems and delays. Its chief engineer had a heart attack. Another engineer was badly burned in a boiler accident. A replacement engineer caused trouble and was jailed.
The Irish Oak tried to sail with a convoy called SC 52. But on November 3, 1941, German submarines attacked the convoy. Four ships were lost, and the convoy turned back. The Irish Oak was in poor condition because it had been neglected. It tried to join other convoys but kept having engine problems.
Eventually, the ship had to be towed to Boston for repairs. The journey from New Orleans to Dublin, including all the repairs, took nine months. The Irish Oak finally arrived in Dublin on July 6, 1942.
Sailing Alone for Safety
After its engine failed and it was left alone by a convoy, the crew of the Irish Oak became very worried. Because of this and bad experiences of other Irish ships, Irish crews decided to sail alone. They wanted to show they were neutral.
From then on, Irish ships were clearly marked and fully lit at night. They usually sailed directly to their destination and always helped other ships in distress. Irish ships saved 534 sailors during the war. However, 20% of Irish sailors were lost.
Irish Shipping Limited grew its fleet to 15 ships. Two of these ships, the Irish Oak and the Irish Pine, were lost. Thirty-three lives were lost on these two ships. The ISL ships alone saved about 166 lives.
Helping the Stornest
On October 14, 1942, the Irish Oak received a distress call from a British ship called Stornest. The Stornest had been torpedoed by U-706 in bad weather. The Irish Oak changed course to help.
The Stornest crew had to abandon ship in life-rafts because their lifeboats were lost in the heavy seas. The Irish Oak kept sending out the SOS message and searched for survivors for ten hours in a strong storm. Other rescue ships joined the search, but sadly, no one from the Stornest was found. All 39 people on board were lost.
A week later, Captain Matthew Moran of the Irish Oak was badly hurt in Dublin. He fell when the gangway collapsed. Captain Eric Jones replaced him.
Meeting U-650
On May 14, 1943, the Irish Oak was sailing from Tampa, Florida, to Dublin. It was carrying 8,000 tons of phosphate fertiliser. The ship saw smoke from an Allied convoy in the distance. Irish ships usually sailed alone to show they were neutral.
At 2:23 p.m., a German submarine, U-650, came alongside the Irish Oak. The two vessels stayed near each other all afternoon. There was no communication between them. When night came, the Irish Oak turned on its lights, as neutral ships were supposed to do. The submarine seemed satisfied and left during the night. The Irish Oak continued sailing behind the Allied convoy.
The Torpedo Attack
The next morning, May 15, 1943, at 8:19 a.m., a torpedo hit the Irish Oak. Two torpedoes were fired. One missed, but the other hit the ship's left side and exploded.
At first, no one knew which submarine had fired the torpedoes. The submarine's periscope stayed visible while the lifeboats were lowered. The submarine waited until the lifeboats were far away. Then, at 9:31 a.m., it fired another torpedo to sink the ship completely.
Other Irish ships, the Irish Plane, Irish Rose, and Irish Ash, responded to the distress call. The Irish Plane found the survivors at 4:20 p.m. The Irish Oak now lies at 47°51′N 25°53′W / 47.850°N 25.883°W, about halfway between Newfoundland and Ireland.
Coming Home
The survivors landed in Cobh on May 19. They were welcomed by a director from Irish Shipping Limited. They had lunch in Cork. When they arrived in Dublin on May 21, the Lord Mayor welcomed them. They were also hosted for lunch at Leinster House, the home of the Irish Parliament.
Usually, sailors' wages stopped when their ship was sunk. The famous Labour leader James Larkin spoke about this in the Irish Parliament. He joked that they should ask the German Consul-General to send a submarine to get a crew member's record card, which was lost when the Irish Oak sank.
What Happened Next
British Reaction
At the time, no one knew which submarine had sunk the Irish Oak. In the British House of Commons, some members of Parliament called for a protest. They thought the Irish Oak should have warned the nearby convoy. Some even suggested stopping coal exports to Ireland.
However, no official action was taken by the British government. Ireland was sending food to Britain at the time. Also, British officials said that their convoy already knew about the German submarine. So, they said there was no need for the Irish Oak to warn them.
Irish Reaction
The sinking of the Irish Oak became a big topic in Ireland. The Irish government said that the Irish Oak had not warned the Allied convoy about the submarine. Éamon de Valera, the head of the Irish government, stated that it was "no business of Irish ships to give any information to anyone."
However, a rumor spread that a warning had been sent. The Irish Labour Party questioned this. They asked if information had been given to the British convoy. They also asked about the nationality of the captain, who was a British subject.
Some Labour Party members criticized the government. They said the government was pretending to be neutral but was secretly helping one side. They also said the government put foreign captains on Irish ships. The Labour Party even ran an advertisement blaming the government for sending brave men to their doom on the Irish Oak.
Irish Shipping Limited strongly denied that any warning message was sent. They said there was "no foundation whatever for the suggestion."
Seán MacEntee from the Fianna Fáil party, which was in power, put out a counter-advertisement. He said the Labour Party was trying to justify the sinking of the Irish Oak. He argued that without these ships, many Irish people would have been hungry and jobless.
After the 1943 Irish general election, the Labour Party gained more seats, but de Valera's Fianna Fáil party stayed in power.
United States Reaction
The United States did not know which submarine sank the Irish Oak either. Irish Shipping Limited was trying to rent another ship from the U.S. The US State Department asked why Ireland had not protested to Germany about the sinking.
Ireland replied that they protested other sinkings when they knew who the attacker was. They mentioned protests for attacks on other Irish ships. They also pointed out an attack on the MV Kerlogue by unidentified aircraft, which Britain first denied but later admitted when British shell fragments were found.
After this, the United States did not lease or sell any more ships to Ireland.
German Reaction
Later, it was confirmed that U-607 had sunk the Irish Oak. This action and the submarine's report were not well received by German naval leaders. The submarine's captain, Wolf Jeschonnek, claimed that the Irish Oak was a "Q-ship" (a disguised warship) with fake Irish markings. He also said it was sailing without lights and zigzagging, moving much faster than it should have been able to.
The head of the U-boat fleet said the sinking should not have happened. He called it an "understandable mistake by an eager captain." He stressed that all U-boat captains must respect Irish neutrality.
U-607 was sunk in the Bay of Biscay on July 13, 1943. A British Sunderland flying boat and a Halifax plane attacked it. Captain Jeschonnek and six of his crew were captured, but the rest died.
Nine days after the Irish Oak sank, on May 24, 1943, Admiral Karl Dönitz ordered U-boats to leave the Atlantic. In May 1943, known as Black May, 41 German U-boats were lost. This was 25% of their active fleet. In return, 50 Allied merchant ships were destroyed. The Battle of the Atlantic was effectively over.
The Crew
All the crew members of the Irish Oak were rescued when the ship was sunk on May 15, 1943.
Ship Identification Numbers
Ships have special identification numbers and codes.
- The West Neris had the U.S. Official Number 219439.
- The Irish Oak had the U.K. Official Number 189859.
The West Neris used the Code Letters LVFP until 1933. From 1934, ships started using Call signs. The West Neris used KOTK. The Irish Oak's call sign was EINY.
Other Ships Named Irish Oak
- In 1949, Irish Shipping Limited bought a new Irish Oak. This ship was built in Britain. It was mentioned in Frank McCourt's book "Tis". In 1967, it was sold and renamed Vegas. In 1979, it ran aground near Jeddah and was later sold for scrap.
- In 1973, Irish Shipping Limited got another Irish Oak. This was a larger bulk carrier ship with a diesel engine. This Irish Oak was in service until 1982.
See also
- Irish neutrality (how Ireland stayed neutral in the war)
- The Emergency (Ireland's internal situation during WWII)
- Irish neutrality during World War II
- Irish Mercantile Marine during World War II
- Irish Shipping
