Itasca (ship, 1930)
 The Itasca 1930
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The Itasca was built in 1930 as a lake-class inch cutter or sloop of the US Coast Guard in California and is therefore regularly referred to as the USCGC Itasca . The ship was named after the source lake of the Mississippi , Lake Itasca in Minnesota . A Coast Guard training ship , the former gunboat USS `` Bancroft '' (1892) , had already borne the name from 1907 to 1922 .
The Itasca became world-famous in 1937 through Amelia Earhart's attempt to fly around the world approximately at equatorial latitude. Itasca , located on Howland Island , was supposed to mark the last stopover point for the world travelers. However, a two-way radio connection was not established. Earhart and her companion and navigator Fred Noonan missed the small island and have been missing since then.
During the Second World War, the Itasca and her nine sister ships were made available to the United Kingdom on a lend lease basis in May 1941, when the USA was not yet a war party . In HMS Gorleston renamed the ship served until 1946 as a sloop of Banff Class in the Royal Navy and was awarded the Battle Honor Atlantic Award 1942/43. With six sister ships, the former Itasca returned to service with the US Coast Guard in 1946, was canceled in 1950 and sold for demolition.
history
The US Coast Guard cutter Itasca was the first of these ships to be built on the west coast of the USA by General Engineering and Dry Dock in Oakland, California. This shipyard built three more ships of this type with Sebago , Saranac and Shoshone up to January 1931. Together with the Cayuga , completed in 1932 at Staten Island Port, Richmond, USA , these five USCG cutters made up the Saranac class . They largely corresponded to the cutters of the Tahoe Group previously built near Bethlehem in Quincy . The Itasca was launched on November 16, 1929 and was taken over by the US Coast Guard in July 1930 as the first ship of the new group. The main area of application of the new ship was to be the surveillance of the Bering Strait . The cutters were supposed to monitor the proper use of the fishing grounds there and also take on police duties for the inhabitants of the coasts of the northernmost US area.
In 1935 the Itasca was used to bring the first twelve colonists as part of the American Equatorial Islands Colonization Project , a plan by the US government to colonize the previously unpopulated Howland , Baker and Jarvis Islands in the Central Pacific. On March 20, 1935, the Itasca left Honolulu and on March 26, 1935 the first four young men were deposited on Jarvis Island, then on April 3, 1935, four settlers each were deposited on Baker and Howland Island. A lighthouse was built on each of the three islands, and a landing pad for aircraft on Baker and Howland Island. The possibility of building weather stations and landing sites for military and civil use was not pursued intensively. Since the islands had no sources, the new settlers had to be supplied by ship.
In 1937 the Itasca became world famous when she served as an auxiliary ship for Amelia Earhart's circumnavigation. Itasca , stationed at Howland Island, was supposed to support the aviators with navigation aids and weather information. On July 2, the cutter could hear the aircraft approaching with their Lockheed Electra from Lae in New Guinea over the radio, but it was not possible to establish a reciprocal connection. The plane never arrived on Howland Island.
A combination of different causes probably led to the disaster: First, Howland Island was incorrectly recorded on the maps of the time, namely 10 km west of its actual location. In addition, the calculation of the aircraft position of the navigator Noonan was probably incorrect. Difficulties in radiotelephone communication also contributed to the accident. The cloudy sky at the time of the accident made it difficult to find the tiny island just a few meters above the sea. The biggest mistake, however, was probably that the radio direction finding systems of the aircraft and the Itasca were not coordinated with one another and the flight crew was hardly familiar with the system.
For the details and the various theses on the disappearance of the aviator, see: Amelia Earhart # Hypotheses on Earhart's disappearance
The search trips carried out by the Itasca were partly in coordination with the battleship Colorado , which also supplied the cutter, and the small seaplane tender Swan and were unsuccessful. The CG cutter aborted the search on the 16th, while US Navy units continued the search.
The last major mission of the Itasca for the US government was a "Good Will Cruise" to Mexico, Panama and the other states of Central America. The Mexican Mazatlán was called on January 15, 1940 as the first foreign port . This was followed by over 10 visits to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, and most recently on March 8th in Vera Cruz, Mexico . The voyage took place according to pre-determined planning together with the 340 t Pandora of the Thetis class, completed in 1934 .
As part of the destroyer-for-base agreement to secure the transatlantic supply, Great Britain took over from the USA 50 destroyers of the US Navy of the American smooth-deck type of the Caldwell , Wickes and Clemson classes , some of which only shortly after the Completion and then used again by the US Navy in 1939 after the start of the war in Europe. The American ships were considered bad sea-going vessels and their American facilities did not appeal to all British seafarers. In order to use them for the escort service, the new owners planned significant changes that delayed the use of the ships considerably.
At the beginning of 1941 the USA delivered ten US Coast Guard cutters of the Tahoe or Saranac class on a lend-lease basis , which were handed over as Lake class . The ships were handed over at the Brooklyn Navy Yard , where the British battleship Malaya was under repair after being hit by a torpedo by U 106 . The battleship put the transfer teams for now as sloops of Banff Class designated former revenue cutter. the ten ships were named after stations of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution .
The new sloops should first be used on the convoys to and from Sierra Leone ( SL or OS convoys).
War missions
On May 30, 1941, the Royal Navy took over the former Itasca as the tenth ship of the ex USCG cutter designated by the Royal Navy Banff class. Like the nine other boats, a crew formed by the Malaya transferred the ship together with the sister ship Landguard across the Atlantic to Great Britain on June 2, 1940 . With cleaned boilers and radar equipment, the Navy's new sloop from Londonderry was supposed to secure convoys to and from Africa as a matter of priority. This escort group also included the sister ship Landguard (ex Shoshone ), the Sloop Bideford and the destroyer Stanley ex USS McCalla (DD 253). The first deployment of the group took place on August 23, 1941 in the security de Konvois OS 4 (18 ships) to Freetown , which was attacked by submarines from the 27th and by U 557 and U 558 west of Ireland five ships ( 30,705 t), but was also able to displace five submarines and arrived in Freetown on September 11th.
On the 14th, the return journey with SL 87 and 12 merchant ships began until October 6th to Liverpool . In the first hours of September 22nd, the convoy southwest of the Canary Islands was attacked by U 68 under Lieutenant Karl-Friedrich Merten , who believed he had hit three ships with his four torpedoes. In fact, he only met the British Silverbelle (5302 BRT, Bj. 1927), which was towed by the Free French Aviso FFL Commandant Duboc . Another attack the following night was unsuccessful. Before the second (unsuccessful) attack by U 68 , there was an attack by U 103 on the convoy on the evening of the 22nd; the commandant, Werner Winter , who wore the Knight's Cross , believed that he had sunk four ships and damaged one. In fact, only the Niceto de Larrinaga (5591 BRT, built in 1916) and the Edward Blyden (5003 BRT, built in 1930) were sunk. On the 24th, shortly after midnight, U 67 sank the formerly French St. Clair II (3753 BRT, 1929), meanwhile west-northwest of the Canary Islands , 13 men died in the sinking - The Gorleston was able to save 26 men from the French crew , another five saved it Sister ship Lulworth . After 6.30 a.m. U 107 was able to sink three more transporters under Lieutenant Günter Hessler : the John Holt (4975 BRT, built in 1938, 68 occupants saved, one dead), from which the Gorleston took the survivors on board; the Dixcove (3790 BRT, built in 1927, 52 rescued, two dead), from which other ships in the escort picked up the castaways and then handed them over to the escort ships Gorleston and Lulworth , and the Lafian (4876 BRT, 1937, 67 survivors), their crew the Gorleston was also taken on board. The many rescued seamen on board made it necessary for the sloop Gorleston to release her "passengers" in Ponta Delgada , Azores . Since it was not possible to bring more submarines to the convoy, the German side broke off the attack on the convoy SL 87 , which only brought four ships to their destination on October 6th. The Gorleston immediately went into dry dock at Belfast and was ready for action again on the 21st. Now assigned to the 40th EG , the sloop went back to sea on the 25th with convoy OS 10 . While searching for the HX 156 , U 96 (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock ) came across the convoy from the EG 40 with the sloops Bideford , Gorlestone , Lulworth and the corvettes Gardenia and FFS Commandant Duboc on October 31 and sank the Dutch convoy Freighter Bennekom (5998 BRT, YOC 1917 ex Gera / DAAG). Four German submarines marching back and forth and the Italian Barbarigo were assigned to the convoy that was discovered by chance, since U 96 was still in contact, and from November 1st seven more German boats. Although the German aerial reconnaissance reported the convoy again on the 2nd, only U 98 approached briefly, but then contact was lost and was not regained. From the sunken Bennekom could Culver and Lulworth still save 47 men, nine men died in the sinking of the steamer. On November 19, 1941, the sloop arrived with OS 10 ran with SL 93 from Freetown back to Liverpool, where the convoy arrived on December 10 without losses. The sloop moved to Belfast, where necessary repairs were carried out by January 12, 1943.
1942
From January 19, the sloop was used for the first time in the new year on convoy OS 17 with over 40 merchant ships to Freetown until February 7. The convoy had lost two ships early on, the Floristan and the German-built / Belgian Mobeka , due to extremely bad weather off the Hebrides. On the 9th, the march back began to secure convoy SL 100 of 32 ships, none of which was lost. The Gorleston , lagging behind with the slower ships, reached its destination on March 4th. On March 13, the sloop ran out of 45 ships with the securing of convoy OS 22 and reached Freetown on April 1 with all ships. The return march began with SL 106 and 19 merchant ships again to Liverpool, which was reached with the slower part of the convoy on May 2nd and was carried out without enemy contact.
Already on May 12th, the sloop went back to sea with convoy OS 28 and 37 merchant ships to Freetown, which was reached on the 30th. This convoy lost three ships to submarines: on May 21, U 159 under Helmut Witte was able to capture the freighter New Brunswick (6529 BRT, built in 1919, loaded with general cargo and 20 aircraft, three dead / 59 survivors) and RFA Montenol (2646 BRT, 1917, in ballast, attempted towing failed, three dead / 61 survivors) sunk. For this purpose, on May 27, U 172 sank under Lieutenant Carl Emmermann the tanker Athelknight (8340 BRT, built in 1930), which, however, had already left the convoy southeast of the Azores on May 21 and was heading for Curacao on its own . From June 8 to 23, the Gorleston was then used to secure convoy SL 112 with 54 ships from Freetown to Liverpool, which reached its destination without contact with the enemy.
On July 11, 1942, the next convoy securing of the sloop began on convoy OS 34 to Freetown. On July 19, the U 564 led by Reinhard Suhren hit the government freighter Empire Hawksbill (5724 BRT, built in 1920), which sank with the 46 people on board. The Lavington Court (5372 BRT, built in 1940), which was also probably hit with two torpedoes, hooked two tugs of the convoy, which marched back with the damaged vessel. On August 1st they had to give up the badly damaged ship southwest of Ireland. From August 4th, the Gorleston ran back to Great Britain with the convoy SL 118 with 34 merchant ships from Freetown. In addition to the sloop, the backup consisted of the auxiliary cruiser Cheshire (10,552 GRT, built in 1927), a former cruise ship, the sloops Folkestone (L22) and Wellington (U65) and the corvette Pentstemon (K61) . On the 16th, U 653 of the Blücher group discovered the convoy west of Portugal. The security ships with their Huff-Duff systems recognized the called submarines early on and were able to push away quite a few. On the 17th, U 566 succeeded in its first successful attack when the boat sank the Norwegian motor ship Triton (6607 GRT, built in 1930) during a daytime attack. Despite immediate attacks by the escort ships, the boat was able to escape; all crew members of the sunk Triton were rescued by the steamer Baron Dunmore . In the early evening of the 18th, U 214 made its second successful attack. The boat under Günther Reeder that got between the rows of convoy fired four torpedoes. The auxiliary cruiser HMS Cheshire , which was later towed and reached home, was hit. Balingkar (ex Werdenfels ) , which has been Dutch since 1940 and coming from Laurenco Marques , was hit by two torpedoes . 91 men of the ship were rescued, only two men died. The fourth torpedo hit the Hatarana (7522 BRT, built in 1917 Jp) from India , from which all 108 men on board were rescued. In the afternoon of the following day, U 406 managed to sink the British City of Manila (7452 BRT, built in 1916) coming from India . The ship broke the following day, 96 men were rescued, only one crew member died. 49 men reached Londonderry with the Gorleston . On the 18th a British Liberator reached the escort for the first time and attacked U 653 , which escaped. On the 20th, the submarine attacks were canceled because the British Coastal Command provided continuous air security. On August 26th, the Gorleston left the convoy in the port of destination Liverpool to be overtaken on the Humber from September 2nd.
The ship was supposed to protect convoys in support of Operation Torch in the future . After training in Tobermory, the Gorleston started her service with the 40th Escort Group in Londonderry in November . From November 14, 1942, the former Coast Guard cutter secured the troop convoy KMF 3 from the Clyde to Algiers , where on arrival on the 23rd it immediately switched to the opposing convoy MKF 3 , with which the sloop arrived at the Clyde on December 3rd. A second mission followed from the 12th with convoy KMF 5 , which arrived in Gibraltar on the 20th and reached Algiers on the 23rd. On the 24th, the return march began with MKF5 , who returned to the Clyde on December 30, 1942.
1943
The sloop spent Christmas and the turn of the year on the Clyde and then left the Clyde on January 8, 1943 as part of the securing of convoy KMF 7 to Algiers . Arrived there on the 17th, it ran back on the 18th as part of the backup of MKF 7 . On the 25th she left the convoy in the Northwest Approaches to go to a shipyard in Liverpool on the 27th for necessary repairs.
In February the Gorleston was assigned to the 42nd Escort Group and then escorted the tanker convoy UC 1 from Liverpool to Curacao from March 15th to March 6th together with the sister ship Totland , the sloops Weston and Folkestone , the frigates Ness and Exe . On February 22nd, U 522 (Kptlt. Schneider) discovered the tanker convoy UC.1 with 33 ships. The British security was meanwhile reinforced by an American support group with four destroyers. More submarines were used against the convoy. On the morning of the 23rd, U 522 sank the tanker Athelprincess (8882 BRT), but was sunk by the Totland itself , in the evening U 382 (Kptlt. July) shot the tanker unsuccessfully with the acoustic targeting torpedo "T-4 Falke" used for the first time Murena (8252 GRT). U 202 (Kptlt. Poser) hit four tankers, of which only the Esso Baton Rouge (7989 GRT) sank immediately. Empire Norseman (9811 BRT) was hit starboard ( U 382 ) and port ( U 202 ) within 5 minutes , and finally sunk by a catch shot by U 558 (Kptlt. Krech). Murena and British Fortitude (8482 GRT) were damaged by U 202 , but were able to continue in the convoy. Further attacks by U 569 , U 558 and U 504 on the night of the 24th and U 521 and U 66 on the night of the 25th failed.
From March 23, the escort ships secured the CU 1 tanker convoy of nine American tankers to Great Britain until April 1, with US destroyers initially reinforcing the security.
On April 16, the sloop with the escort destroyers Venomous , Lauderdale , the sloops Wellington , Weston , the sister ship Totland and the frigates Exe and Ness secured the double convoy WS 29 / KMF 13 , which separated on the 20th. With KMF 13 Gorleston ran to Algiers. Arrived there on the 23rd, the cutter started the way back with MKF 13 on the 24th and reached the Clyde again on May 2nd. Similar missions followed with WS 30 / KMF 15 from May 19th to 25th and with MKF 15 back to the Clyde until June 5th.
In the future, the ship should then be used from Freetown. In September the sloop escorted a newly built floating dock in the USA from Freetown to Gibraltar until October 5th. From the 12th, the ship also secured convoy MKF 24 to the Clyde to visit a shipyard in Newport on the 18th . At the end of October / beginning of November a convoy was secured to Iceland and back.
In November, the overhaul work began in Newport for future use with the Eastern Fleet .
Use in the Eastern Fleet
In January 1944, the Gorleston began testing after the overhaul in the harbor and in the Bristol Channel. In February combat training began in Tobermory for future use with the Eastern Fleet . On March 13, the cruise began from the Clyde across the Mediterranean to the East Indies Fleet ; on the 27th the sloop reached Alexandria . On April 18, it was still involved in a collision in the Gulf of Suez and was then repaired in Port Said from the 21st. The ship was not ready for operation again until June 20, but initially remained in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea and secured the traffic routes there. On July 28, the Gorleston was in Massawa . In August the ship was transferred to the East Indies Escort Force , which operated from Kilindini across the Indian Ocean and to the Cape . With the arrival of the Gorleston , all seven existing ex-US Coast Guard cutters of the Banff class were assigned to this unit. After Landguard and Sennen in October and Lulworth and Banff in November 1943, Fishguard had already been transferred to this unit in February 1944 and Totland in June .
At the beginning of January 1945 the ship moved to Durban , where it was overtaken from January 9, 1945. The overhaul, including the installation of a modern sonar system, was completed by May. From May 14th, the sloop accompanied a small convoy to Mauritius and then returned to Durban. From June 2nd to 17th, Gorleston moved to Colombo in order to be used primarily in the Bay of Bengal in the future. The ship was planned for Operation Zipper , the execution of which failed due to American resistance and British problems and was only partially implemented after the atom bomb was dropped on Japan. The Gorleston accompanied the attack convoy to Port Swettenham and then went to Singapore as the senior officer (escorts) ship .
Post-war whereabouts
HMS Gorleston remained in Singapore as the ship of the Senior Officer Escorts and was then deployed off India. In January 1946, the sloop returned to Portsmouth, where it arrived on February 8th. In three weeks the most necessary repairs were carried out and the British pieces of equipment removed. Then the ship moved to Norfolk, Virginia . On April 23, 1946, the sloop was released from the service of the Royal Navy and again taken over by the US Coastguard as Itasca . The cutter remained in the reserve until 1950 and was sold for demolition on October 4, 1950.
The Banff class sloops
(previously US Coast Guard Lake Class Cutter)
| Surname | handing over | ex USCGC | Shipyard | Launch | finished | War losses | Final fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Lulworth (Y60) | 2.05.41 | Chelan (45) | Bethlehem , Quincy | 05/19/28 | 5.09.28 | 02/12/46 sold back to USCGC, October 1947 for demolition, | |
| HMS Hartland (Y00) | 04/30/41 | Pontchartrain (46) | Bethlehem, Quincy | 06/16/28 | 13.10.28 | Sunk off Oran on November 8, 1942 | 34 dead |
| HMS Fishguard (Y59) | 04/30/41 | Tahoe (47) | Bethlehem, Quincy | 06/12/28 | 11/13/28 | 03/27/46 sold back to USCGC, October 1947 for demolition, | |
| HMS Sennen (Y21) | 05/12/41 | Champlain (48) | Bethlehem, Quincy | 11.10.28 | 01/24/29 | 03/27/46 sold back to USCGC, December 1948 for demolition, | |
| HMS Culver (Y97) | 04/30/41 | Mendota (49) | Bethlehem, Quincy | 11/27/28 | 03/23/29 | 01/31/42 by U 105 sunk | 127 dead, 13 saved |
| HMS Gorleston (Y92) | 05/30/41 | Itasca (50) | General Engineering and Drydock , Oakland | 11/16/29 | 07/12/30 | 23.03.46 sold back to USCGC, September 1950 for demolition, | |
| HMS Walney (Y04) | 05/12/41 | Sebago (51) | General Engineering, Oakland | 02/10/30 | October 2, 30 | Sunk off Oran on November 8, 1942 | 81 men and over 200 soldiers on board died |
| HMS Banff (Y43) | 04/30/41 | Saranac (52) | General Engineering, Oakland | 04/12/30 | October 2, 30 | 02/27/46 back to USCGC, 05/27/46 back in service as Tampa until 10/10/54, 1959 sold for demolition, | |
| HMS Landguard (Y56) | 05/20/41 | Shoshone (53) | General Engineering, Oakland | 09/11/30 | 1/10/31 | Decommissioned in March 1945, demolished in Manila in 1950 | |
| HMS Totland (Y88) | 05/12/41 | Cayuga (54) | Bethlehem, Staten Island | 7.10.31 | 03/22/32 | May 46 back to USCGC, 03/20/47 back in service as Mocoma until 05/08/50, 1955 sold for demolition, |
Battle Honors
| Surname | ex USCGC | Battle Honors | Kilindi EF | Final fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lulworth (Y60) | Chelan (45) | Atlantic 1941–43, North Africa 1942, Burma 1945 | 5.11.43–– .01.45 | Rangoon, 11/4/45 UK |
| Hartland (Y00) | Pontchartrain (46) | Atlantic 1941-42, English Channel 1942, North Africa 1942 | Sunk off Oran on November 8, 1942 | |
| Fishguard (Y59) | Tahoe (47) | Atlantic 1941-43, Sicily 1943 | 01/20/44 - 04/06/45 | Rangoon, 1.12.45 UK |
| Sennen (Y21) | Champlain (48) | Atlantic 1941-43, North Africa 1942-43 | 26.10.43––15.04.45 | Madras, 1/16/46 UK |
| Culver (Y97) | Mendota (49) | North Sea 1941, Atlantic 1941-42 | 01/31/42 by U 105 sunk | |
| Gorleston (Y92) | Itasca (50) | Atlantic 1942-43 | 7.09.44– 2.06.45 | East Indies, 2/8/46 UK |
| Walney (Y04) | Sebago (51) | Atlantic 1941-42, North Africa 1942 | Sunk off Oran on November 8, 1942 | |
| Banff (Y43) | Saranac (52) | Atlantic 1941-43, North Africa 1942-43, Sicily 1943 | 13.11.43–– 8.05.45 | Indic, 12/16/45 UK |
| Landguard (Y56) | Shoshone (53) | Atlantic 1942-43, North Africa 1942, Biscay 1943 | 20.10.43––03.45 | March 1945 out of service in India, 1950 demolition in Manila |
| Deadland (Y88) | Cayuga (54) | Atlantic 1941-44 | 20.10.43––06.45 | 4th August 1945 Reserve UK |
literature
- James J. Colledge, Ben Warlow: Ships of the Royal Navy , Chatham, 4th ed. London 2010, ISBN 9-7819-3514907-1.
- Robert Gardiner, Roger Chesneau: Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946 , Conway Maritime Press, London 1980, ISBN 0-85177-146-7
Web links
- HMS GORLESTON (Y 92) - ex-US Coast Guard cutter on naval-history.net (engl.)
- HMS Gorleston (Y 92) Sloop of the Banff class on uboat.net (engl.)
- Itasca , 1930 Later-HMS Gorleston , Y-92 on census.gov (engl.)
- Jürgen Rohwer, Gerhard Hümmelchen: Chronicle of the naval war 1939-1945. Ed. Library for Contemporary History / Württemberg State Library Stuttgart 2007 to 2017
Individual evidence
- ^ Bancroft I (Practice Ship) 1893-1905
- ^ Howland Island
- ↑ Baker Island
- ↑ Jarvis Island
- ^ A Story of the Hui Panallā'au of the Equatorial Pacific Islands
- ^ Itasca , 1930 Later-HMS Gorleston , Y-92
- ↑ HMS GORLESTON (Y 92) - ex-US Coast Guard cutter
- ↑ Silverbelle British Motor Merchant. The ship then sank on September 29th, and the Aviso was able to bring all 60 on board to Freetown.
- ↑ Niceto de Larrinaga British Steam Merchant; all 51 on board were rescued, two crew members died on board the rescuers
- ^ Edward Blyden British Motor Merchant: all 63 on board were rescued by the Bideford
- ↑ St. Clair II British Steam Merchant
- ^ Dixcove British Motor Merchant
- ^ Lafian British Steam Merchant
- ↑ Rohwer: naval warfare , 21.9.- 16.10.1941 Mid-Atlantic / signals intelligence
- ↑ Rohwer: naval warfare , 24.10.- 4.11.1941 North Atlantic
- ↑ M / T ATHELKNIGHT , Attack & Survivor's Narrative
- ↑ Ships hit from convoy OS-28
- ↑ Ships hit from convoy OS-34
- ↑ Triton - Norwegian Motor Merchant
- ↑ HMS Cheshire (F 18) - British Armed Merchant Cruiser
- ↑ Balingkar - Dutch Steam Merchant
- ↑ Hatarana -British Steam Merchant
- ↑ City of Manila -British Steam Merchant
- ↑ Ships hit from convoy SL-118
- ^ A b Rohwer: Sea War , November 8-11, 1942, French North Africa, Operation Torch
- ^ HMS Culver (Y 87) British Sloop