As the oceans churned – WW II 1942 – the incredible story of Paul Luckenbach
Many of the WW II stories we have read thus far touch on
glorious and inglorious land and air battles and missions, but there were an
equal number of risky ventures and fights, daring exploits and missions
performed in the sea, and not to forget, under it. So long as there is mankind,
there will be war and when bigger wars take place, water, land, and air will all
figure in them. Not too far is the future where space wars in a vacuum will
also be featured, of that I have no doubt.
This is a story where so many events and places get
interconnected. Of course, I chose the intersection at the locale in the
Southwest of India, namely Malabar, where I hail from. Once a teeming entrepôt
of trade, it was by the 20th century a bunch of sleepy roadsteads,
where an occasional cargo ship came to pick up spices, coir, or other goods,
where Arab and Marakkar dhows continued small trade and where British
administrators spent sleepy days, perfecting their bureaucratic charades, and hoping
to get a transfer to the teeming metropolises of Bombay, Calcutta, Madras,
Delhi or if exceedingly lucky, a plum assignment at Shimla.
I can assure you, none of you would have ever heard this
story or read it anywhere.
World War II rages
By 1939, WW II had erupted and was soon raging in Europe, while
far east, China had been under attack by Japan since 1937. Soon Western Europe
had fallen to the Axis powers, the Mediterranean was getting overrun and by
1941 the Germans after the blitzkrieg of Europe, were knocking at the
gates of Russia. Down south, the Japanese entered the scene after bombing
Burma, walked over Malaya, as their navies subdued Singapore, and took control
over the entire SE Asia. Their strategy was then to shore up, obtain raw
materials, get them to Japan and it was felt, later to plan an attack on India.
Just before this they had attacked and taken control of Indochina in the North
and were in control over the SE region. Groups intent on liberating India from
the British, such as the ISI and IIL were now trying to team up with the
Japanese. In Dec 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and this resulted in America
entering the war. Commotion was evident everywhere though, by 1942, the Axis
movements in Europe and Russia had stalled and moves were on within the Allied
ranks to strategize and defeat Germany.
Liberty ships, Murmansk Run, and the Persian Corridor
Ramping up shipbuilding efforts, America was at the
forefront in supplying what were known as liberty ships, to transport war
material and other supplies to the beleaguered Russians, through the British.
These very risky runs through the Arctic seas infested with German destroyers
and subs, to Murmansk, resulted in the loss of many such cargo ships.
Liberty ships were a class of cargo ships built in the
United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. This
low-cost British concept in design was adopted by the United States, for its
simplicity and low manufacturing time and effort.
The Victory ship, on the other hand, was another class of
cargo ship produced in large numbers by Americans to replace losses caused by
German submarines. More modern in design compared to Liberty ships, they were
slightly larger, faster, and equipped with powerful steam turbine engines, and
formed high-speed convoys, but at the same time, more difficult targets for
German U-boats.
To circumvent the
problems in the Arctic seas, a Persian corridor was opened, where the material
would be shipped out from America via the Indian Ocean route, circumnavigate
the Cape of Good Hope, and land up to disgorge their goods at Persian ports.
From there they would be sent to Russia by trains and trucks. (Hopefully, you
remember the names of the two Indians - Gajendra Singh and Subedar Narayan Rao
Nikkam who were awarded ‘Orders of the Red Cross’ by the Russians for their
efforts!). The entire Persian corridor and liberty ship effort was funded and
set up by the Americans, and interestingly one of the specialists involved was
Col Norman Schwarzkopf Sr, a police officer and father of Gen Norma Schwarzkopf
of the Gulf War!
In addition to building specialty ships for transporting men
and material, the American government under the War Act, took over some of the
private merchant ships plying the seas – e.g., ships from the Luckenbach
Steamship Co.
The Luckenbach Steamship Co
Edgar Frederick Luckenbach, Sr. was an American shipping
magnate who inherited his father's steamship company, which he incorporated in
1913 under the name Luckenbach Steamship Company. During wartime, the
Luckenbach Steamship Company operated Victory ships, Liberty ships, and a few
Empire ships. Interestingly all except two of the 59 company’s ships were named
after family members (some - more than one) of Edgar Luckenbach.
Paul Luckenbach
The ship was originally built in Germany, at the Bremer
Vulkan Werft yards, in 1913 and was originally called the SS Mark and
fled to the neutral US during WW 1. It was renamed the SS Suwanee in
1917, seized by the US Govt in 1917 and later incorporated in the US Navy in
1919. Decommissioned in 1920, it went back to the shipping board, where it
became the SS Poznan, and finally was named the SS Paul Luckenbach,
in 1922, after its acquisition by the Luckenbach Steamships. In March 1942,
this and two other ships of Luckenbach were requisitioned by the WSA for war
shipping efforts and chartered to the US government.
Convoy & Sinking of the ship
Paul Luckenbach departed New York on 10 July
1942 with a crew comprising 44 merchantmen and 17 Navy sailors to man the guns
which had by then been fitted on all merchant ships. The ship was loaded with
tanks and planes meant for the beleaguered Russian military. Stopping at
Delaware, Virginia, and Key West, they fueled at Port of Spain and proceeded to
Africa on Aug 12th, 1942, when the ship struck an object, rendering
its rudder useless. The crew determined that they had struck a submarine
surfacing and with that the very large convoy comprising some 300 ships (as a
survivor stated) separated, each on its own. As it occurred, two vessels Haresfield
and Ocean Honour were torpedoed and sunk that morning.
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| SS Paul Luckenbach |
Though the ship was taking in water and leaking, there was no chance of going back, so they continued to Cape Town, got repaired, and left on Sept 7th, avoiding Madagascar. Having heard tales of horrible slaughter by the Japanese, the Americans sailed with dread in their mind, of being machine-gunned to death after they were torpedoed. Though the Germans were honorable and took prisoners, some of the callous Japanese captains were ruthless.
Matsu a.k.a. the I-29 strikes
Lying in wait under the dark waters, were a few U boats from
the recently deployed 3rd group of the 6th Japanese fleet,
8th squadron (with 10 subs), based in Penang, and overseen by Admiral
Sasaki. One among them was the relatively new B1 Submarine - nicknamed Matsu
(pine tree) - I-29, a patrol class submarine, captained by Juichi Izu. Built in
1939, and launched as the I-33 in 1940, it was retitled the I-29 in Nov 1941
and attached to the 8th fleet in March 1942.
The sub carried a small reconnaissance aircraft, 17
torpedoes, a 14cm gun, and a crew of 94. The crew had been having a torrid
time, for the subs had no air conditioning, and with a range of some 16,000
miles, they had been at sea for a long time. It had at least three kills before
Izu caught up with the Paul Luckenbach.
At 6:25 am on Sept 22, 1942, a torpedo fired by I-29 struck
the Paul Luckenbach on the port side at the #1 hatch and the ship
started to sink. Lifeboats were lowered and the crew were in the water, waiting
and watching the ship, which had stabilized, after which the crew decided to
reboard the vessel. But then the second torpedo struck at 8:05 and the crew
abandoned ship boarding the four lifeboats.
Izu, unlike many other Japanese captains, was an honorable
man, he did not come up and machine gun the survivors to death. He left them
alone.
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| I -29 - another mission |
A short circuit in the sinking ship suddenly lit the ship up
and with all lights glowing, the Paul Luckenbach consigned itself
to the depths of the Indian Ocean at location 10°03'N, 63°42'E, taking with it
the 18 tanks and the 10 B25 Mitchell medium bomber aircraft, shackled in its
holds.
The survivors head to Malabar – Monsoon run.
We know what happened next from the short account of the
next few days as recounted by 2nd mate Arnold T Hasen. It does not
make sense to retell the whole story, but the 17 passengers in the boat had a desperate
time, with little food and hardly any water, survived the fast ride with the
monsoon winds, with many falling sick and close to death with exhaustion and
malnutrition. On the 9th day, they managed to catch a small dolphin
and eat it raw, smeared with a little dab from an onion! By the 13th
day, they had run out of water, but miraculously, on the 15th day it
rained, and they managed to slake their thirst. Day 16- most people had given
up and many were prepared to jump overboard and die, but they sighted a fishing
vessel that kept a safe distance from them thinking they were the enemy, and
though conversation (that commenced after the fishermen spotted the colored
American nicknamed “muscles”) across the wide waters was impossible with the
Americans speaking English and the fishermen speaking Malayalam, nevertheless,
the shipwrecked passengers knew they were closer to shore and spirits lifted.
In another couple of days, they saw the water changing color and sighted gulls
in the air.
On the 20th day, they sighted land – perhaps like
Vasco da Gama, but this time, the sailors saw the smoke from a passing train,
in North Malabar. The boat was sailed into the beach and as natives gathered,
they found three who spoke English. The location where they had landed on Oct
12, 1942, my friends, was Pallikare, North of Cannanore and Nileswaram, close
to the Bekal fort.
It was about 7 am and soon the tired sailors savored their first hot drink of Malabar tea, and by 2 pm, they were served a succulent, hot & spicy Chicken biryani, The train stopped there as well, waiting to evacuate the shipwrecked passengers.
Arnold explains – The natives got together and pooled
their food and at about 2:00 pm, they served us curried rice and chicken,
Indian style. It was served to us on palm leaves, and we had to eat it with
fingers. Food at last, and did we tear into it! It was filled with hot spices
and peppers, and while I don’t believe I could eat it again, I certainly ate
every bit of it that day!
This food, nevertheless, and as you can imagine played havoc
in the intestines of these blokes who had hardly eaten for 20 days, thus far
surviving on a biscuit or two every day! Violent bowel movements in the outback
with crows yapping behind in anticipation, was not something the Americans had
prepared for, but that was how it was. Meanwhile, the train waited for the 17
passengers. At 4 pm, they boarded the train, destined for Mangalore, bidding
goodbye to Malabar. The train stopped often, and each station was filled with
locals waiting to get a view of the 17 blackened and grimy Americans who had
sailed 800 miles to safety!
At Mangalore, the survivors were treated by doctors, fed and
bedded, clothed and cared for, and eventually, on Oct 16th, they
took a train to Madras, then the train to Colombo, traveling another 750 miles,
arriving there on Oct 20th. Heading back, some of them arrived in
New York on Nov 23rd.
The other ships also made land miraculously, two landed at
the Laccadives, and the survivors arrived at Calicut and Cannanore, while the
third lot was picked up in the sea!
Bombay Aug/Sept 1942 – Quit India, Congress Radio
At Bombay, things were in turmoil. After the Allied Powers
had suffered severe reverses in the war, the Japanese capture of Penang and
Singapore and advances into Malaya and Burma had shaken the British. The
"Quit India" movement was initiated, and the Government was in
disarray, with the public clear that it was unable to defend India against
Japanese advances. Gandhiji’s campaign started late in April 1942, asking the
British to leave. The British furious, contemplated deportation of Gandhiji to Aden
or Nysasaland and the principal Congress leaders to Uganda or elsewhere in East
Africa.
Congress leaders were arrested, and the masses were aroused,
especially the youth in Bombay. One could witness the uprooting of railway tracks,
tampering with postal and communication systems, attacks on police forces, damaging
power, and so on. Demonstrations were common, and Elphinstone College was one
of the premier institutions that had several students taking part in the
activities. Textile mills and the Stock Exchange closed, while the economy was shattered,
and chaos reigned in Bombay.
Students of the Elphinstone, Sydenham, and St. Xavier colleges
were arrested, including girls. One among the protesting students was a fervent
and fiery freedom fighter, a young girl from Malabar. She managed to establish
a good rapport with a senior Army officer, a suave Indian working for the
British. He states - She came to see me late one night and asked me to get a
secret wireless transmitter repaired. She also told me that the police were
after her and the wireless station from which beamed many unauthorized
nationalist broadcasts against the British. An Indian army mechanic whom I knew
locally came, on the quiet, 'to do his bit' for his country and put this
transmitter in order.
That would surely be one of the Congress transmitters that
Usha Mehta and the rest of the radio underground worked with and were waiting
for to get back on air. This chit of a girl had managed to get it repaired
somehow! A month later, the radio broadcasted events, though not always
current, but chosen to strike a chord in the minds of similarly intentioned
Indians, those upset with the British.
Two of the announcements are noteworthy.
This is congress radio calling from India at 42.34 meters, providing
uncensored news in Hindustani… said the female announcer…
On 12th Oct the announcement said – Malabar – Some
Japanese submarines are reported to be operating along the west coast and other
areas.
On 2nd Nov, it stated – The Japanese have
torpedoed a ship near Kerala and Calicut. Several dead bodies of American
soldiers were found near the Sea Shore….
As you can see, it was off by a month, and not quite the truth.
Well, I had studied the story of the Congress radio some
months ago and was a bit surprised at this news, so went after it. Later I came
across the story of the mystery girl, and I will recount that sad tale, another
day.
But it was the search for the American sailors at Calicut that
led me to this incident! All 61 Americans survived the 800-odd-mile voyage on
the Arabian Sea, braving the elements over 20-27 days.
Why were the fishermen scared? It was due to the knowledge
that Japanese subs were on the prowl, even close to the Malabar shoreline. Or
because they came across a couple of submarines that delivered several Indian
revolutionaries to the same coast, an event that resulted in much police
activity, questioning, and arrests a month ago. I had recounted that story, the
story of Kumaran Nair and Abdul Khadir, two of the revolutionaries, some years before.
The aftermath
Harry C. Argo was another survivor, a gunnery mate of the Paul
Luckenbach, he survived the saga tailed by sharks and was one of those who
ended up at or near Calicut. He mentions that they (the survivors were sent
over several cargo ships headed to the US, presumably) were then headed back to
NYC in another cargo ship, the SS Sawokia, which was sunk by the German
raider HK Michel, on Nov 29th, 400 miles NW of Madagascar. He was
one among the 19 survivors, miraculously surviving 2 shipwrecks in 2 months!
The Germans held him prisoner for three months on board their raider ship, as
they continued their attacks and sank more vessels, but treating him well.
Eventually, they turned him over to the Japs after reaching Singapore. It was
hell for Argo after that, he was beaten and tortured as a Japanese POW at the Hokkaido
camp holding 900 POWs, over two years. Released after the war, Argo lived a
calmer life in the US and passed away in Baltimore on Jan 13, 2006.
I am not quite sure, but I think it was the same Arnold T.
Hansen, the veteran from East Northport, who passed away on Feb. 12, 2019, the survivor
who wrote the Luckenbach account. He must have been a centenarian, by then!
After the war, a claim for just compensation was filed by
the Luckenbach steamships, as they lost three ships Paul, Mary & Edward
Luckenbach. Various tax claims and denials were contested, and life
continued as usual. However, over time, the Luckenbach Steamship Company failed
to upgrade to container ships and modernize as other shipping lines did in the
1970s, and with the Vietnam War ending, the Luckenbach Steamship Company closed
in 1974, all ships being sold or scrapped due to age.
The I-29 returned to Penang after a successful run, on 5th
Oct 1942 and went on to have a remarkable wartime record for a Japanese
submarine, sinking many more merchant ships. It was one of the few Japanese
submarines to make multiple successful Yanagi missions to Germany, during which
the Germans and the Japanese traded raw materials, important persons, and
technical data. The continued adventures of the I-29 and its connection to
India will be explored in the next article. Juichi Izu was part of many more exploits
before losing his life in another submarine that was sunk by the Allies.
America supplied quite a bit of armaments - over 41 billion
rounds of ammunition, some 300,000 aircraft, and over 88,000 tanks during World
War II. Originally slated to build 50 ships a year for 10 years, the Maritime Commission
ended up building over 5,000 ships by the end of 1945, including 2,710 of the iconic
Liberty ships. These ships got the armaments across to various parts of the
world, though a lot was lost in submarine and raider attacks.
Pallikare is pretty much the same these days, a calm N
Malabar beach. I doubt if the inhabitants witnessed any other surprises since
then and I doubt if any of the descendants ever remembers the story of the
American survivors at their beach or the story of the biriyani they served to
the weary and grateful sailors.
I read the survivor story as WW2 Museum and the rest of New
Orleans, were hunkered down with hurricane Francine bearing down on them a
couple of weeks ago, while the curators of the museum transferred the file
containing Hansen’s astounding story to me. Thank you, Kim and Toni!
References
Robert T Hansen – Survivors account, courtesy WWII Museum,
New Orleans, and many thanks to the curators for kindly allowing me access, and
James Linn whose article ‘A Lifeboat Survival Saga’ connected me to the
account.
The fourth Service – John Slader
The Naval War in South African Waters, 1939-1945 - Evert
Kleynhans
The Eastern Fleet and the Indian Ocean, 1942–1944: The Fleet
that Had to Hide - Charles Stephenson
The Fujita Plan - Mark Felton
The Japanese Submarine force and WW II – Carl Boyd and
Akihiko Yoshiada
A Lifeboat Survival Saga – James Linn
Related Maddy’s Ramblings articles - Congress
radio
Notes
I was in Reykjavik last week and understood that during the
war there were some 40-50,000 Allied military service people quartered there,
many of course involved in the action at the Arctic seas. Those waters must be
chockablock with ship and sub wrecks, deep down.
In Iceland, we were checking into a hotel in the middle of
nowhere as they call it, near Hofn. Incredibly, after all this study, we saw a
man wearing a T shirt with the word Luckenbach emblazoned across it, sipping a
drink, by the window. Astonished, I asked if he had anything to do with the
Luckenbach family, but he replied in the negative saying that Luckenbach on his T
shirt symbolized the Texan town famed for its country music and added that
there had been several German immigrants there, in the past! The town has an
interesting history, check
this link out, if interested.
My friend tells me that this is typical of the Baader
Meinhof phenomenon!! The Baader–Meinhof phenomenon refers to the false
impression that something happens more frequently than it does. This often
occurs when we learn something new. Suddenly, this new thing seems to appear
more frequently, when it is only that our awareness of it that has increased.
The interesting role of I-29 and other subs based in Penang,
and their connections to the fortunes of India, will be covered in the next
part of this story.
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