During World War II, Henry Thomas von Vange served in the United States Navy as a Gunner's Mate First Class. He was aboard the S.S. Pennmar when disaster struck.
The ship, crippled by damage to its rudder, dropped out of its convoy and was later sunk by a torpedo, but not before von Vange had bested one submarine in a surface gun battle. Other events of the voyage included the difficult repair of the rudder by the ship's crew, a terrific storm which battered the deck cargo into splinters, and a daylight torpedo attack in which badly aimed "tin fish" sped harmlessly past the ship.
Three men were lost on the voyage. One was a heroic 17-year-old Navy man who was lost overboard while helping to repair the rudder. The other two, merchant seaman, were fatally injured while abandoning the vessel after a torpedo struck it amidships. One of them was killed by the ship's propellor, which was still turning, and the other, thrown overboard by the torpedo blast, was struck by a life raft launched from the shrouds.
The others aboard the ship floated for 60 hours on rafts until they were picked up by a Coast Guard ship and taken to Nova Scotia, from where the Navy men were sent home on furlough.
The sinking occurred in September, 1942. The ship was in a large convoy, and the trip was uneventful until the rudder wrenched loose."We knew we'd be in for it as soon as we had to drop out of the convoy," said von Vange, who had manned a gun on the ship. "We call the place where we were sunk 'Torpedo Junction' because it's infested with U-boats." As the convoy disappeared in the distance, the crew rigged booms to handle the heavy rudder. Cargo was shifted to raise the stern of the ship out of the water. A small boat was put over the side and part of the crew worked from the boat, while the others manned the auxilary rigging.
A heavy sea was running, and the repair job was heart-breaking. Many of the crew collapsed from exhaustion, and the Navy gunners took their places. The 17-year-old youth who lost his life was working over the side and was carried away by a large wave which struck the stern.
When the rudder was finally repaired, the ship got under way again and ran under forced draft to try to rejoin the convoy; but it never reached the other ships.
The storm which struck the ship was of such intensity that it was impossible for anyone to remain on the ship's deck. Solid green walls of water crashed against the bow and thundered along the decks. The Navy gunners and deck crew had to take refuge on the bridge during the gale.
No evidence of enemy action was sighted until the last day of the ship's run, and then things happened quickly. At 3 P.M., a lookout spotted the wake of a torpedo speeding toward the ship. An instant later, a second torpedo was sighted. As the crew members held their breath, the two torpedoes grazed past, a little wide of the mark.
The gunners manned their posts and lookouts scanned the sea for a sign of the submarine. No more torpedoes were fired, but at 3:30 P.M., the submarine surfaced and von Vange and his mates blazed away at it with their five-inch rifle. The submarine returned their fire, but failed to score. The merchant ship's captain said that he saw one shell hit the submarine and then it disappeared beneath the waves.
The ship steamed on through the afternoon with no further sign of the enemy. The ship's fatal blow came without warning, at 10 P.M. A torpedo struck amidships with a terrific jolt. The ship settled fast and the men had hardly time to get off before it sank.
There was one lifeboat that held forty-five men, and there were rafts that held eight men each. The lifeboat was leaking badly and required constant bailing out by six men at one time. The men were afraid to sleep; for if they did, they may have never awakened. Although the men were cold, hungry, and miserable, the first day passed uneventfully.
A torrential rain had been beating down on them ever since they had abandoned ship. The only protection and warmth, besides the clothing that they were wearing, was afforded by one blanket to each raft. As the rain continued and the waves became rough, the men lashed themselves to the rafts and huddled together under the blankets.
As night came, one of the men became emotional and began yelling and pleading to von Vange, " Give me some food ---some cigarettes! I'm freezing to death! Oh, my feet --- they're going to fall off --- I can't feel them. The waves are hitting me, Navy, help, help!" Then he started to cry, and he carried on like that throughout the night.
The first day's menu consisted of three malted milk tablets, a half-bar of chocolate and one whole-wheat cookie for each man. One the second day, they had the same fare, with the addition of half a cup of water. For the third day, they had only the three malted milk tablets and a half-bar of chocolate.
"The man who took charge of the rationing thought that he'd pull a fast one on us," said von Vange. "He began by slipping himself a share and giving the rest of us ours and then ended off with another share for himself, thinking none of us had noticed. But he should have known we'd all have our eyes glued on him when it came to food. One of the fellows got so mad he wanted to throw him overboard, but the rest of us didn't want anything like that. We took care of him later, though, on the ship that rescued us. I think he got the general idea that none of us approved of his ration method, and we don't think he'll pull a stunt like that again."
"Here's a cheerful little bit that did brighten things," said von Vange. "The day before the rescue, one of the boys told us the next day was his birthday, and he wondered what he'd get for a birthday present way-out there in the middle of nowhere. We all assured him he'd get the best present of his life. Somehow we believed it, too; and, sure enough, at noon of the following day we were boarding the rescue ship! At 10 A.M. of "the great day," we saw the tip of its mast come slowly into view; and we sent up two flares, which they spotted; and we were finally taken aboard, as I say, about noontime. The part that affected me most of all at the time of the rescue was how we boys couldn't go wild with the excitement we felt, but we all realized that the important thing was to hold tight to the raft until we actually were climbing aboard,or be swept into the ocean, as the waves were still very rough."
The cheers rang out as soon as the men were on the rescue ship's deck. Then they ate, and slept, slept, slept!!!
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