General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
RE: U Boats in Singapore
Posted by:
adrian
()
Date: June 22, 2001 10:30PM
<HTML>Dear Sir,
Indeed you are correct. In September of 1944 my grandfather,Sapper William Henry McKittrick, was on board the Rakuyo Maru, which was sunk by the USS Sealion. He, as well as many others, survived for 4 days floating in the ocean until rescued by the USS Pampanito and then was taken to Saipan before finally returning to Australia via Guadalcanal first by the USS Alcoa Polaris and then by USS Monadnock. As such they were the first Allied POW\'s to return from the Malayan campaign and were able to provide the first eyewitness accounts of Singapore in February 1942. They were able to provide much vital information on Allied personnel who had been listed missing for 2 and a half years. He in his later years told us of the incredible generosity and care shown for them by the US Navy and Army personnel during thier time in Saipan. He said it was a marked contrast to the treatment by Australian authorities on return. As a sidelight ,Bill (my grandfather) attended the 50th anniversary of the lauching of the Pampanito in San Francisco in 1993. The most memorable aspect of this was when interviewed by CNN he was described as Colonel McKittrick! This caused a lot of mirth considering he never rose past Sapper!
What you may find even more interesting is that this was not his first sinking!Bill was not a soldier originally having been a English Merchant seaman since the early 1930\'s. Sometime between November 1936 and Jan 1937 he was sunk on the SS Braeburn in the Mediterranean. We havent been able to find much on the Braeburn but he was paid off in Gibraltar. Much information is difficult to find as there was alot of British shipping sunk in the Med at that time. I always believed it was off Barcelona by land based shellfire, but other records indicate that a ship of similar name was sunk on the Atlantic coast at roughly the same time. There is also considerable documentation on Italian Submarines sinking shipping as well.Lloyds shipping register has not been of much assistance and it has led me to believe the ship may have been registered elsewhere than Britain. The second sinking is even more difficult to piece together. According to his personal records he was sunk by a U Boat in Feb 1940 in the Nth Atlantic on board the MV Parthenia (approx 7000 GRT). I have not been able to find any record (so far!) of this ship.Nor can I find a U Boat that sunk a 7000 ton ship with a similar name at the time. He ,however was paid off in St Johns New Bruswick. In June 1940 he joined the Port Auckland and made his way to Australia where he decided that Merchant Seafaring was not a good career for a man who could not swim! He joined the Australian Army (as Rigger for occupation due to Merchant Seaman being a reserved occupation) and that is where the rest of the story cuts in. As he later said in life he certainly could pick \'em!
What I have been trying to do is piece together these 2 sinkings. I havent had much luck! However I will keep looking.
Now my question to you Sir. I take it you are a Naval man and if so of what nationality and which ship/s? This could make an iteresting link of many stories.
Thank you for taking the time to provide this information to me.
Regards,
Adrian Quilty
Ex Cpl Royal Australian Regiment
Australian Army
PS.
As a another sidelight he was in Hamburg on the SS Port Auckland on the 1st September 1939. He said he never seen a ship build steam so quick in his life!</HTML>
Indeed you are correct. In September of 1944 my grandfather,Sapper William Henry McKittrick, was on board the Rakuyo Maru, which was sunk by the USS Sealion. He, as well as many others, survived for 4 days floating in the ocean until rescued by the USS Pampanito and then was taken to Saipan before finally returning to Australia via Guadalcanal first by the USS Alcoa Polaris and then by USS Monadnock. As such they were the first Allied POW\'s to return from the Malayan campaign and were able to provide the first eyewitness accounts of Singapore in February 1942. They were able to provide much vital information on Allied personnel who had been listed missing for 2 and a half years. He in his later years told us of the incredible generosity and care shown for them by the US Navy and Army personnel during thier time in Saipan. He said it was a marked contrast to the treatment by Australian authorities on return. As a sidelight ,Bill (my grandfather) attended the 50th anniversary of the lauching of the Pampanito in San Francisco in 1993. The most memorable aspect of this was when interviewed by CNN he was described as Colonel McKittrick! This caused a lot of mirth considering he never rose past Sapper!
What you may find even more interesting is that this was not his first sinking!Bill was not a soldier originally having been a English Merchant seaman since the early 1930\'s. Sometime between November 1936 and Jan 1937 he was sunk on the SS Braeburn in the Mediterranean. We havent been able to find much on the Braeburn but he was paid off in Gibraltar. Much information is difficult to find as there was alot of British shipping sunk in the Med at that time. I always believed it was off Barcelona by land based shellfire, but other records indicate that a ship of similar name was sunk on the Atlantic coast at roughly the same time. There is also considerable documentation on Italian Submarines sinking shipping as well.Lloyds shipping register has not been of much assistance and it has led me to believe the ship may have been registered elsewhere than Britain. The second sinking is even more difficult to piece together. According to his personal records he was sunk by a U Boat in Feb 1940 in the Nth Atlantic on board the MV Parthenia (approx 7000 GRT). I have not been able to find any record (so far!) of this ship.Nor can I find a U Boat that sunk a 7000 ton ship with a similar name at the time. He ,however was paid off in St Johns New Bruswick. In June 1940 he joined the Port Auckland and made his way to Australia where he decided that Merchant Seafaring was not a good career for a man who could not swim! He joined the Australian Army (as Rigger for occupation due to Merchant Seaman being a reserved occupation) and that is where the rest of the story cuts in. As he later said in life he certainly could pick \'em!
What I have been trying to do is piece together these 2 sinkings. I havent had much luck! However I will keep looking.
Now my question to you Sir. I take it you are a Naval man and if so of what nationality and which ship/s? This could make an iteresting link of many stories.
Thank you for taking the time to provide this information to me.
Regards,
Adrian Quilty
Ex Cpl Royal Australian Regiment
Australian Army
PS.
As a another sidelight he was in Hamburg on the SS Port Auckland on the 1st September 1939. He said he never seen a ship build steam so quick in his life!</HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
U Boats in Singapore
|
adrian | 06/21/2001 10:10PM |
|
RE: U Boats in Singapore
|
Rainer Kolbicz | 06/22/2001 07:37AM |
|
RE: U Boats in Singapore
|
Capt. George W. Duffy | 06/22/2001 12:42PM |
|
RE: U Boats in Singapore
|
Oliver Meise | 06/22/2001 10:12PM |
|
RE: U Boats in Singapore
|
adrian | 06/22/2001 10:30PM |
|
Parthenia
|
Der Teddy Bär | 06/22/2001 11:30PM |
|
RE: Parthenia
|
adrian | 06/23/2001 06:35AM |
|
RE: U Boats in Singapore
|
Antonio Veiga | 06/22/2001 10:28PM |
|
RE: U Boats in Singapore
|
Capt. George W. Duffy | 06/23/2001 07:03PM |