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A Sea Story

By Don Chalmers

Background: While a young seaman of nineteen years on board the USS Heywood, Amphibious Attack Transport, the ship made the third of three trips to Reykjavik, Iceland, shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7,1941. It was on this trip, just a day out of Iceland, that we encountered a violent North Atlantic storm.

This episode has remained etched in my memory over the years; and, recently, I obtained copies of the ship’s log for the three trips to provide specific information as to the chain of events from official records.

We left Halifax, Nova Scotia on 21 February at 1610 (4:10 PM), experiencing heavy snow with “visibility zero” shortly before midnight. The log shows that at 0720 22 Feb., 1942 “Roche, J. E. CMM (PA) USN died from lobar pneumonia and Seno fibrinous pleurisy.” Typical log entries show “zigzagging according to plan” and a “S/S of 14.5 knots.” While not mentioned in log (for security reasons) we were traveling in a large convoy in perhaps three or four columns.

First log entry suggesting a rough sea situation is this log entry signed by R.A. Jubitz, Jr., Lt. USNR one of our original Portland Naval Reserve Officers. “Sunday, 1 March, 1942-1201 Vessel rolling and pitching moderately, taking seas aft. Inspection of topside made-all gear apparently secure.” At this time, we were steaming essentially due north and were within approximately one days sailing from Reykjavik.

The decision was made to alter course to the N.W. to allow steaming at an angle with seas on our starboard quarter. This would offset running parallel to the troughs which were building.

The extent of this condition is illustrated by the 1:30 AM ship 10g entry for 2 March 1942. “Ship laboring in heavy quartering starboard seas-shipping seas aft.”

At 0800 I (Don) came up to the bridge for the 8 to 12 wheel watch and I remember the seas to be monstrous. Thirty foot plus would probably not be an exaggeration. I clearly remember that as the ship dropped down in a trough you could not see any of the ships in our convoy. In addition, as of 0624 we had gone to a heading of 280° which put us on a course directly parallel to the storm track and the following seas directly astern.

Having just taken over the helm, I was shortly to learn the perils of conning (the act of controlling a ship) a single-screw ship while running in extremely heavy following seas. I had not remembered until reviewing the ships deck log that it was only a few minutes into my watch that we started to broach to, a very critical situation. I do not recall ever having received instruction in what to expect in these conditions nor do I recall any words of caution from the helmsman I had relieved. Having read the log I would like to express my amazement at the content of the entries which covered what was a condition of extreme peril to the ship.

Here is Don’s version.

Shortly after 0800, I found the ship was not responding to normal rudder commands. In attempting to maintain heading, I increased rudder angle until full right rudder was applied. No response.

With the ship swinging toward a full 90° left turn (the dreaded “broaching to” maneuver) flank speed was ordered with no results.

At this point the Heywood was effectively on a direct collision course with the USS New Mexico that was steaming in the column to our port side. Seeing this, Capt. Knowles gave the order to “stop engines.” We lost way and the action of the seas shortly put the ship into violent 30-40° rolls.

The anxiety on the bridge was one of near panic, nobody seeming to know what to do. Concern for landing craft stowed in cradles over the cargo hatches breaking loose, cargo shifting, crew and passenger safety, etc. At this point it was announced that suction had been “lost” as the engine sea-water intake had come out of the water on a starboard roll, resulting in no power. In the meantime, the convoy had continued on course with a destroyer staying back as escort.

The extreme rolling continued.

The engines were finally restarted and at this time Lt. Stuart, our navigator and ex-Merchant Marine officer, suggested setting full left rudder and backing the ship down. This was done and the ship backed into the wind and seas and allowed us to resume the original course. Sometime during this course of events, I had been relieved on the wheel by the watch quartermaster.

We caught up with the convoy as it headed basically west toward Greenland. Shortly after noon, the course was reversed 180° and we arrived at Reykjavik approximately twenty hours later and dropped anchor at 0936 3 March 1942.

Some comments.

I don’t know for what reason the official 8 to 12 deck log provides little clue to what really occurred on March 2^nd, 1942. No mention of the extreme sea conditions, no mention of “broaching to”, loss of engine power. Only these entries to suggest something out of the ordinary:

0805 Ship lost steerageway

0810 Backed full to regain heading

0817 Regained heading, ahead standard speed-knots

0920 Received report that at 0815 this date Hotujec, D. R. , S 2/C USN received first degree burns on both ankles. Accident caused by ship lurching as man took pan from oven in gally on duty. No apparent negligence, not incapacitated for duty.

1. M. Ayers

Lt. (JG) USNR

One can only speculate on possible consequences to this ship if conditions had not gone right. I know I had learned an appreciation for following sea conditions and used this experience to good advantage in subsequent years of running single screw landing craft in rough sea conditions.

Below is a plot of ships track for March 1,2 & 3, 1942.