Aucklanders Saw Big Variety Of Famous Ships During War Years

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 219, 15 September 1945, Page 8

Aucklanders Saw Big Variety Of Famous Ships During War Years

Their Names Were "Hush-Hush" At The Time, Bui

By J.C.L.

MEN-O'-WAR ranging from tiny sweepers of a few hundred tons to a battleship, transports which were at one time worldfamous luxury liners, and merchantmen of all classes were among the thousands of overseas ships which made Auckland their port of call some time during the war years. Though painted grey and sometimes camouflaged, many of the vessels needed no introduction as they slipped quietly into port. In other instances all that could guide the public as to the origin of ships were the flags being flown, as knowledge of shipping movements was restricted to a few people. Flags were not always a guide, for there were occasions when French and Dutch liners came into the harbour flying the British and U.S. ''ags. British shipping predominated in the first two and a half years of war, but when New Zealand came to be used as a U.S. base the ratio of American shipping to British was at times three to one. This could easily be accounted for by the huge quantities of supplies and equipment, as well as lend-lease goods, which poured into the country from the U.S. for use in the Pacific theatre. Queen Elizabeth Off Tiri By far the biggest ship in Auckland waters was the Queen Elizabeth, the 85,000-ton sister ship of the Queen Mary. Her immense size, as she lay inside Tiri on February 8 and 9, 1942, was commented on by North Shore residents. The big liner left without coming into port. Largest ship to berth here was the French liner He de France (43,450 tons), which dwarfed the Matsonia of about half her size when they were iri harbour together on November 9 and 10, 1942. Next in size was the Nieuw Amsterdam (36,287 tons), whose visit was in January of last year. ' One of the strangest ships in appearance was the U.S. transport Rochambeau, one time the French Marechal Joffre (12,063 tons), which was equipped with twin squareshaped funnels. Arrivals early this year were three U.S. vessels built with concrete holds in order t« conserve metal. They were the Willard Pollard and Joseph Astden, each of about 5000 tons, and the Harvey C. Miller, of over 7000 tons. The outbreak of war had little effect on the number of foreign vessels which came into port, though

there was an easing up in British overseas shipping. Among foreign ships were to be seen the Finnish barque Penang, the Netherlands vessels Maeutsuycker, Tasman and Tegelberg, Norwegian tankers including the 0.8. Sorrensen, about which there was a good deal of speculation after she had sailed on June 3, 1940, the Yugoslav steamer Kupa and the French vessel Ville D'Amiens. Notable British Liners Big British ships which came into the harbour in the early days of the war were the Empress of Russia (16,801 tons), the Capetown Castle (27,000 tons), and the Stirling Castle (25,550 tons), which in 1936 created a record on the Southampton-Cape-town run. i Until the entry of Japan into the war the Matson ships Mariposa and Monterey continued on the United States-New Zealand-Australia run as usual. The Mariposa was the first United States ship to enter port after the attack on Pearl Harbour, arriving on December 16 and sailing on the following day. The United States transport Matsonia was a frequent visitor to Auckland while large forces of Americans were stationed in the Dominion, and the Lurline also made one trip. One of the most talked of ships to berth during the war was the Yamagiku Maru (5236 tons), which arrived from Kobe, Japan, toward the end of September, 1941, after she had been reported several weeks overdue. »The delay was attributed to bad weather, and the ship sailed on October 4. Such British ships as the Orion (23,371 tons), Athlone Castle (25,564), Ulysses (14,416), Esperance Bay (14,204), Strathallan (23,722), Empire Hope and Empire Grace, both about 13,000 tons, and the United States Uruguay (22,754) were among the arrivals early in 1942. U.S. Forces' Convoy Led into port late on the afternoon of June 12, 1942, by the 10,000-ton cruiser U.S.S. San Francisco, the transports Uruguay, Santa Clara, President Munro, Tasker H. Bliss and James Parker made a great sight with their decks lined with United States units. Within a week the U.S.T. President Coolidge (25,957 tons) arrived on her initial voyage to New Zealand with United States troops, and she became one of the best-known vessels. She was later sunk through striking a mine off Espiritu Santos.

U.S.T. Henry Knox was the first of the Liberty ships to reach Auckland when she berthed on July 3, 1942, and thereafter no fewer than 95 different ships of this 7176-ton class came into port here. A British Liberty ship, the Samovar, formerly the Frank D. Phinney, arrived on September 23, 1943, after standing by to assist the tanker Trocas, which had broken down while en route to Auckland. Canadian counterparts of Liberty ships, the Temagami Park and the Mewata Park, came together early last year, and a Greek Liberty ship, Hepas Derius, arrived about a year later. Talamanca's Shuttle Service Probably the best-known United States ship to Aucklanders was the Talamanca, or Fls, which was talked of In every milk bar and hotel lounge in the city. This fast ship, which was on a shuttle service between Auckland and the Islands, came into the harbour first on August 7, 1942. The YNIO, or U.S.S. Ebony (785 tons) was the first vessel to control the gate of the harbour boom. The United States hospital ship Solace carried wounded on her initial trip here a few weeks after the Talamanca. Other big vessels were the U.S.T. West Point, formerly the America (26,545 tons), said to be the largest merchant ship built in the United States at a cost of 17J million dollars, the U.S.T. Mount Vernon, formerly the Manhattan (24,289 tons), and the Netherlands ships U.S.T. Klipfontein, Bloemfontein and Boschfontein, ranging from 7000 to 10,000 tons. Landing Ships Tanks United States naval craft from the humble ■ minesweeper to cruisers and supply ships came into Auckland. Most unusual naval craft for a time were the United States' L.S.T.'s (Landing Ships Tanks) of 3000 tons. These came at fairly frequent intervals to load armoured and motor vehicles required urgently in the forward zones. Another distinctive type of craft was the Yard Provender—small ships with limited refrigerated space which were used for the transporting of supplies to inaccessible areas in the Pacific. Most familiar of these was the Y.P. 290, the U.S.S. Picaroto. Though the bulk of shipping using the port from 1942 until early this year was of United States origin, there were some big British ships on the run to Auckland. Among these were the Dominion Monarch (27,155

tons), the Akaroa (15,130), Sarpedon (10,951), Port Phillip (12,439), Australia Star (12,614), Brisbane Star Themistocles (11,231), Highland Brigade (14,130). The only Polish ship in port during the war was the Narvik (7031 tons) which arrived in December last. First' Allied Submarine First Allied submarine to enter the port during the war was the U.S.S. Pompom (1525 tons), which arrived on June 20, 1943. She is a sister boat of the Cod, Cabrilla and Bluefish, which were recent visitors to Auckland while returning to home waters after service in the Pacific. The United States- training submarine S-38 was the next arrival on April 9, 1944, and after being out of the harbour she finally sailed eight days later. Next underwater craft into port was the H.M. Submarine Vox (740 tons) on March 23 last. The return of the cruiser Achilles on February 23, 1940, after the battle of the River Plate, was the most momentous event in the city up to that stage of the war, and there were few people who did not know weeks in advance that the ship was on the way home for repairs. Earlier in the month the armed merchantman Hector (11,198 tons) had come into port and her high lines soon became familiar to those about the waterfront. The French sloop, Dumont D'Urville (2002 tons), was in Auckland on April 4. New Zealand Sweepers Men-o'-war which came into port in 1941 and the early part of 1942 included H.M.A.S. Adelaide, the French destroyer Triomphant, H.M.A.S. Bungaree, an Australian destroyer, the armed merchantman Ascania (14,013 tons), the cruiser Kanimbla, the minesweepers Moa and Kiwi, each of 579 tons, and the French sweeper Chevreuil. The New Zealand minesweepers Hinau, Rimu and Manukau, were launched toward the end of 1942. Only British battleship in Auckland was H.M.S. Howe, of the King George V. class, flagship of the British Pacific Fleet, which was in port early this year. H.M.N.Z.S. Gambia, which replaced the Leander after she had been damaged in action, made her initial trip to Auckland waters in November of last vear. Other British naval ships in the harbour included destroyers, sloops and sweepers.