World War II South Coast Shipping Losses, 1942 to 1944

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The public knew little about the impact that enemy submarines had on merchant vessels during WWII. Wartime secrecy kept the information from them. But Japanese submarines and even a German U-boat had significant successes whilst operating along the east coast of Australia.

Today we know that 19 merchant ships were sunk by torpedoes, gunfire or mines off the NSW coast between 1941 and 1944. Seven of these were on the NSW South Coast. A further ten vessels were damaged along the NSW East Coast but managed to make it to port for repairs.

Around 214 merchant seamen and military personnel were killed in these attacks.

The Imperial Japanese Navy began its Australian submarine offensive on the 31st May 1942. The initial targets were Allied warships.

The first strike was a bold, coordinated attack on the Sydney harbour naval base on the night of the 31st May 1942 by five I-class Japanese submarines (I-21, I-22, I-24, I-27 and I-29), three carrying midget submarines, the Ha-14, Ha-21 and the M24. The Sydney ferry ‘Kuttabul’, converted to a depot ship, was destroyed by a torpedo fired from M24 whilst it was moored at the Garden Island naval base. 21 sailors were killed in the explosion and a further ten injured. All three midget submarines involved in the attack were sunk.

After the failure of the midget submarine attack on Sydney (none of the major warships that were the intended targets were sunk), three of the large ocean-going mother submarines, the I-21, I-24 and I-27, sought revenge:

The Australian freighter ‘Age’ was attacked by the I-24 on 3rd June 1942, 25 miles south-east of Norah Head, but escaped unharmed.

The next vessel was not so lucky. On 3rd June 1942, the 4,700 ton BHP steel screw steamer ‘Iron Chieftain’, sailing from Newcastle to Whyalla with a full load of coal and ship building construction material for ships being built in Whyalla, was torpedoed by the I-21 and sunk off Manly, Sydney. 13 of its crew died. The remaining 25 crew, including three who were seriously injured, took to a lifeboat and arrived at a beach near The Entrance 38 hours later.

Meanwhile, near Gabo Island on 4th June 1942, the I-27 chased the Australian freighter ‘Barwon’ with torpedoes and fire from its deck gun, temporarily damaging the vessel. There were no casualties.

Also on 4th June 1942, the I-27 lined up the BHP freighter ‘Iron Crown’ 44 miles south-south-east of Gabo Island. There were 43 crew on board and the ship was transporting a load of manganese from Whyalla to Port Kembla. The vessel was torpedoed, a large explosion resulted, and the ship sank within 60 seconds. 38 lives were lost. The five survivors hastily grabbed lifejackets and jumped clear of the ship, then clung to floating wreckage until they were rescued. The attack was witnessed by a Hudson bomber which attempted to bomb the crash-diving submarine, without success.

Then on 6th June 1942, the I-24 chased the Australian freighter ‘Echunga’ south-east of Wollongong, without success. The submarine was kept at bay by the ship’s gun, until the corvette HMAS ‘Kalgoorlie’ arrived on the scene. The next night the I-24 shelled the eastern suburbs of Sydney and the I-21 shelled Newcastle. Damage from both attacks was negligible.

The I-24 had slightly more luck on the 9th June 1942 when it chased the British freighter ‘Orestes’ for three hours south-east of Jervis Bay. The submarine fired two torpedoes that detonated prematurely and then attacked the 7,748 ton ship with gun fire. The ‘Orestes’ was slightly damaged.

The I-21 had another victory in the early hours of 13th June when it torpedoed and sank the Panamanian cargo ship ‘Guatemala’ 45 miles north-east of Sydney Heads. The torpedo was the last that the I-21 had on board. The other eight merchant ships in the same convoy escaped with their escorts. No lives were lost. The previous day the I-21 had also engaged the ‘Guatemala’ when it fired 10 rounds from its deck gun. On that occasion the ship was not damaged.

Towards the end of July 1942 a new fleet of attack submarines arrived off the NSW coast. These included the I-11, I-24 (again) and the I-175:

‘GORGE S.LIVANOS’, 1942: The ‘George S Livanos’ was a 134-metre, 4,835-ton steel screw steamer that had been built in the United Kingdom in 1938. Carrying a cargo of army vehicles, built locally by Ford and General Motors, from Melbourne to Sydney, she was torpedoed by the I-11 and sank some 15 to 20 miles off Jervis Bay on 20th July 1942. The crew made it safely to shore in the ship’s lifeboats.

‘COAST FARMER’, 1942: Three hours later, still on 21st July 1942, and in the same area, the I-11 torpedoed and sank (the vessel sank within 20 minutes) the 99-metre, 3,290-ton United States steamship ‘Coast Farmer’ when it was 25 miles off Jervis Bay. One crew member was killed in the attack, with the remaining 39 being rescued by a RAAF crash boat. After the attack, the I-11 surfaced to examine the sinking ship by searchlight and submerged a short time later.

‘WILLIAM DAWES’, 1942: Then 27 hours later, in the early morning darkness of 22nd July 1942, the I-11 attacked the 5,576 ton American Liberty Ship*, the ‘William Dawes’, off Tathra. It was carrying a large cargo of ammunition, army stores, and vehicles. The ‘William Dawes’ had departed Adelaide on 19th July and its ultimate destination may have been New Caledonia after calling into Sydney and Brisbane. The attack occurred at 5.30 a.m about 12-miles out to sea. One torpedo struck the stern, which later separated, and a second torpedo slammed into the hull amidships and started fires that eventually raged throughout the entire hull. The I-11 surfaced nearby, to inspect the damage, and then slowly submerged. The ‘William Dawes’ finally sank at about 4.30 p.m., stern first. Five lives were lost. An RAAF Beaufort bomber from Nowra spotted the I-11 on the surface 3 miles south of the burning ship and dropped a pattern of bombs as it submerged.

The next day, 23rd July 1942, the steamer ‘Allara’ was severely damaged when torpedoed by the I-175 off Newcastle. She was travelling from Cairns to Sydney. Four of her crew were killed and a further six were injured. She was towed to Newcastle and then to Sydney, where she was repaired at Mort’s Dock.

Then, on 24th July 1942, the I-175 attacked the Australian steamship ‘Murada’ off Crowdy Head, but its torpedo missed.

The next attack occurred when the I-11 chased the Australian freighter ‘Collana’ on 27th July 1942. The 2,197-ton vessel was shelled unsuccessfully whilst 24 miles north of Green Cape.

‘DUREENBEE’, 1942: At about 1:30 am on 3rd August 1942, the 223-ton fishing vessel ‘Dureenbee’, whilst on one of her fishing voyages, accidentally approached the I-175. At the time the submarine was on the surface recharging its batteries. The trawler's crew of 11 were stowing recently-caught fish and deploying nets. They were unaware the I-175 was nearby. The I-175 opened fire on the ‘Duneenbee’ with their deck gun, then with their machine gun, finally destroying the vessel’s wheelhouse and crippling the vessel. The I-175 circled the trawler for 45 minutes, continuing to fire on the fishing vessel. The submarine then submerged, but reappeared six minutes later travelling out to sea. The captain of the ‘Dureenbee’ then fired several distress flares to summon assistance. By this time one member of the trawler's crew was dead, and another two seriously wounded. The Moruya Volunteer Defence Corps unit asked the owners of another trawler, the ‘Mirrabooka’, to put to sea as a rescue vessel. One of the badly wounded sailors died on board ‘Mirrabooka’ and a third died in hospital several days later. The disabled ‘Dureenbee’ ultimately came ashore and was wrecked near Batemans Bay.

Japanese submarines returned to the NSW coast in January 1943. The I-21, I-26, I-174, I-177, I-178 and I-180 succeeded in sinking nine vessels and damaged six others:

The I-21 deployed three torpedoes and sank the New Zealand steamship ‘Kalingo’, 110 miles to the east of Sydney on 17th January 1943. 32 crew and two passengers were on board the ship which had just left Sydney bound for New Plymouth, New Zealand. It was a bright moonlight night, so the ‘Kalingo’ would have been a clearly visible target. Two of her crew members were killed. After the attack, the submarine surfaced to confirm damage. An hour later the ‘Kalingo’ sank. The survivors were then faced with a 38-hour, 175-mile ordeal before eventually arriving safely back in Sydney.

The next day, the I-21 damaged the 10,222-ton tanker ‘Mobilube’ when it was 60 miles off Sydney. On this occasion three of its crew were killed and five injured. The ‘Mobilube’ was towed by HMAS ‘Mildura’ to Sydney where it was declared to be a total loss.

Four days later, on 22nd January 1943, the I-21 damaged the 7,170-ton United States Liberty ship ‘Peter H Burnett’ in a torpedo attack 420 miles east of Newcastle. One crew member was killed. The crew abandoned ship, but later returned, and the ship was then towed to Sydney by the HMAS ‘Mildura’ where its cargo of wool and mail were salvaged. It was then repaired at Cockatoo Dockyard.

Then, on 30th January 1943, the I-21 attempted to attack the 1,036-ton British freighter ‘Giang Ann’ off the NSW coast (location unspecified). However, the torpedo exploded prematurely and the vessel escaped damage.

‘IRON KNIGHT’, 1943: The I-21 was more successful on 8th February 1943 when it sank the 4,812-ton BHP ore carrier ‘Iron Knight’ off Bermagui. Early in February 1943 the ‘Iron Knight’ left Whyalla, South Australia and joined a convoy of ships that left Melbourne bound for Newcastle. There were ten merchant ships in the convoy and they were escorted by the corvettes HMAS ‘Mildura’ and ‘Townsville’. On 8th February the convoy was about 11 nautical miles (20 km) off Montague Island. At 2.30 a.m. the I-21 fired a torpedo at ‘Townsville’ which passed under the corvette's bow and then hit the ‘Iron Knight’. She sank within two minutes, killing 36 members of her crew. (Ore carriers had a reputation of being "death ships" because the density of their cargo caused them to sink rapidly – usually too quickly for their crew to launch lifeboats.) 14 other crew members from the ‘Iron Knight’ survived by clinging to wreckage for 10 hours. In accordance with naval practice at the time, the remaining ships in the convoy kept sailing and did not stop to rescue survivors. 10 hours later the Free French destroyer ‘Le Triomphant’ arrived and rescued them. As they needed clean, dry clothes, the destroyer crew issued French naval uniforms to all of them. (In accordance with standard practice at the time, BHP then stopped the survivors' pay from the moment ‘Iron Knight’ was sunk. The company gave the survivors 30 days unpaid leave after the sinking, but deducted their time adrift from that 30 days!)

The I-21 then moved up the coast and, on 10th February 1943, struck the US Liberty Ship ‘Starr King’ with two of four torpedoes that it had fired on 10th February 1943. The 'Starr King’ was then 154 miles off Sydney, its cargo including army supplies. The stricken vessel was taken in tow by HMAS ‘Warramunga’ but sank the next day.

In April 1943, four other Japanese submarines, the I-177, I-178, I-180 and I-26, were deployed to Australian waters:

‘RECINA’, 1943: The 122-metre, 4,732-ton steel screw Yugolsav steamer ‘Recina’ was torpedoed by the I-26 and sank 32 kilometres north-east of Cape Howe on the 11th April 1943. The vessel sank in 1½ minutes and 32 of its crew were killed. The vessel had been on a voyage from Whyalla to Newcastle with a cargo of iron ore. Its nine survivors were picked up an hour and a quarter later by the survey vessel HMAS ‘Moresby’ that was escorting the convoy.

Then on 26th April 1943 the I-177 sank the British steamship ‘Limerick’ 20 miles south-east of Cape Byron, on the NSW North Coast. Two of its crew of 72 were killed.

The I-78 is credited with having sunk the Liberty Ship ‘Lydia M Child’ 145 kilometres east of Newcastle on 27th April 1943. The vessel sank within eight minutes. The ‘Lydia M. Child’ was actually on her maiden voyage, leaving San Francisco on April 3rd 1943 bound for Suez, Egypt with a stop in Sydney, Australia. Her cargo was a Lend-Lease load for the British of canned food, small tanks, steel plates, two locomotives and various other materials. The ship was unescorted on the long voyage. When it was hit, the 62 crew members took to five lifeboats and at least one raft. At around midnight on the 27th April, two Australian warships, the HMAS ‘Warrnambool’ and HMAS ‘Deloraine’ left Sydney to search for the survivors. Hours went by, but all were finally recovered by the two ships, 'Warrnambool' picking up forty-three and 'Deloraine' picking up 19, the last seven at 4 p.m. on the 28th April. They were all landed at Sydney that night.

Then on 29th April 1943, the I-180 sank the 2,240-ton steamer ‘Wollongbar’ off Crescent Head on the North Coast. 32 lives were lost. Five survivors were rescued from a lifeboat.

The I-180 then backed up by sinking the 84-metre, 2,137-ton Norwegian freighter ‘Fingal’ off Nambucca Heads on 5th May 1943. Twelve of its 31 crew were killed.

The 5,832-ton British steamer ‘Ormiston’, was attacked by torpedoes off Coffs Harbour on 12th May 1943, probably by the I-180. The ‘Ormiston’ escaped undamaged.

That same day the Australian steamer ‘Caradale’ was damaged in a torpedo attack by the I-180 off Evans Head. However, the torpedo failed to explode on impact.

On 29th May 1943 the United States Liberty Ship ‘Sheldon Jackson’ was torpedoed, probably by the I-174, off the NSW north coast but escaped without damage. The I-174 then sailed north to Queensland waters where it unsuccessfully chased the ‘Point San Pedro’ (1 June 1943) and the ‘Edward Chambers’ (4 June 1943).

The United States Liberty Ship ‘John Bartram’, heading to Sydney from San Francisco, was attacked by the I-174, one hundred miles east of Sydney on 7th June 1943 but, after taking evasive action, escaped damage. The captain of the I-174 left the scene in some haste, convinced one of his torpedoes had hit its target.

Then the 5,000-ton United States Landing Ship Tank 'LST 469' was badly damaged in a torpedo attack by I-174 off Smokey Cape on 16th June 1943. Twenty-six of her crew were killed and ten were injured.

Torpedos from the I-174 struck the 125-metre, 5,551-ton United States motor vessel, the 'Portmar', also on 16th June 1943. The ship sank withing four minutes and two of the crew of 72 were killed. This was the last recorded loss of a vessel to Japanese submarines off the Australian East Coast during World War II.

‘ROBERT J WALKER’, 1944: The ‘Robert J Walker’, a 129-metre, 7,180-ton United States Liberty Ship, was torpedoed when on a voyage from Fremantle to Sydney and when approximately 40 miles off Batemans Bay in the early morning of 25th December 1944. Two torpedoes, fired 3½ hours apart, struck the vessel, with another being stopped by anti-aircraft fire from the ship. This was an isolated incident in World War II history, with the ‘Robert J. Walker’ being the only vessel sunk in NSW waters by a German U-boat, the U-862. Two of the crew of the ‘Robert J. Walker’ were killed. The remaining 67 survivors were located by HMAS ‘Quickmatch’ at 5.45 a.m. on 26th December. (The U-862 was later gifted to the Japanese government and became I-502 which was scuttled off Singapore in August 1945.)

 Liberty Ship: Liberty Ships were mass-produced bulk cargo freighters that were constructed in purpose-built American yards during WWII. 2,751 Liberty ships were built – the fastest in under five days. The were frequently named after important US citizens, with the ‘William Dawes’, for example, being a revolutionary patriot in the American War of Independence who famously rode with Paul Revere in 1775.