大象传媒

It was an uneventful passage in the convoy across the North Atlantic for the 8032grt tanker, passing through the Cape Cod Canal and finally reaching Key West where the ships dispersed. Before this, the convoy had sailed in line ahead down the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn on a Sunday morning and it seemed that the whole population were lining the riverbank and cheering the ship through. The crew loved this new ship, it had only been built 11 months before and it had air conditioning, something new to the men and, all going well, they all agreed to stay with the ship. After leaving Key West they had orders to sail in daylight and hide up in some convenient anchorage for the night. It was in this way that the ship reached Baytown, Texas, where it was loaded with about 11,200 tons of clean oil, the same sailing rules applied on the return trip to Key west. The plan was working well and the ship was intending to anchor in either St. Andrew or St. Joseph Bay on the evening of June 28th. But her heavy load prevented her from entering either harbour. The tanker's weight also forced her to venture beyond the 60-foot water depth, recommended for safety. The Captain, Hugh Bentley decided to carry on with the voyage.
The 70-year-old captain ordered full speed through the smooth waters. After clearing the shallows of Cape San Blas, the darkened ship sailed south; her 674nhp triple expansion steam engine gave it 11 knots. But nobody could have imagined that German Captain Gunter Muller-Stockheim, stalked her in his deadly U67 submarine. The hugh 463.5ft ship, that was built by Furness SB of Haverton Hill, was a sitting duck.
It was a beautiful clear summers night with a full moon. The date was the 29th June, 1942. At 1am the watch shift changed. The only men who were awake on the Empire Mica were those who were either going on shift, or those coming off. Captain Bentley stood peering over his charts when Ronald Mowatt spotted a periscope in the brilliant moonlight, about a half mile off the port beam. But the 21-year-old sailor had no time to report his sighting.
My grandfather Joseph Steele was just taking up his watch in the engine room. Harry Hale from Falmouth, was just finishing his watch. He had been in the wheel-house and was relieved by Dougie Davidson. Harry was walking along the catwalk and looking forward to his break, when half a minute later there was a terrific explosion and Harry, was killed.
A torpedo from the German submarine, the U67 tore into the Micas hull igniting the oil and immediately, violent explosions could be heard along the coast, some 29 miles away. This explosion knocked out the communication system so that no general alarm could be sounded. Then, the ship burst into flames. The whole of the after part of the ship was ablaze and the fire was beginning to creep towards the port side of the midship housing. Bentley, Mowatt and a few others made for the starboard side of the bridge, but before they had crossed another torpedo struck.
Reports of an explosion at sea were telephoned to Lt. Wefing by coast Guard lookouts at the two capes' lighthouse stations.
My grandfather, Joseph Steele who was the ships third engineer rushed into action. Battling his way through the fire he managed to cut the ships power, stopping it dead in the water. It was this action that allowed the lifeboats to be launched and earn him the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct. Unfortunately, the flames that devoured the engine room, also took his life.
Under the direction of the second mate, Mr P Sydney, Dougie Davidson and a few others were able to alert some of the engineers, who escaped from their cabins. For a few minutes chaos reigned and then they attempted to release the starboard bridge lifeboat. But the straps holding the boat to the boom were jammed and Mr McGilraith tried to cut them free, only to have the boat lurch and throw the first mate into the sea, where he drowned.
The boat was lowered but now, the forward falls jammed, so using all his strength, Dougie Davidson managed to pull the hook which held the falls, clean out of the thwart, allowing the boat to be lowered on an even keel. They picked up survivors from the bridge boat deck and then pulled the boat forwards by the painter. They took on board three radio officers and two deckhands who were injured.
Twenty perished when the davit ropes that held another lifeboat burned as the men were attempting to lower it.
Dougie Davidson's life boat was rowed towards the stern of the ship, but although they could see their shipmates struggling, the fire was so intense that they were unable to rescue them. Although one man, "Lofy" Norton had climbed to the highest point on the stern and from there, had dived over the flames to be taken aboard the boat.
Several of the survivors told horror stories of seeing crew mates on fire on deck before they plunged into the sea. Some remembered one crew member stuck in a porthole. He had wedged his head and shoulders through the opening trying to escape the explosions, then could not slide out. He begged fellow seamen to shoot him before he burned in the fire.
It was still dark when the "Countess", a 32-foot pleasure boat owned by R.J. (Dick) Heyser reached the burning tanker. Seeking survivors, the "Countess" circled the ship at a distance. The intense heat and recurring explosions made it impossible to get any closer. In the first light of day the "Countess" came across the life-boat, with just fourteen men inside.
The "Countess" took the life-boat in tow and started to head back to the shore. Several miles off West Pass, "Seadream" reached the "Countess" and was ordered by Lt. Wefing to continue to the scene of the stricken tanker in the hopes of finding more survivors. But, sadly, there were no more.

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