The banana boat who went to war

SS Contessa

Autumn of 1942 was grim, somber. The Axis was ascendant – Japan had conquered the Philippines and Singapore and most of the western Pacific including a wide swath of China and all of Korea. The map of Nazi Germany’s conquests had ballooned to include central Europe (except Switzerland), Scandinavia (except Sweden), Italy, and North Africa. There was no good news on the home front. Rationing was in effect, blackouts, German submarines sinking our coastal freighters. These were scary times – we were in an uncertain, but committed, struggle for survival.

Then a banana boat went to war.

The SS Contessa, owned by the Standard Fruit Company (later the Dole Food Company), was a tramp steamer built in 1930 in Glasgow, Scotland. She had a shallow draft and was designed to haul tropical fruits in iced storage holds from Honduras and Nicaragua to New Orleans.  With four steam engines, she managed 15 knots on a good day. The economics of tramp steamers were such that a few first-class passengers were carried on these trips, enjoying a tropical cruise, and general cargo hauled on the otherwise empty returns to the Caribbean. Altogether, Standard Fruit eked out a modest profit.

In late summer of 1942, the American President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill proposed a major Allied campaign against the Nazi juggernaut. Operation Torch was intended to strike at the German Nazi and Vichy French occupation of North Africa, thereby opening a second front, drawing German troops away from the Russian front, and setting the stage for an invasion of southern Europe in 1943. Such colorful characters as Dwight David Eisenhower and General George S. Patton were called on to plan and lead the campaign. Another, perhaps intended, byproduct of the operation was to bring some sorely needed good news to war-weary American and British and Canadian civilians.

The major challenge was the sealift: 107,000 troops and all of their associated gear and tanks and airplanes and fuel and chow had to be landed on the coast of North Africa. A huge convoy of over 340 ships must be assembled, and quickly, if the landing date of November 8th were to be met.

The Contessa was pressed into naval service and summoned to Newport News. She was loaded with nearly 1,500 tons of explosive cargo – because of her relatively shallow draft, she was a critical element in the strategy to deliver fuel and bombs to an Allied air force to be based at Port Lyautey in French Morocco, 12 miles up the shallow Sebou River. This air force would provide vital air cover to the Allied landings, but would be toothless without Contessa’s cargo of provisions and weaponry.

The convoys, three in number and totaling 340 ships, were separated to avoid German submarines, destined to rejoin before passing through the straits of Gibraltar. One of the convoys was guarded by the battleship USS Massachusetts, “Big Mamie” (now ensconced in Fall River). The experience of crossing the storm-tossed Atlantic in autumn is best characterized by the chronicle of the destroyer USS Barnegat. From the US Naval History and Heritage Command, this description:

“On 24 October, [Barnegat] received orders to transport VP 73 to Londonderry, Northern Ireland. During the passage, Barnegat encountered heavy seas and, at 1541 on the 26th, took a ‘rapid, heavy roll to starboard’ while efforts were underway topside to secure depth bombs that had come adrift on deck. A torrent of water cascaded across the fantail and swept Ens. George V. Grabosky and two sailors over the side. Barnegat, herself, had to try to recover her drifting men, since the stiff gale precluded the lowering of a boat. Men on board worked lifelines and tended knotted lines, grapnels, and lifebouys, as she struggled against the elements to maintain proper position for a rescue. The two enlisted men were finally recovered, but the officer was not found.”

Life at sea was indeed arduous, and without relief. Very shortly after arriving in port, Barnegat was ordered back to sea with an Operation Torch convoy, with no chance of respite for her crew. But they persevered.

Meanwhile, the Contessa had reported to Newport News, Virginia, for refitting and loading of ordnance and aviation fuel. Unfortunately, upon her arrival, most of her crew scattered and could not be located. A US Navy military history of the episode recounts that the jails of Norfolk were scoured and men pressed into service. With this motley crew, and a US Navy liason officer, Lt. A. V. Leslie, her captain “volunteered to sail her unescorted across the submarine-infested Atlantic.” The crew proved worthy and the Contessa arrived at Safi, Morocco on 10 November. 

The Contessa had still to complete her mission, delivering vital supplies to the allied airbase, 12 miles up the shallow Sebou River. The tale is best told by the official US Navy military history.

“The cruise of this vessel sounds like a story by Conrad. After a hectic voyage during which she lost her way, the Contessa turned up at Safi a few hours prior to that landing. She was thereupon headed up to Mehdia, escorted by the Cowie. Up the winding channel, over sand bars, past obstructions, the Contessa scraped her way in spite of dented plates and leaking steams. Two miles south of Port Lyautey she ran hard aground and, before she could be floated, the ebb tide swung her around until she was pointing downstream. She had accomplished her mission, however. Lighters were rushed out from the airport, which had just been occupied, and her invaluable cargo was safely disembarked.”

With this kind of dedication, Operation Torch was a success. The Contessa delivered her store of weapons and fuel to the airfield at Port Lyautey with great skill and courage, though not without high adventure. The landings on the North African coast were difficult, but the Allies prevailed. General George Patton began to build his reputation as a tough, successful warrior. And on the home front, a little bit of cheer was finally felt in this dismal war.

So during this November, when we celebrate Veterans Day, let’s please remember, and honor, the sacrifices of all our active duty and veteran military members and their families. Your life would not be as comfortable, as safe, your rights inviolate, without them.

And don’t forget a hat tip to that brave little banana boat, the SS Contessa, who went to war and then returned to the fruit trade, as figuratively, all of us veterans did.