SS Java Arrow: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|American oil tanker (1921–1959)}}

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{{Infobox ship|ship_image=Javaarrow.jpg|ship_caption=''Java Arrow'' in 1921|name=Java Arrow (1921–1943)<br>Kerry Patch (1943–1944; 1946–1948)<br>Celtic (1944–1946)<br>Radketch (1948–1949)<br>Gale (1949–1955)<br> Sugar (1955–1959)|builders=Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company, Quincy|in_service_range=1921–1959|in_commission_range=1943–1946|ship_builder=Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company, Quincy|ship_registry=New York, New York|ship_owner=Socony (1921–1942)<br>War Shipping Administration (1942–1943; 1946–1948)<br>US Navy (1943–1946)<br>Radocean Tanker Corporation (1948–1949)<br>Radmar Trading Corporation (1949–1959)<br> Cantieri Navali del Golfo (1959)|ship_country=United States|ship_operator=Socony (1921–1943)<br>US Navy (1943–1946)<br>Radocean Tanker Corporation (1948–1949)<br>Soc. Armadora Valenciana SA (1949–1955)<br>Marine Charters Inc. (1955–1959)<br>Cantieri Navali del Golfo (1959)|ship_yard_number=1388|ship_launched=April 30, 1921|ship_completed=May 24, 1921|ship_commissioned=January 17, 1944|ship_decommissioned=February 6, 1946|ship_in_service=1921–1959|ship_renamed=1943 (to ''Kerry Patch'')<br>1944 (to ''Celtic'')<br>1946 (to ''Kerry Patch'')<br>1948 (to ''Radketch'')<br>1949 (to ''Gale'')<br>1955 (to ''Sugar'')|ship_identification=[[Official number#U.S. official number|US official number]]: 221272<br>Naval identification: IX-137 (1944–1946)|ship_homeport=[[New York City|New York]], New York|ship_fate=Broken up in La Spezia, March 1959|ship_class=[[Arrow-class oil tanker]]|ship_tonnage=8,327 GRT<br>13,325 DWT|ship_displacement=20,000 tons|ship_length=485 feet (148 m)|ship_beam=62.5 feet (19.1 m)|ship_depth=31.5 feet (9.6 m)|ship_propulsion=1 screw|ship_speed=10.6 knots (12.2 mph; 19.6 km/h)|ship_complement=114 men|ship_armament=1x 4"/50-caliber gun, 1x 3"/50-caliber gun, 8x Oerlikon 20mm guns (1944–1946)|display_title=SS ''Java Arrow''}}'''SS |ship_name=''Java Arrow''''' was an American [[Steamship|steam-powered]] [[Tanker (ship1921–1943)|oil<br>''Kerry tanker]]. She was built in 1921 as a member of the [[Arrow-class oil tanker|Arrow-class]] and served with the [[History of ExxonMobil#Standard Oil of New YorkPatch'' (1911–1998)|Standard1943–1944; Oil Company of New York]] (Socony1946–1948) until World War II, and then was operated by six different entities under five other names until 1959: '''<br>''Celtic''''', '''''Kerry Patch''''', '''(1944–1946)<br>''Radketch''''', '''(1946–1949)<br>''Gale''''', and '''(1949–1955)<br>''Sugar'''''. (1955–1959)}}

'''SS ''Java Arrow''''' was an American [[Steamship|steam-powered]] [[Tanker (ship)|oil tanker]]. She was built in 1921 as a member of the [[Arrow-class oil tanker|Arrow-class]] and was operated by the [[History of ExxonMobil#Standard Oil of New York (1911–1998)|Standard Oil Company of New York]] (Socony) until [[World War II]]. The tanker was then operated by six different entities under five different names until 1959: '''''Celtic''''', '''''Kerry Patch''''', '''''Radketch''''', '''''Gale''''', and '''''Sugar'''''.

== Construction ==

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=== Specifications ===

''Java Arrow'' was {{Convert|485|ft|m}} long, {{Convert|62.5|ft|m}} wide, and had a depth of {{Convert|31.5|ft|m}}. She was 8,327 [[Gross register tonnage|gross register tons]],<ref name=":2" /> 13,325 [[Deadweight tonnage|deadweight tons]], and had a [[Displacement (ship)|displacement]] of 20,000 tons. Her capacity was 99,742 [[Barrel (unit)|barrels]]. She had a quadruple expansion steam engine capable of producing 3,200 [[horsepower]]. She had a maximum speed of {{Convert|10.6|kn|mph kph}}.<ref name=":5" />

== Service history ==

=== Interwar ===

''Java Arrow''<nowiki/>'s very first voyage was to [[British Raj|India]] via the [[Suez Canal]], with a [[Backhaul (trucking)|backhaul]] stop in [[Balikpapan]], a city in the [[Dutch East Indies]], while on her way to Europe. ''Java Arrow'' constantly sailed [[East Asia]] until 1931, when she was transferred to the [[East Coast of the United States]].<ref name=":5" />

[[File:Java Arrow and Daishin Maru No 3 crew.jpg|left|thumb|Crewmen from ''Java Arrow'' and ''Dashin Maru No. 3'' in Japan, 1926]]

In February 1926, ''Java Arrow'' was sailing from [[Singapore in the Straits Settlements#Crown colony (1867–1942)|Singapore]] to the United States when it discovered the wrecked ''[[Daishin Maru No. 3]],'' a Japanese cargo ship. She had been caught in a storm in the [[Tsugaru Strait]], which had exhausted the ship's fuel supply. She had drifted south for around six weeks, the crew eating rats caught by the [[ship's cat]]—and later the cat—tocat itself—to stay alive. Two or three weeks in, two lifeboats with 14 or 15 people had been launched in hopes of finding land—though they did not return. After her 17 crew members were rescued by ''Java Arrow'' via [[Heaving line knot|heaving lines]], they were first taken to [[San Francisco]] and eventually back to [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]. The cargo ship was left as a [[Flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict#Derelict|derelict]] was, later located by the [[Government of Japan#History|Japanese government]] and taken to [[Yokohama]] for repairs.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 19, 1926 |title=Steamer's Crew. Some Rescued Starving, Others Believed Lost. |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref><ref>"Casualty reports" ''The Times'' (London). Wednesday, January 27, 1926. Issue '''44180''', col F, p. 5.</ref>

=== World War II ===

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During her first voyage as a [[Maritime transport|merchant mariner]], ''Java Arrow'' was torpedoed by the [[German submarine U-333|German submarine ''U-333'']]. Passing {{convert|8|mi|spell=in}} off [[Vero Beach, Florida]] and [[Ballast|sailing in ballast]] on May 5, 1942, two torpedoes were fired by ''U-333'' at 5:43 AM. The first struck just aft of the bridge and the second struck the stern, demolishing the [[engine room]],<ref name=":2" /> killing two officers, and causing the ship to stop. An SOS signal was sent out, listing ''Java Arrow''<nowiki/>'s position as 27°35'N, 80°08'W. Most of the tanker's 45 men—seven officers, 32 crewmen, and six armed guards—abandoned her in a lifeboat after 20 minutes. The remaining crew followed just ten minutes later in a second lifeboat. Believing ''Java Arrow'' to be doomed, Captain Hennechin ordered the lifeboats to row away from the tanker.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Gibson |first=Charles Diana |title=The Close-in War Off North Hutchinson Island |url=http://www.historyor.com/id87.html |access-date=June 9, 2025 |website=Ocean Resorts Co-Op History -- From Campground to Community}}</ref> They were picked up on May 6 by USS ''PC-483'' and taken to [[Miami]] and [[Fort Pierce, Florida|Fort Pierce]].<ref name=":2" />

The tanker was still afloat upon the arrival of the [[United States Coast Guard|US Coast Guard]], and ''Java Arrow'' was bordered by a USCG officer who determined that she could be repaired and put back into service. The tanker's starboard [[Anchor|anchor chain]] was cut by a local welder,<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> allowing the tugs ''Ontario'' and ''Bafshe'' to tow the tanker to [[Port Everglades]] while escorted by multiple US Coast Guard vessels. ''Java Arrow'' was later taken to [[Norfolk, Virginia]], for permanent repairs—her engine was replaced with one from the British motor tanker ''Kars''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Celtic (II) (IX-137) |url=https://www.hazegray.org/danfs/ix/ix137.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250501061244/https://www.hazegray.org/danfs/ix/ix137.htm |archive-date=2025-05-01 |access-date=2025-06-09 |website=www.hazegray.org}}</ref> The tanker was renamed ''Kerry Patch'' in 1943.<ref name=":5" />

She was acquired by the US Navy in [[Nouméa|Noumea]], [[New Caledonia]], on January 17, 1944,<ref name=":2" /> and was renamed ''Celtic.'' The tanker was listed as a [[Hull classification symbol#Miscellaneous ships and craft|miscellaneous unclassified ship]], given the designation IX-137.<ref name=":1" /> She was given one [[4-inch/50-caliber gun|4"/50-caliber gun]], one [[3-inch/50-caliber gun|3"/50-caliber gun]], and eight [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|Oerlikon 20mm guns]].<ref name=":5" /> Crewed by 114 men, she served as a station tanker in [[Efate]], [[Espiritu Santo]], Port Purvis, [[Gavutu]], [[Empress Augusta Bay]], and Noumea and until March 31, 1945. On that day, she joined a convoy bound for [[Leyte]], arriving on May 25. She served there until July 1, when she sailed for [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]], arriving on July 17. She sailed back for [[Mobile, Alabama]], on October 29—she arrived on December 11. She was [[Ship commissioning#Decommissioning|decommissioned]] on February 6, 1946.<ref name=":0" />

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=== Post-war ===

The tanker was returned to the WSA that same year for disposal, on December 24—[[Christmas Eve]]. She was named back to ''Kerry Patch'' before being bought by the Radocean Tanker Corporation in April 1948 and renamed ''Radketch''. In June 1949 she was bought by Soc. Armadora Valenciana SA, a subsidiary of Radmar Trading Corporation. She was registered in [[Panama]] and her name was changed to ''Gale''. Her name was changed yet again to ''Sugar'' in 1955 after ownership was given to Marine Charters Inc. She was finally sold in January 1959 to Cantieri Navali del Golfo, and broken up at [[La Spezia]] in March.<ref name=":2" />

A marker commemorating ''U-333''<nowiki/>'s attack on ''Java Arrow'' was dedicated on March 23, 2002, by the [[Indian River County, Florida|Indian River County]] Historical Society.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Java Arrow Rescue |url=https://www.museumoffloridahistory.com/explore/exhibits/permanent-exhibits/world-war-ii/historical-sites/eastcentral-listing/java-arrow-rescue/ |access-date=June 9, 2025 |website=Museum of Florida History}}</ref>

== References ==

<references />{{Arrow-class oil tankers}}

[[Category:Oil tankers]]