Attack on the ERIE
The ERIE’S pre-World II duties
focused primarily on “gun-boat diplomacy,” i.e., “showing the flag” in
Central and South American ports. With
the onset of the war, her duties quickly changed to protection of the Panama
Canal, war patrols, and the escorting of merchant vessels, first on the Pacific
side of the Panama Canal, and then, beginning in late summer 1942, in Caribbean
waters which had become a “killing ground” for German submarines.
While the ERIE ‘s top speed (20 knots) made her incapable of steaming with the fleet, she proved well-suited for protecting slow-moving convoys. During 1942, she escorted at least eleven convoys, consisting primarily of merchant vessels carrying fuel, chemicals, and foodstuffs to America or on to Great Britain.
On November 10, 1942, the ERIE, acting as escort commander, led convoy TAG-20 (the 20th convoy to ply the route from Trinidad to Aruba to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba) out of the harbor of Port-au-Spain. This convoy originally consisted of thirteen merchant vessels (which would be joined two days later by four tankers from Aruba and five tankers from Curacao) and five other escort vessels: the U.S.S. BIDDLE, the U.S.S. SPRY, and PCs (patrol craft) 545, 573, and 624. Two Dutch naval vessels (the VAN KINSBERGEN the QUEEN WILHELMINA) joined TAG-20 off the coast of Curacao for the journey to Guantanamo Bay. Day and night air coverage was provided by radar-equipped airplanes.
The rendezvous with the two subsidiary convoys occurred as planned in the afternoon of November 12. Despite the extensive sound search capabilities of the escorts, the U-163, operating solo and lying underneath the convoy as it was joined by the subsidiaries, was able to fire upon several merchant vessels (all misses) at 3:30 PM local time, and two hours later at the ERIE.
The U-163 initially launched a “fan shot” of three torpedoes at the ERIE. One of the three hit her starboard quarter (right, rear quarter section of the ship) opening up a 45-foot hole below the waterline. (A fourth torpedo was fired at the ERIE as she was foundering, but it was a miss.) The torpedo explosion and ensuing munition explosions and fires resulted in the deaths of six officers and a mess attendant; three officers and fourteen enlisted men were injured and hospitalized, and thirty-five men suffered injuries which required only initial medical attention.
I continue to research this and other portions of the ERIE’s history. In the interim, all of the primary documents which I have been able to access (to date) pertaining to the attack on the ERIE are available by clicking on the linked descriptions which follow.
Report to Secretary of the Navy, dated 9 December 1942, regarding the torpedoing and beaching of the ERIE. (Note: The lengthy statement of Lt. Commander D. L Roscoe within this report is particularly helpful in understanding activity aboard ship during the attack and the subsequent beaching.)
Diagram 1(enclosure to 9 December 1942 memo): Escort and Convoy Formation.
Diagram 2(enclosure to 9 December 1942 memo): The Torpedo Hit.
Report of other escort vessels regarding torpedoing of ERIE (Memo dated 17 November 1942 from Commandant, US Naval Operating Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Commander, Caribbean Sea Frontier, and eventually to Secretary of the Navy.)
TAG-20 Escort Stations Chart (Enclosure to 17 November 1942 memo).
Track Chart of ERIE Attack (Enclosure to 17 November 1942 memo).
Log 66: Memo to Secretary of the Navy concerning the loss of enlisted man, Gavino Enriquez, dated 14 November 1942.
Log 69: Memo to Commander, Caribbean Sea Frontier, concerning landing of part of crew and loss of ERIE records, dated 14 November 1942.
Log 242: Memo to Secretary of Navy regarding injuries on board the ERIE, dated 13 November 1942.
Officers Killed in Action (Memo to Secretary of Navy, dated 23 November 1942).
Transcription of ERIE’S deck log during her escort duty with TAG-20, November 10-12, 1942.
Official U.S. Navy War Communiqué #191, dated 13 November 1942, announcing (among other events) the attack on the ERIE.
Copy of letter from Radioman 3rd Class Donald V. Leetch to parents, dated 14 November 1942.
Copy of telegram from Radioman 3rd Class Donald V. Leetch to mother, dated 16 November 1942.
Narrative of ERIE crew member, Julius H. Nissen, dated 7 July 1943, regarding the torpedoing and loss of the ERIE. (Note: This interview took place almost nine months after the attack and contains occasional misstatements, some of which are noted editorially.)
ERIE naval crew listing for 10 November 1942 reconstructed by US Navy Bureau of Personnel on 17 November 1942. (Note: I continue to search for an official listing of the Marine detachment on board the ERIE when she was attacked.)
Photographs of the beached ERIE taken by a Dutch photographer the evening of 12 November 1942:
Full starboard view at low tide, beached off Piscadera Bay. Note the stack blown over amidships and the Number 4 six-inch gun sagging into the ruptured second deck at the torpedo impact area.
Three-quarter view toward starboard bow of burning ship.
Head on view of the smoking bow of the ERIE. Note tail of the OS2U “Kingfisher” scout plane projecting out of water on port side.
Another head on view of the smoking bow.
Distant starboard view of the burning ship taken from Piscadera Bay coastal road (looking to west).
Another view toward starboard bow.
Commendation issued to Baker 2nd Class Joseph Osenkowski (All the enlisted men on board the ERIE when she was attacked received the same commendation).
Memo to the Commanding Officer of the HMNS VAN KINSBERGEN, dated 17 November 1942, highly commending the actions of the Dutch vessel when the ERIE was attacked.