MV Kerlogue
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The MV ''Kerlogue'' was an Irish ship attacked in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
that has become the exemplar of
neutral Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...
Irish ships during the war. The ''Kerlogue'' was a very small ship that was attacked by both sides and
rescued "Rescued" is a song by American Rock music, rock band Foo Fighters. Released on April 19, 2023, it is the first single by the band since the death of longtime drummer, Taylor Hawkins, and the first from their eleventh studio album, ''But Here We Ar ...
people from both sides. She was almost sunk by a German
mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...
and was
strafed Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such ...
by the No. 307 Polish Night Fighter Squadron of the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
. She rescued the ''Wild Rose'' of Liverpool and the survivors of the German destroyer ''Z27'' and its escort, the survivors of which, in the latter case, were brought back to Ireland and
interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
until the end of hostilities.


Background


Coasters

Transport within Ireland was very difficult in the aftermath of the
Anglo-Irish War The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mi ...
(1919–1921) and the subsequent
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
(1921–1922). The road network had been neglected since
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Ireland had never had a comprehensive rail system due to the low population density of the country and those which had been built were reduced in capacity due to economic circumstances before the Second World War. It was therefore, often, faster and more economic to transport goods around the coast, rather than by road or rail. CoastersCoaster: as the name implies, these ships were suited to travelling close to shore, between ports on the same island. They were suited for shallow waters, unsuited for the oceans. The assumption was that if a storm threatened they could promptly reach the safety of a harbour. fulfilled this need. The MV ''Kerlogue'' was such a coaster.


World War II

At the outbreak of World War II Ireland found itself with an inadequate number of ships. The number of ships had been declining, from 127 in 1923 to 56 in September 1939. Most of Ireland's
international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...
was carried on British Flagged vessels; with the outbreak of the war, most of these were no longer available. The United States ordered its ships not to enter the ' war zone'. As Irish-bound cargos were brought as far as Portugal, ships such as the ''Kerlogue'' found themselves on voyages for which they were not intended. The usual route was to carry Irish agricultural exports to Britain. There they were refuelled and took on a British export to Spain or Portugal; often coal for the Lisbon electric power station. They travelled along the line of longitude at 12° West, while Allied convoys to Gibraltar were 20° West. Having discharged that export, they would collect the American cargo and return with it. Typical cargoes would have been: fertiliser, agricultural machinery, or wheat. If the American goods had not arrived, a "cargo of opportunity", such as wheat or fruit, was purchased.


Construction

The MV ''Kerlogue'' was built in
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...
, Netherlands in September 1939, just prior to the outbreak of the war. She was long and measured 335 gross register tons. Her
freeboard In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relativ ...
(height of deck above
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
) was just .Coasters were intended to travel near the coast; if a storm arose they would head for the nearest harbour; so, a low freeboard was acceptable She had a crew of eleven. Like other Irish ships, the word EIRE and the
Irish tricolour The national flag of Ireland ( ga, bratach na hÉireann), frequently referred to in Ireland as 'the tricolour' () and elsewhere as the Irish tricolour is a vertical tricolour of green (at the hoist), white and orange. The proportions of the ...
were painted large on her sides and deck.


''Wild Rose'' of Liverpool

On 2 April 1941 a British
convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
was attacked by German bombers, two miles south of Tuskar Rock.
Distress rockets A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala in some Latin-speaking countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illumination, ...
were seen by the ''Kerlogue'' which altered course to assist. A burning
oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cru ...
, without survivors, and a crippled collier, the ''Wild Rose'' of
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, were found. The collier was slowly sinking, had no power and her
lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...
had been destroyed by the bombing. The ''Kerlogue'' took the larger ''Wild Rose'' in tow and rescued the crew of thirteen. The ''Wild Rose'' was beached on
Rosslare Strand Rosslare Strand, or simply Rosslare ( or 'middle wood'), is a village and seaside resort in County Wexford, Ireland. The name Rosslare Strand is used to distinguish it from the nearby community of Rosslare Harbour, site of the Rosslare Europort ...
to prevent her sinking. The ''Kerlogue'' was awarded £4,000 for salvage. The ''Wild Rose'' was repaired in the Liffey dockyard. On 7 October 1941, while sailing from Swansea to
Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...
, the ''Kerlogue'' struck a mine in
Cardigan Bay Cardigan Bay ( cy, Bae Ceredigion) is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales. Geo ...
.


RAF attack

On 23 October 1943, south of Ireland, on passage from Port Talbot to Lisbon with a cargo of coal, the ''Kerlogue'' was circled by an
RAAF "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
Sunderland flying boat. Three hours later, she was attacked by two initially unidentified aircraft, later found to have been
Mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
fighters of No. 307 Polish Night Fighter Squadron. For twenty minutes they repeatedly dived on the ''Kerlogue'' firing their
cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
s. Another RAAF Sunderland came by at six in the evening. By
Aldis lamp Signal lamp training during World War II A signal lamp (sometimes called an Aldis lamp or a Morse lamp) is a semaphore system using a visual signaling device for optical communication, typically using Morse code. The idea of flashing dots and da ...
, the ''Kerlogue'' requested an escort and medical assistance. The Sunderland replied that help could not be given. The ''Kerlogue'' limped back to Cobh. When her cargo of coal was discharged,
shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...
fragments of British origin were found. It was that cargo of coal which saved the ''Kerlogue''; without it, the shells would have penetrated her hull. The British
Naval Attaché A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...
in Dublin reported to the Director of Naval Intelligence that it was "unfortunate from a British point of view" that Captain Fortune had been involved in the ''Kerlogue'' incident as he was "always ready to pass on any information in his possession". The RAF would not apportion blame on the Poles, as the ''Kerlogue'' was "east of 12 degrees west". According to an Admiralty report, the RAF had been "warned to expect the ''Kerlogue''", they "knew she was at sea on the day of the attack", there was "nothing suspicious" about the ship, "anyone but Polish pilots would have hesitated to attack". The matter was considered by the
War Cabinet A war cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war to efficiently and effectively conduct that war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers, although it is quite common for a war cabinet to have senio ...
which authorised
ex gratia (; also spelled ''ex-gratia'') is Latin for "by favour", and is most often used in a legal context. When something has been done ''ex gratia'', it has been done voluntarily, out of kindness or grace. In law, an ''ex gratia payment'' is a payme ...
payments to the injured crew. Captain Desmond Fortune, who would never walk unaided again, was succeeded by Captain Thomas Donohue. He had been captain of ''The Lady Belle'' of
Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...
when she was bombed by the
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
. Donohue had spent eight hours in a lifeboat mid-Atlantic when the German '' U-607''
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...
ed the .


''Z27, T25'' and ''T26''

On 29 December 1943, following repairs in Cork, the ''Kerlogue'' was south of
Fastnet Rock Fastnet Lighthouse is a 54m high lighthouse situated on the remote Fastnet Rock in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the most southerly point of Ireland and lies southwest of Cape Clear Island and from County Cork on the Irish mainland. The current l ...
, on passage from Lisbon to Dublin with a cargo of oranges, when she was circled by a German long range reconnaissance aircraft signalling "SOS" and heading southeast. The Kerlogue altered course to southeast, where she came upon an appalling scene. The German ''Z27'' and two ''Elbing'' class torpedo boats, ''T25'' and ''T26'', had been sunk. More than 700 men, most of them dead, were in the water. They had intended to escort '' Alsterufer'','' Alsterufer'' had already been sunk a blockade runner. The cruisers and , as part of
Operation Stonewall Operation Stonewall was a World War II operation to intercept blockade runners off the west coast of German-occupied France. It was an effective example of inter-service and international co-operation. Background From the start of the war, the ...
, with their guns sank the German ships while beyond their range of fire (more than ten miles)Operation Stonewall consisted of a number of engagements. Eight German ships were engaged. The ''Kerlogue'' spent ten hours plucking survivors from the water. 168 were rescued, although four died on board.A further 62 were rescued by Royal Navy minesweepers, and four by Spanish destroyers. This was remarkable, given that the ''Kerlogue'' was only long. The cargo of oranges saved the rescued from
dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mil ...
. Captain Donohue ignored the German request to bring them to
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or
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...
. He also ignored British radio orders from
Land's End Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...
to go to
Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two p ...
. He berthed at Cobh on 1 January 1944. Earlier U-505 had rescued 34 survivors. Later U-618 rescued a further 21. The rescued Germans remained at the Curragh internment camp until the war was over. Two are buried in Glencree German War Cemetery.


Post-war

In the post-war period, the rescue of the Germans was rarely mentioned, until 27 April 1994, when then-Senator Dick Roche spoke, in the Senate, of his father's role:
"... My late father was a seaman with the Wexford Steamship Company. He served the nation, like so many young men, through dangerous times in the war years. In every sense he and his colleagues put their lives on the line day after day, in ships which today would not be licensed to go on the high seas, to bring supplies to this nation. Many of his colleagues and friends and many people from Wexford and around the coast paid the ultimate price in serving this nation by losing their lives. The ships were so rickety, old and derelict that we would not go to sea in them today. Yet, these brave, perhaps foolhardy, men crossed the Atlantic, went to the Mediterranean and North African coast and kept Ireland supplied with vital provisions. My father's ship, the ''Kerlogue'', was involved in one of the great rescues of the war. One of the proudest possessions I have is a decoration awarded to him and other members of the crew for rescuing German sailors in the Bay of Biscay in December 1943, when they hauled hundreds of young men from the water ... ... "
The ''Kerlogue'' was sold to Norway in 1957 and was wrecked off
Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...
in 1960. On 27 May 1994 the
German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...
expressed its thanks in a ceremony at the
National Maritime Museum of Ireland The National Maritime Museum of Ireland ( ga, Músaem Mhuirí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) opened in 1978 in the former Mariners' Church in Moran Park, located between the seafront and the centre of Dún Laoghaire town, southeast of Dublin city. ...
attended by President
Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...
. Some sketches of the rescue, (reproduced on this page) drawn while in the Curragh were presented and remain on display with other artefacts. The rescue by the ''Kerlogue'' has been recreated in a novel entitled, ''The Lonely Sea and Sky'' by the Irish poet and novelist,
Dermot Bolger Dermot Bolger (born 1959) is an Irish novelist, playwright, poet and editor from Dublin, Ireland. Born in the Finglas suburb of Dublin in 1959, his older sister is the writer June Considine. Bolger's novels include ''Night Shift'' (1982), ''Th ...
, whose father sailed during the war on the ''Kerlogue''’s sister ship, the MV ''Edenvale''. Bolger's novel is part historical fiction and part coming-of-age tale in charting the maiden voyage of a fictional fourteen-year-old Wexford boy, Jack Roche, who gets a job as a cabin boy on the ''Kerlogue'' in December 1943, on the eve of this treacherous wartime journey to Portugal. Jack has lost his seafaring father on board the ''Kyleclare'', sunk by a U-boat on this same route, and goes to sea to support his family. His innate decency makes him join in this dangerous rescue of members of a navy whom he passionately hates for having killed his father. He comes to see the terrified German survivors not as part of a vicious murder machine but as shivering, wounded individuals, some little older than him, caught in a war that is not of their own making. The novel is premised around a view that The ''Kerlogue's'' crew obeyed an unwritten code to save any lives they could. In risking their lives, they recognised the drowning Germans not as combatants but as fellow sailors, and honoured what sailors traditionally believe the initials SOS stand for: “Save our Souls”.


See also

*
Operation Stonewall Operation Stonewall was a World War II operation to intercept blockade runners off the west coast of German-occupied France. It was an effective example of inter-service and international co-operation. Background From the start of the war, the ...
* Irish neutrality during World War II * The Emergency * Irish Mercantile Marine during World War II * Battle of the Atlantic


Footnotes


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * https://web.archive.org/web/20050204000054/http://www.irishecho.com/newspaper/story.cfm?id=15828 a copy of the wildgeese pages * https://web.archive.org/web/20121113183120/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/30/a6848030.shtml another copy * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerlogue Merchant ships of the Republic of Ireland 1938 ships Independent Ireland in World War II Maritime history of Ireland Merchant ships of Norway Maritime incidents in 1960 Shipwrecks in the Norwegian Sea Ships built in Rotterdam