SS Induna PQ 13

SS Induna, PQ 13, 30 March 1942


As I’ve been researching my Grandfathers time in the war, I found a person who had posted something about a merchant vessel that I’d been searching for. Both my Grandfather and his Father saild on the same ship at a time, but not together.
He could help me with some details and even had a picture of the vessel. I never even thought that I’d end up with a picture, I at the time only hoped to identify the name (SS Kalev). I felt great! I had found what I was looking for.

I hope I’ll find time to post more about what I found on the Kalev and my Grandfathers time soon.

But now I’d like to share this with you and go to the SS Induna on Russian Convoy PQ13.

Sadly - I then learnt, that his Father got killed on PQ 13. That happend only some days after he was born (son born 26.3.42, Induna sunk 30.3.42), so father and son never met! He died at only 18, the e-mail was very moving and I felt bad because I had asked about things like if his Father is fine and if he remembers f.e. names of the Kalev crew etc...

R.I.P. Ishlom, your not forgotten!

I searched to find out what the story of the Induna was. I found this tragic ending story and would like to share it with you all and take a moment to remember these men lost at sea –

quote:

“To conclude my inadequate tribute to this unknown American sailor, when you have read this, please let others see it, and why not, say a prayer for all those who died so horribly, in the effort to supply Russia in the 1939 / 45 war, it was as you know a terrible run.”

I’m quoting from here:
http://www.mercantilemarine.org/showthread.php?t=1210

Quote:

A few years ago I read an article on the BBCi website in regard to the loss of the SS INDUNA and a request to find the name of an individual who died, to which I sent a reply posting. Just last night I received a phone call from a young 86 year old gentleman named Austin Byrne, whose son had found my phone number from another old website. Mr Byrne was the original inquirer on the BBCi forum and was one of the Royal Navy DEMS gunners onboard the INDUNA when lost from Convoy PQ-13. With his permission I would like to share his story below of those terrible days in 1942, which he transcribed and sent to me.

Part I

"You have all seen the advert on the T V, ONE = 2 = ONE, who would you like to have a talk too.

I know the advert says all sorts of important people, some from the world of entertainment, some who were first to do something great, a first that has gone down in history.

Have you ever thought, of any one, who you would like to have a word with, some one from your school days, or some one, who you met years back, may be some one famous, who you admired on the films, or some great man from history, there will be lots of people, but you have to narrow it down to one, just one, from all of the people who you have ever met, or read about, or seen on the T V, or films, as I said just one person, and who would you pick?
Well my self, I would pick the most wonderful man, who I consider I have ever met. And sadly, I do not know his name, all that I know is, that he is buried in the Naval Cemetery in Murmansk.

We met in a life boat, in the Barents Sea, 120 miles North of Russia, in the winter of 1942, our journey started on 30 March, when my ship, the ship that had picked him up, the INDUNA, was sunk, and it finished four days later. When we sighted land, and we were afterwards picked up by a Russian boat, it was then, that he said these words to me. "WE MADE IT KID", but sadly it was to late for this wonderful man, he died the next day. And as I said, he his buried in Murmansk.

Now read this, and you will then know, why I consider this man, to be one of the unknown greats, of the Convoys to Russia.

WE MADE, IT KID

These were the words that were said to me by a very remarkable man, when we had been picked up by a Russian boat, we had then been adrift, for four days in the life boat, after the Submarine U 376, had torpedoed the S S INDUNA, on the 30th of March 1942.

This man was not a crew member of the INDUNA, but like the others from the Ballot was aboard her when she got sunk. They were you could say very unfortunate at being in the WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME, and I think that is an understatement.

This is what I know about the S.S. BALLOT, she flew the Panamanian Flag, and had sailed from New York to Iceland, there she was going to meet convoy PQ 12, bound for Murmansk, But she missed it, and sailed in PQ13, PQ 12 had a good trip, and lost no ships. When she arrived in Iceland she had no armament of any sort, so the British put two Maritime Gunners aboard her with one very old machine gun. It was a Lewis gun, one that had been left over from the 1914 -18 war, at that time it was all that the British Merchant ships carried as armament. These gunners were told that under no circumstances were they to loose their gun, this order they took to the very end.

This was to undertake the voyage to Russia, the worlds worst journey, the ice in the winter made the course that the convoys had to take very near to the North Cape of Norway, right into the range of the German bombers, the JU 88 dive bombers and the waiting submarines, which were homed in by the Focke Wolfe long range aircraft. The BALLOT joined convoy PQ 13, for Murmansk, and after leaving Iceland the convoy struck very bad weather, causing the ships to get badly scattered, when the weather moderated and cleared a little, the long range planes found the ships, and homed in the Destroyers for an attack, this was beaten off by the escort and HMS TRINIDAD. Then the JU 88 and the high level Focke Wolfs attacked with bombs.

The SS BALLOT suffered very near misses from a dive bomb attack by a JU88, she lost steam and dropped astern, a life boat was lowered with 16 men in it, they were picked up by a whaler the SILJA, she was on passage to be turned over to the Russians, three set out one was sunk and one turned over with the ice.

The few ships went north to get near the ice, the SS INDUNA got stuck, the other ships went on, the SILJA stayed with the INDUNA, and as she was a small ship with limited room, the men from the BALLOT walked over the ice onto the INDUNA. The SILJA then ran out of fuel, she had been burning every thing to keep going, so the INDUNA took her in tow, about 10 pm the tow broke and the Captain of the INDUNA said I, cannot leave them, so he searched for them until about 4 am. Then he said that he could not spare any more time, and would have to make a run for Murmansk.

Next morning about 7.30 the INUDNA was torpedoed, in number 5 hold right under the aviation spirit, this went on fire, and the explosion threw the barded wire, from the hold onto the top of the deck cargo, of petrol drums, turning them into a burning mess.

We were sent to boat stations, and a few people started to run through the fire, some people on the stern jumped into the sea out of the way the heat and flames, the last man through was one of the men from the BALLOT, he had no shoes on, so his feet were ripped open by the barbs, he left foot steps of blood on the ice from his badly cut feet, also at the boat station were the gunners from the BALLOT, still they had their gun with them.

The Mate lowered the boat to deck level, I with some others were ordered into the boat, this was when this man came through the fire, his hair was burnt off, his face was badly burnt, his ears were burnt, as also were his hands, his jacket and trousers were burning, as he was rolled into the boat, and we beat out the fire on him.

The boat was lowered to the sea, but because of the weather the mate said row round and take us off the other side, if he had not given this order, the boat would have been smashed up, but before we could go along side the submarine fired another torpedo, and the ship sank with the men still aboard her.

Part II

We were then four days adrift in terrible weather, it was after all winter in the arctic, in the Barents sea, This man was badly burnt, he had no shoes on, and few clothes, he sat on the taught with the seas breaking over him, we covered him with a blanket and a spare coat, as best we could, the other six were of no help, so the other gunner and my self did all of the bailing, we tried to chat to this man, but he could hardly talk. I did once get out of him what I took him to say that he came from America.

The seas broke over him and a coat of ice formed on him, which got thicker as time went on, but he never once moaned, he just sat, he did say on a couple of occasions in the night when we were trying to get some rest, gunners the water is over my feet.

All that he ever asked for was the occasional cigarette, I would light one for him, and put it into his mouth, he would then try to move his head when I should take it out, that was all that he asked for, a few times a day he would say, gunner can I have a cig.

This went on for all of the four days that we were adrift, then at dusk on the fourth day we sighted land, when we told him he asked, gunners will you turn the boat so that I can see it, this we did. His next words were, put an oar into my hands and I can rock my body to help. At this time his hands were about twice as thick as they should be, his fingers were drawn bent with the cold, his knuckles were burst, and covered with scabs, and all the lot were black, and still this man wanted to help. We then saw the boats, and we were picked up, I was pulled aboard. I saw a Russian sailor down in the boat looking at him and a rope being passed down, I do not know how they got him out of the life boat onto the Russian vessel. As I was taken to the bridge The next time that I saw him was after one of the Russian crew had called me, I am not certain this could have been a lady, she was having difficulty with the cabin boy a lad named Anderson, he was 17 years old, she could not get him down, I think he was frozen bent, I helped her to get his jacket off, I cut it up the back, he was black to way up above his waist, when she saw this she said leave him.

I was then called to have a drink of Vodka. When you have not eaten for four days it goes right down to your feet, they gave one of us a good drink, then the other one and back again, they only had one cup, I do not know how many I had,. But I sang for them, and I cannot sing, FACT.

Once again I was called by this crew member, and taken to a bunk, this man got up as far as he could put out his hand for me to hold, and he said as best he could, "WE MADE IT KID", words that I can never forget, from a most wonderful man. I was then led away from him. His face, I can never forget, burnt and frozen, he had lines where he had opened his mouth, his eyes the whites looked as if they had frozen lumps in them, how much pain he had suffered, all those four days you can not think, his head was one big mass of burnt frozen flesh, his ears were just big sore things. But he had willed himself to live, through all the pain of his burns, the freezing wind, and the ice that had formed over him, what his legs and feet were like, they had been burnt, and in the water for four days, remember he had run over blazing barbed wire with no shoes on his feet.

Next day we arrived in Murmansk, and we were put into the Russian hospital, I went to sleep, and when I woke up I was told, kid the cabin boy has died, I went back to sleep, and then when I woke up again I was told kid, your Yank has died, the man who said this to me was not in our boat, but he was in the next bed to the man who died, so did he ask for me before he died, I do not know, but looking back I would have liked to have been with him when he went to meet his maker.

Now you might ask, who was he, well I never knew, then in 1987 Marian and I went with Bill Short and a few others back to Murmansk, and I saw a grave with the name Auger on it, and I found out that he came from Canada, there were two other graves, with no ships name on them, one a chap named Bennet, and one named O`Brien. So I thought it was the man named Auger, then Mr A Blyth gave me a copy of the crew list of the INDUNA and it listed Auger as being 35 years old. This man in my boat seemed younger to me, and it said that Auger had died on the boat on the way to Murmansk, after being picked up then through a chance meeting in London with Captain M Dragg, I was able to tell him about the men from the BALLOT in my boat.

Through that he told Captain A Moore, and he gave me the details that he had of the men from the BALLOT, and the one who fits my thinking was O`Brien, but I can be wrong.

This is meant to be a tribute too, who to me, was as I said a most wonderful man, to sit so long in that weather and not once moan, he has to be better than most. So in Murmansk there is the grave of a Sailor from the SS BALLOT, who suffered and died with great dignity. A man who any one can be proud to say, I met that man, his family if they should ever read this can be Very Proud of him The sad part is that no one in America knows any thing about him.

Now I did say that these men were in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time, because if they had stayed aboard the BALLOT, they would have got to Murmansk, and got safely back home, had they stayed on the SILJA, they would also have made it to Murmansk. She was found and towed into Murmansk

The two gunners, remember, I said that the last time that I saw them was at lifeboat station on the INDUNA with their gun. Well sadly they also went down with her.

To conclude my inadequate tribute to this unknown American sailor, when you have read this, please let others see it, and why not, say a prayer for all those who died so horribly, in the effort to supply Russia in the 1939 / 45 war, it was as you know a terrible run.

Sadly the men who are buried up in Murmansk, would not at that time 1942, be given a Christian burial, as all sailors give each other, and hope to have themselves, a few months ago Marian and I, were at mass in a small church in Bradford, and we were asked to do the Offertory, I remarked to her as we were walking down the aisle, that the decanter that they used for the wine is a poor thing, so Marian being Marian, said WELL buy them one, I replied a good idea, this was Saturday night. Monday Morning she said come on, we are going shopping, so we both bought a cut glass decanter for the church, in memory of all those LOST AT SEA. And the man who said to me "WE MADE IT KID".

I did think that the man was O`Brien, he his listed as being a young man, Bennett was listed as 41, Bennett died April 3 1942, so that is the date that fits. A VERY GALLANT MAN WHO EVER HE WAS. He wore no uniform, only the jacket and trousers of all Merchant Seamen, he would receive no medals, but he does have a British War Graves Commission, Grave Stone. DO PLEASE SAY A PRAYER FOR HIM, I STILL DO.

IF BLOOD WAS THE PRICE, WE HAD TO PAY FOR OUR FREEDOM THEN, THE MERCHANT SAILORS PAID IT IN FULL.

NOW YOU KNOW, WHY, OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO I HAVE EVER MET, THIS ONE MAN, HAS TO BE, THE PERSON THAT I WOULD LIKE A ONE = 2 = ONE WITH.

As Captain M Dragg, United States Merchant Marine, Rtd says. Of those, who went to sea on merchant ships, and came back. We were the lucky ones"


AUSTIN BYRNE, EX, DEM S GUNNER, S. S. INDUNA.


ORDER OF BATTLE
http://www.navweaps.com/index_oob/OOB_WWII_Atlantic/OOB_WWII_PQ13.htm