The Beirut File 1943

Chapter 5. Encounters: U-81 meets 'Saroena'












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The Beirut incident – all paths lead to Rome

 

U-81 encounters the ‘Saroena’ off the coast of Beirut

 

We now  return to the U-81.

1942 – December. U-81 briefly shifted operations to Pola, now Pula in Croatia, and on 25 December Johann-Otto Krieg took command from Guggenberger. On 30 January 1943, U-81 sailed from Pola and on 10 February, whilst on service in the Mediterranean and under the command of Krieg, she sighted the Dutch vessel ‘Saroena’

Under the command of Captain Happee the Saroena was a vessel of the Netherlandisch Indische Tankstoomboot Maatschappij, and carrying a cargo of crude oil for Haifa.

 

Upon being sighted U-81 fired off torpedoes striking the Saroena and causing severe damage on the aft portside (rear left side). Subsequently a fire started and burning oil began to pour out. Captain Happee managed to manoeuvre out of the inferno and steer towards the port of Beirut. This was the first hit for Krieger as a U-boat commander.

Meanwhile, a few of the crew of the Saroena managed to get into one of the lifeboats whilst the vessel was still moving and the duty engineer managed to escape, but was unable to stop the engines in  the process. Captain Happee, realising there was no one remaining in the engine room instructed all hands to proceed to the foredeck, while burning oil sprayed out from the upturned tanks and spread across the water.

Steering at approximately 7 to 8 knots, the captain navigated the Saroena towards the shores of Beirut. One of the Naval escorts which had come to the aid of the stricken vessel, advised the crew to jump overboard. Captain Happee, however, saw an opportunity to secure his ship and although the fire was spreading did not agree. But attempts to extinguish the fire with the ship’s own equipment were unsuccessful.

As the Saroena sailed past Beirut Harbour, Happee managed to signal for advice as to where he could run his vessel aground. Upon receiving instructions back from the port the vessel was run aground in the bay of St George, with the engines still running

 

According to the ship’s log the Saroena ran aground in the mud at 0.4.45 on the morning of 11 February 1943

 

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By this time the ship had been evacuated the burning oil was spreading rapidly. One of the crew (3rd mate) happened to be a good swimmer and took responsibility of rescuing the container with the ship’s documentation. While the mate reached the shore safely the container was lost.

After Captain Happee made contact with the Port authorities, he returned with them to the burning vessel.

 

Setting the records straight:

 

According to one set of records (the Dutch ship company) at 22.35 on 10 February 1943 U-81 fired a spread of four torpedoes at the Saroena. This was a different time as logged by the U-81, partly due to the fact of the different time zones involved. U-81 was on Berlin time and the Saroena was on London time, while the incident recorded locally would have been Beirut local time.

The records also state that two Chinese crewmen of the Saroena, and three gunners panicked and jumped overboard at the time of the incident.

 

 

 

Notes:

 

1. Force H – British Naval formation formed in 1940 to replace the French Naval power in the Western Mediterranean. Force H was based at Gibraltar of which HMS Ark Royal was one of the main combatant ships














Enter R.E 1017 Dock Operating Company.

 

According to the war diary entry of the R.E. 1017 Dock operating Company, the company stood to at 0.4.30 on the morning of 11 February. The entry reads; ‘to assist in putting out a fire on the Dutch tanker ‘Saroena’ which had been torpedoed off Saida, and beached in St. Margaret’s Bay’

Full Diary entry:

 

 

My father happened to be on duty that morning and was directly involved in the salvage operation along with his colleagues.

 

 

 

1943 11 February: Salvaged.

 

By 10.00 hours in the morning the fire was under control, and after a preliminary inspection two Navy escorts began to pull the ship free. However, she had settled in hard in the mud and in order to lighten the load a barge was brought alongside, where the remaining crude oil was pumped out of the tanks and she was refloated.

Subsequent inspection showed the ship was badly damaged and both boilers nearly dry. After temporary repair she was towed to Port Said, Egypt, where further repairs were carried out before she was eventually ended up in Calcutta for permanent repair.

 

 

 

 

 

To follow the events and the post event diary entries please view the below files

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Unit report on the salvage - 1

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Unit Salvage report 2

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Saroena Went Through the Eye of a Needle

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Saroena went through the eye of a needle word Doc

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