SSI Archives

1942: War Comes to the Waters of Our Coast

This month marks the 75th anniversary of one of the most memorable events in Coastal Georgia history. In the early hours of April 8, 1942, area residents were shocked from their sleep when explosions at sea reverberated along the coast.

Two unarmed American tankers, SS Oklahoma and SS Esso Baton Rouge, carrying a total of 190,000 barrels of oil, had been torpedoed by a German U-boat ten miles offshore. Theron P. Davenport, captain of the Oklahoma, left a chilling account of the attack: “We at once realized we had been torpedoed.… The ship sank in about a minute, but the Atlantic at that spot is only about 45 feet deep. One end of the vessel sank to the bottom while the other end poked up. That saved some of us. There was an explosion in the engine room and this is believed to have trapped many of the missing crew. Exactly half the crew was lost.” The U-boat then headed south to torpedo the Esso Baton Rouge before returning to shell the Oklahoma with a deck gun, after her crew had moved away in lifeboats. In all, 22 merchant mariners lost their lives.

After daybreak, the Coast Guard and the Civil Air Patrol, as well as civilians, mobilized to rescue and aid the tanker crews. A patrol aircraft located the ships by 7 a.m., but it took many hours to complete the rescue operation. St. Simons Island native Olaf Olsen was on Cumberland Island managing the Candler family property when a Civil Air Patrol plane dropped him a message about the tankers, weighted down by a wrench. Olsen immediately joined the rescue effort, captaining the Candler yacht. It was faster than the Coast Guard vessel, and Olsen took a shorter route, reaching the lifeboats first. He took them in tow and transferred the wounded to the Coast Guard boat before making his way to the Coast Guard dock on the Frederica River next to the causeway. His daughter Sonja, 8 years old at the time, remembers that the captain of the Esso Baton Rouge, covered in dirt and grease, came to their home at Gascoigne Bluff that evening.

Olsen’s teenage son Bubber spent the next few days taking the Esso Baton Rouge captain and engineer to and from the St. Simons sea buoy where they were picked up by another boat and taken to their partially submerged ship. Both tankers were raised and towed into St. Simons Sound for initial repairs, before they were taken north for major repairs. In appreciation for Bubber’s help, the captain gave him a brass bell and a life ring from the ship – poignant reminders of the day World War II came to the Golden Isles.

This month’s images show the torpedoed Oklahoma in drydock for repairs and the Esso Baton Rouge bell. Each May the bell is rung in honor of fallen mariners at the Maritime Day ceremony held on the St. Simons Pier.

Our monthly images on this page are from the vast archives of the Coastal Georgia Historical Society. The Society’s mission includes the “administration, restoration and maintenance of historic facilities and resources … preserved as a living part of the historical and cultural foundations of our coastal community.” Society facilities include the St. Simons Lighthouse and Museum, the A.W. Jones Heritage Center, and the Maritime Center (formerly the U.S. Coast Guard Station). To learn more about the Society, its diverse programs, and the benefits of Society membership, please call 912.638.4666, or visit saintsimonslighthouse.org.