Francis A. Dales
Encyclopedia
Francis A. Dales was a cadet midshipman in the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy who served on the freighter SS Santa Elisa
, and subsequently the tanker SS Ohio
, during Operation Pedestal
, a convoy to the besieged island of Malta
in the Second World War. For his actions defending the convoy, considered one of the most important British strategic victories of the war, he was awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal
.
In summer 1942, supplies on the British occupied Mediterranean island of Malta
were running desperately low. There were acute food shortages, but even more serious was the lack of aviation fuel, needed to sustain the dozens of fighter aircraft defending the island against German Luftwaffe and Italian Regia Aeronautica
bombing attacks. It was later said that Malta would have been forced to surrender in only sixteen days if fuel had not got through. The British conceived a plan to resupply Malta using fourteen merchant ships escorted by a vast armada of Royal Navy
warships; four aircraft carriers, two battleships, seven cruisers and thirty-two destroyers.
Axis
forces opposing the convoy included land-based Italian and German aircraft, Italian and German motor torpedo boat
s, Italian submarines and a force of Italian cruisers, as well as naval mines laid by ships and aircraft in the path of the convoy. There were also hostile shore batteries on some of the coastlines the convoy had to pass.
The most important ship of the operation was the SS Ohio
, the only available fast oil tanker. The Ohio, a 9,263 ton tanker, was built on the River Delaware at Wilmington
in the United States for the oil giant Texaco
, but had been requisitioned and manned by a British crew. In addition to the fuel supplies on the Ohio, several of the merchant ships carried fuel in drums.
Malta was critical to the Allied war effort in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations
, with submarines and aircraft based there responsible for inflicting huge losses on supply convoys from Europe to Rommel
's Axis army facing the British in the Western Desert Campaign
in Libya
and Egypt
. In summer 1942 the Axis forces had advanced far eastwards into Egypt, threatening to reach the Suez Canal
and thereby cut Allied communications with India and the Far East. The continued resistance of Malta was key to stopping Rommel, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
ordered that the convoy must "get through at all costs".
Most of the merchant ships in the convoy were British owned and British crewed. The SS Santa Elisa
, a 6,200 ton freighter, was one of two U.S. operated ships. She was carrying 7,000 tons of aviation fuel in drums. Dales had been assigned to the Santa Elisa for sea training. Commanding an anti-aircraft gun on top of the bridge, the most exposed position on the ship with no cover available, he took part in the initially successful defence against three days of heavy attacks while steaming eastwards from the straits of Gibraltar towards Malta.
Air attacks were constant and as many as fifteen submarines stalked the freighters in the narrowing straits, but the Santa Elisa would fall to a different foe. In the darkness before daybreak on the fourth day, the Santa Elisa was attacked by two motor torpedo boats. One raked the ship with fire from its heavy machine guns, killing three men from Dales' gun crew, while the other attacked from the opposite side and hit the ship with a torpedo. Dales successfully fired back and hit and sank the first attacking boat, but the aviation fuel carried by the Santa Elisa had been ignited by the torpedo hit, and the crew were forced to abandon the blazing ship about 25 miles southeast of Cape Bon in Tunisia
, and still 90 miles short of Malta. Dales and other survivors were picked up two hours later by the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Penn.
HMS Penn, with Dales still aboard, was one of several British destroyers that came alongside the Ohio to render assistance. The crews made attempts to tow the crippled tanker, before eventually sandwiching it between HMS Penn and HMS Bramham in order to drag it along while preventing it from sinking. Seeing that one of the Ohios anti-aircraft guns could be repaired, another survivor from the Santa Elisa, junior third officer Frederick August Larsen, boarded the ship. Dales and four British crewmen volunteered to go with him. Between them, they were successful in bringing the gun back into action.
Dales and the other crew members then operated the gun as the ungainly gaggle of ships struggled slowly towards Malta. The three ships became an obvious target for the Axis aircraft and torpedo boats, and endured an ever increasing series of attacks. In the chaos, all but one of the British aircraft carriers supporting the convoy had been either sunk or seriously damaged, reducing the number of aircraft available to defend it. Dales and the other gunners were successful in driving off most of the attacks, despite more bombs hitting the ship and two downed aircraft even crashing on the tanker's deck. With the Ohio now critically damaged and her deck awash, they inched within range of the protection of British Spitfire and Beaufighter fighters flying from Malta.
The Ohio finally reached the Grand Harbour
at Valetta in Malta on August 15, 1942, and her vital cargo of fuel was safe. Four of the surviving freighters had reached Malta the day before, but all the rest were lost, out of fourteen merchant ships that originally set out. The convoy's arrival was described by some historians as having changed the course of World War 2. The captain of the Ohio, Dudley William Mason
, was awarded the George Cross
. The arrival, welcomed by huge crowds of people lining the harbour and waving British and Maltese
flags, coincided with the Feast of Santa Marija, and Operation Pedestal became known in Malta as the Santa Marija Convoy. The Ohio was damaged beyond repair and never undertook another voyage. It was inducted into the National Maritime Hall of Fame of the American Merchant Marine Museum in 2008.
in the USA, Dales was awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal
in front of 2,300 other cadet midshipmen at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, for his bravery in defense of the convoy, described as "heroism beyond the call of duty". Dales was only the third Cadet Midshipman ever to receive the medal.
, USA, on March 29, 2003. He was inducted into the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy's National Maritime Hall of Fame in 2009, one year after the ship he had defended received the same honor.
SS Santa Elisa
SS Santa Elisa was a refrigerated cargo ship built for the United States Maritime Commission by Federal Shipbuilding of Kearny, New Jersey in 1941. Operated by the Grace Line, Santa Elisa was a member of Convoy WS 21S from Newport, England, for Malta as a part of Operation Pedestal...
, and subsequently the tanker SS Ohio
SS Ohio
The SS Ohio was an oil tanker built for the Texas Oil Company ; she was the largest oil tanker in the world when she was built. The tanker was launched on April 20, 1940 at the Sun Shipbuilding Yard in Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. SS Ohio was capable of doing over at sea...
, during Operation Pedestal
Operation Pedestal
Operation Pedestal was a British operation to get desperately needed supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. Malta was the base from which surface ships, submarines and aircraft attacked Axis convoys carrying essential supplies to the Italian and German armies...
, a convoy to the besieged island of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
in the Second World War. For his actions defending the convoy, considered one of the most important British strategic victories of the war, he was awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal
Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal
The Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal is a decoration of the United States Merchant Marine . The decoration is the highest award which can be bestowed upon members of that service and is the service’s equivalent of the Medal of Honor; since mariners serving in the United State Merchant...
.
Initial training
Dales began his basic training as a cadet midshipman in temporary facilities at Fort Schuyler in February 1942, and became one of the first graduates of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in its new campus at King's Point.Background
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
were running desperately low. There were acute food shortages, but even more serious was the lack of aviation fuel, needed to sustain the dozens of fighter aircraft defending the island against German Luftwaffe and Italian Regia Aeronautica
Regia Aeronautica
The Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946...
bombing attacks. It was later said that Malta would have been forced to surrender in only sixteen days if fuel had not got through. The British conceived a plan to resupply Malta using fourteen merchant ships escorted by a vast armada of Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
warships; four aircraft carriers, two battleships, seven cruisers and thirty-two destroyers.
Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
forces opposing the convoy included land-based Italian and German aircraft, Italian and German motor torpedo boat
Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...
s, Italian submarines and a force of Italian cruisers, as well as naval mines laid by ships and aircraft in the path of the convoy. There were also hostile shore batteries on some of the coastlines the convoy had to pass.
The most important ship of the operation was the SS Ohio
SS Ohio
The SS Ohio was an oil tanker built for the Texas Oil Company ; she was the largest oil tanker in the world when she was built. The tanker was launched on April 20, 1940 at the Sun Shipbuilding Yard in Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. SS Ohio was capable of doing over at sea...
, the only available fast oil tanker. The Ohio, a 9,263 ton tanker, was built on the River Delaware at Wilmington
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
in the United States for the oil giant Texaco
Texaco
Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
, but had been requisitioned and manned by a British crew. In addition to the fuel supplies on the Ohio, several of the merchant ships carried fuel in drums.
Malta was critical to the Allied war effort in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations
Mediterranean Theater of Operations
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army was originally called North African Theater of Operations and is an American term for the conflict that took place between the Allies and Axis Powers in North Africa and Italy during World War II...
, with submarines and aircraft based there responsible for inflicting huge losses on supply convoys from Europe to Rommel
Rommel
Erwin Rommel was a German World War II field marshal.Rommel may also refer to:*Rommel *Rommel Adducul , Filipino basketball player*Rommel Fernández , first Panamanian footballer to play in Europe...
's Axis army facing the British in the Western Desert Campaign
Western Desert Campaign
The Western Desert Campaign, also known as the Desert War, was the initial stage of the North African Campaign during the Second World War. The campaign was heavily influenced by the availability of supplies and transport. The ability of the Allied forces, operating from besieged Malta, to...
in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. In summer 1942 the Axis forces had advanced far eastwards into Egypt, threatening to reach the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
and thereby cut Allied communications with India and the Far East. The continued resistance of Malta was key to stopping Rommel, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
ordered that the convoy must "get through at all costs".
SS Santa Elisa
SS Santa Elisa
SS Santa Elisa was a refrigerated cargo ship built for the United States Maritime Commission by Federal Shipbuilding of Kearny, New Jersey in 1941. Operated by the Grace Line, Santa Elisa was a member of Convoy WS 21S from Newport, England, for Malta as a part of Operation Pedestal...
, a 6,200 ton freighter, was one of two U.S. operated ships. She was carrying 7,000 tons of aviation fuel in drums. Dales had been assigned to the Santa Elisa for sea training. Commanding an anti-aircraft gun on top of the bridge, the most exposed position on the ship with no cover available, he took part in the initially successful defence against three days of heavy attacks while steaming eastwards from the straits of Gibraltar towards Malta.
Air attacks were constant and as many as fifteen submarines stalked the freighters in the narrowing straits, but the Santa Elisa would fall to a different foe. In the darkness before daybreak on the fourth day, the Santa Elisa was attacked by two motor torpedo boats. One raked the ship with fire from its heavy machine guns, killing three men from Dales' gun crew, while the other attacked from the opposite side and hit the ship with a torpedo. Dales successfully fired back and hit and sank the first attacking boat, but the aviation fuel carried by the Santa Elisa had been ignited by the torpedo hit, and the crew were forced to abandon the blazing ship about 25 miles southeast of Cape Bon in Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, and still 90 miles short of Malta. Dales and other survivors were picked up two hours later by the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Penn.
SS Ohio
By this time the Ohio had already become the primary focus for Axis attacks on the convoy, having been torpedoed by an Italian submarine and hit by successive waves of dozens of Stuka dive bombers which attacked continuously for five hours. The torpedo had caused catastrophic damage and initially brought the ship to a dead stop, while near misses from bombs caused further damage and put some of the ship's defensive armament out of action. The crew were twice forced to abandon ship as further air attacks caused yet more damage.HMS Penn, with Dales still aboard, was one of several British destroyers that came alongside the Ohio to render assistance. The crews made attempts to tow the crippled tanker, before eventually sandwiching it between HMS Penn and HMS Bramham in order to drag it along while preventing it from sinking. Seeing that one of the Ohios anti-aircraft guns could be repaired, another survivor from the Santa Elisa, junior third officer Frederick August Larsen, boarded the ship. Dales and four British crewmen volunteered to go with him. Between them, they were successful in bringing the gun back into action.
The Ohio finally reached the Grand Harbour
Grand Harbour
Grand Harbour is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been used as a harbour since at least Phoenician times...
at Valetta in Malta on August 15, 1942, and her vital cargo of fuel was safe. Four of the surviving freighters had reached Malta the day before, but all the rest were lost, out of fourteen merchant ships that originally set out. The convoy's arrival was described by some historians as having changed the course of World War 2. The captain of the Ohio, Dudley William Mason
Dudley William Mason
Dudley William Mason GC was master of the tanker SS Ohio during the Second World War. He commanded the tanker during Operation Pedestal, a convoy to relieve Malta. He was awarded the George Cross for this operation.-Early life:...
, was awarded the George Cross
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
. The arrival, welcomed by huge crowds of people lining the harbour and waving British and Maltese
Maltese people
The Maltese are an ethnic group indigenous to the Southern European nation of Malta, and identified with the Maltese language. Malta is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea...
flags, coincided with the Feast of Santa Marija, and Operation Pedestal became known in Malta as the Santa Marija Convoy. The Ohio was damaged beyond repair and never undertook another voyage. It was inducted into the National Maritime Hall of Fame of the American Merchant Marine Museum in 2008.
Distinguished Service Medal
On May 22, 1943, National Maritime DayNational Maritime Day
National Maritime Day is a United States holiday created to recognize the maritime industry. It is observed on May 22, the date that the American steamship Savannah set sail from Savannah, Georgia on the first ever transoceanic voyage under steam power. The holiday was created by the United States...
in the USA, Dales was awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal
Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal
The Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal is a decoration of the United States Merchant Marine . The decoration is the highest award which can be bestowed upon members of that service and is the service’s equivalent of the Medal of Honor; since mariners serving in the United State Merchant...
in front of 2,300 other cadet midshipmen at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, for his bravery in defense of the convoy, described as "heroism beyond the call of duty". Dales was only the third Cadet Midshipman ever to receive the medal.
Later life
Dales was interviewed in connection with the 60th anniversary celebration of Operation Pedestal in 2002, and said that he would always remember the Maltese people's grateful response to his actions on board the Ohio. Dales died in Augusta, GeorgiaAugusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
, USA, on March 29, 2003. He was inducted into the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy's National Maritime Hall of Fame in 2009, one year after the ship he had defended received the same honor.