Attack on Aruba
Encyclopedia
The Attack on Aruba was an attack on oil installations and tankers
by Axis
submarine
s during World War II
. On 16 February 1942, a German
U-boat
attacked the small island of Aruba
in the first shelling of American soil by Axis forces during the war. Other submarines patrolled the area for shipping and they sank or damaged tankers. Aruba was home to two of the largest oil refineries
in the world during the war against the Axis powers, the Arend Petroleum Maatschappij, situated near the Oranjestad harbor and the Lago Oil & Transport Co. Ltd.
at the San Nicolas harbor. The attack resulted in the disruption of vital Allied
fuel production.
The Dutch
island of Aruba had two major oil installations. The production of aviation fuel had been expanded to supply British requirements prior to the American entry into the war. It was the largest such refinery in the world and a strategic target.
In early 1942, several Axis submarines patrolled the southern Caribbean with the objective of attacking Allied convoys and disrupting the oil operations. , a long range submarine, entered the waters off southwestern Aruba on 13 February. She was under the command of Commander Werner Hartenstein
who wanted a reconnaissance
of the area before attacking the Lago Company oil tanks near Oranjestad
. Hartenstein commanded the Neuland Gruppe, a wolfpack of five German and two Italian
submarines.
Previously the commander had coordinated an attack on oil related targets in between Aruba and Maracaibo
in order to disrupt the production of aircraft
fuel. U-156 was assigned to attack the refineries, while the six other submarines attacked merchant ships wherever found. These other submarines were , , and and two Italian submarines. They patrolled the Gulf of Venezuela
, to the southwest of Aruba, and other nearby waters for oil tankers. U-156 was armed with six torpedo tubes, one 105 mm (4.1 in) deck gun and one 37 mm (1.46 in) flak gun.
At 03:13, U-156 attacked the Texaco
owned tanker SS Arkansas which was berth
ed at Eagle Beach
next to the Arend/Eagle Refinery. Just one of the torpedoes struck Arkansas and partially sank her but the damage was moderate and caused no casualties. Commander Hartenstein then steamed further around Aruba and directed his men to take to the deck guns and prepare for a naval bombardment of the large oil tank in view. The crew of the 105 mm (4.1 in) gun forgot to remove the water cap from the barrel, so when Hartenstein ordered them to fire, the gun blew up in the faces of the two gunners. Gunnery Officer Dietrich von dem Borne was wounded badly, one foot having been severed. His comrade and trigger man Heinrich Büssinger was badly wounded as well and died several hours after the attack. Hartenstein ordered the 37 mm (1.46 in) flak gun to continue the attack.
Sixteen rounds from the 37mm AA gun were fired, but only two hits were found by the Allies: a dent in an oil storage tank and a hole in a house. In disgust Hartenstein ordered a cease-fire, and set his course toward the other end of the island. The U-boat continued towards Oranjestad harbor and at 09.43 hours torpedoed the Arkansas lying at the pier of the Eagle Refinery, after missing with two torpedoes. Meanwhile, the six other Axis boats patrolled the area in search of oil tankers. U-502 under Lieutenant Commander
Jürgen von Rosenstiel made contact with at least three Allied vessels that day in the Gulf of Venezuela, two British oilers, SS Tia Juana and San Nicolas were sunk along with the Venezuelan steamer Monagas.
U-67, under Captain
Günther Müller-Stöckheim
, attacked two additional tankers off Curaçao that morning. Stockheim fired four torpedoes from his bow tubes at the tankers in Willemstad
Harbor. All four failed to hit their targets or failed to explode. Stockheim tried again and fired two more torpedoes from his stern tubes at the Dutch Rafaela. One hit and heavily damaged the ship. U-67 then slipped away, unaware a United States Army Air Corps
A-20 Havoc light bomber
was in pursuit. The aircraft dropped its payload of both flares and explosives when over the surfaced U-boat but the bombs missed and U-67 submerged and got away. The flames from burning steamers around Aruba were reportedly so large that they could be seen easily from Curaçao.
The four other U-boats and submarines were apparently unsuccessful in engaging Allied ships that morning. The Dutch patrol boats did not engage either.
After the attack, the Axis force steamed for Martinique
, where they offloaded their two casualties for medical treatment. Four allied ships had been sunk accounting for 14,149 tons. Pedernales, Arkansas and Rafaela survived the encounter; though damaged or sunk, they were repaired and put back to use transporting goods for the Allied war effort. During U-156s attack on Arkansas, one of the missed torpedoes slid up "Arend"/"Eagle" Beach and did not explode. On 17 February, four Dutch Marines were killed when it detonated while they were examining it. At least forty-seven Allied merchant sailors were killed, and several more received wounds.
The American Associated Press
writer Herbert White was on the island during the attack along with an inspection party under Lieutenant General
Frank Andrews. Both men witnessed the attack. The United States military, with the approval of the Dutch government, had just sent a large occupation force to guard the islands and oil refineries from Axis attacks and it now proved to be needed though Aruba was never bombarded again during the war.
Oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
by 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...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. On 16 February 1942, a German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
attacked the small island of Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
in the first shelling of American soil by Axis forces during the war. Other submarines patrolled the area for shipping and they sank or damaged tankers. Aruba was home to two of the largest oil refineries
Oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...
in the world during the war against the Axis powers, the Arend Petroleum Maatschappij, situated near the Oranjestad harbor and the Lago Oil & Transport Co. Ltd.
Lago Oil & Transport Co. Ltd.
Lago Oil & Transport Co. Ltd. had its beginning in 1924 as a shipping company carrying crude oil from Lake Maracaibo to its transshipment facility on the island of Aruba.-History:...
at the San Nicolas harbor. The attack resulted in the disruption of vital Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
fuel production.
Background
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
island of Aruba had two major oil installations. The production of aviation fuel had been expanded to supply British requirements prior to the American entry into the war. It was the largest such refinery in the world and a strategic target.
In early 1942, several Axis submarines patrolled the southern Caribbean with the objective of attacking Allied convoys and disrupting the oil operations. , a long range submarine, entered the waters off southwestern Aruba on 13 February. She was under the command of Commander Werner Hartenstein
Werner Hartenstein
Gustav Julius Werner Hartenstein was a Korvettenkapitän with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and commander of . He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military...
who wanted a reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
of the area before attacking the Lago Company oil tanks near Oranjestad
Oranjestad, Aruba
Oranjestad is the capital and largest city of Aruba, which is in the Caribbean north of Venezuela. Oranjestad is located on the southern coast near the western end of the island country...
. Hartenstein commanded the Neuland Gruppe, a wolfpack of five German and two Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
submarines.
Previously the commander had coordinated an attack on oil related targets in between Aruba and Maracaibo
Maracaibo
Maracaibo is a city and municipality located in northwestern Venezuela off the western coast of the Lake Maracaibo. It is the second-largest city in the country after the national capital Caracas and the capital of Zulia state...
in order to disrupt the production of aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
fuel. U-156 was assigned to attack the refineries, while the six other submarines attacked merchant ships wherever found. These other submarines were , , and and two Italian submarines. They patrolled the Gulf of Venezuela
Gulf of Venezuela
The Gulf of Venezuela is a gulf of the Caribbean Sea bounded by the Venezuelan states of Zulia and Falcón and by Guajira Department, Colombia...
, to the southwest of Aruba, and other nearby waters for oil tankers. U-156 was armed with six torpedo tubes, one 105 mm (4.1 in) deck gun and one 37 mm (1.46 in) flak gun.
Attack
On 16 February, after observing the area for a few days, U-156 came around to the refineries. There in front of her target were two Lago Company flat bottom steamers, and , both British owned oilers. At 01:31, U-156 surfaced in San Nicolas Harbor some 1.5 km (0.809935205183585 nmi; 0.93205910497471 mi) offshore and attacked the two British tankers at anchor. Hartenstein ordered the firing of one torpedo from his bow tubes at Pedernales. The torpedo attack was successful and Pedernales was hit amidship. Loaded with crude oil, the steamer immediately burst into flames, killing eight of her 26 crewmen and wounding her captain Herbert McCall. Oranjestad then began to lift anchor and steam away but she was too late and was hit by a second torpedo fired from U-156. She too burst into flames and an hour later, sunk in about 70 m (229.7 ft) of water. Fifteen of her 22 crewmen were killed. At this time, several Dutch sailors flocked to their small wooden patrol craft at harbor in order to get them away from the burning oil of the tankers.At 03:13, U-156 attacked the 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....
owned tanker SS Arkansas which was berth
Berth
Berth may refer to:*Berth *Berth *Berth , an album by The UsedBerthing may refer to:*The placement of a spacecraft into a berthing mechanism through the use of a robotic arm*A cabin on a ship...
ed at Eagle Beach
Eagle Beach
Eagle Beach is a beach and neighborhood of Oranjestad, Aruba. The neighborhood is famous for its many low-rise resorts and wide public beach. It has soft white sand and has been rated one of the best beaches in the world.-External links:*...
next to the Arend/Eagle Refinery. Just one of the torpedoes struck Arkansas and partially sank her but the damage was moderate and caused no casualties. Commander Hartenstein then steamed further around Aruba and directed his men to take to the deck guns and prepare for a naval bombardment of the large oil tank in view. The crew of the 105 mm (4.1 in) gun forgot to remove the water cap from the barrel, so when Hartenstein ordered them to fire, the gun blew up in the faces of the two gunners. Gunnery Officer Dietrich von dem Borne was wounded badly, one foot having been severed. His comrade and trigger man Heinrich Büssinger was badly wounded as well and died several hours after the attack. Hartenstein ordered the 37 mm (1.46 in) flak gun to continue the attack.
Sixteen rounds from the 37mm AA gun were fired, but only two hits were found by the Allies: a dent in an oil storage tank and a hole in a house. In disgust Hartenstein ordered a cease-fire, and set his course toward the other end of the island. The U-boat continued towards Oranjestad harbor and at 09.43 hours torpedoed the Arkansas lying at the pier of the Eagle Refinery, after missing with two torpedoes. Meanwhile, the six other Axis boats patrolled the area in search of oil tankers. U-502 under Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
Jürgen von Rosenstiel made contact with at least three Allied vessels that day in the Gulf of Venezuela, two British oilers, SS Tia Juana and San Nicolas were sunk along with the Venezuelan steamer Monagas.
U-67, under Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Günther Müller-Stöckheim
Günther Müller-Stöckheim
Günther Müller-Stöckheim was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.-Career:...
, attacked two additional tankers off Curaçao that morning. Stockheim fired four torpedoes from his bow tubes at the tankers in Willemstad
Willemstad
Willemstad can refer to:*Willemstad, the capital of Curaçao*Willemstad , a town in Moerdijk, the Netherlands*Willemstad , a hamlet near Marum, the Netherlands*Willemstad , a hamlet in the Netherlands...
Harbor. All four failed to hit their targets or failed to explode. Stockheim tried again and fired two more torpedoes from his stern tubes at the Dutch Rafaela. One hit and heavily damaged the ship. U-67 then slipped away, unaware a United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
A-20 Havoc light bomber
Light bomber
A light bomber is a relatively small and fast class of military bomber aircraft which were primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance....
was in pursuit. The aircraft dropped its payload of both flares and explosives when over the surfaced U-boat but the bombs missed and U-67 submerged and got away. The flames from burning steamers around Aruba were reportedly so large that they could be seen easily from Curaçao.
The four other U-boats and submarines were apparently unsuccessful in engaging Allied ships that morning. The Dutch patrol boats did not engage either.
Aftermath
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, where they offloaded their two casualties for medical treatment. Four allied ships had been sunk accounting for 14,149 tons. Pedernales, Arkansas and Rafaela survived the encounter; though damaged or sunk, they were repaired and put back to use transporting goods for the Allied war effort. During U-156s attack on Arkansas, one of the missed torpedoes slid up "Arend"/"Eagle" Beach and did not explode. On 17 February, four Dutch Marines were killed when it detonated while they were examining it. At least forty-seven Allied merchant sailors were killed, and several more received wounds.
The American Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
writer Herbert White was on the island during the attack along with an inspection party under Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Frank Andrews. Both men witnessed the attack. The United States military, with the approval of the Dutch government, had just sent a large occupation force to guard the islands and oil refineries from Axis attacks and it now proved to be needed though Aruba was never bombarded again during the war.