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Sunday, April 2. 2023

A bad time to be in the US Merchant Marine

Battle of the Atlantic, Part 1 and Part 2 to follow:



Posted by Bird Dog at 15:19 | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0)

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I believe the stats were so bad in 41-42 that it was safer to be a pilot in the Battle of Britain than to be a merchant sailor
Brave men indeed
#1 Dale on 2023-04-02 16:24 (Reply)
A few things I know about the Merchant Marine and WWII.

The casualty rate was higher for merchant sailors then any of the armed forces. A few subgroups of the military had higher casualty rates- in particular the submarine force.

The pay of a merchant sailor was stopped on the day his ship was sunk. If picked up later- wasn't paid for time in a lifeboat or on a raft. Nope. Sunk ship- no pay.

Ammonium nitrate- highly explosive ammonium nitrate- being shipped to ammo plants around the country was classified as fertilizer so merchant sailors wouldn't receive hazardous duty pay.

I had an uncle who joined the Merchant Marine in January 1942 because he was turned down for the Navy, Coast Guard, Army and Marines- in that order, because of his eyesight. Watched other ships get sunk- but avoided that himself. OTOH, his uncle- my great uncle- between WWI and WWII was sunk 6 times between Navy and Merchant ships. And survived. I don't know what the record for that is. Had a 4th cousin spend a week in a life raft before being picked up.

My uncle's ship that was headed for Murmansk was diverted because it's cargo was deemed essential elsewhere.

Article on my great uncle: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53235865/the-pittsburgh-press/?xid=865
#2 Gospace on 2023-04-02 17:22 (Reply)
Canada here, but spouse's uncle served in the Canadian merchant marine during WW II. We knew he was in the engine rooms which had to be one of the less safe places to be when crossing the Atlantic during WW Iii, but the only comment he ever made about his service was that - when the alarm sounded - he was first up the ladder. Which I rather doubt.
Canada was late in recognizing the valor of those serving in the merchant marine but finally - and, I rather suspect - reluctantly did.
At uncle's funeral, his medals (some - I suspect - reluctantly awarded) were on full display. Heard later that it was the grandchildren who insisted that their grandad's war service be properly recognized.
#3 Frances on 2023-04-02 23:47 (Reply)

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