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Arvonian

1917–1918

This ship briefly retained the name carried at the time of her transfer to the U.S. Navy.

(Screw steamer: displacement 2,774; length 331'3"; beam 47'6"; draft 20'1"; complement 105; armament 3 4-inch, 3 12-pounders, 2 .30 caliber machine guns, 4 18-inch torpedo tubes; class Arvonian)

The steel-hulled screw steamer Rosedale -- built at Stockton-on-Tees, England, by Richardson, Duck & Co., and launched on 1 August 1905 -- was renamed Arvonian one month later, on 1 September. She was flying the house flag of the Venedotian Steamship Co., Ltd. [O. & W. Williams & Co.], Cardiff, Wales, when the Royal Navy requisitioned her in August 1917, and later purchased her in November 1917, for use as a decoy or “Q-ship” and commissioned her as HMS Bendish. Transferred to the U.S. Navy on loan by the Admiralty “for war purposes” at the Admiralty Dockyard, Devonport, England, on 27 November 1917, she was commissioned as Arvonian that same day, Cmdr. David C. Hanrahan in command.

Her crew composed of volunteers from U.S. warships in European waters, Arvonian fitted out at Devonport through 9 December 1917 and conducted ship’s drills in Plymouth Sound. On 18 December, the ship was renamed Santee and she got underway for Queenstown [Cobh], Ireland, conducting target practice off Rame Head while en route. She arrived on the 19th and resumed fitting out for service as a decoy, or “Q” ship.


Arvonian, as Santee; note the dazzle camouflage pattern, circa late 1917 or early 1918. (Courtesy of Capt. David C. Hanrahan, November 1929, Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph NH 41623)
Caption: Arvonian, as Santee; note the dazzle camouflage pattern, circa late 1917 or early 1918. (Courtesy of Capt. David C. Hanrahan, November 1929, Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph NH 41623)


Ship’s officers in uniform on board Santee at Devonport, England, dry dock on 20 February 1918. Seated in front are (left to right): Lt. John R. Peterson, Jr.; Cmdr. David C. Hanrahan, Commanding Officer; and Lt. Robert E.P. Elmer. Standing are (...
Caption: Ship’s officers in uniform on board Santee at Devonport, England, dry dock on 20 February 1918. Seated in front are (left to right): Lt. John R. Peterson, Jr.; Cmdr. David C. Hanrahan, Commanding Officer; and Lt. Robert E.P. Elmer. Standing are (left to right): Acting Pay Clerk John P. Killeen; Lt. (j.g.) Arthur D. Warwick; Assistant Surgeon Thomas L. Sutton, Medical Officer; Lt. James P. Compton; and Machinist Charles C. Roberts, Engineer Officer. Printed on postcard stock. (Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2007, Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph NH 105428)


Ship’s officers, wearing civilian clothing, as part of the ship’s disguise as an anti-submarine decoy ship, circa late 1917 or early 1918. Seated in front are (left to right): Lt. John R. Peterson, Jr., Executive Officer and Navigator; Cmdr. Davi...
Caption: Ship’s officers, wearing civilian clothing, as part of the ship’s disguise as an anti-submarine decoy ship, circa late 1917 or early 1918. Seated in front are (left to right): Lt. John R. Peterson, Jr., Executive Officer and Navigator; Cmdr. David C. Hanrahan, Commanding Officer; and Lt. Robert E.P. Elmer, Gunnery Watch. Standing are (left to right): Acting Pay Clerk John P. Killeen; Lt. (j.g.) Arthur D. Warwick, First Lieutenant of Watch; Assistant Surgeon Thomas L. Sutton, Medical Officer; Lt. (j.g.) James P. Compton, Torpedo Watch; and Machinist Charles C. Roberts, Engineer Officer. (Courtesy of Capt. David C. Hanrahan, November 1929, Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph NH 41627)

At 4:00 p.m. on 27 December 1917, two days after the fourth Christmas of the Great War, Santee cleared Queenstown for Bantry Bay, Ireland, to carry out exercises. She was about 14 miles south of Kinsale at 8:45 p.m., when a lookout spotted an approaching torpedo fired by U-61 (Kapitänleutnant Victor Dieckmann commanding). Before he could report, the weapon struck Santee’s port side just abaft the engine room bulkhead in hold No. 6, about 6–8 feet below the waterline. There were no casualties from the blast and the damage was limited to the hull structure. The ship, however, was plunged into darkness. Cmdr. Hanrahan ordered his men to battle stations and sent away the “panic party,” those sailors who played the role of a crew precipitously abandoning their sinking vessel. They left the ship in the three remaining boats, the fourth having been destroyed by the torpedo blast. As Hanrahan later reported, they got underway in “fine panicy [sic] style” – the ruse an attempt to lure the enemy to the surface. Visibility proved good, but Kapitänleutnant Dieckmann, however, proved unwilling to take the bait.

Two and one-half hours elapsed before Hanrahan called in the starboard lifeboat, and, a short time later, he radioed the Commander in Chief, Coast of Ireland, informing him of the condition of the ship. Destroyers and tugs were dispatched to her aid from the Irish coast. Cummings (Destroyer No. 44) and Sterett (Destroyer No. 27) arrived about midnight. Tug Paladin II took the damaged Santee in tow about 1:00 a.m. on the 28th, while Cummings and Sterett aided in picking up the remaining boats from Santee’s “panic party.” The towline parted at 2:30 a.m. and another line was attached and she was again taken in tow by Paladin II, which was later joined by the tug Fylde. Before she reached Queenstown at noon, Santee and the tugs were joined en route by Trippe (Destroyer No. 33) and McDougal (Destroyer No. 54) along with the British sloops HMS Viola and HMS Bluebell.


View from on board Santee taken after she was torpedoed on 27 December 1917, showing damage over her engine room hatch and the boat destroyed by the explosion. HMS Bluebell is faintly visible in the right distance. (Courtesy of Capt. David C. Han...
Caption: View from on board Santee taken after she was torpedoed on 27 December 1917, showing damage over her engine room hatch and the boat destroyed by the explosion. HMS Bluebell is faintly visible in the right distance. (Courtesy of Capt. David C. Hanrahan, November 1929, Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph NH 41626)


Santee’s after well deck awash, while being towed into Queenstown after receiving torpedo damage. Note the wrecked motor launch and debris on the water-washed deck. (Courtesy of Capt. David C. Hanrahan, November 1929, Naval History and Heritage C...
Caption: Santee’s after well deck awash, while being towed into Queenstown after receiving torpedo damage. Note the wrecked motor launch and debris on the water-washed deck. (Courtesy of Capt. David C. Hanrahan, November 1929, Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph NH 41624)

Santee entered the dry dock at the Haulbowline Dockyard, Queenstown, at 5:00 p.m. on 28 December 1917. Repairs lasted through January 1918. Escorted by Manley (Destroyer No. 74) and Cushing (Destroyer No. 55), Santee departed Queenstown on 5 February under tow of Genesee (Fleet Tug No. 55), and arrived at Plymouth on 7 February. Then under escort of the British sloop HMS Aubretia, she was towed to Devonport where she arrived the following day to have new armament installed.


Torpedo damage – a hole measuring 20 by 21 feet in size – by her No. 6 hold at the engine room bulkhead, photographed while she lay in dry dock at the Haulbowline Shipyard, Queenstown. (Courtesy of Capt. David C. Hanrahan, November 1929, Naval Hi...
Caption: Torpedo damage – a hole measuring 20 by 21 feet in size – by her No. 6 hold at the engine room bulkhead, photographed while she lay in dry dock at the Haulbowline Shipyard, Queenstown. (Courtesy of Capt. David C. Hanrahan, November 1929, Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph NH 46125)

Santee was decommissioned on 8 April 1918 and returned to the Admiralty, and resumed her former name HMS Bendish. In November 1918, she was acquired by the Rondda Shipping & Coal Exporting Co., Ltd., and renamed Brookvale. In 1928 she was sold to Latvian owners and renamed Spidola. Captured by the Germans during World War II in 1943, she was renamed Rudau. After the war, in 1947, she was sold to Costa Rican interests and again named Spidola. Eventually sold to Walter Ritscher, the former “Q-ship” was broken up at Hamburg, West Germany, in 1958.

Commanding Officer Dates of Command
Cmdr. David C. Hanrahan 27 November 1917–8 April 1918

 

Robert J. Cressman and Christopher B. Havern Sr.
18 September 2018

Published: Thu Sep 20 13:05:49 EDT 2018