Torpedoes at Cape Canaveral
By Diane Barile
The crew at the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse saw sailors abandon ship as flames and blooming smoke devoured the tanker Pan Massachusetts. They could little believe in 1942 that enemy submarines had been stealthily monitoring the Atlantic all day just off shore. Under cover of darkness, the sub surfaced, the Captain signaled and torpedoes fired into the tanker.
Similarly, airmen at the newly established Banana River Naval Air Station stood helpless as torpedoes assailed another vessel, the Leslie, just off shore. In 1942, February through July, eight freighters and tankers were attacked from Cape Canaveral to Sebastian Inlet. In all, there were twenty-one between the Cape and Miami with 158 fatalities.
The German submarine wolf pack found a perfect shooting gallery. The Atlantic shipping channel ran quite close to the beaches. So ships could be highlighted against the silhouette of the mainland to make ships prominent “sitting ducks”. Cargoes were essential to the war effort of World War II. With no major oil pipelines from the Texas wells, fuel was carried by tanker to the US northeast. Cargo freighters carried essential commodities.
The United States had been at war with Germany for over a year when Nazi U Boats invaded American National waters. But in the winter of 1942, residents were first concerned with the rescue of seamen survivors. Over one hundred fifty seamen and crew were sheltered at Canaveral Lighthouse. Communities provided medical treatment and care as local fishermen picked up survivors. A volunteer group of charter boat captains and pleasure boaters, “The Mosquito Fleet”, combed the Atlantic off Sebastian Inlet. Two seamen from the Swedish ship Knorsholm were buried at the Melbourne Cemetery.
Citizens mobilized to meet the Nazi threat at their doors. With no inlet from New Smyrna to Sebastian Inlet, local pilots were paid as part of a Civil Air Patrol as aerial scouts near shore. Both commercial and residential lighting was blocked out and car headlights darkened on the top half.
Access to the beaches and barrier islands were restricted, especially at night. Volunteers manned the seventeen wooden watch towers along the coast. Later observers and military units were trained to recognize not only U Boats, but various aircraft. There was even an observation post atop the Melbourne Hotel at US 1 and New Haven Avenue in Melbourne.
As the defense of the Florida coast became formally established, air escorts protected Atlantic navigation. Sitings of U Boats decreased and the last four torpedoes hit their marks in 1943.
If you had asked residents of our shorelines about 1942, they may have said, “We didn’t go to war with Germany. We were in World War II right here at home.”
Please visit the South Brevard Historical Society’s website (http://www.southbrevardhistory.org) for further information about Brevard’s history and local events.
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