AHS Centaur

AHS Centaur was a hospital ship which was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Queensland, Australia, on 14 May 1943. Of the 332 medical personnel and civilian crew aboard, 268 died, including 63 of the 65 army personnel.

Completed in Scotland by Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company as a combination passenger liner and refrigerated cargo ship in 1924, it operated between Western Australia and Singapore via the Dutch East Indies, carrying passengers, cargo, and livestock. At the start of World War II, Centaur, like all British Merchant Navy vessels) was placed under Admiralty control, but after being fitted with defensive equipment, was allowed to continue normal operations. In November 1941, the ship rescued German survivors of the engagement between Kormoran and HMAS Sydney. Centaur was relocated to Australia's east coast in October 1942, and used to transport materiel to New Guinea.

In January 1943, Centaur was handed over to the Australian military for conversion to a hospital ship, as her small size made her suitable for operating in Maritime Southeast Asia. The refit (including installation of medical facilities and repainting with Red Cross markings) was completed in March, and the ship undertook a trial voyage: transporting wounded from Townsville to Brisbane, then from Port Moresby to Brisbane. After replenishing in Sydney, Centaur embarked the 2/12th Field Ambulance for transport to New Guinea, and sailed on 12 May. Before dawn on 14 May 1943, during her second voyage, Centaur was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine off Moreton Island, Queensland. The majority of the 332 aboard died in the attack; the 64 survivors were discovered 36 hours later. The incident resulted in public outrage as attacking a hospital ship is considered a war crime under the 1907 Hague Convention. Protests were made by the Australian and British governments to Japan and efforts were made to discover the people responsible so they could be tried at a war crimes tribunal. In the 1970s the probable identity of the attacking submarine, I-177, became public.

The reason for the attack is unknown; there are theories that Centaur was in breach of the international conventions that should have protected her, that I-177s commander was unaware that Centaur was a hospital ship, or that the submarine commander, Hajime Nakagawa, knowingly attacked a protected vessel. The wreck of Centaur was found on 20 December 2009; a claimed discovery in 1995 has been proven to be a different shipwreck.

Design and construction

Original design

In early 1923, the Ocean Steamship Company, a subsidiary of the Blue Funnel Line, decided that a new vessel would be required to replace the ageing Charon on the Western Australia to Singapore trade route. The vessel had to be capable of simultaneously transporting passengers, cargo, and livestock.

thumb|Centaur underway

Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company in Greenock was chosen to build Centaur. Cargo was carried in four holds; the two decks within the hull were primarily for livestock, and could also be used as extra cargo space. The hull of the ship was a 'turret deck' design; decks below the waterline were wider than those above water, and a flat, reinforced hull allowed the ship to rest on the bottom. One of the most visible characteristics was the smokestack, the extreme size was more a concession to tradition than of practical advantage on a diesel-powered vessel.

In December 1939, Centaur underwent a minor refit in Hong Kong, with a supercharger and a new propeller fitted to the engine. The supercharger broke down in April 1942, and could not be repaired because of equipment shortages and restricted dockyard access caused by World War II.

Hospital ship refit

At the beginning of 1943, Centaur was placed at the disposal of the Australian Department of Defence for conversion to a hospital ship.

thumb|left|alt=Inside of a medical ward aboard a ship: Bunk beds line the right side, other furnishings protrude into the bottom edge of the photograph, but apart from these, the room is empty. A door at the far end of the room has the text "F WARD" painted on it.|One of Centaurs wards shortly after her conversion to a hospital ship

The cost increased to almost AU£55,000, for a variety of reasons. To maintain the ship's mean draught of , 900 tons of ironstone were distributed through the cargo holds as ballast.

Operational history

1924 to 1938

Centaur was allocated the United Kingdom Official Number 147275 and the Code Letters KHHC. Her port of registry was Liverpool. When Centaur entered service at the end of 1924, the Fremantle–Java– Singapore trade route was being serviced by two other Blue Funnel Line vessels; Gorgon (which remained in service until 1928) and Charon (which Centaur was replacing). Centaurs route ran from Fremantle up the Western Australian coast calling at Geraldton, Carnarvon, Onslow, Point Samson, Port Hedland, Broome, and Derby then to the Bali Strait, Surabaya, Semarang, Batavia, and Singapore.

Following the change in Code Letters in 1934, Centaur was allocated the Code Letters GMQP. A highlight of Centaurs pre-war career was the rescue of the 385 ton Japanese whale-chaser Kyo Maru II in November 1938. Kyo Maru II had developed boiler problems while returning from the Antarctic and was drifting towards the Houtman Abrolhos Archipelago, where she was in danger of being wrecked by the reefs in the area. Following the outbreak of World War II on 3 September 1939, Centaur was equipped with a stern-mounted Mark IX naval gun and two .303 Vickers machine guns located on the bridge wings for protection against Axis warships and aircraft. She was also fitted with port and starboard paravanes and degaussing equipment for protection against naval mines. The weapons were removed during the hospital ship refit, although the anti-mine countermeasures remained. Centaur initially remained in service on her original trade route. Upon encountering the lifeboat, food was lowered to its occupants, and one person was allowed on board to explain the situation. During the tow towards Carnarvon, Western Australia, the lifeboat was swamped and partially sunk by rough seas, so two of Centaurs lifeboats were lowered to carry the Germans.

1943

With the commencement of hostilities between Japan and the British Empire, it became clear that the three hospital ships currently serving Australia—Manunda, Wanganella and Oranje—would not be able to operate in the shallow waters typical of Maritime Southeast Asia, so a new hospital ship was required. Of the Australian Merchant Navy vessels able to operate in this region, none were suitable for conversion to a hospital ship, and a request to the British Ministry of Shipping placed Centaur at the disposal of the Australian military on 4 January 1943. white hull with a green band interspersed by three red crosses on each flank of the hull, white superstructure, multiple large red crosses positioned so that the ship's status would be visible from both sea and air, and an identification number (for Centaur, 47) on her bows. At night, the markings were illuminated by a combination of internal and external lights. Data on the ship's markings and the layout of identifying structural features was provided to the International Committee of the Red Cross during the first week of February 1943, who passed this on to the Japanese on 5 February.

thumb|left|alt=A single-funnelled merchant ship at rest. The ship is painted white, with a dark horizontal band along the hull, interspersed by dark crosses. The number "47" is painted near the bow, in a black box above the line.|AHS Centaur in [[Port Jackson|Sydney Harbour]]

Centaur entered operation as a hospital ship on 12 March 1943. The early stages of Centaur's first voyage as a hospital ship were test and transport runs; the initial run from Melbourne to Sydney resulted in the Master, Chief Engineer, and Chief Medical Officer composing a long list of defects requiring attention. Following repairs, she conducted a test run, transporting wounded servicemen from Townsville to Brisbane to ensure that she was capable of fulfilling the role of a medical vessel.

Arriving in Sydney on 8 May 1943, Centaur was re-provisioned at Darling Harbour, before departing for Cairns, Queensland on 12 May 1943. From there, her destination was again New Guinea. Most of the female nurses had transferred from the hospital ship Oranje, and the male Army personnel assigned to the ship aboard were all medical staff. During the loading process, there was an incident when the ambulance drivers attached to the 2/12th attempted to bring their rifles and personal supplies of ammunition aboard. The remaining cargo was searched by the crew and labourers for other weapons and munitions. The torpedo struck the portside oil fuel tank approximately below the waterline, creating a hole across, igniting the fuel, and setting the ship on fire from the bridge aft. Many of those on board were immediately killed by concussion or perished in the inferno. Centaur quickly took on water through the impact site, rolled to port, then sank bow-first, submerging completely in less than three minutes.

According to the position extrapolated by Second Officer Gordon Rippon from the 4:00 am dead reckoning position, Centaur was attacked approximately east-northeast of Point Lookout, North Stradbroke Island, Queensland. Doubts were initially cast on the accuracy of both the calculated point of sinking and the dead reckoning position, but the 2009 discovery of the wreck found both to be correct, Centaur located within of Rippon's coordinates.

Survivors

{| class="toccolours" style="width:20%; float:right;"

! colspan="3" | Survivor breakdown

! Group !! Embarked !! Survived

| Crew || 75 || 30

| Army officers || 8 || 0

| Army nurses || 12 || 1

| 2/12th Field Ambulance || 192 || 32

| Other Army || 45 || 1

| Total || 332 || 64

Of the 332 people on board, 64 were rescued. Several people who made it off the ship alive later died from shrapnel wounds or burns; others were unable to keep themselves afloat without support and eventually drowned.

The survivors spent 36 hours in the water, using barrels, wreckage, and the two damaged lifeboats for flotation. The survivors saw at least four ships and several aircraft during this time, but were unable to attract their attention.

At the time of rescue, the survivors were in two large and three smaller groups, with several more floating alone. In 1944, Ellen Savage was presented with the George Medal for providing medical care, boosting morale, and displaying meritorious courage during the wait for rescue.

Rescue

thumb|upright|left|alt=Black-and-white photograph of a dark-haired woman in a military uniform and wearing a hat|Sister Ellen Savage was the sole survivor of the 12 female nurses on board Centaur.

On the morning of 15 May 1943, the American destroyer departed Brisbane to escort the 11,063 ton New Zealand freighter Sussex on the first stage of the latter's trans-Tasman voyage. At 2:00 pm, a lookout aboard Mugford reported an object on the horizon. Marksmen were positioned around the ship to shoot sharks, and sailors stood ready to dive in and assist the wounded. Mugfords medics inspected each person as they came aboard and provided necessary medical care. The rescue of the 64 survivors took an hour and twenty minutes, although Mugford remained in the area until dark, searching an area of approximately for more survivors. After darkness fell, Mugford returned to Brisbane, arriving shortly before midnight.

Identifying attacker

At the time of the attack, none aboard Centaur witnessed what had attacked the ship. Due to the ship's position, the distance from shore, and the depth, it was concluded that she was torpedoed by one of the Japanese submarines known to be operating off the Australian east coast. Several survivors later claimed to have heard the attacking submarine moving on the surface while they were adrift, and the submarine was seen by the ship's cook, Francis Martin, who was floating alone on a hatch cover, out of sight from the main cluster of survivors. Martin described the submarine to Naval Intelligence following the survivors' return to land; his description matched the profile of a KD7 type Kaidai-class submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy. None of these submarines survived the war; I-177 was sunk by on 3 October 1944, I-178 by on 25 August 1943, and I-180 by on 26 April 1944. Kusaka and Nakagawa were transferred to other submarines before the loss of I-180 and I-177 respectively, but Utsuki and I-178 were sunk while returning from the patrol off the coast of Australia.

In December 1943, following official protests, the Japanese government issued a statement formally denying responsibility for the sinking of Centaur. Records provided by the Japanese following the war also did not acknowledge responsibility.

Historians were divided on which submarine was responsible. In Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945, published in 1968 as part of the series detailing the Australian official history of World War II, George Hermon Gill concluded that either I-178 or I-180 was responsible; the former was more likely as she had served in Australian waters the longest of any Japanese submarine at the time, but had claimed no kills in the three-month period surrounding Centaurs sinking. Japanese Rear Admiral Kaneyoshi Sakamoto, who had shown Rohwer the report, stated that Nakagawa and I-177 were responsible for the attack on Centaur in his 1979 book History of Submarine Warfare. Nakagawa, who died in 1991, refused to speak about the attack on Centaur following the war crimes investigation at the end of World War II or even to defend himself or deny the claims made by Rohwer and Sakamoto.

Reaction

Public reaction

thumb|right|alt=A painting showing a hospital ship on fire and sinking. In the foreground, a man and a woman cling to a spar to keep afloat, while other people are shown leaving the ship by lifeboat or jumping overboard. The poster is captioned across the top with the words "WORK • SAVE • FIGHT", and across the bottom with "and so AVENGE THE NURSES!"|A propaganda poster calling for Australians to avenge the sinking of Centaur

The media were notified of Centaurs sinking on 17 May 1943, but were ordered not to release the news until it had been announced in the South West Pacific Area's General Headquarters dispatch at midday on 18 May, and in Parliament by Prime Minister John Curtin that afternoon. News of the attack made front pages throughout the world, including The Times of London, The New York Times, and the Montreal Gazette. In some newspapers, the news took precedence over the 'Dambuster' raids performed in Europe by No. 617 Squadron RAF.

The initial public reaction to the attack on Centaur was one of outrage, significantly different from that displayed following the loss of Australian warships or merchant vessels. As a hospital ship, the attack was a breach of the tenth Hague Convention of 1907, and as such was a war crime. The sinking of Centaur drew strong reactions from both Prime Minister Curtin and General Douglas MacArthur. Curtin stated that the sinking was "an entirely inexcusable act, undertaken in violation of the convention to which Japan is a party and of all the principles of common humanity". MacArthur reflected the common Australian view when he stated that the sinking was an example of Japanese "limitless savagery". Politicians urged the public to use their rage to fuel the war effort, and Centaur became a symbol of Australia's determination to defeat what appeared to be a brutal and uncompromising enemy. The Australian Government produced posters depicting the sinking, which called for Australians to "Avenge the Nurses" by working to produce materiel, purchasing war bonds, or enlisting in the armed forces. This stemmed from an incident involving the ambulance drivers' weapons during loading in Sydney. Similar reactions were expressed by other Allied personnel; United States Army Air Forces General George Kenney recalled having to talk a sergeant bombardier out of organising a retaliatory bombing run on a Japanese hospital ship known to be in their area.

thumb|left|alt=Black-and-white photograph of two soldiers working with a lathe. A poster behind them depicts a ship with hospital markings sinking by the bow and is captioned with "SAVE for the brave" and "Let us avenge the Nurses".|A war loan poster depicting the sinking of Centaur displayed at an Australian Army workshop in Lae, New Guinea, in September 1944

Six days after the attack on Centaur, a request was made by the Australian Department of Defence that the identification markings and lights be removed from Australian hospital ship Manunda, weapons be installed, and that she begin to sail blacked out and under escort. The conversion was performed, although efforts by the Department of the Navy, the Admiralty, and authorities in New Zealand and the United States of America caused the completed conversion to be undone. On 9 June 1943, communications between the Combined Chiefs of Staff on the subject of hospital ships contained a section referring to the Manunda incident as a response to the attack on Centaur, with the conclusion that the attack was the work of an irresponsible Japanese commander, and that it would be better to wait until further attacks had been made before considering the removal of hospital ship markings.

When the consideration was made that the ambulance drivers' weapons incident just before Centaur's voyage may have been partially responsible for the attack, it led to the tightening of rules regarding who was allowed to travel on a hospital ship.

Official protests

After consultation with the Australian armed forces, General MacArthur, the Admiralty, and the Australian Government, an official protest was sent. This was received by the Japanese Government on 29 May 1943.

Theories for attack

Torpedo attacks in Australian waters were common at this time, with 27 Japanese submarines operating in Australian waters between June 1942 and December 1944. These submarines attacked almost 50 merchant vessels, 20 ships confirmed to be sunk as result of a Japanese attack, plus 9 more unconfirmed.

Several actions on Centaurs part may have contributed to her demise. Centaur was under orders to sail well out to sea until reaching the Great Barrier Reef; her course keeping her between from shore. Centaurs Master, believing he had been given a route intended for a merchant vessel, set a course closer to land, but on the seaward side of in depth. Also, Centaur was sailing completely illuminated, with the exception of the two bow floodlights, which had been switched off as they interfered with visibility from the bridge. When Centaur left Sydney, her decks were packed with green-uniformed men, and as Field Ambulance uniforms were only distinguishable from other Army uniforms by badge insignia and the colouration of the cloth band ringing the hat, a distant observer could have concluded that the hospital ship was transporting soldiers. Those witnessing the loading in Sydney would have seen the ambulance drivers bring their weapons aboard, and could have come to a similar conclusion.

Similar but later rumours included that during her first voyage, Centaur had transported soldiers to New Guinea, or Japanese prisoners of war back to Australia for interrogation, and consequently had been marked as a legitimate target by the Japanese. Centaur had carried 10 prisoners of war on her return voyage from New Guinea, but as they were all wounded personnel, transporting them on a hospital ship was legal.

Mistaken target

This theory states that Nakagawa was unaware that the vessel he was attacking was a hospital ship, and that the sinking was an unfortunate accident. This view was supported by several Japanese officers, both before and after the revelation that Nakagawa was responsible. With Centaurs bow floodlights out, and with the observation of the target made through the periscope, there is a possibility Nakagawa would not have seen the hospital ship's markings if he had been in the wrong position. Researchers speculate that as Nakagawa was approaching the end of his tour in Australian waters, and had only sunk a single enemy vessel, the 8,742 ton freighter Limerick, he did not want to return with the disgrace of a single kill.

In February 1944, while in command of I-37, Nakagawa ordered the machine-gunning of survivors from three British merchant vessels torpedoed by his submarine (, on 22 February; Sutlej, on 24 February; and Ascot on 29 February). These incidents showed that Nakagawa was willing to ignore the laws of war. Some parties also believed that Rippon's calculated point of sinking was inaccurate, either intentionally or through error. According to Milligan and Foley, this likely occurred because an estimated distance from Brisbane, included as a frame of reference, was interpreted literally. Attempts to relocate the site between 1974 and 1992 were unsuccessful, an associate of the divers claiming that the Navy destroyed the wreck shortly after its discovery.

Dennis's claim

In 1995, it was announced that the shipwreck of Centaur had been located in waters from the lighthouse on Moreton Island, a significant distance from her believed last position. The finding was reported on A Current Affair, during which footage of the shipwreck, underwater, was shown. During this time, Dennis had been convicted on two counts of deception and one of theft through scams. Jackson had been studying Centaur for some time, and believed that the wreck was actually another, much smaller ship, the MV Kyogle, a lime freighter purchased by the Royal Australian Air Force and sunk during bombing practice on 12 May 1951. By the end of 2008, the Australian Federal and Queensland State governments had formed a joint committee and contributed A$2 million each towards a search, and tenders to supply equipment (including the search vessel, side-scan sonar systems, and a remotely operated inspection submersible) were opened in February 2009, and awarded during the year. The search, conducted from the Defence Maritime Services vessel Seahorse Spirit and overseen by shipwreck hunter David Mearns, commenced during the weekend of 12–13 December 2009. The initial search area off Cape Moreton covered , the search team being given 35 days to locate and film the wreck before funding was exhausted. On the afternoon of 18 December, the sonar towfish separated from the cable, and was lost in of water, forcing the use of the high-resolution sonar to complete the area search. After inspecting the potential targets, Mearns and the search team announced on 20 December that they had found Centaur that morning. Conditions for documenting the hospital ship were not optimal on the first ROV dive, and three more dives were made during 11 and 12 January. During the four dives, over 24 hours of footage were collected, along with several photographs: features identified during the operation include the Red Cross identification number, the hospital ship markings, and the ship's bell. The original Centaur House was sold in 1971, a new building being purchased and renamed. The second Centaur House was sold in 1979 and although the fund still exists, it no longer owns a physical facility. In 1990, a stained glass memorial window depicting Centaur, along with a plaque listing the names of those lost in the attack, was installed at Concord Repatriation General Hospital, at a cost of A$16,000. A display about Centaur was placed at the Australian War Memorial. It was removed in 1992 to make way for a display related to the Vietnam War. It consists of a monumental stone topped with a cairn, surrounded by a tiled moat with memorial plaques explaining the commemoration. The memorial is surrounded by a park with a boardwalk, overlooking the sea, with plaques for other Merchant Navy and Royal Australian Navy vessels lost during World War II. The unveiling of the memorial was performed by Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Senator John Faulkner. A second ceremony for 300 relatives of the hospital ship's personnel was held aboard on 24 September. During the service, which occurred over the wreck site, wreaths were laid and the ashes of three survivors were scattered.

Footnotes

Citations

References

;Books

;Journal and news articles

;Other media

AHS Centaur oral history with Pilot Officer Lawrence Wood, State Library of Queensland