Page 291 - Il Mediterraneo quale elemento del Potere Marittimo - Atti 16-18 settembre 1996

SOUTH AFRICA'S NAVAL ROLE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR 277

Gamtoos performed a particularly nerve-racking task on 26 March, when they suc-
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ceeded in salvaging a circling torpedo and took it ashore <1° >. At T ripoli, the Gam-
toos also successfully salvaged numerous shi ps an d during September an d October
she performed another unusual job, that of patching up the bomb damaged ltalian
batdeship Italia which had fallen into Allied hands 003>.
Initially nineteen of the Gamtoos' 41 crew members were "non European" and
one of them (Stoker M. Greeves) was awarded a British Empire Medal at Tobruk.
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With time, however, they were replaced by "European" members 0 >. By the war's
end, very few "non European" SANF members had served at sea in the Mediterra-
nean, while a considerable number of "non European" or black South Africans
served on land with South African Army and Air Force units. ·
. From Tripoli, the Gamtoos proceeded to Alexandria for a much needed refit
and then to Tobruk, were she floated the wreck of the sunken SS Corona on 21 De-
cember 1943. Following salvage work on wrecks on the North Africa shore she
was transferred to Naples after the start of the Italian campaign. At the time (from
June 1944 to December 1945) the CO of the Gamtoos was Lt H.H. Biermann, a
legend in South Mrican Naval History. Under his command, the ship mainly per-
formed salvage work o n the Mediterranean coast of Europe an d was also involved
in the ltalian Campaign and the invasion of southern France.
As in the case ofTripoli, the Gamtoos was the first allied ship to enter the har-
bour of Marseilles. On her arrivai off Marseilles, in a heavy sea on 3 september
1943, shordy after the Allied landings in southern France and the liberation of Ma~­
seilles, she was greeted by a scene of destrucrion. Wreckage was everywhere. Dock
cranes were tipped into the water. The wharfes were blasted to rubble and even
the loda between the different sections of the harbour were filled with sunken bar-
ges and other wreckage OO~;). The inner entrance of the mai n harbour was comple-
tely blocked by a large sunken liner, the SS Cape Corse, which had been filled with
rubble from wrecked buildings and towed across the entrance at Vieux Port where
her bottom was blown off, thereby sealing the channel. As the clearing of the en-
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trance to Marseilles was vi tal to the Allies 0° \ the Gamtoos' crew immediately pro-
ceeded with demolition and salvage work, working seven days a week. There was
che ever-present and · considerable risk of mi n es and o n 7 September che Gamtoos
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had a narrow brush with a mine when she quickly "had to put about" <1° >. De-
molition charges removed the stern of the Cape Corse and o n 12 September, the
Gamtoos literally scraped through the.gap into the inner harbour: apart from light-
draught vessels, the first ship to do so. She continued salvage work and after a re-
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cord eighteen days work, ships could enter the inner harbour 0° >.
With her reputation established beyond doubt, the Gamtoos was called to clear
other harbours. At the neighbouring port of La Ciotat, importane for ber graving-
dock 009>, the Gamtoos were put to work o n the wreck of the Sidi Cussa which ha d
been scuttled in the harbour entrance and filled with grave!. Despite the presence
of magnetic mines, the wreck was pumped empty, floated, and towed clear; and
on 14 December 1944 the port of La Ciotat was opened OIO>. The Gamtoos recei-
ved numerous messages of congratulations, while Biermann received an OBE (Of-
ficer of the British Empire) < n.
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