Iconic Image 26

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This month's Iconic Image is...

The sinking of the SS Cynthia Olson

Intro

This photograph was taken on December 7, 1941, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is a grainy image that depicts a small cargo ship foundering in the ocean. This image would become a powerful symbol of a long forgotten tragedy and an enduring mystery that happened on America's Day of Infamy.

Part I

On December 1, 1941, an American cargo ship, the 250-foot SS Cynthia Olson, departed from Tacoma, Washington. With a crew of 33 and two passengers, the ship was carrying load of lumber to be delivered to soldiers stationed in Hawaii. In command of the ship was, Captain Berthel Carlsen. The two passengers were enlisted men in the US Army. They were, Private Samuel Ziskind of Brooklyn, New York, and Private Ernest Davenport from Creswell, North Carolina. These two men were simply along for the ride as the ship was heading to their place of deployment. 

For the passengers and crew of the Cynthia Olson, this should have been a routine trip on the great circle (spherical distance) between the cities of Tacoma and Honolulu. Unknown to them, they were on a collision corse with a deadly enemy. Between the ship and Hawaii was a Japanese submarine. It was the IJN (Imperial Japanese Navy) I-26.

The I-26 had departed from Yokosuka, Japan, on November 19. With a crew of 94 officers and sailors, she set a course for the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. Her mission was to scout the Aleutian coastline and monitor American ship movements in preparation for the upcoming attack on Pearl Harbor. In command of the submarine was, Commander Minoru Yokota. He had explicit instructions to not attack any American ships until 8:00 on December 7.

Part II

At 10 PM on December 6, the Cynthia Olson was midway between Tacoma and Honolulu. She was spotted by the I-26 which began to shadow the unarmed cargo ship. Throughout the night, the submarine continued to stalk the unsuspecting Cynthia Olson waiting for the right moment to send her to the bottom of the ocean. At 8 AM the next day, Commander Yokota ordered the I-26 to attack.

The submarine was armed with a single 14 cm/40 11th Year Type deck gun and ten 6th year type torpedoes. After surfacing, the I-26 began firing her deck gun at the Cynthia Olson. The submarine fired 18 rounds from her deck gun into the unarmed cargo ship before submerging. The I-26 then fired a torpedo which missed the Cynthia Olson. The sub then resurfaced and noticed the crew of the Olson entering the ship's lifeboats. Commander Yokota then had the I-26 shoot another 29 rounds from the deck gun into the Olson. 

The ship then began to list heavily to starboard. It was at that moment that a crewmen on the I-26, Suburo Hayashi, grabbed a camera and snapped a photograph of the sinking ship. At that point, Commander Yokota knew that the American ship was doomed. Minutes after the photograph was taken, the Cynthia Olson slipped beneath the waves. The I-26 then submerged and left the scene with the distinction of being the first Japanese submarine to sink an American ship.

Part III

When the attack began, the Cynthia Olson sent out a distress signal to all ships in the area. The only ship to pick up the call was the American liner, SS Lurline. The Lurline had departed from Honolulu on December 5, and was heading in the opposite direction towards San Francisco. She was carrying 765 passengers and more than 300 crew members. In command, was Captain Charles Berndtson. 

At approximately 8:06 in the morning, Captain Berndtson became aware of a distress call coming from the Hawaiian Islands not too far the Lurline's location. The distress call revealed to Captain Berndston (who was at a church service in the ship's lounge), that Pearl Harbor had been attacked by the Japanese and wartime regulations were now in place. The captain proceeded to inform the passengers and crew of the situation and that they were going to resume sailing to San Francisco.

However, Captain Berndtson did not inform his passengers that his radioman had also picked up an SOS from the foundering Cynthia Olson. At 8:08 that morning, the crew of the Cynthia Olson reported to the Lurline that the former had been attacked by a surfaced submarine. They then reported that the submarine was located at latitude 33°42' north, longitude 145°29' west. This was about 700 miles northeast of Oahu. Most researchers believe that the man who sent this message was, Samuel Ziskind (one of the Cynthia Olson's army passengers). 

Captain Berndtson briefly considered going to the aid of the crew of the Cynthia Olson. However, knowing that there was a Japanese submarine in the area (and there were likely more), he feared for the safety of his more than 700 passengers. A cruise ship would be a highly vulnerable and prized target for any submariner. Unwilling to risk the lives of his passengers and crew, Captain Berndtson made the decision to immediately set sail for San Francisco (while maintaining radio silence). It was a decision that would haunt him for many years.

Epilogue

After World War II in the late 1940s, Commander Minoru Yokota was interviewed by former soldier and historian, Gordon Prange. In the interview, Yokota revealed that he had been responsible for the sinking of the Cynthia Olson. He even handed over the photograph taken by Suburo Hayashi as proof. Prange confirmed that this was indeed the Cynthia Olson. However, when asked about the fate of the freighter's crew and two passengers, Yokota denied killing any of the crew. He claimed that he saw them entering two lifeboats before rowing away from the foundering ship. After that, he ordered the I-26 to submerge and search for more targets. He continued to command the I-26 until the year 1943, when he was relieved by Lieutenant-Commander Toshio Kusaka. 

During World War II, the IJN I-26 became one of the most successful Japanese submarines. She sank a total of nine American ships (most notably the battle cruiser, USS Juneau) and damaged three others (including the aircraft carrier, USS Saratoga). On June 29, 1942, the I-26, surfaced off the coast of Vancouver Island and successfully shelled the RDF (radio direction finding) site on the Hesquiat Peninsula. She continued to be a menace to the American Navy until she was finally sunk with all hands on October 26, 1944.

In the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the American Navy had very little ships that could be spared to search for the missing crew of the Cynthia Olson. By the time the SS Lurline had sailed safely into San Francisco harbor on December 10 and relayed the freighter's distress call, three days had already passed. A search pattern of the missing crew turned up nothing. Not a piece of wreckage, nor any traces of the crew and passengers were ever discovered. On January 25, 1943, the US Navy made a formal finding of death for the 35 passengers and crew of the Cynthia Olson. Their final moments remain unknown.

Today, the sinking of the SS Cynthia Olson had been largely forgotten by the American public. The photograph of the foundering ship is the only evidence of the ship's tragic fate as the first American ship to be sunk by a Japanese submarine during World War II. It remains a sad reminder of a lost piece of history and the last unsolved mystery of the Attack on Pearl Harbor.

https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2001/december/what-happened-cynthia-olson

https://www.usdeadlyevents.com/1941-dec-7-cargo-ship-cynthia-olson-sunk-by-japanese-sub-pacific-btw-tacoma-honolulu-35/

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/target-americas-west-coast/

http://www.combinedfleet.com/I-26.htm

https://www.maritimequest.com/daily_event_archive/2008/12_dec/07_ss_cynthia_olson.htm