Ivor Markman
President Kruger's Unsung Hero
DOOMED VESSEL: The South African frigate SAS President Kruger, before she was rammed and accidentally sunk off Cape Point in the early hours of the morning of February 18, 1982. Photo: SOUTH AFRICAN NAVY.
KRUGER SURVIVOR . . . Allan Macphail with a copy of The Herald reporting the news of the sinking of the SAS President Kruger on February 18, 1982. Macphail was in the engine room when the SAS Tafelberg slammed into the Kruger. Photo: IVOR MARKMAN
Ivor Markman
One of the true heroes of the sinking of the South African Navy frigate, the SAS President Kruger, during a routine training exercise in dark and bad weather on February 18, 1982, has never been acknowledged.
The Kruger, under the command of Captain De Lange, collided with the SAS Tafelberg 78 nautical miles (144 km) south of Cape Point. The collision occurred during stormy conditions and in darkness at 4.10 am.
Sixteen men lost their lives in the accident and only one body was ever recovered.
A Westland Wasp helicopter, based on board SAS President Pretorius and operated by 22 Squadron, SAAF, assisted in the rescue of men from the sea.
Port Elizabeth survivor Allan Macphail, who was then an acting Leading Seaman in the engine room when the warship collided with SAS Tafelberg, says Petty officer Kevin Sumner risked his life by going below decks on his own in the pitch dark to start the emergency diesel generators.
During the impact, the side of the Kruger alongside the engine room was ripped wide open and flooded.
As all the electricity was generated in the engine room, the ship's lights went out when it was flooded.
"There were guys trapped in all different places and Sumner made his way to the bow, to start the diesel generators in pitch black darkness with no torch," said Macphail.
"There was no electricity on the ship at all, but Sumner made it.
"He got to the diesel room, started the generators all on his own, and got the lights back on so people could see where they were going.
"It normally takes two guys to get things started," he said.
Sumner's action no doubt saved the lives of many of those trapped below deck, but Macphail believes Sumner never received the recognition he deserved.
"He got a pat on his back from his shipmates and that was just about it.
“He was a very brave guy.”
DISASTER COUNTDOWN : Graphic: LANA BREEDT
The drama - in which 16 lives were lost - began shortly before 4am, soon after an early morning shift change.
The new shift had just been to the galley to make peanut butter sandwiches and had reported to their posts.
"If anybody sinks here, they're gone, hey," commented one of the crew about the 2 000m depth of Atlantic Ocean water below.
In the engine room, Macphail was second-in-command and had just begun taking steam checks, checking the deaerator anti-corrosion device and reading the oil pressure gauges.
"I was busy writing down all the readings when the Tafelberg hit us. There was a helluva crash - it was ear shattering and scary.
“It was a hard hit and then a huge scraping sound.
“It wasn't that long; only 20 or 30 seconds.
"I was (flung) towards the front of the ship and hit the deaerator.
"I got up and was very upset because I had lost my peanut butter sandwich.
"We thought we'd run aground and didn't know what had happened until we saw the gaping hole and the water pouring in.
"(The Tafelberg) came right through and hit the gearbox and the shaft (of one of the two propellers).
“It peeled the ship open above us and squashed the rest like a concertina.
"Above the engine room, on the first deck, the ablution area was wiped out.
“A chief petty officer was showering as he had just come off duty.
“He was gone; they never found him.
"There wasn't a gaping hole, otherwise we would have been sucked out, but the hole was big enough to allow a helluva lot of water in, so much so that (it) shot across to the other side."
The junior ratings were told to evacuate and Macphail was ordered to close and open various valves to get the pumps going.
"The water level was rising far too quickly.
“There was no ways the pumps could cope, and so the engine room mechanic in charge said 'Abandon the engine room'.
“We were the last two to come out (of the engine room)."
ALL THAT WAS FOUND: A piece of crumpled metal from the SAS President Kruger was found on the SAS Tafelberg after the collision. The sea where the frigate sank is believed to be between 2 000 and 3 000 metres deep.
KRUGER'S LAUNCH: The SAS President Kruger slides down the Yarrow Shipbuilders' slipway in Scotsoun, Glasgow, on October 20, 1960.
After reporting the condition of the engine room, the two were told to "batten down the hatch" (close and seal it) and move to their action station areas at the stern. At that stage, the crew were told to muster on the flight deck.
As the ship started sinking, the bow was at a very steep angle and the side where the collision occurred was already under water.
The order to abandon ship was piped to the crew.
A locker containing life jackets was smashed open and given to the non-swimmers.
"We told the guys, ‘Take your shoes off’. You mustn't get into a life raft with your shoes on, because you could puncture it.
“One guy replied: ‘No, I'm not going to take my shoes off, because I want to kick the sharks (if they attack)'.
"We couldn't jump, because the ship was at an angle.
“You could see all the barnacles (on the side), because by then the President Pretorius had its spotlight on us.
“Three of us hunched down on our shoes and slid down. As we got close to (the sea), we shot ourselves into the water.
“Then we kicked our shoes off and swam to the life raft.
"Having spoken to ex-World War Two sailors, this ship should never have sunk, because we were in a cruise state when we should have been in a combat state.
“We were doing exercises, so we should have been in at least state three or two.
"The watertight hatches would have been closed before the incident even happened, because that is part of the state.
"If we were in combat state, we would have had life jackets on.
“There were life jackets available, but they weren't issued.
"There would have been people in shoring positions to be able to shore up holes and plug them.
“Then we would have limped back to harbour.
“We couldn't even do a repair on the side.
"I blame the captain, Wim de Lange, because we never heard or saw him. He didn't even say ‘abandon ship'.
“The executive officer (second-in-charge) took charge of the whole issue.
"If you were part of the Broederbond, you got away with murder. “But if you were English, they nailed you in those days."
Two inquiries were held, the first of which was held under then SA Defence Force chief, General Constand Viljoen, and later deemed illegal.
Macphail, on duty at the time, was ordered to testify
"They called me in and sat me down.
“The first question that Constand Viljoen asked me was ‘When are you leaving the navy?'
"I said ‘But I'm not leaving the navy - I'm Permanent Force'. "
“(Viljoen then) said: `Don't f * * *ing bulls * * * me!'
“He swore at me and there was major chaos.
“They switched off the tape recorder and he went ballistic.
"The captain who brought me in lifted me out of my chair and said ‘Come on, let's get out’.
"He took me outside and said ‘You just go home’ and he sent me away.
“That was the full extent of the inquiry."
The government paid for a second, legal, inquiry in 1983 but Macphail had by then left the SADF.
Still, he was still told to attend.
The government paid for his transport and accommodation in Cape Town, but, once again, Macphail was never asked to testify.
Text Copyright, Ivor Markman, 2018.
DAMAGED BOW . . . SAS Tafelberg tied up at Simonstown dock. The damage caused to the bow by the collision can be clearly seen. Photo: SOUTH AFRICAN NAVY.
