US Liberty Ship SS Robert Rowan Explodes Off the Coast of Sicily

Full Title: The Liberty Ship SS Robert Rowan explodes after being hit by a German bomber off the coast of Gela, Sicily on July 11, 1943

On July 9, 1943 Allied forces, primarily British, Canadian and U.S. invaded Sicily in Operation Husky. Among the hundreds of ships supporting the vast Allied invasion fleet were dozens of the ubiquitous mass produced U.S. Liberty ships. The SS Robert Rowan, one such Liberty ship, had been tasked with transporting soldiers and carrying supplies for U.S. Lt. General George S. Patton's Seventh Army. All told, the Robert Rowan carried over 400 sailors, crewmen and soldiers from the U.S. Seventh Army. In spite of the hundreds of service personnel and crew packed on board, logisticians had seen fit to cram thousands of tons of ammunition on the ship.

From the invasion's first hours the Axis had made a determined effort to impede the Allied effort and Axis aircraft made regular appearances over the invasion fleet. July 11th was no exception, and early in the afternoon well over two dozen German Ju-88 bombers targeted the U.S. fleet off Gela. Invariably the Robert Rowan was staggered by a series of bomb hits and flames began to sweep the ship. Given the explosive nature of the ship's cargo the order to abandon ship was quickly given. Miraculously, everyone escaped as the brave crews of nearby ships organized an efficient and daring rescue operation. Meanwhile, nearby craft not directly involved in the rescue maneuvered away from the doomed merchant  ship. Shortly thereafter the flames ignited the ammunition in the cargo holds and the massive explosion pictured here tore the Robert Rowan in half, sent a column of smoke thousands of feet into the sky and flung pieces of metal across the entire area. The burning hull settled on the coastal seabed with significant sections of the burning and smoking ship protruding above water. Although an American destroyer attempted to put out the flames illuminating the vulnerable Allied shipping, the shallow waters stymied its efforts, and the Robert Rowan would smolder on for days thereafter.


Picture Courtesy of US Army Signal Corps: Photo #MM-43-L-1-23