| Original caption: “During the invasion of Sicily, an American cargo ship is hit by a bomb from a German plane and its cargo of munitions explodes, off Gela, Sicily.” Steamship Robert Rowan, a Liberty Ship named for Revolutionary War South Carolina politician Robert Rowan (1738 – October 26, 1798) was built by North Carolina shipbuilding Company. Hull 904 was laid down on March 5, 1943, and was launched into the Cape Fear River on April 6, 1943, by Jean Ashcroft Huske (February 19, 1926 – January 23, 2007). The ship was completed on April 13, 1943. Owned by the War Shipping Administration, SS Robert Rowan was operated by Isthmian Steamship Company, a subsidiary of United States Steel. 25 Armed Guard served aboard operated 5-inch (75 millimeter) 50 caliber guns and 28 millimeter oerlikon anti-aircraft artillery. SS Robert Rowen transited the Atlantic on May 14, 1943. The ship left Mers El Kebir, Algeria, with 7 other cargo ships for Gela on July 7. During the invasion of Sicily, the Liberty ship SS Robert Rowan was hit by a German Ju-88 bomber and its cargo of munitions exploded off Gela, Sicily on July 11, 1943. German and Italian fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft were based mainly in Sicily, Sardinia and southern Italy. The Luftwaffe (“Nazi German Air Force”) twin-engine Zerstörer (literally “Destroyer,” heavy fighter-bombers) numbered about 75 aircraft. They were divided between Sicilian and northern Italian airfields. In central Italy, the Luftwaffe maintained its Ju-88 night-fighter force, most bombers and long-range reconnaissance units having relocated from Sicily under threat of invasion to either southern France or northern Italy. While the potential invasion of the Balkans remained foremost in German planning, some a 180 Italian and 265 German aircraft – including a 130 bombers, dive-bombers, and reconnaissance aircraft – remained in the Aegean area. Air raids against the Husky beaches intensified during the 2nd day after the landings as merchant ships arrived carrying reinforcements and supplies for the men fighting ashore. Within the American sector, 3 ships hove to off Gela including the Liberty ship SS Robert Rowan, carrying ammunition and over 400 men; its crew included naval gunners and soldiers from the United States 7th Army. Artillery fire from ashore straddled the ship, wounding 1 embarked soldier, before the cruiser USS Boise (CL-47) engaged with counterbattery fire to silence the guns. Then, during the afternoon, Ju-88s of Kampfgeschwader 6 (KG 6) and Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG 54) mounted a high-level raid missing USS Boise with bombs but squarely hitting SS Robert Rowan. Flames swiftly overwhelmed the heavily laden vessel and, fearing a sympathetic explosion of stored ammunition, the crew and passengers were ordered to abandon ship, which remarkably they did without loss, thanks in large part to the bravery of neighboring vessels that mounted a swift evacuation. Lieutenant John McFadzean (January 4, 1907 – September 22, 1976) of Evanston, Illinois, SS Robert Rowen’s Senior Armed Guard Gunner, who had also survived the sinking of SS Pennsylvania Sun a year earlier on July 15, 1942, later recalled, “Some of the men on the flying bridge had a few close calls, so we ordered the gun crew to report aft and prepare to abandon ship. By this time the life boats and rafts were gone, making it necessary for the Armed Guard crew to jump into the water and swim over to several of the small boats sent by other ships. After getting the Armed Guard crew over the side, Lieutenant Hussey and I checked the gun crew quarters and found one of our gunners packing his diddy bag to take over the side with him! Well, – we got him over the side in short order.” 6 minutes after the last man had left the ship, at 1635 Hours, the stored ammunition in Number 2 hold exploded, followed within 20 minutes by a final terrifying blast that blew the ship in 2 at the bridge and sent a column of smoke thousands of feet into the air. Debris was flung across the entire area and the burning ship settled on the shallow seabed. An American destroyer, USS McLanahan (DD-615), attempted unsuccessfully to extinguish the flames lest they provide a beacon for night bomber attacks. SS Robert Rowan continued to smolder for several days illuminating anchored ships by night to the benefit of German and Italian aircrews, who added magnesium flares to shine their cold white light over the troops below. The air attack provoked much confusion in the fleet. The attacking aircraft were identified as Junkers Ju-87 Stukas, Messerschmidt Me-110s, Focke-Wulf Condor Fw-200s, Heinkel He-111s, and Junkers Ju-88s in ships’ war diaries. USS McLanahan’s War Diary reported an air attack at 0650 Hours, followed by another at 1540 Hours by Ju-88s that came in at 9,000 feet (2,700 meters). McLanahan and USS Samuel Chase (APA-26) moved to rescue the crew by whaleboat and life nets. At 1910, McLanahan was ordered to sink the wreck with gunfire, but it was too shallow, and it continued to burn. Another air attack came in at 2200 Hours and dropped flares. Survivors were transferred 1st to USS Barnett (APA-5) and then USS Lyon (AP-71) and finally USS Orizaba (AP-24). The survivors were alongside SS Fort Confidence, a Canadian ammunition ship, when it accidentally caught fire and was beached on July 12; Lieutenant McFadzean later stated, “It was quite an experience for us after the affair at Gela, but fortunately the Orizaba sustained only minor damage, although all personnel aboard were pretty well shaken up.” McFadzean later joined the Armed Guard crew of SS Richard Montgomery, which broke apart on August 20, 1944, on the Nore sandbank in the Thames Estuary, near Sheerness, Kent, England, while carrying a cargo of munitions. Meaning McFadzean was present for 3 dangerous cargo ship sinkings. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0632.jpg |
| Image Size | 654.39 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2928 x 1948 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | July 11, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | Gela |
| State or Province | Sicily |
| Country | Italy |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-111-SC-180476 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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