CRONK-GEORGE

ONE  OF  THE  MOST  REMARKABLE  SURFACE  BATTLES  OF  WWII

The SS STEPHEN HOPKINS, a U.S. Merchant Marine Liberty ship, was launched in May 1942.  Her maiden voyage took her from San Francisco to Bora Bora, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and then into the Atlantic Ocean bound for British Guiana, where on the morning of September 27, 1942, she met her fate off Surinam.  While proceeding through haze she spotted two ships coming out of the fog not far away.  The ships were the German surface raider STIER and its supply ship TANNENFELS.  The STIER was a former merchant ship disguised as a neutral-flag cargo ship, but her profile had been changed with the addition of fake masts and stacks, and she now carried six 5.9-inch guns hidden behind false deck panels. 

A scant three minutes after the two ships were sighted and they neared to about 1,000-yards, shots suddenly pierced the STEPHEN HOPKINS superstructure.  As Navy Armed Guard gunners and mariners assigned as loaders raced to their guns, they saw a ship off the starboard bow about their same size firing at them.  Thus, began one of the most remarkable surface battles of World War II.  Explosions rocked the ship and machine gun fire was raking the decks.  One of the first shells killed two mariners as they stepped on deck.  The order was given to steer STEPHEN HOPKINS so the stern with its single World War One era 4-inch gun would point at the enemy and at the same time present the smallest target.  Although severely wounded by shrapnel, the commander of the Armed Guard expertly directed the 4-inch gun at the waterline of the German raider, getting a shot off about every 45-seconds.  They made every shot count as they hit the STIER’s rudder and then damaged its forward guns.

STEPHEN HOPKINS also took damaging shots as one pierced the hull hitting directly into the engine room as the ship went almost dead in the water.  The STIER continued putting shell after shell into the upper works of STEPHEN HOPKINS.  A large caliber shell hit near the 4-inch stern gun killing all the men nearby.  A Merchant Marine cadet saw the 4-inch gun was deserted, so although untrained, he manned the gun alone and fired all five shells left in the ready box, scoring hits with all five.  Very shortly thereafter the cadet was killed by a shell which exploded nearby.  The firefight lasted about half an hour and a total of 35 shells hit STIER, leaving her in shambles as was the STEPHEN HOPKINS.  Both ships were on fire and sinking.  After an hour or so she sank as did the STIER.

George Sylvester Cronk was the Second Engineer aboard STEPHEN HOPKINS.  As the battle with STIER progressed he assisted in carrying wounded and burned men from the engine room.  When Cronk was ordered to see if lifeboats were still intact, he went to the boat deck and finding only one lifeboat still intact he helped lower it into the water.  Seeing the Master throw the ship’s code book overboard he started toward the bridge but was cut off by flames spread by the incendiary shells that continued to pelt the ship.  In desperation, Cronk jumped overboard and swam for about 20 minutes before getting to the lifeboat he had helped put in the water.  He managed to climb aboard and soon assisted in picking up nine other men from the sea and impromptu life rafts.  Soon thereafter STEPHEN HOPKINS sank in flames.

Only 19 survivors from the 60 men who had been aboard managed to board the lifeboat.  Cronk was the sole surviving officer and took command of the lifeboat which had no navigational instruments other than a compass.  With little food and water, Cronk set a course for land 2,200 miles away.  Thirty-one days later the boat reached land at a remote fishing village in Brazil.  A U.S. Navy lieutenant sent to meet them commented that they “were never for one moment beaten.  After days of being battered together on a cramped lifeboat, they were still lavishing praise on one another, helping one another.”  Fortunately, fifteen men survived the arduous voyage.  When news of the battle was released the STEPHEN HOPKINS was hailed as a “Hero Ship” and the ship and its crew was awarded the U.S. Maritime Commission’s Gallant Ship Unit Citation.  During World War II it was the only U.S. merchant ship to sink a German surface warship.

All crewmembers of STEPHEN HOPKINS were subsequently awarded the Galant Ship Unit Citation.  Additionally, on July 7, 1943 in San Francisco, George S. Cronk was awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award which can be bestowed upon members of that service.

          MERCHANT MARINE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL CITATION

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal to George S. Cronk, Second Engineer on SS STEPHEN HOPKINS on September 27, 1942, for meritorious service under unusual hazards.  Two enemy surface raiders attacked the merchantman upon which he was serving.  Heavy guns of one raider pounded his ship, and machine gun fire from the other sprayed her decks at close quarters.  Answering shot for shot, the gallant merchantman succeeded in sinking one of the raiders before she finally went under carrying many of her fighting crew with her.  Engineer Cronk, sole surviving officer of the stricken ship, took command of the only lifeboat which could be launched.  In heavy rain squalls and seas running high, he succeeded in rescuing six survivors who had jumped from the sinking ship.  Then, with nineteen aboard, including four badly wounded, and with no navigational instruments other than the boat compass, a westward course was set to fetch the nearest land 2,200 miles away.  The small boat beat her way westward for thirty-one days.  Many times heavy weather was encountered, forcing the survivors to put out a sea anchor and heave-to because of high seas.  In spite of all efforts in their behalf, three of the wounded died and there were times when delirium threatened, but Cronk's firm leadership overcame all emergencies until a safe landing was made.  His courage and practical leadership, so largely contributory to the ultimate rescue of his shipmates, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Merchant Marine.

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)