Photo By Erin Thompson | SS Athos II anchored in France, 20 January 1944 (U.S. Coast Guard)... read more read more
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by Erin E. Thompson, USAICoE Staff Historian
CIC PANAMA DETACHMENT INVESTIGATES SABOTAGE OF SHIPS
On 20 February 1944, the Panama Detachment of the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) received a cablegram from the Galapagos Islands regarding potential sabotage operations aboard the SS Athos II, a French ship employed by the U.S. Army for transport work. The case highlighted the unusual duties of CIC agents in Central America during the Second World War.
The Panama Canal Zone (PCZ) was a significant asset to American and Allied forces during World War II. It served as an essential shipping and travel route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and was thus heavily protected by U.S. troops stationed in Central America. The CIC Panama Canal Department Detachment during World War II was tasked with performing routine intelligence and counterintelligence operations and investigating reports of sabotage and foreign agents in the region. Many cases handled by the CIC Panama Detachment included rumors of shipments of explosives and weapons being smuggled through the PCZ. The CIC also became responsible for investigating naval and domestic cases outside the scope of intelligence. A 1943 CIC report summarized the situation in the PCZ:
"Since the [U.S. Army] is the dominant power in this area, even in some naval or maritime matters, the CIC in addition to its own duties, has been requested to investigate cases for the Navy, the Civil Authorities, Military Attachés, and the American and British Embassies. No other agency has a field force of investigators in the Panama Canal Department."
In February 1944, a member of the Free French Liberation Committee of Panama City informed the CIC that pro-Vichy, pro-Nazi elements were aboard the SS Athos II. The Athos II was a French dry cargo barge built in 1925 that was repurposed as a supply ship for the Americans during the North African invasion in late 1942. The ship’s crew was made up of French sailors, some of whom were suspected of favoring the Vichy government in France, which was allied with the Axis powers. Since being employed by the Allies in 1942, the ship had suffered numerous mysterious accidents, including a collision with another Allied ship and frequent damages to essential areas of the ship requiring extensive repairs.
On 20 February 1944, a cablegram reached the CIC Panama Detachment from the Galapagos Islands reporting the engine of Athos II had broken down as a result of suspected sabotage. Aboard the ship were 1,500 U.S. Army technicians bound for India to assist in building a B-29 bomber base. In response to the cablegram, two naval engineers and a CIC agent disguised as their interpreter traveled by plane to the Galapagos to investigate Athos II as it was returning to Balboa, Panama, for repairs. The CIC agent began mingling with the crew and seamen and found most suspected a pro-Vichy officer was deliberately sabotaging the ship.
However, another reason for the ship’s bad fortune quickly became apparent. The ship had spent time in the New York harbor while being outfitted to assist the Americans for the war. While being given minor repairs, the CIC agent learned other “hasty and ill-advised work” had also been done to the ship. He suspected these inappropriate and ill-performed repairs had damaged key components of the ship and was the cause of the trouble.
Once the ship docked in Balboa, the assistant chief of staff, G-2, of the Panama Canal Department took over the investigation and set up a board of inquiry made up of the G-2 officer, the ship’s captain and one of its officers, and the unnamed CIC agent who had questioned the crew on its return trip. The board failed to determine the true nature of the ship’s misfortunes. After being repaired, the ship resumed its travel to India and continued to assist the Allies throughout the remainder of the war. In 1946, Athos II served as a transport vessel for Jewish refugee children coming to the United States from France.
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| Date Taken: | 02.16.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 02.16.2024 15:20 |
| Story ID: | 464143 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 182 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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