Commander Karl Erik OOM, OBE, US Legion of Merit, US Bronze Star

Karl Erik Oom was born on 27 May 1904 at Chatswood, Sydney, fourth child of Gustaf Peter Ludwig August Oom, a draftsman from Sweden, and his English-born wife May Isabel, née Le Guay.  In 1918 Karl entered the Royal Australian Naval College, Jervis Bay, Federal Capital Territory, as a cadet Midshipman.  Noted for his individuality and physical fitness, he graduated in 1921.  He trained at sea and completed courses in England before returning to Australia in March 1926.

Commencing his career in the RAN's Hydrographic Branch, Oom joined the survey ship, HMAS Moresby, in May that year.  In July 1927 he was promoted Lieutenant.  He gained respect for his initiative and ability to handle boats, and for the speed and accuracy of his work.  These qualities led to his selection as a member of Sir Douglas Mawson's British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (1930-31), on which his surveys and cartography proved valuable.

Australian Polar Collection of Australian naval officer, Karl Erik Oom on board the
‘Discovery’ (1929-31). Here he is pictured operating a Nansen-Pettersson water bottle –
this device dates back to the late C19th & encloses a seawater sample from any depth.
On reaching the surface the maximum temperature loss is no more than 1% of a degree.

In 1932-34 Oom was on loan to the Royal Navy(RN), serving in HMS Challenger.  He spent most of the next five years either aboard HMAS Moresby or with detached boat-parties, surveying Torres Strait and the seas off Queensland, the Northern Territory, Papua and the Mandated Territory of New Guinea. 

Again with the RN in 1939, he was posted to HMS Franklin.  On 17 June that year at the register office, Hammersmith, London, he married Evelyn Margaret Stewart Mocatta, née Jeffrey, a 29-year-old divorcee; they were to remain childless.

From February 1941 to January 1942, then-Lieutenant Commander Oom held his first major wartime command aboard HMS Gleaner (J83), a Halcyon-class vessel serving the British Royal Navy.

Gleaner was originally designed and launched in 1937 as a specialized civilian hydrographic survey vessel.  At the outbreak of World War II, the Royal Navy immediately recalled and converted her at Plymouth into a minesweeper and anti-submarine escort ship.  She displaced roughly 830 tons, measured 245 feet long, and was heavily re-armed with anti-aircraft guns, 4-inch naval guns, and depth charge throwers to protect convoys.

Oom took command following the ship's famous February 1940 action (where Gleaner successfully hunted and sank the German submarine U-33 under a previous commander).  Under Oom's leadership, Gleaner was tasked with grueling anti-submarine patrols and convoy escort operations.  He commanded the vessel through treacherous, freezing waters across the North Sea and the eastern Atlantic.  His primary responsibility was defending Allied merchant supply lines from German U-boats and Luftwaffe air attacks.  The experience testing his leadership in harsh European combat environments prepared him for his return to Australia, where he was immediately fast-tracked to command combat hydrographic forces in the Pacific.

Oom was posted to command HMAS Whyalla in November 1942.  He was ordered to produce reliable charts for ships involved in the allied offensives in Papua and New Guinea.  While off Cape Nelson, Papua, on 2 January 1943, Whyalla was repeatedly bombed.  Spray from near misses washed survey sheets and the plotting-board over the ship's side; the work had to be immediately and painstakingly redone. 

HMAS Whyalla(1) is now the centrepiece for the Whyalla Maritime Museum which was officially
opened on 29 October 1988. It is one of only two Bathurst Class preserved as museum ships,
the other being HMAS Castlemaine in Williamstown, Victoria.

Oom transferred to HMAS Shepparton in May 1943 and was promoted Commander in June.  Two months later he was appointed officer-in-charge of the Hydrographic Branch and Commander, Task Group 70.5, which was responsible for survey operations in the South-West Pacific Area.  He sailed in various ships to find and mark safe passages for allied landings in New Guinea, the Philippines and Borneo. 

Task Group 70.5 (TG 70.5) was a specialised unit of the United States Seventh Fleet during World War II, primarily comprised of Royal Australian Navy (RAN) surveying ships.  Formed in 1943, this force played a crucial role in hydrographic charting and mine-sweeping during the Allied advance through the South West Pacific.

Key Aspects of Task Group 70.5:

• Purpose: The group conducted detailed surveying of enemy-controlled or poorly charted waters, marking channels and assisting minesweeping flotillas in preparation for amphibious landings.

• Operational Control: It was under the overall operational control of the US 7th Fleet Survey Group.

• Major Operations: TG 70.5 was involved in numerous critical landings, including the Admiralty Islands, Morotai, Leyte Gulf, Lingayen Gulf, Zamboanga, Tarakan, Brunei Bay, and Balikpapan.

• Key Vessels: Ships involved in the group included HMAS Shepparton, Benalla, Echuca, Warrego, Lachlan, and the flagship HMAS Moresby.

• Key Action: HMAS Shepparton surveyed a channel through the Japanese-controlled Dampier Strait before the Cape Gloucester landing, while HMAS Benalla surveyed Seeadler Harbour during the Admiralty Islands occupation.

Operations and Duties:

• Advance Surveying: Conducting hydrographic surveys in forward areas, often under dangerous conditions while the waters were still contested.

• Minesweeping Support: Routinely forming part of minesweeping flotillas to clear paths for landing craft.

• Northern Australian Waters: Conducting vital survey work in the Timor and Arafura Seas.

The group remained active until the cessation of hostilities in 1945.

Oom received several significant Australian, British, and American honours for his wartime hydrographic and survey work during World War II. They were:

Antarctic and Academic Honours

• Polar Medal (Bronze):  Approved by the King in May 1934 with the clasp "Antarctic 1930–31".  It recognised his meticulous coastal mapping during Sir Douglas Mawson's British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE).

• Gill Memorial Award:  Awarded in 1945 by the Royal Geographical Society of London.  This distinguished honour recognised his exceptional achievements in hydrographic surveying and dangerous marine cartography under wartime constraints.

World War II Military Decorations

• Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE):  Awarded in 1945 within the Military Division.  It honoured his leadership as the Officer-in-Charge of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Hydrographic Branch and his success in navigating treacherous, unmapped waters for critical Allied offensives.

• United States Legion of Merit (Degree of Legionnaire):  Conferred by the United States government in 1945.  Oom received this for his leadership of Task Group 70.5 within the U.S. Seventh Fleet, where he discovered and marked safe passages for pivotal amphibious Allied landings across New Guinea, Borneo, and the Philippines.

• United States Bronze Star Medal:  Awarded in 1947 specifically for his extreme bravery and coolness under pressure in March 1945.  Oom successfully conducted a vital frontline naval survey off Zamboanga, Philippines, while under direct enemy fire.

Collectively, these honours show that Oom was regarded as one of Australia’s leading wartime hydrographers, with contributions valued at both military and scientific levels.

After the war, Oom helped to formulate a new policy by which the Naval Board - through the senior officer, Hydrographic Service - became the charting authority for waters around Australia and the Territory of Papua-New Guinea.  From May 1946 he commanded HMAS Warrego.  In November 1947 he was appointed to command HMAS Wyatt Earp and to take charge of Antarctic surveys. 

From April 1948 Oom again headed the Hydrographic Branch.  He was passed over for promotion to Captain in 1951 and in December returned to sea in Warrego.  In poor health, he was posted ashore in February 1952 and invalided from the navy on 30 October.  A widower, he married Jean Miriam Kearney, née Wells, a 42-year-old divorcee, on 14 March 1955 at the registrar general's office, Sydney.  They retired to the south coast with Oom suffering from cirrhosis of the liver. 

Landmarks in Oom's Honour

Oom Bay and Oom Island:  are two geographical features located in Mac. Robertson Land within the Australian Antarctic Territory.  Both were officially named to honour Commander Karl Erik Oom’s precise cartographic contributions during his service as a survey officer on Sir Douglas Mawson’s BANZARE voyage (1930–1931).

Oom Bay is a distinct, well-defined bay measuring roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) wide.  It indents the Mawson Coast, positioned directly between Cape Bruce to the east and Campbell Head to the west.  Formally discovered and charted in February 1931 by Sir Douglas Mawson’s expedition.  Mawson named the bay directly after Oom to recognize his diligence as the expedition's primary hydrographic cartographer.  The bay is known to modern Mawson Station researchers for its towering, spectacular ice cliffs, proximity to the Taylor Glacier, and occasional massive jade icebergs.  A historic commemorative cairn (designated Historic Site No. 5 under the Antarctic Treaty) stands on the edge of the bay at Cape Bruce.

Oom Island is a very small (actual size unknown), isolated island located just off the Mac. Robertson Land coast.  It sits approximately 0.93 kilometers (0.5 nautical miles) northeast of Campbell Head, placing it right at the western entrance of Oom Bay.  The island was originally mapped from aerial photographs by Norwegian cartographers during the Lars Christensen Expedition (1936–37), who initially named it Uksoy.  It was later officially renamed Oom Island by the Antarctic Names Committee of Australia (ANCA) to permanently align the island's nomenclature with the adjacent bay.

Karl Erik Oom died of pulmonary thrombosis on 22 June 1972 at his Turlinjah home and was buried with Anglican rites in Moruya cemetery.  His wife survived him.

Sources:
Australian War Memorial
Australian Dictionary of Biography
Australian Antarctice Data Centre
Sea Power Centre
Naval Historical Society of Australia

Compiled by Laurie Pegler