I have made searches of the subscription website Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com) for records of your grandfather. Ancestry.com includes databases of passenger and crew lists of vessels arriving in certain U.S. ports of entry that sailed from a foreign port.
The only record I found of a man with the last name of Smallwood, serving in BEACONOIL, was for a "John B." Smallwood, not a "Jim B." or "James B." In this case he was aboard the ship upon its arrival in New York on Dec 9 1940, from Caripito, Venezuela, from which it had sailed on Dec 1 1940. The ship had sailed on or about Nov 3 from New York to Aruba. John B. Smallwood was assigned as 3rd assistant engineer.
Searching further for John B Smallwood and John Smallwood, I found numerous records for the same man serving in other ships, notably CHRISTY PAYNE (from late 1942 to mid 1943) and S.B. HUNT (early to late 1944). Aboard CHRISTY PAYNE he generally sailed as 1st assistant engineer while on S.B. HUNT he sailed as chief engineer. Most voyages were between New York and various Caribbean ports although there was one voyage aboard CHRISTY PAYNE between New York and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
I searched for but did not find any man named Jim (or Jim B) or James (or James B) Smallwood who could have been the same man as John B Smallwood. Nor did I find any records for a J.B. Smallwood.
The positions of chief engineer and 1st, 2nd and 3rd assistant engineer are all merchant marine officer positions in the engine department (engine room crew) on a merchant ship. The rank of Lt Commander is a military rank, Navy or Coast Guard, not a merchant marine rank. However it was and is very common for merchant marine officers also to hold an officer's commission in the U.S. navy reserve. Additionally, if wearing a merchant marine officer's uniform while serving as a 1st assistant engineer, the uniform would have markings on the sleeve or shoulder that are very similar to a Lt Commander's rank insignia, namely two wider stripes with a narrow stripe between. (A merchant marine officer with the rank of 1st mate would have the same uniform, distinguished from that of the 1st engineer only by another insignia to denote a deck officer rather than an engineering officer.)
CHRISTY PAYNE was a tanker built in Vancouver, Washington, in 1921 (originally having the name CALGAROLITE), renamed CHRISTY PAYNE in 1928 and scrapped in 1946.
S.B. HUNT was a tanker built in Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1919, scrapped in 1947. S.B. HUNT was damaged in a torpedo attack on July 7 1943, likely before your grandfather served in her. There were no injuries to her crew. See http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/2988.html and http://www.aukevisser.nl/inter/id87.htm.
BEACONOIL was a tanker built in 1919 in San Francisco (originally named DEVOLENTE) renamed BEACONOIL in 1923, scrapped in 1950.
The records available through Ancestry.com are not comprehensive in identifying seamen. For example, a ship sailing from a U.S. port to another U.S. port would not have had to clear Customs and therefore would not be included in the Ancestry.com databases. And not all voyages from a foreign port to a U.S. port are necessarily included in Ancestry.com, although Customs records for such an arrival may exist somewhere. Other records may contain errors, whether in the original or in subsequent transcription, serious enough as not to be found in a search.
In other words, one cannot discount the possibility that John B Smallwood sailed in BEACONOIL in 1945, as your family story has it. But there is also the possibility that whatever happened to your grandfather took place on a different ship, with S.B. HUNT being a strong possibility. The latest record for John B Smallwood that I can find is an arrival in New York on that ship on Oct 25, 1944, from Aruba. At that point he had made several consecutive voyages on the same ship and had been part of the crew for about six months. There is a good possibility, particularly since he was a senior officer (chief engineer in his case), that he would have continued to serve in the same ship for subsequent voyages, including whatever proved to be his final voyage.
You may wish to make a "Ship Search" for each of the above vessels on the excellent website ConvoyWeb (http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/hague/index.html). This website contains extensive information on the whereabouts of ships by location and date throughout World War II. There would be no information about the crew of a ship, only about the ship itself, but you may be able to trace the movement of the three ships in late 1944-late 1945, the time period of particular interest to you.
Finally, you may be able to obtain a copy of your grandfather's merchant marine service record, via the U.S. Coast Guard, which is responsible for issuing documents and licenses to U.S. merchant mariners. See this page from the website I manage, http://www.armed-guard.com/searchmil.html, in particular section A.2. Records of Individuals - Merchant Marine. You will have to contact the Coast Guard's National Maritime Center, providing as much identifying information as possible. Contact information is available on the above-noted page. Be aware that since you are not next-of-kin (defined as spouse, child or sibling), you may not be able to obtain his records or may not be able to obtain a complete record. But if you can obtain his records they may indicate other ships in which he sailed, including his final voyage, applicable dates, and possibly what happened to him and when.
Good luck.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com
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