1942 — Apr 23, US tanker Connecticut sunk by German torpedo boat, south Atlantic–36-38

–38 American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
–27 crew
–11 armed guard
–38 Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.
–27 crew
–11 armed guard
–37 Sixtant War II in the South Atlantic. “21) Connecticut (Raider Michel).” By: www.bismarck-class.dk
–37 Wreck Site. “SS Connecticut (+1942).” (History section by Vleggeert Nico, 7-13-2009.)
–36-38 Allied Merchant Navy of WWII. “Ian Ferguson’s Homepage, Part One: SS Albertolite”
–35 at the time
— 1 after capture onboard the German cruiser Michel
— 2 as Japanese POW
–36 Chen, C. Peter. “Second Happy Time: 14 Jan 1942–31 Aug 1942.” World War II Database.

Narrative Information

Allied Merchant Navy of WWII. “Ian Ferguson’s Homepage, Part One: SS Albertolite”:
“Connecticut was sunk in a horrific attack by torpedo boat LS-4 from the German raider Michel, 35 men died at the scene; 1 more died aboard the raider; and of the 18 survivors, 2 more died under the barbaric conditions inflicted upon them as POW’s of the Japanese.”

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
“Date Ship Type Cause Result Location Deaths
“04/23/42 Connecticut Tanker Torpedo Sunk SAtlantic Crew 27; AG 11.”

Chen, C. Peter. “Second Happy Time: 14 Jan 1942–31 Aug 1942.” World War II Database:
“23 Apr 1942 Before dawn, German armed merchant cruiser Michel launched torpedo boat LS-4 Esau to attack US tanker Connecticut in the middle of the South Atlantic, which successfully sank the tanker with two torpedoes; 36 were killed, 18 survived. At 2053 hours, German submarine U-125 sank US ship Lammot Du Pont 500 miles southeast of Bermuda; 6 were killed, 48 survived.”

Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com:
“S.S. Connecticut Torpedoed 4/23/42 Tanker Crew 27, AG 11.”

Sixtant War II in the South Atlantic. “21) Connecticut (Raider Michel).”
“SS Connecticut Sunk 23 April 1942
“Built 1938
“Tonnage 8,684 / 12,735 tons
“Cargo: 84,200 barrels of high octane gasoline
“Sunk 23/04/42 by Torpedo Boat Esan from Raider Michel on position 23⁰ 00”S 20⁰ 00”W.
“37 dead
“18 POW
“On April 22, two nights after the sinking of the Patella, this 8,685-ton Texas Company-owned American tanker, with a crew of 52…bound for the Cape…fell victim…as the LS 4, which, with what was another typical Von Ruckteschell touch, had been named Esau, put a torpedo into her in the early hours of the morning. The second torpedo ignites the 84,200 barrels of gasoline, airplane engines and heating oils that Connecticut is carrying as cargo.

“She was heard to briefly radio her position as her crew frantically lowered the boats and rapidly abandoned their floating bomb of a ship. But as her radio operator continued to send distress signals a second torpedo was fired which ignited the cargo and blew the ship apart in a gigantic fireball that shot hundreds of feet into the air.

“The burning fuel swept rapidly across the surface of the water engulfing the last two boats which were attempting to get away to windward around the tanker’s stern, and the men in them. At dawn, the 19 surviving members of the crew were picked up.”

Wreck Site. “SS Connecticut (+1942).” (History section by Vleggeert Nico, 7-13-2009.):
“The American tanker Connecticut was torpedoed and sunk by German torpedo boat Esau (LS-4) from auxiliary cruiser Michel. Thirty-seven of her crew were killed and 18 were taken on board of the raider as POW.”

Sources

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of Ships Sunk or Damaged January to June 1942. Accessed 5-6-2021 at: http://www.usmm.org/sunk42a.html#anchor331462

Chen, C. Peter. “Second Happy Time: 14 Jan 1942 – 31 Aug 1942.” World War II Database. Accessed 5-6-2021 at: https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=277

Moore, Captain Arthur R. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking: A History of the Staggering Losses Suffered By the U.S. Merchant Marine, Both in Ships and Personnel, During World War II. American Merchant Marine Museum 1983 (1st edition), 1990. Table extracted by armed-guard.com. Accessed 5-6-2021 at: https://www.armed-guard.com/sunk.html

Wreck Site. “SS Connecticut (+1942).” (History section by Vleggeert Nico, 7-13-2009.) Accessed 5-6-2021 at: https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?136783