1942 — Feb 22, US tanker J.N. Pew sunk by U-boat, Caribbean, ~225M west of Aruba– 33

–33 American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
–33 Chen, C. Peter. “22 Feb 1942.” World War II Database. Accessed 5-3-2021.
–33 Helgason. Ships hit by U-boats. “J.N. Pew – American Steam tanker.” uboat.net.
–33 Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.

Narrative Information

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
“Date Ship Type Cause Result Location Deaths
“02/21/42 J. N. Pew Tanker Torpedo Sunk Caribbean Crew 33.”

Chen, C. Peter. “22 Feb 1942.” World War II Database:
“German submarine U-67 sank US tanker J. N. Pew 225 miles west of Aruba in the Caribbean Sea, killing 33; of the 12 survivors, 10 would die before being rescued.” base

Helgason. Ships hit by U-boats. “J.N. Pew – American Steam tanker.” uboat.net:
“Name J.N. Pew
“Type Steam tanker
“Tonnage 9,033 tons
“Completed 1921 – Sun Shipbuilding Co., Chester PA
“Owner Sun Oil Company, Philadelphia PA
“Homeport Philadelphia
“Date of attack 22 Feb 1942
“Nationality American
“Fate Sunk by U-502 (Jurgen von Rosenstiel)
“Position 12° 40’N, 74° 00’W – Grid EC 8279
“Complement 36 (33 dead and 3 survivors).
“Route Aruba (20 Feb) – Panama Canal
“Cargo 104,270 barrels of fuel oil
“History ….
“Notes on event At 01.59 hours on 22 Feb 1942 the unescorted and unarmed J.N. Pew
(Master Thomas Edelen Bush) was hit by one of two torpedoes fired by U-
502 about 225 miles west of Aruba, while steaming completely blacked out on a zigzagging course at 11 knots. The torpedo struck on the port side
between the main mast and the midships pump room. The explosion sprayed
oil over the entire length and set the midships house afire. The burning
tanker was sunk by four coups de grâce fired at 02.35, 02.42, 02.54 and 03.04 hours.

The eight officers and 28 crewmen tried to abandon ship in the rough seas, but two of the four lifeboats and two floats were destroyed by the fire. One lifeboat cleared the ship with only two men in it and reached shore about 35 miles east of Riohacha, Colombia on 25 February. Friendly Indians helped them reach Riohacha, from where they were taken to Barranquilla, Colombia. A second boat swamped when it hit the water and ten survivors managed to right the boat the next morning, but had to set sail without water, food and survival equipment. On 14 March, only one man was alive when the boat was found by a patrol aircraft off Cristobal, which directed the Panamanian motor merchant Annetta I to it. He was taken to the Coco Naval Base, where he was hospitalized for several weeks before he was able to be sent home. None of the officers survived the sinking.”

Note: uboat.net has information on all thirty-six people onboard (all American citizens) at:
https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship1366.html

Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com:
“S.S. J. N. Pew Torpedoed 2/21/42 Tanker Crew 33 [Number Killed].”

Sources

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of Ships Sunk or Damaged January to June 1942. Accessed 5-3-2021 at: http://www.usmm.org/sunk42a.html#anchor331462

Chen, C. Peter. “22 Feb 1942.” World War II Database. Accessed 5-3-2021 at: https://ww2db.com/event/today/02/22/1942

Helgason, Gudmundur. Ships hit by U-boats. “J.N. Pew – American Steam tanker.” uboat.net. Accessed 5-3-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1366.html

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 5-3-2021 at: https://www.armed-guard.com/sunk.html