1942 — July 9, anchored US tanker Benjamin Brewster torpedoed ~2.5M off Grand Isle, LA-25

–25 American Merchant Marine at War. U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…During [WW] II.
–24 crew
— 1 armed guard
–25 Chen, C. Peter. World War II Database. “10 Jul 1942.”
–25 Clancey. HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in [WW] II, Chapter IV 1942.
–25 Christ. “Servicemen’s reports…1942 night…sub was torpedoed.” Houma Courier, 12-5-2004.
–24 crew
— 1 U.S. Navy gunner (armed guard)
–25 Helgason, G. Ships hit by U-boats. “Benjamin Brewster – American Steam tanker.”
— 6 officers
–18 crewmen
— 1 armed guard (all mostly from burns)
–25 Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.

Blanchard note on dating of loss: As one can see from looking at information below, some sources note July 9 as date of loss and some July 10. The most detailed account we have seen is that of Christ, who notes that the torpedoes hit at about 11:30 pm the evening of July 9. Thus it was about midnight and it is quite possible that some of the losses of life occurred after midnight, though it appears to me most of the deaths were just after torpedo impact. The fire burned for days.

Blanchard note #2, 10-25-2022: Since putting this document together we have heard from Anne Marcussen, a researcher specializing in Merchant Marine losses in World War II, who verifies that the date and time of loss was July 9 and the timing was between 11:19 and 11:30 by German records and at 11:30 by American records and that the ship went down within approximately 30 minutes.

Narrative Information

American Merchant Marine at War (USMM). U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…[WW] II.
“Date Ship Type Cause Result Location Deaths
“07/09/42 Benjamin Brewster Tanker Torpedo sunk GulfMexico Crew 24; AG 1.”

Chen, C. Peter. World War II Database. “10 Jul 1942”:
“German submarine U-67 heavily destroyed US tanker Benjamin Brewster 60 miles south of Louisiana, United States at 0619 hours; 25 were killed, 15 survived; the wreck would burn for 9 days, melting much of the ship.”

Christ: “On July 9, 1942, Benjamin Brewster was proceeding from Baytown to Port Tampa with a mixed cargo of 70,578 barrels, including aviation gasoline and other grades of oil, when she anchored for the night near the Louisiana coast, about 2½ miles off Grand Isle beach. At 11:30 p.m., without warning, two torpedoes struck her portside forward in rapid succession. According to the Esso history,

She immediately burst into flames and sank, within less than three minutes in 37 feet of water. There was no time to launch lifeboats; the men who jumped overboard on the portside aft barely avoided a sea of flames. The sinking of the tanker floated the life boats, which drifted away when the (ropes) burned through.

The Benjamin Brewster carried a merchant crew of 35 officers and men and five U.S. Navy gunners. Of her total complement of 40, there were 15 survivors — 11 members of the ship’s crew and four of the armed guard.

All but two of the licensed officers perished. The injured, given first-aid treatment and taken to the Marine Hospital in New Orleans, were First Assistant Engineer John B. Stirling, Second Assistant Engineer Claus E. Bertels, Machinists Cecil M. Wamsley, and Oiler Ira C. Kenney.

Fire surrounded the burned out wreck of the Benjamin Brewster for nine days — the oil rising from the submerged vessel feeding the flames until the cargo was finally consumed. The intense heat reduced the entire structure above the water to a molten, twisted mass of metal.”

Clancey. HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in [WW] II, Chapter IV 1942.
“July 9, Thu. ….
“Gulf of Mexico
“U.S. tanker Benjamin Brewster is torpedoed by German submarine U-67 approximately 60 miles west of Southwest Pass, Louisiana, 29°05’N, 90°05’W, and a good portion of the ship’s cargo of 70,578 barrels of aviation gasoline and lubricating oil catches fire. In the resulting conflagration, 25 crewman die. Survivors (10 merchant seamen and the five-man Armed Guard) are rescued the following morning by fishing boat, whence they are transferred to the Coast Guard.”

Helgason/uboat.net:
“Name Benjamin Brewster
“Type Steam tanker
“Tonnage 5,950 tons
“Completed 1917 – Harlan & Hollingsworth Corp., Wilmington DE
“Owner Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, New York
“Homeport Wilmington
“Date of attack 10 Jul 1942
“Nationality American
“Fate Sunk by U-67 (Gunther Muller-Stockheim)
“Position 29° 05’N, 90° 05’W – Grid DA 9252
“Complement 40 (25 dead and 15 survivors).
“Route Baytown, Texas (8 Jul) – Tampa, Florida
“Cargo 70578 barrels of aviation gas and lubricating oil
“History ….
“Notes on event At 06.19 hours on 10 July 1942 the Benjamin Brewster (Master Peter
George J. Hammel) was hit by two torpedoes from U-67 on the port side about ten seconds apart, while lying at anchor for the night off the coast of Louisiana 60 miles west of Southwest Pass close into shore in about six fathoms of water. One struck at the bridge and the other aft, causing the tanker to immediately burst into flames from bridge forward. Burning oil and gasoline covered the surface of the water for some distance around the vessel. Because the wind kept the flames forward some of the eight officers, 27 men and five armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in and two .30cal guns) were able to leave the ship from the stern with one partially burned lifeboat as the tanker rapidly sank within three minutes. Six officers, 18 crewmen and one armed guard died, most of them from burns. Three hours later eight crewmen and three armed guards in the lifeboat made landfall at Grand Isle, Louisiana. A fishing boat spotted their campfire, picked them up and transferred them to a Coast Guard vessel, which took them to Burrwood, Louisiana and thence to the Marine Hospital at New Orleans. Three crewmen and one armed guard were picked up by a Coast Guard vessel and also taken to Burrwood.

The Benjamin Brewster laid in 37 feet of water and burned for nine days until the cargo was consumed. The structure above the water was reduced to a molten mass of metal by the intense heat and the tanker was a total loss. The wreck was salved in September 1951 and was broken up.”

Note: uboat.net contains information on forty of those onboard at:
https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship1917.html

Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.
“S.S. Benjamin Brewster Torpedoed 7/9/42 Tanker Crew 24, AG 1 [Number Killed]”

Sources

American Merchant Marine at War. U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged on Eastcoast of U.S, and Gulf of Mexico During World War II Eastcoast of U.S. (175 ships). Accessed 4-28-2021 at: http://www.usmm.org/eastgulf.html

Chen, C. Peter. World War II Database. “10 Jul 1942.” Accessed 4-30-2021 at: https://ww2db.com/event/today/07/10/1942

Christ, C. J. “Servicemen’s reports detail harrowing 1942 night when sub was torpedoed.” Houma Courier, 12-5-2004. Accessed 4-30-2021 at: https://www.houmatoday.com/news/20041205/servicemens-reports-detail-harrowing-1942-night-when-sub-was-torpedoed

Clancey, Patrick (transcriber and formatter for HTML). HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in World War II, Chapter IV: 1942. Accessed 4-30-2021 at: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1942.html

Helgason, Gudmundur. Ships hit by U-boats. “Benjamin Brewster – American Steam tanker.” Accessed 4-30-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1917.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 4-30-2021 at: https://www.armed-guard.com/sunk.html