1942 — Jun 9-10, US freighter Merrimack (USAT), sunk by U-boat ~65M SE Cozumel Isl. –43-44

–44 Helgason, G. Ships hit by U-boats. “Merrimack – American Steam merchant.” uboat.net.
— 1 Captain (Master) Wilbur Flowers
–34 crew
— 8 armed guards
— 1 US Army passenger
–43 American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
–35 crew
— 8 armed guard
–43 Chen, C. Peter. “Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico Campaigns.” World War II Database.
–43 Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.
–35 crew
— 8 armed guard
–41 Clancey. HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in [WW] II, Chapter IV 1942.
— 9 Navy Armed Guard (only one of ten noted to be onboard survived).

Blanchard note on dating of loss and fatalities: We show the date of loss as either June 9 or 10 in that three of the five sources we cite note the loss as June 9, while the other two have it as June 10. We find other sources, not cited, which show one or the other of these dates, but each cites one of the sources we already cite. The Merrimack either went down June 9 or June 10, so it is a bit perplexing that we have not been able to locate a definitive date, even taking into account the “bad news” black-out that the U.S. government placed on news coverage of shipping losses.

As for the fatalities, three note 43, one notes 44, and one notes 41. In that four of five sources note 43 or 44 fatalities, this is the range we choose to show. We have not been able to locate a source which would appear to definitively set the fatality total.

Narrative Information

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
“Date Ship Type Cause Result Location Deaths
“06/09/42 Merrimack Freighter Torpedo Sunk Caribbean Crew 35; AG 8.”

Chen, C. Peter. “Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico Campaigns.” World War II Database:
“10 Jun 1942 German submarine U-107 sank US ship Merrimack 60 miles south of Cozumel,
Mexico at about 0520 hours; 43 were killed, 10 survived. In the Caribbean Sea, U-68 sank British ship Ardenvohr at 0520 hours (1 was killed, 70 survived), British ship Surrey also at about 0520 hours (12 were killed, 55 survived), and British ship Port Montreal shortly before 2359 hours (all 88 aboard survived, but 2 would die before being rescued).”

Clancey. HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in [WW] II, Chapter IV 1942:
“June 9, Tue. ….
“Caribbean
“U.S. freighter Merrimack is sunk by German submarine U-107 about 60 miles north of Cozumel Island, off the Honduran coast, 19°47’N, 85°55’W. Of the 51 men on board at the time of the attack (9 of whom comprise the Armed Guard), only 10 (including one Navy man) survive…”

Helgason, G. Ships hit by U-boats. “Merrimack – American Steam merchant.” uboat.net:
“Name Merrimack
“Type Steam merchant
“Tonnage 2,606 tons
“Completed 1920 – McDougall-Duluth Shipbuilding Co., Duluth MN
“Owner Merchants & Miners Transportation Co., Baltimore MD
“Homeport Baltimore
“Date of attack 10 Jun 1942
“Nationality American
“Fate Sunk by U-107 (Harald Gelhaus)
“Position 19° 47’N, 85° 55’W – Grid DL 9567
“Complement 54 (44 dead and 10 survivors).
“Route New Orleans – Cristobal [eastern Panama Canal]
“Cargo Military supplies
“History Completed in April 1920 as Lake Floris for US Shipping Board (USSB).
1933 renamed Merrimack for Merchants & Miners Transportation Co, Baltimore MD. Since 1941 in service as US Army Transport (USAT).

“Notes on event At 05.01 hours on 10 June 1942 the unescorted Merrimack (Master Wilbur
Flowers) was hit by one stern torpedo from by U-107 about 65 miles south-
east of Cozumel Island, south of the Yucatan Channel. The G7a torpedo struck on the starboard side just forward of the bridge and the ship immediately developed a 20° list to starboard. The engines could not be secured and were running at full speed until the ship sank 38 minutes after the hit. All officers, except the master, and 30 other survivors abandoned ship in one lifeboat because the other was destroyed in the explosion. The boat was sucked into the still turning screw and it appears that none of the occupants survived the incident. The men still aboard, including the master, had to jump overboard but only a few managed to reach the rafts that had been released. The master, 34 crew members, eight armed guards and one US Army passenger were lost.

Note: uboat.net has information on 45 of those onboard accessible at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1771.html

Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com:
“S.S. Merrimack…Torpedoed 6/9/42…Freighter…Crew 35, AG 8.” [Number Killed]

Sources

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of Ships Sunk or Damaged January to June 1942. Accessed 5-13-2021 at: http://www.usmm.org/sunk42a.html#anchor331462

Chen, C. Peter. “Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico Campaigns. 16 Feb 1942 – 1 Jan 1944.” World War II Database. Accessed 5-13-2021 at: https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=276

Clancey, Patrick (transcriber and formatter for HTML). HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in World War II, Chapter IV: 1942. Accessed 5-13-2021 at: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1942.html

Helgason, Gudmundur. Ships hit by U-boats. “Merrimack – American Steam merchant.” uboat.net. Accessed 5-13-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1771.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 5-13-2021 at: https://www.armed-guard.com/sunk.html