1942 — June 27, unarmed US freighter Polybius sunk by German sub E off Trinidad —     10

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 6-10-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–10  Cressman. The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Naval Institute, 1999.

–10  uboat.net. “Ships hit by U-boats. Polybius. American Steam Merchant.”

Cressman: “June 27, Sat. …. Atlantic  Unarmed U.S. freighter Polybius is torpedoed by German submarine U-128 at 11°00’N, 57°30’W; ten crewmen perish. U-128’s officers briefly question the survivors before the submarine departs. The 34 survivors are rescued over the next three days: by Dutch steamship Dracos on 28 June; an unidentified Allied ship on the 29th, and British steamship Clarona on the 30th.”

uboat.net. “Ships hit by U-boats., Polybius. American Steam Merchant.”

“Name:                        Polybius

“Type:                         Steam merchant

“Tonnage                     7,041 tons

“Completed                 1919 – Skinner & Eddy Corp., Seattle WA

“Owner                       American-South African Line Inc., New York

“Homeport                  Seattle

“Date of attack            27 Jun 1942

“Nationality:                American

“Fate                            Sunk by U-128 (Ulrich Heyse)

“Position                      10° 55’N, 57° 40’W – Grid EE 8747

“Complement              44 (10 dead and 34 survivors).

….

“Route                         Bombay, India – Capetown – Trinidad – Norfolk, Virginia

“Cargo                         7671 tons of manganese ore and general cargo

….

“Notes on event           At 15.52 hours on 27 June 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Polybius

(Master Ole P. Stender) was hit by one torpedo from U-128 about 250 miles east of Trinidad, while steaming a nonevasive course at 9 knots. The torpedo had been spotted by a lookout, but it was too late and it struck abaft the #5 hatch directly under the living quarters, blowing off the stern and killing ten crew members. She settled rapidly by the stern and sank within ten minutes. The survivors among the eight officers, 29 crewmen and seven passengers on board abandoned ship in four lifeboats immediately after the hit. The master was questioned by the U-boat before it left the area.
Seven survivors in one boat were picked up the next day by the Dutch steam merchant Dracos and taken to Georgetown, British Guiana. Twelve men in a second boat were picked up after three days by the steam merchant Clarona and brought to Trinidad. The remaining survivors in the other two boats were rescued by an Allied vessel after two days and landed in Trinidad.”

Sources

Cressman, Robert J. The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Naval Institute, 1999. Transcribed and formatted for HTML by Patrick Clancey. Accessed 6-10-2024 at: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron.html

uboat.net. “Ships hit by U-boats., Polybius. American Steam Merchant.” Accessed 6-10-2024 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1860.html