1942 – Mar 12, US freighter Texan sunk by U-boat off NE Cuba near Puerto Padre — 10

–10 American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
–10 Helgason. Ships hit by U-boats. “Texan – American Steam merchant.” uboat.net.
–10 Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.
–10 Oakland Tribune, CA. “Oakland Ship Officer Dies in Rescue Effort.” 3-20-1942, p. 1.

Blanchard note on location and date of loss: Helgason (uboat.net) includes a map which, while describing the loss as 40 miles east of Nuevitas, Cuba, shows Puerto Padre as just southeast of the sinking. Though the USMM and Moore both date the loss as March 11, Helgason (uboat.net) and the Oakland Tribune, citing survivor accounts, have the date as early morning hours of March 12. Thus we choose to follow these sources for the date of loss.

Narrative Information

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
“Date Ship Type Cause Result Location Deaths
“03/11/42 Texan Freighter Torpedo & Shelled Sunk Caribbean Crew 10.”

Chen, C. Peter. “Second Happy Time: 14 Jan 1942 – 31 Aug 1942.” World War II Database:
“11 Mar 1942….U-126 sank US freighter Texan within 5 kilometers of the northern coast of Cuba.

Helgason/uboat.net:
“Name Texan
“Type American Steam merchant
“Tonnage 7,005 tons
“Completed 1902 – New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden NJ
“Owner American-Hawaiian SS Co., New York
“Homeport New York
“Date of attack 12 Mar 1942
“Nationality American
“Fate Sunk by U-126 (Ernst Bauer)
“Position 21° 34’N, 76° 28’W – Grid DN 4745
“Complement 47 (10 dead and 37 survivors).
“Route New York – Port of Spain, Trinidad – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
“Cargo 10,915 tons of general cargo
“History Completed in October 1902. In March 1918 acquired by the US Navy as
cargo transport USS Texan (ID # 1354) for the Naval Overseas Transportation Service. In January 1919 converted to a troop transport and used to repatriate US troops from Europe. Returned to owner by the US Shipping Board in August 1919.
“Notes on event At 02.34 hours on 12 March 1942 the unarmed and unescorted Texan
(Master Robert Hugh Murphy) was hit on the port side at the bulkhead between the #6 and #7 holds by one torpedo from U-126 while steaming on a non-evasive course at 11.8 knots about 40 miles east of Nuevitas, Cuba. About five minutes later, the U-boat began shelling the ship in an attempt to destroy the radio shack. The vessel was hit by four rounds but had successfully sent emergency messages. Within ten minutes after the hit, most of the ten officers and 37 crewmen aboard had abandoned ship in two lifeboats but when the ship sank 13 minutes after being hit the suction capsized both and at least one officer and four crewmen drowned. Ten men righted one lifeboat at daybreak and they later picked up the remaining survivors. About 22.00 hours, a plane of the US Navy passed the survivors several times without spotting them. At 05.30 hours on 13 March, the lifeboat was spotted by the Cuban fishing boat Yoyo approximately 15 miles west-southwest of the sinking position and was towed to Nuevitas, arriving there at 16.50 hours.”

Note: uboat.net includes information of twenty-seven of those who onboard at:
https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship1427.html

Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com:
“S.S. Texan Torpedoed & Shelled 3/11/42 Freighter Crew 10 [Number killed].”

Newspaper

Oakland Tribune, CA. “Oakland Ship Officer Dies in Rescue Effort.” 3-20-1942, p. 1:
“The bravery of an Oakland ship officer, who died in an attempt to save the lives of two of his crew when the freighter Texan was torpedoed and sunk March 12, was told today as survivors were landed at Miami, Fla.

“The officer who died a hero was Chief Engineer Paul Boehncke, 56, of 698 Santa Ray Avenue, who returned to the engine room looking for two missing crew members and went down with the ship. Nine other men also were lost, including Third Mate F. D. Wood, 25, of 584 Kenilworth Avenue, San Leandro.

“…Thirty-eight crewmen were saved, including Chief Mate O. F. Buell, 50, of 1150 Foothill Boulevard, and First Assistant Engineer John R. Kay of 460 66th Street. Both Buell and Kay were among those who reached Miami and telephoned their wives from there.

“The loss of the Texan, owned by the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company, first was reported Tuesday [17th] by the Cuban Government when the survivors reached Havana.

“The story of Chief Engineer Boehncke’s heroism was told by Julian F. Vinson, second assistant engineer, of Cranford, N.J. Vinson said Boehncke fearlessly returned to the engine room when he couldn’t locate the two missing engine crew members on deck. Fourth Assistant Engineer Charles Loit of San Francisco watched for the return of his chief, then he, too, went below. Both Boehncke and Loit went down with the ship….

“Members of the crew lost in addition to the two Oakland men included Chief Steward Steven Ryan, San Francisco.

“Others saved included Radio Operator Stanley Oliver, San Francisco.

“‘Right after the torpedo hit, the sub surfaced and fired four times,’ said Charles Lindner of Long Island. ‘It sounded like somebody had popped a buggy whip four times, very sharp. They were firing at a point near the bridge, where the radio shack usually is located on boats of this type. But they got fooled, because it just happened our radio shack was aft. The water was pouring in and the ship sinking about a foot a minute, but Sparks (Radio Operator Stanley Oliver of San Francisco) stayed on duty until he could get his SOS away, even with them firing at us.’

“Vinson gave the following account: ‘We sat on or clung to wreckage all night, and all the time there were shouted comments, humorous remarks, and – yes, bravery. The whole thing was a display of bravery by men whose spirit can’t be beaten by the Axis or any branch of it.’….”

Sources

American Merchant Marine at War (USMM). Chronological List of Ships Sunk or Damaged January to June 1942. Accessed 5-5-2021 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 5-5-2021 at: https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=277

Helgason. Ships hit by U-boats. “Texan – American Steam merchant.” uboat.net. Accessed 5-5-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1427.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 5-5-2021 at: https://www.armed-guard.com/sunk.html

Oakland Tribune, CA. “Oakland Ship Officer Dies in Rescue Effort.” 3-20-1942, p. 1. Accessed 5-5-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oakland-tribune-mar-20-1942-p-1/