1942 — March 19, U.S. tanker W.E. Hutton, sunk by torpedo, Atlantic, off Beaufort, NC–13

–13 Black. “Divers stop oil leaking…sunken WWII ship…” Raleigh News & Observer, 8-7-2014.
–13 Gentile, Gary. Shipwrecks of North Carolina – from Hatteras Inlet South. 1992, p. 221.
–13 NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. W.E. Hutton (webpage). Nat. Ocean Service.

Narrative Information

NOAA: W.E. Hutton
“Location: 34°8’37.2912″N, 76°39’8.4666″W (34.143692, -76.652352)
“Depth: 125 feet
“Vessel Type: Tanker
“Length: 435.0 feet
“Breadth: 56.0 feet
“Gross Tonnage: 7,076
“Cargo: 65,000 barrels of #2 heating oil
“Built: 1920, Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipbuilding Corporation, Alameda, [CA], USA
“Hull Number: 219831
“Port of Registry: Baltimore, Maryland, USA
“Owner: Pure Oil Steamship Company, Nederland, Texas, USA
….
“Date Lost: March 19, 1942
“Sunk By: U-124
“Survivors: 23 of 36 survived (13 dead)
….
“Historical Background:
“….On the night of March 18, 1942, W.E. Hutton was traveling from Smith’s Bluff, Texas, to Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, fully laden with 65,000 barrels of #2 heating oil. Regardless of the U-boat threat, the tanker transited unarmed and unescorted. Despite running lights out and black curtains engaged, as the tanker traveled north off the Cape Lookout area near Beaufort, North Carolina, U-124 spotted it.

“Heading south, U-124’s U-boat crew spotted the unsuspecting W.E. Hutton. Just a short while prior, U-124 sank the petroleum tanker Papoose, and now it had another tanker in its sights. In the early morning hours of March 19, U-124 decided to fire from the surface, firing two torpedoes towards the tanker. One torpedo missed, but the second hit the starboard bow, and the blast caved in the bow, flooded the forepeak and carried away both anchors. W.E. Hutton immediately sent a distress signal, the crew assembled on deck, and lifeboats lowered.

“Hearing the emergency traffic, U-124 fired another torpedo towards the stationary tanker. The torpedo struck the port amidships section, under the bridge, buckling the decks and overturning the pilothouse. In just a few minutes, W.E. Hutton was a fiery inferno. The crew abandoned ship and shortly thereafter, W.E. Hutton slipped beneath the waves. The surviving crew began to row towards the shore with 12 survivors in one lifeboat, three in another, and four in each of two life rafts.

“A year after the W.E. Hutton sank, the merchant vessel Suloide crashed into its wreckage and sank to the bottom. The U.S. Navy immediately dispatched the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant (WPC-154) to clear the wreckage of W.E. Hutton to make the area safe for navigation.” (NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. W.E. Hutton (webpage). Nat. Ocean Service.)

Sources

Black, Jonathan. “Divers stop oil leaking from sunken WWII ship, but threat still looms.” Raleigh News & Observer, 8-7-2014. Accessed 2-15-2021 at: https://www.gazettenet.com/Archives/2014/07/SUNK-HG-080114

Gentile, Gary. Shipwrecks of North Carolina – from Hatteras Inlet South. Philadelphia: Gary Gentile Productions, 1992.

NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. W.E. Hutton (webpage). National Ocean Service. U.S. Department of Commerce. Accessed 2-15-2021 at: https://monitor.noaa.gov/shipwrecks/hutton.html