1942 — May 20, US tanker Halo sunk by U-boat, Gulf, ~15M south of Port Fourchon, LA– 39

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 6-14-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–39  American Merchant Marine at War. U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…Gulf of Mexico…[WW] II.

–39  Chen, Peter C. World War II Database. “20 May 1942.”

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

–39  Helgason, Gudmundur. Ships hit by U-boats. “Halo – American Steam tanker.” uboat.net.

            –19 immediate crew deaths

            –20 survivors over next five days

–18  at sea from exposure and injuries

—  1  crewmember at sea after rescue

—  1  crewmember after rescue by Oaxaca, upon arrival Tampico hospital May 28

–39  Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.

 Blanchard note on location: Chen/WWII Database, has the location 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) south of New Orleans. A look at a Google map would put the attack just off the Port Fourchon to Grand Isle area. Helgason/uboat.net, has the attack about 50 miles from the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River below New Orleans. The map included on his webpage shows the location well to the west of the Southwest Pass and somewhat to the south. This location, on his map, appears to be about 15 miles south of Port Fourchon and to the southwest of Grand Isle.

 

Narrative Information

 

American Merchant Marine at War:

“Date               Ship     Type                Cause              Result Location          Deaths

“05/20/42        Halo    Tanker             Torpedo           Sunk    GulfMexico     Crew 39.”

 

Chen, Peter C. World War II Database. “20 May 1942.”

“….on this date in the Gulf of Mexico, U-506 sank US tanker Halo 50 kilometers south of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, killing 21 of 42 aboard; all but 3 of the survivors would not live before being rescued.”

 

Clancey/HyperWar: “1942….May 20, Wed. ….Gulf of Mexico

“Unarmed U.S. tanker Halo is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-506 approximately 50 miles from Southwest Pass, 28°42’N, 90°08’W; 23 survivors from a merchant complement of 42 men initially survive the loss of the ship….

 

“May 25, Mon. ….Gulf of Mexico….

“Mexican freighter Oaxaca rescues three survivors from U.S. tanker Halo, sunk by German submarine U-506 on 20 May; two of the men recovered, however, will die of their wounds….

 

“May 27, Wed. ….Gulf of Mexico….British tanker Orina rescues two survivors from U.S. tanker Halo, sunk by German submarine U-506 on 20 May 1942.”

 

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

“Gulf of Mexico

“Unarmed U.S. tanker Halo is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-506 approximately 50 miles from Southwest Pass, 28°42’N, 90°08’W; 23 survivors from a merchant complement of 42 men initially survive the loss of the ship…”

 

Helgason/uboat.net:

“Name                         Halo

“Type                          Steam tanker

“Tonnage                     6,986 tons

“Completed                 1920 – Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Alameda CA

“Owner                       Cities Service Oil Co., New York

“Homeport                  New York

“Date of attack            20 May 1942

“Nationality                American

“Fate                           Sunk by U-506 (Erick Würdemann)

“Position                     28° 42’N, 90° 08’W – Grid DA 9553

“Complement              42 (39 dead and 3 survivors).

“Route                         Tampico, Mexico – Galveston (19 May) – New Orleans

“Cargo                         64,103 barrels of crude oil

“History                      ….

“Notes on event         

 

“At 07.58 hours on 20 May 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Halo (Master Ulrich Fred Moller) was hit by two torpedoes from U-506 about 50 miles from the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River, while proceeding on a rapidly changing zigzag pattern at 10.4 knots. The first torpedo struck on the starboard side under the bridge and completely destroyed this part of the ship. The second hit aft of the bridge but forward of the engine room. The second explosion broke the ship in two and ignited the cargo. The tanker plunged bow first with her propeller still turning and sank within three minutes. 23 men of the crew of eight officers and 34 men managed to leave the ship, but only one raft was left, the four lifeboats and three other rafts were destroyed by the explosions and fire. The survivors huddled together clinging to wreckage in the water near the sunken ship throughout the night and the next day. The oil on the surface burned for six hours. Two men cling to a half-burned raft and stayed on it for seven days without food or water. They were then picked up by Otina and taken to New Orleans.

 

“The other survivors in the water began dying from exposure and injuries. On the third day wreckage ascended from the tanker and the seven remaining survivors tied boards together with strips of canvas torn from their life preservers. Crude oil also floated free forming a layer four inches thick. Five days after the sinking, the Oaxaca picked up the three remaining survivors, but one of these men died at sea. The two men arrived at a hospital in Tampico on 28 May, but one man died 30 minutes after arriving. Thus, only one officer and two crewmen survived the sinking.”

 

Note: uboat.net contains information on thirty-eight of those onboard, accessible at:

https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship1679.html

 

Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.

“S.S. Halo       Torpedoed 5-20-42     Tanker Crew 39.”

 

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, Peter. World War II Database. “20 May 1942.” Accessed 4-28-2021 at: https://ww2db.com/event/today/05/20/1942

 

Clancey, Patrick (transcriber and formatter for HTML). HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in World War II, Chapter IV: 1942. Accessed 4-28-2021 at: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1942.html

 

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

 

Helgason, Gudmundur. Ships hit by U-boats. “Halo – American Steam tanker.” uboat.net. Accessed 4-28-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1679.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 4-28-2021 at: https://www.armed-guard.com/sunk.html