1942 — May 26, American tanker Carrabulle sunk by U-boat, Gulf of Mexico — 22

–22 American Merchant Marine at War. U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…Gulf of Mexico…
–22 Chen, Peter C. World War II Database.
–22 Clancey. HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in World War II, Chapter IV.
–22 Helgason. Ships hit by U-boats. “Carrabulle – American Steam tanker.” uboat.net
–22 Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.

Narrative Information

American Merchant Marine at War:
“Date Ship Type Cause Result Location Deaths
“05/26/42 Carrabulle Tanker Shelled & Torpedo Sunk GulfMexico 22.”

Chen, Peter C. World War II Database:
“26 May 1942…. At 1100 hours, U-106 sank US tanker Carrabulle 150 miles south of Louisiana, United States; 22 were killed, 18 survived.)

Clancey/HyperWar:
“May 26, Tue. ….
“Gulf of Mexico
“Unarmed U.S. tanker Carrabulle is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-106 at 26°18’N, 89°21’E. Reportedly, the submarine’s commanding officer, Kapitanleutnant Herman Rasch, asks survivors if all men are clear of the ship. When told no, he laughs and orders a second torpedo launched that strikes the ship directly beneath a lifeboat as it is being lowered, killing 22 of the 24 men in it.”

Helgason. Ships hit by U-boats. “Carrabulle – American Steam tanker.” uboat.net
“Name Carrabulle
“Type Steam tanker (Hog Island)
“Tonnage 5,030 tons
“Completed 1920 – American International Shipbuilding Corp., Hog Island PA
“Owner Cuba Distilling Co., Inc., New York
“Homeport Baltimore
“Date of attack 26 May 1942
“Nationality American
“Fate Sunk by U-106 (Hermann Rasch)
“Position 26° 18’N, 89° 21’W – Grid DL 2168
“Complement 40 (22 dead and 18 survivors)
“Route Good Hope, Louisiana (25 May) – San Juan, Puerto Rico
“Cargo 42,307 barrels of liquid asphalt
“History ….
“Notes on event About 11.00 hours on 26 May 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Carrabulle
(Master Norris T. Ela) was stopped by U-106 in the Gulf of Mexico by a signal from a siren and a shot across her bow. The U-boat began firing shells at the bridge and the superstructure on the starboard side, while the radio operator was still sending distress signals. The crew of eight officers and 32 men, with the exception of the radio operator left the ship in two lifeboats. One boat held 24 men, including the master and the first mate. At the moment this boat reached the water a torpedo struck just below the waterline on port side and blew the boat to pieces. Only two men survived, who were later picked up by the other lifeboat together with the radio operator. Some survivors later claimed that Rasch asked if all the men had gotten clear of the ship, receiving a negative answer, he reportedly laughed and fired the torpedo at 11.34 hours. The tanker sank stern first at 12.30 hours. Three officers and 15 men were picked up by the American steam merchant Thompson Lykes 15 hours after the attack and were taken to New Orleans, Louisiana.”

Note: uboat.net contains information of twenty-two of those onboard, accessible at:
https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship1706.html

Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.
“S.S. Carrabulle Shelled & Torpedoed 5/26/42 Tankship Crew 22.”

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, C. Peter. “Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico Campaigns. 16 Feb 1942 – 1 Jan 1944. World War II Database. Accessed 4-28-2021 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 4-28-2021 at: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1942.html

Helgason, Gudmundur. Ships hit by U-boats. “Carrabulle – American Steam tanker.” Accessed 4-28-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1706.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