1942 — May 4, US tanker Joseph M. Cudahy torpedoed by U-boat ~Dry Tortugas Island, FL- 27

Blanchard note on date of loss: All sources citied other than Helgason note the date of loss as May 4. Helgason dates the loss as May 5.

–27 American Merchant Marine at War. U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged on Eastcoast of U.S…
–27 Chen. “4 May 1942.” Second Happy Time. World War II Database.
–27 Clancey. HyperWar: The Official Chronology…US Navy in World War II, Chapter IV.
–27 Helgason. Ships hit by U-boats. “Joseph M. Cudahy – American Steam tanker.”
–27 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
“05/04/42 Joseph M. Cudahy Tanker Torpedo Sunk Gulf of Mexico Crew 27.”

Chen: “4 May 1942….
“In the late afternoon, German submarine U-507 sank US tankers Norlindo (killing 5 of 28 aboard), Munger T. Ball (killing 30 of 34 aboard), and Joseph M. Cudahy (killing 27 of 37 aboard) off the Florida Keys archipelago about 100 kilometers west of the tip of Florida, United States. At 2220 hours, U-125 sank US ship Tuscaloosa City 200 miles west of Jamaica; all 34 aboard survived.”

Clancey: “….May 4, Mon. ….Atlantic…. Unarmed U.S. tanker Norlindo is torpedoed by German submarine U-507 approximately 200 miles northeast of Havana, Cuba, 24°57’N, 84°00’W, and sinks, taking five crewmen with her (see 6 May). Eight hours later, U-507 torpedoes and shells tanker Munger T. Ball at 25°17’N,83°57’W; flames, fed by the ship’s cargo of 65,000 barrels of gasoline, trap many crewmen. Only four sailors of the 34-man crew survive the inferno to be rescued by Norwegian motor vessel Katy later the same day. Before the day is over, U-507 attacks a third tanker, the unarmed Joseph M. Cudahy, and torpedoes her approximately 74 miles northwest of the Dry Tortugas, 25°57’N, 83°57’W. Of the ship’s 37-man complement, 27 perish in the attack (see 5 and 7 May)….

“May 5, Tue. ….Atlantic…. Navy PBYs rescue the ten survivors of U.S. tanker Joseph M. Cudahy, attacked by German submarine U-507 the day before (see 6 May)…..

“May 6, Wed. ….Atlantic…. Yacht Coral (PY-15) shells and scuttles fire-gutted U.S. tanker Joseph M. Cudahy, attacked by German submarine U-507 on 5 May, as a menace to navigation.”

Helgason/u-boat.net:
“Name Joseph M. Cudahy
“Type Steam tanker
“Tonnage 6,950 tons
“Completed 1921 – Sun Shipbuilding Co., Chester PA
“Owner Sinclair Refining Co., New York
“Homeport Wilmington
“Date of attack 5 May 1942
“Nationality American
“Fate Sunk by U-507 (Harro Schacht)
“Position 5° 57’N, 83° 57’W – Grid DM 1433
“Complement 37 (27 dead and 10 survivors).
“Route Houston (2 May) – Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania
“Cargo 77.444 barrels of crude and lubricating oils
“History ….
“Notes on event At 04.15 hours on 5 May 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Joseph M. Cudahy (Master Walter Edmund Reed) was torpedoed by U-507 about 125 miles west of Naples, Florida. Lookouts on the tanker had spotted the burning Munger T. Ball, which had been torpedoed by the same U-boat at 01.32 hours, 74 miles northwest of the Dry Tortugas Light and the master changed course for Tampa and steered a zigzag pattern at 11 knots. One torpedo struck at the waterline on the starboard side at the #4 main tank, just after the third officer had spotted the conning tower and saw the torpedo track about 20 feet from the tanker. The explosion blew a large hole in the side and started a fire in the midships house. The master steered into the wind to allow the crew of eight officers and 29 crewmen to abandon ship. The master and eight men on the forepart of the tanker left in one lifeboat and were sighted by PBY Catalina aircraft of the US Navy. A fishing schooner offered to help the men, but they declined. These men were picked up by a PBY about 12 hours after the attack and taken to Key West, Florida. One other survivor was picked up by another PBY the same morning and also taken to Key West. Three officers and 24 crewmen were lost.

“On 7 May, the gutted and still burning Joseph M. Cudahy was sighted by the American patrol yacht USS Coral (PY 15) in 24°57N/84°10W and was sunk by gunfire, because she was beyond salvage and a menace to navigation.”

Note: uboat.net contains information on twenty-nine of those aboard at:
https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship1605.html

Moore/armed-guard.com: “S.S. Joseph M. Cudahy…Torpedoed 5/4/42…Tanker…Crew 27.”

NOAA: “Executive Summary: Joseph M. Cudahy. The tanker Joseph M. Cudahy, torpedoed and sunk during World War II northwest of Key West, Florida in 1942, was identified as a potential pollution threat, thus a screening-level risk assessment was conducted. The different sections of this document summarize what is known about the Joseph M. Cudahy, the results of environmental impact modeling composed of different release scenarios, the ecological and socio-economic resources that would be at risk in the event of releases, the screening-level risk scoring results and overall risk assessment, and recommendations for assessment, monitoring, or remediation….

“Section 1: Vessel Background Information: Remediation of Underwater Legacy Environmental Threats (RULET)

“Vessel Particulars

“Official Name: Joseph M. Cudahy
“Official Number: 220956
“Vessel Type: Tanker
“Vessel Class: 7,053 gross ton class Tanker (10,440 dwt)
…
“Year Built: 1921
“Builder: Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company (Sun Ship), Chester, PA
“Builder’s Hull Number: 35
“Flag: American
“Owner at Loss: Sinclair Refining Company, 630 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
….
“Operated by: Sinclair Refining Company
“Homeport: Wilmington, DE
….
“Casualty Information
“Port Departed: Houston, TX Destination Port: Marcus Hook, PA
“Date Departed: May 1, 1942 Date Lost: May 4, 1942
…. Cause of Sinking: Act of War (Torpedoes)
“Latitude (DD): 25.0228 Longitude (DD): -82.7563
“Nautical Miles to Shore: 25 ….

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 4-24-2021 at: http://www.usmm.org/eastgulf.html

Chen, C. Peter. “Second Happy Time.” World War II Database. Accessed 4-24-2021 at: https://ww2db.com/event/today/05/04/1942

Clancey, Patrick (transcriber and formatter for HTML). HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in World War II, Chapter IV: 1942. Accessed 4-19-2021 at: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1942.html

Helgason, Gudmundur. Ships hit by U-boats. “Joseph M. Cudahy – American Steam tanker.” Accessed 4-24-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1605.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 4-19-2021 at: https://www.armed-guard.com/sunk.html

NOAA, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and Office of Response and Restoration. Screening Level Risk Assessment Package Joseph M. Cudahy. NOAA, March 2013. Accessed 4-25-2021 at: https://nmssanctuaries.blob.core.windows.net/sanctuaries-prod/media/archive/protect/ppw/pdfs/joseph_m_cudahy.pdf