1943 — June 10, tanker Esso Gettysburg sunk by U-boat, ~100M SE of Savannah, GA– 57

–57 American Merchant Marine at War. U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged on Eastcoast of U.S…
–37 crew
–20 armed guard
–57 Clancey. HyperWar…Chronology of the US Navy in World War II, Chapter V: 1943.
–37 crew
–20 armed guard
–57 Helgason. Ships hit by U-boats. “Esso Gettysburg – American Turbine tanker.”
–37 crew (5 officers, 32 crewmen)
–20 armed guard
–57 Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.
–37 crew
–20 armed guard

Narrative Information

American Merchant Marine at War:
“Date Ship Type Cause Result Location Deaths
“06/10/43 Esso Gettysburg Tanker Torpedo Sunk Eastcoast Crew 37; AG 20.”

Clancy/HyperWar: “10 June, Thu. Atlantic. U.S. tanker Esso Gettysburg, en route from Port Arthur, Texas, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-66 at 31°02’N, 79°15’E; intense fires, fed by the ship’s cargo of crude oil, prevent boats from being launched; only seven of the 27-man Armed Guard and eight of the 45-man merchant complement survive the inferno that consumes the ship. For his heroism in ordering the forward gun manned and opening fire on the attacking U-boat, Ensign John S. Arnold, II, USNR, commanding the Armed Guard, will receive the Navy Cross. Steamship George Washington rescues the few survivors.”

Helgason/u-boat.net:
“Name Esso Gettysburg
“Type Turbine tanker (T-2)
“Tonnage 10,173 tons
“Completed 1942 – Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Chester PA
“Owner Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, New York
“Homeport Wilmington
“Date of attack 10 Jun 1943
“Nationality American
“Fate Sunk by U-66 (Fredrich Markworth)
“Position 31° 02’N, 79° 17’W – Grid DC 10
“Complement 72 (57 dead and 15 survivors).
“Route Port Arthur, Texas (6 Jun) – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
“Cargo 120,120 barrels of crude oil
“History Launched as Gettysburg for US Maritime Commission, completed in March
1942 as Esso Gettysburg for Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, New York.
“Notes on event At 20.00 hours on 10 June 1943 the unescorted Esso Gettysburg (Master Peder A. Johnson, lost) was hit by two torpedoes from U-66) about 100 miles southeast of Savannah, Georgia, shortly after she received a U-boat warning, steaming on a zigzag course at 15.5 knots. One torpedo struck the port side between the #6 and #7 tanks, ripped up 25 feet of deck, blew oil 100 feet into the air and disabled the steering gear. Seconds later the second struck on the port side at the engine room, causing an immediate fire as she began to settle by the stern and listed to port. Oil from the two tanks was spread into the water and was ignited by the second explosion. The flames spread 100 feet on both sides, while smoke rose over 1000 feet in the air. The eight officers, 37 men and 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) attempted to launch some lifeboats, but failed because of the intense flames. Only 15 men (seven armed guards, three officers and five crewmen) survived because they jumped overboard and swam away as fast as they could. The entirely submerged tanker, except for a small part of the bow, was last seen about 03.00 hours on 12 June and eventually sank. The survivors found a badly burned lifeboat after swimming for three hours and extinguished the fire. All were picked up by the American steam passenger ship George Washington the next day after they were sighted by an US Army patrol aircraft and landed in Charleston, South Carolina, the same day.

“The armed guards ensign was awarded the Navy Cross.”

Note: u-boat.net contains information on 62 of those onboard at:
https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship2949.html

Moore/A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.
“S.S. Esso Gettysburg…Torpedoed 6/10/43…Tanker…Crew 37, AG 20.”

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 4-21-2021 at: http://www.usmm.org/eastgulf.html

Clancey, Patrick (transcriber and formatter for HTML). HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in World War II, Chapter V: 1943. Accessed 4-21-2021 at:
https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1943.html

Helgason, Gudmundur. Ships hit by U-boats. “Ohioan – American Steam merchant.” Accessed 4-19-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1618.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 4-21-2021 at: https://www.armed-guard.com/sunk.html