1942 — May 12, US tanker Virginia sunk by sub. 1.5M off Southwest Pass, MS Riv., LA– 27

–27 American Merchant Marine at War. U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged on Eastcoast of U.S…
–27 Chen/World War II Database: “12 May 1942.”
–27 Clancey. HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in World War II, Chapter IV.
–27 Helgason, Gudmundur. Ships hit by U-boats. “Virginia – American Turbine tanker.”
–26 Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking: 1990. armed-guard.com. Accessed 4-19-

Narrative Information

American Merchant Marine at War:
“Date Ship Type Cause Result Location Deaths
“05/12/42 Virginia` Tanker Torpedo Sunk GulfMexico Crew 27.”

Chen/World War II Database: “12 May 1942.”
“….German submarine U-507 sank US tanker Virginia immediately off the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 27 of 41 aboard.”

Clancey. HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in World War II, Chapter IV:
“Gulf of Mexico
“Unarmed U.S. tanker Virginia is torpedoed by German submarine U-507 as the former lies-to approximately one and a half miles off Southwest Pass, Louisiana, 28°53’N, 89°29’W, awaiting the arrival of a pilot. The explosion of the second and third torpedoes ignites the tanker’s cargo (150,000 barrels of gasoline), and the rapid spread of the fire prevents the crew from launching boats or rafts. Of Virginia’s 41-man crew, 27 perish in the inferno. Motor torpedo boat PT-157 rescues the 14 survivors.”

Helgason/uboat.net:
“Name Virginia
“Type Turbine tanker
“Tonnage 10,731 tons
“Completed 1941 – Welding Shipyards Inc., Norfolk VA
“Owner National Bulk Carriers Inc., New York
“Homeport Wilmington
“Date of attack 12 May 1942
“Nationality American
“Fate Sunk by U-507 (Harro Schacht)
“Position 28° 53’N, 89° 29’W – Grid DA 9347
“Complement 41 (27 dead and 14 survivors)
“Route Baytown, Texas – Baton Rouge, Louisiana
“Cargo 180,000 barrels of gasoline
“History ….
“Notes on event At 22.03 hours on 12 May 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Virginia (Master Bengt H. Larson) was hit on the port side at the #8 tank by one torpedo from U-507 while lying stopped at the pilot buoy one and a half miles off the entrance to Southwest Pass, Mississippi River. Two minutes later she was hit on the same side in the engine room by two more torpedoes which caused a fire in the stern that quickly spread out around the ship on both sides. The ship sank within a few minutes with the superstructure remaining above water. The master, seven officers and 33 crewmen had no time to launch lifeboats so they were forced to jump overboard. Only the two officers and 13 crewmen that jumped from the windward side and swam away from the tanker survived, but one crewman later died of burns in the Marine Hospital in New Orleans. The survivors were picked up by the PT-157 after 30 minutes and landed at Burwood, Louisiana. Several crewmen exhibited bravery by saving the lives of men who had severe burns and could not swim.

Note: uboat.net contains information on twenty-seven of those onboard at:
https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship1635.html

Moore/armed-guard.com: “S.S. Virginia…Torpedoed 5/12/42…Tanker…Crew 26.”

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 4-25-2021 at: http://www.usmm.org/eastgulf.html

Chen, Peter. “Second Happy Time – 14 Jan 1942 – 31 Aug 1942.” World War II Database. Accessed 4-25-2021 at: https://ww2db.com/event/today/05/12/1942

Clancey, Patrick (transcriber and formatter for HTML). HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in World War II, Chapter IV: 1942. Accessed 4-25-2021 at: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1942.html

Helgason, Gudmundur. Ships hit by U-boats. “Virginia – American Turbine tanker.” Accessed 4-25-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1635.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