1942 — Apr 15, US freighter Robin Hood sunk by U-boat, Atlantic, ~300 miles off NJ — 14

–14 American Merchant Marine at War. U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged on Eastcoast of U.S…
–14 Helgason. Ships hit by U-boats. “Robin Hood – American Steam merchant.”
–14 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
“04/15/42 Robin Hood Freighter Torpedo & Shelled Sunk Eastcoast Crew 14.”

Helgason/u-boat.net:
“Name Robin Hood
“Type Steam merchant
“Tonnage 6,887
“Completed 1919 – Skinner & Eddy Corp., Seattle WA
“Owner Seas Shipping Co., Inc., New York
“Homeport New York
“Date of attack 16 Apr 1942 [We show two other sources noting date of loss as April 15.]
“Nationality American
“Fate Sunk by U-575 (Gunther Heydemann)
“Position 38° 45’N, 66° 45’W – Grid CB 4439
“Complement 38 (14 dead and 24 survivors).
“Route Capetown – Trinidad – Boston, Massachusetts
“Cargo 8725 tons of chrome ore, asbestos, concentrates and general cargo
“History Completed in December 1919 for US Shipping Board (USSB).
“Notes on event At 03.38 hours on 16 April 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Robin Hood (Master John A. O’Pray) was hit on the starboard side by two torpedoes from U-575 while steaming on a zigzag course at 11 knots in rough seas about 300 miles southeast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. The ship had been missed five hours earlier by a first torpedo. One torpedo struck amidships at the fireroom, killing one officer and two crewmen on watch below and caused a boiler explosion that lifted the deck up and folded it over. The next hit forward of the first and blew the hatch covers off the #1 and #2 holds and carried away the foremast. The vessel flooded rapidly, broke in two at #3 hatch and sank within seven minutes. The most of the nine officers and 29 crewmen aboard abandoned ship in one lifeboat, but other three officers and eight more crewmen were lost. The survivors were picked up on 23 April by USS Greer (DD 145) and landed at Hamilton, Bermuda.”

Note: u-boat.net contains information on fifteen of those onboard at:
https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1543.html

Moore: “S.S. Robin Hood…Torpedoed & Shelled 4/15/42…Freighter…Crew 14.”

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 4-19-2021 at: http://www.usmm.org/eastgulf.html

Helgason, Gudmundur. Ships hit by U-boats. “Robin Hood – American Steam merchant.” Accessed 4-19-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1543.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