1942 — Nov 7, US freighter Nathaniel Hawthorne sunk by sub ~40M NE of Isla de Margarita-38

–38 American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
–30 crew
— 7 armed guard
— 1 passenger
–38 Clancey. HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in [WW] II, Chapter IV 1942.
–30 crew (of 40 – 10 survivors)
— 7 armed guard (of ten — three survivors)
— 1 passenger (one of two)
–38 Helgason. Ships hit by U-boats. “Nathaniel Hawthorne – American Steam merchant.” uboat.net.
–30 crew
— 7 armed guard
— 1 passenger
–38 Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.
–30 crew
— 7 armed guard
— 1 passenger

Narrative Information

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
“Date Ship Type Cause Result Location Deaths
“11/07/42…Nathaniel Hawthorne…Liberty…Torpedo…Sunk…Caribbean…Crew 30; AG 7; Passenger 1.”

Clancey. HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in [WW] II, Chapter IV 1942:
“November 9, Sat. ….
“Atlantic….
“U.S. freighter Nathaniel Hawthorne, enroute to New York in convoy TAG 19, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-508 at 11°34’N, 63°26’W; the merchantman sinks with a rapidity that does not allow lifeboats to be launched. For his bravery as he directs his men to safety, Lieutenant Kenneth Muir, the Armed Guard commander, is awarded the Navy Cross (posthumously) (see 9 November)….

November 9, Mon. ….Atlantic
“Destroyer Biddle (DD-151) rescues survivors (3 of 10 Armed Guard sailors, 10 of the 40-man merchant crew and 1 of the 2 passengers) from U.S. freighter Nathanael Hawthorne, sunk by German submarine U-508 on 7 November.”

Helgason. Ships hit by U-boats. “Nathaniel Hawthorne – American Steam merchant.” uboat.net.
“Name Nathaniel Hawthorne
“Type Steam merchant (Liberty)
“Tonnage 7,176 tons
“Completed 1942 – Oregon Shipbuilding Co., Portland OR
“Owner Pacific-Atlantic SS Co., Portland OR
“Homeport Portland
“Date of attack 7 Nov 1942
“Nationality American
“Fate Sunk by U-508 (George Staats)
“Position 11° 34’N, 63° 26’W – Grid ED 9474
“Complement 52 (38 dead and 14 survivors).
“Route Georgetown, British Guinan – Trinidad – New York
“Cargo 7576 tons of bauxite ore
“History ….
“Notes on event At 04.27 hours on 7 Nov 1942 the Nathaniel Hawthorne (Master Richard
C. Brannan) in convoy TAG-19 was hit on the port side by two torpedoes from U-508 about 40 miles northeast of Isla de Margarita. The first struck at the #1 hold and the second in the engine room. The ship filled rapidly with water, listed to port, settled by the bow and sank within one minute. When she sank the acetylene supply or refrigerator gas exploded. The survivors among the eight officers, 32 crewmen, ten armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 3in, four .50cal and two .30cal guns) and two passengers abandoned ship by jumping overboard after releasing three rafts. Ten crewmen, three armed guards and one passenger were picked up about 39 hours later by the USS Biddle (DD151), 50 miles from the sinking position and landed at Trinidad on 9 November.

The armed guard officer Lt Kenneth Muir won the Navy Cross for Valor by directing his men to safety as the ship sank.”

Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com:
“S.S. Nathaniel Hawthorne…Torpedoed 11/7/42…Liberty Ship…Crew 30, Passenger 1, AG 7 [Number Killed].”

Sources

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of Ships Sunk or Damaged July to December 1942. Accessed 5-17-2021 at: http://www.usmm.org/sunk42b.html#anchor340736

Clancey, Patrick (transcriber and formatter for HTML). HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in World War II, Chapter IV: 1942. Accessed 5-17-2021 at: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1942.html

Helgason, Gudmundur. Ships hit by U-boats. “Nathaniel Hawthorne – American Steam merchant.” uboat.net. Accessed 5-17-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/2389.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 5-17-2021 at: https://www.armed-guard.com/sunk.html