1942 — May 27, US freighter Jack sunk by U-boat ~100M SW of Port Salut, Haiti –37-39

–39 American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
–29 crew
— 3 armed guard
— 7 Army passengers
–39 Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.
–29 crew
— 3 armed guard
— 7 US Army
–37 Chen, C. Peter. “27 May 1942.” (From Second Happy Time.) World War II Database.
–37 Helgason, Gudmundur. Ships hit by U-boats. “Jack – American Army transport.” uboat.net.
–27 crew [all American Merchant Marine]
— 3 armed guard
— 7 passengers

Narrative Information

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
“Date Ship Type Cause Result Location Deaths
“05/27/42 Jack Freighter Torpedo Sunk Caribbean Crew 29; AG 3; Army 7.”

Chen, C. Peter. “27 May 1942.” (From Second Happy Time.) World War II Database:
“German submarine U-558 sank US Army transport Jack 100 miles southwest of Port Salut, Haiti at 1051 hours; 37 were killed, 23 survived.”

Helgason, Gudmundur. Ships hit by U-boats. “Jack – American Army transport.” uboat.net.
“Name Jack
“Type Army transport
“Tonnage 2,622 tons
“Completed 1919 – American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain OH
“Owner US Army Transport Service
“Homeport Duluth
“Date of attack 27 May 1942
“Nationality American
“Fate Sunk by U-558 (Gunther Krech)
“Position 17° 36’N, 74° 42’W – Grid EC 2547
“Complement 69 (37 dead and 23 survivors).
“Route Ponce, Puerto Rico – New Orleans
“Cargo 59,000 100-pound bags of sugar
“History Completed in June 1919 as Lake Fresco for US Shipping Board (USSB). 1924 sold to Jack SS Co (Minnesota-Atlantic Transit Co), Duluth MN and renamed Jack. 1936 sold to Terminals & Transportation Corp, Duluth MN. 1941 requisitioned by the US War Shipping Administration and used by the US Army Transport Service.

“Notes on event At 10.51 hours on 27 May 1942 the unescorted Jack (Master Serge Burrack) was hit by one torpedo from U-558 bout 100 miles southwest of Port Salut, Haiti. The torpedo struck on the starboard side between the foremast and #2 hold. The explosion opened a large hole in the hull, blew the hatch covers off, stopped the engines, and damaged the radio, the starboard lifeboat and a raft. The ship sank quickly within four minutes and the suction swamped the port lifeboat, which had been successfully launched. The badly damaged starboard boat was launched with two men. 14 survivors transferred into this boat from a raft. These survivors were picked up by USS Grunion (SS 216) on 31 May and landed at the submarine base in Coco Solo on 3 June, after the submarine conducted a fruitless search for other survivors. Two armed guards and five crew members spent 32 days on a raft before being picked up. Five others on a makeshift raft were never seen again.

27 crew members, three armed guards and seven passengers of her
complement of 43 crew members, nine armed guards and eight passengers
(US Army personnel) were lost, including the master.”

Note: uboat.net contains information on fifty-two of those onboard accessible at:
https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship1709.html

Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com:
“S.S. Jack…Torpedoed 5/27/42…Freighter…Crew 29, US Army 7, AG 3 [Number Killed].”

Sources

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of Ships Sunk or Damaged January to June 1942. Accessed 5-9-2021 at: http://www.usmm.org/sunk42a.html#anchor331462

Helgason, Gudmundur. Ships hit by U-boats. “Jack – American Army transport.” uboat.net. Accessed 5-9-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1709.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 5-9-2021 at: https://www.armed-guard.com/sunk.html