1942 — May 4, US freighter Eastern Sword sunk by U-boat, so. Atlantic, off Georgetown, Guyana-16

–16 American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
–16 Helgason, G. Ships hit by U-boats. “Eastern Sword American Steam merchant.” uboat.net.
–16 Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.

Narrative Information

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
“Date Ship Type Cause Result Location Deaths
“05/04/42 Eastern Sword Freighter Torpedo Sunk Caribbean Crew 16.”

Clancey. HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in [WW] II, Chapter IV 1942:
“May 4, Mon. ….
“Atlantic
“Unarmed U.S. freighter Eastern Sword is torpedoed by German submarine U-162 approximately 12 miles off Georgetown, British Guiana, 07°10’N, 57°58’W.”

Helgason, G. Ships hit by U-boats. “Eastern Sword American Steam merchant.” Uboat.net.
“Name Eastern Sword
“Type Steam merchant
“Tonnage 3,785 tons
“Completed 1920 – Uraga Dry Dock Co., Ltd., Uraga
“Owner Sword SS Line Inc., New York
“Homeport New York
“Date of attack 4 May 1942
“Nationality American
“Fate Sunk by U-162 (Jurgen Wattenberg)
“Position 7° 10’N, 57° 58’W – Grid EO 4391
“Complement 29 (16 dead and 13 survivors).
“Route Trinidad – Georgetown, British Guiana
“Cargo 1550 tons of general cargo
“History ….
“Notes on event At 09.43 hours on 4 May 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Eastern Sword
(Master Julius Niels Lars Jensen) was torpedoed by U-162 about twelve miles off the Georgetown Light. Two torpedoes struck in quick succession on the port side at the #4 hold aft of the midship house, causing the ship to settle rapidly by the stern. Two minutes later water reached the decks and she sank on an even keel with 15 feet of her mainmast above water. The explosion had destroyed the radio shack, preventing the sending of a distress message. Three officers and nine crewmen of seven officers and 22 men abandoned ship in one lifeboat and landed the next day at Georgetown. One crewman was picked up from a raft by the fishing boat Ocean Star on 6 May and landed in Georgetown.”

Note: uboat.net has information on fourteen of those on board (all American except Cpt. Jensen).

Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com:
“S.S. Eastern Sword…Torpedoed 5/4/42…Freighter…Crew 16.”

Sources

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of Ships Sunk or Damaged January to June 1942. Accessed 5-8-2021 at: http://www.usmm.org/sunk42a.html#anchor331462

Clancey, Patrick (transcriber and formatter for HTML). HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in World War II, Chapter IV: 1942. Accessed 5-8-2021 at: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1942.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 5-8-2021 at: https://www.armed-guard.com/sunk.html