1942 — Feb 21, US freighter Azalea City sunk by U-boat ~125M SE of Ocean City, MD– 38

–38 American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
–38 Chen, C. Peter. “21 Feb 1942.” World War II Database.
–38 Clancey. HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in [WW] II, Chapter IV 1942.
–38 Helgason. Ships hit by U-boats. “Azalea City – American Steam merchant.” uboat.net.
–38 Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com.
–38 United States Navy Memorial. Azalea City. Accessed 5-3-2021.

Blanchard note on date of loss: While some sources noted herein use the date Feb 20 and others Feb 21, we choose to follow Helgason/uboat.net (Feb 21 dating) in that it appears to be based on German U-boat logs.

Narrative Information

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged…
“Date Ship Type Cause Result Location Deaths
“02/20/42 Azalea City Freighter Torpedo Sunk NAtlantic Crew 38.”

Chen, C. Peter. “21 Feb 1942.” World War II Database:
“….Atlantic Ocean

“German submarine U-432 sank US freighter Azalea City 125 miles southeast of Ocean City, Maryland, United States at 0123 hours, killing all 38 aboard.”

Clancey. HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in [WW] II, Chapter IV 1942.
“February 20, Fri. ….
“Atlantic….
“Unarmed U.S. freighter Azalea City is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-432 about 125 miles east-southeast of Ocean City, Maryland, 38°00’N, 73°00’W. There are no survivors from the 38-man crew.”

Helgason. Ships hit by U-boats. “Azalea City – American Steam merchant.” uboat.net:
“Name Azalea City
“Type Steam merchant
“Tonnage 5,529 tons
“Completed 1920 – Merchant Shipbuilding Corp., Harriman PA
“Owner Waterman Steamship Co., Mobile AL
“Homeport Mobile
“Date of attack 21 Feb 1942
“Nationality American
“Fate Sunk by U-432 (Heinz-Otto Schultze)
“Position 38° 00’N, 73° 00’W – Grid CA 5867
“Complement 38 (38 dead – no survivors)
“Route Bahia Blanca, Argentina – Port of Spain (12 Feb) – Philadelphia
“Cargo 7806 tons of linseed
“History ….
“Notes on event On 12 Feb 1942 the unarmed Azalea City (Master George Robert Self) left Port of Spain, Trinidad for Philadelphia unescorted and was reported missing after 16 February.

On 21 February, U-432 spotted a steamer of 5000 grt in heavy seas about
125 miles east-southeast of Ocean City, Maryland. A first torpedo missed
and the U-boat then crossed behind the steamer to the port side. At 01.23
hours a second torpedo was fired at 800 meters, which hit the freighter
amidships. At 02.42 hours a third torpedo struck forward of the bridge. It is
assumed that this ship was the Azalea City and that the nature of the cargo
caused the ship to capsize after the torpedo hits. None of the eight officers
and 30 men on board survived.”

Note: uboat.net has information on all thirty-eight of those onboard at:
https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship1354.html

Kindell, Don. “Naval Events, February 1942 (Part 2 of 2) Sunday 15th – Saturday 28th.”:
“U.432 sank American steamer AZALEA CITY (5529grt), which departed Port au Spain on the 11th, in 38N, 73W. There were no survivors.”

Moore. A Careless Word, A Needless Sinking. 1983. Table extracted by armed-guard.com”
“S.S. Azaleas City Torpedoed 2/20/42 Freighter Crew 38 [Number Killed].”

United States Navy Memorial. Azalea City. Accessed 5-3-2021:
“Azalea City
“Saturday, February 21, 1942
“U-Boat Attack off the Maryland Coast
“The Freighter SS Azalea City was torpedoed by U-432 ESE of Ocean City, Maryland while en route from Argentina to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. … The ship and crew were never seen or heard from again.”

Note: The U.S. Navy Memorial webpage contains, in its “Lost At Sea Log,” the names and positions of all thirty-eight merchant-marine men.

Sources

American Merchant Marine at War. Chronological List of Ships Sunk or Damaged January to June 1942. Accessed 5-3-2021 at: http://www.usmm.org/sunk42a.html#anchor331462

Chen, C. Peter. “21 Feb 1942.” World War II Database. Accessed 5-3-2021 at: https://ww2db.com/event/today/02/21/1942

Clancey, Patrick (transcriber and formatter for HTML). HyperWar: The Official Chronology of the US Navy in World War II, Chapter IV: 1942. Accessed 5-3-2021 at: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1942.html

Helgason. Ships hit by U-boats. “Azalea City – American Steam merchant.” uboat.net. Accessed 5-3-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1354.html

Kindell, Don. “Naval Events, February 1942 (Part 2 of 2) Sunday 15th – Saturday 28th.” British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day (website). Accessed 5-3-2021 at: http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4202-42FEB02.htm

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 5-3-2021 at: https://www.armed-guard.com/sunk.html

United States Navy Memorial. Azalea City. Accessed 5-3-2021 at: http://navylog.navymemorial.org/azalea-city