Colabee
| Name | Colabee | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 5.518 tons | ||
| Completed | 1920 - Atlantic Corporation, Portsmouth NH | ||
| Owner | American-Hawaiian SS Co, New York | ||
| Homeport | Wilmington | ||
| Date of attack | 13 Mar, 1942 | Nationality:  American | |
| Fate | Damaged by U-126 (Ernst Bauer) | ||
| Position | 22.10N, 77.30W - Grid DM 6599 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 37 (23 dead and 14 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Port Tarafa, Cuba - Baltimore, Maryland | ||
| Cargo | 38.600 bags of sugar | ||
| History | Built as Pagasset, 1937 renamed Colabee | ||
| Notes on loss | At 04.41 hours on 13 Mar, 1942, the unarmed and unescorted Colabee (Master Lee Merchant Morgan) was hit by a torpedo from U-126, while she steered a nonevasive course about 10 miles off Cape Guajaba, Cuba. The torpedo was fired on the surface not more than 800 yards away and struck the starboard side at the after end of #2 hold. The explosion created a large hole, blew off the #2 hatch covers and extensively damaged the bridge, killing the master and one man. After the vessel was stopped, the crew of eight officers and 29 men abandoned the ship in panic, because one of the two lifeboats was destroyed and no rafts were aboard. Only ten men get away with the boat, the others jumped overboard and many drowned. U-126 picked up one man, helped him into the lifeboat and questioned the survivors. The ship went aground shortly afterwards. The boat landed on a small Island off Key Verde, Cuba, where the Cuban steam merchant Oriente picked up these 11 survivors and took them to Nuevitas on 15 March. The first engineer and two men stayed with the ship and were taken off the next day at 21.30 hours by the American steam tanker Cities Service Kansas. Four officers and 19 men died. Later the Oriente pulled the Colabee off the shoal and was anchored. The Cuban Navy towed her into port, where she was repaired and put back into service. | ||
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