Esso Aruba
American Steam tanker
Name | Esso Aruba | ||
Type: | Steam tanker | ||
Tonnage | 8,773 tons | ||
Completed | 1931 - Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Wallsend, Sunderland | ||
Owner | Standard Oil Co of New Jersey, New York | ||
Homeport | Wilmington | ||
Date of attack | 27 Aug 1942 | Nationality: American | |
Fate | Damaged by U-511 (Friedrich Steinhoff) | ||
Position | 18° 09'N, 74° 38'W - Grid EC 1299 | ||
Complement | 60 (0 dead and 60 survivors). | ||
Convoy | TAW-15 | ||
Route | Güiria, Venezuela (23 Aug) - Trinidad - New York | ||
Cargo | 104.170 barrels of diesel fuel | ||
History | Built as Pan Bolivar 1936 renamed Esso Aruba | ||
Notes on event | At 06.29 hours on 27 Aug 1942, U-511 fired a spread of four torpedoes at convoy TAW-15 about 120 miles south-southeast of Guantanamo and claimed two ships with 17000 grt sunk and another damaged. The San Fabian and Rotterdam were sunk and the Esso Aruba was damaged The Esso Aruba (Master Frank Pharr), the ship of convoy commodore, was hit by one torpedo on the port side between the #5 and #6 tanks. The explosion tore up the deck and blew it 20 feet into the air and also destroyed pipelines but failed to damage the engines or steering gear. The tanker stopped to examine the damage and the eight officers, 33 men, 13 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in and two .50cal guns) and convoy commodore and his staff of five men prepared themselves for leaving the ship. But the chief engineer reported the machinery in good order and the damaged vessel proceeded under her own power in convoy, in danger of breaking in two. | ||
On board | We have details of 54 people who were on board. |
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