Delplata
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| Name | Delplata | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant (Hog Island) | ||
| Tonnage | 5.127 tons | ||
| Completed | 1920 - American Int Shipbuilding Corp, Hog Island PA | ||
| Owner | Mississippi Shipping Co Inc, New Orleans LA | ||
| Homeport | New Orleans | ||
| Date of attack | 20 Feb, 1942 | Nationality:  American | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-156 (Werner Hartenstein) | ||
| Position | 14.55N, 62.10W - Grid ED 6452 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 53 (0 dead and 53 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Rio de Janeiro - St.Thomas, Virgin Islands | ||
| Cargo | 6100 tons of general cargo | ||
| History | Built as Lorraine Cross, 1936 renamed Delplata | ||
| Notes on loss | At 11.31 hours on 20 Feb, 1942, the unescorted Delplata (Master Roelaf Brouver) was hit by a single torpedo from U-156 about 60 miles west of Martinique. The torpedo struck on the starboard side aft of the #2 hold and damaged the superstructure, the wheelhouse, the chart room and the quarter of the master. The freighter took an immediate list to starboard, while the whistle cord become fouled and let the whistle blow continuously. Most of the ten officers, 30 men and 13 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, four .50cal and four .30cal guns) abandoned ship in the four lifeboats and the three rafts. The master, seven crewmen and seven armed guards remained on board. One hour after the first hit, the U-boat fired a second torpedo, which struck on the starboard side and five minutes later another on the port side at the #2 hold. The gun crew fired twelve shot in the direction of the U-boat, but they had to left the ship as her heavy list to port increased. The next day, all men were picked up by the American seaplane tender USS Lapwing (AVP 1). Some of the crew returned to consider salvage possibilities and to recover belongings. The seaplane tender then sank the wreck by gunfire after it was determined that she could not be salvaged. | ||
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