Steel Age
Photo courtesy of SSHSA Collection, University of Baltimore Library
| Name | Steel Age | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 6,188 tons | ||
| Completed | 1920 - Federal Shipbuilding Co, Kearny NJ | ||
| Owner | Isthmian SS Co, New York | ||
| Homeport | New York | ||
| Date of attack | 7 Mar 1942 | Nationality:  American | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-129 (Asmus Nicolai Clausen) | ||
| Position | 06.45N, 53.15W - Grid EO 6625 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 34 (33 dead and 1 survivor). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Calcutta (18 Jan) - Table Bay - Trinidad - New Orleans | ||
| Cargo | Manganese ore | ||
| History | Completed in February 1920 | ||
| Notes on loss | At 03.20 hours on 7 Mar, 1942, the unescorted and unarmed Steel Age (Master Ralph Jones) was hit on the starboard side by two G7a torpedoes from U-129 about 130 miles northeast of Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana. The first torpedo hit amidships and the second between the #4 and #5 hatches, causing the ship to sink by the bow within two minutes. Eight officers and 25 crew members were lost. The sole survivor, an able seaman, jumped on a nearby life raft and was picked up by the U-boat after 20 minutes. He was landed at Lorient on 5 April and taken to a POW camp near Bremen. | ||
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