At 05.38 hours on 19 March 1942 the unescorted and unarmed W.E. Hutton (Master Carl Alexander Flaathen) was hit by one of two torpedoes fired by U-124 when steaming on a non-evasive course at 10 knots about 20 miles southeast of Cape Lookout. The torpedo was spotted by a lookout before it hit the starboard bow near the stem, buckling the bow, flooding the fore-peak tanks and carrying away both anchors. The master ordered the crew to prepare the lifeboats, sent distress signals and changed course towards the coast. At 05.48 hours, a coup de grâce hit on the port side amidships just aft of the bridge, destroying the pilot house, spraying oil over the ship and setting the midship section on fire. The tanker sank by the bow about one hour after the initial attack. One officer and twelve crew men were lost. The master, six officers and 16 crewmen abandoned ship in two lifeboats and two rafts, transferred into one boat at daybreak and were picked up after about 12 hours by the British motor merchant Port Halifax and transferred to the pilot boat at the Savannah Sea Buoy.