At 11.25 hours on 6 May 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Halsey (Master Henrik K. Johnson) was hit by two torpedoes from U-333 off Jupiter Inlet, Florida, while proceeding on a nonevasive course at 10.5 knots in bright moonlight. The torpedoes struck close together on the port side at the #2 and #3 main tanks. The explosion ripped a hole in the side 60 feet long. The master stopped the engines and headed toward the shore. No distress signal was sent, because the radio antenna had been destroyed. The entire crew of eight officers and 24 men abandoned ship in two lifeboats 15 minutes after the attack, the other two boats had been destroyed by the explosions. The men were nearly asphyxiated by the naphtha fumes before they could clear the ship. After one hour, the U-boat came alongside the lifeboats and offered assistance, but it was declined.
The survivors recounted that the calcium lights on the lifebuoys ignited the naphtha two hours later. The tanker exploded amidships, broke in two and burst into flames both fore and aft. At the time of the explosion, USS PC-451 had approached the lifeboats but had to immediately investigate a probable sighting of a conning tower. Two fishing vessels later took the lifeboats in tow and brought them to the Gilbert Bar Lifeboat Station.