General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
More Aruba Info
Posted by:
Fin Bonset
()
Date: February 22, 2002 05:22PM
<HTML>Hi guys, for those interested in the Caribbean theatre if the u-boot war, here is a new article I came across yesterday from an online Aruba newspaper. I already told my mother to pick up a copy of the mentioned book and I will share the info when I get it in May (my parents will be visiting then).
ARUBA PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE DURING WORLD WAR II
San Nicolas,
Aruba,
February 22nd 2002,
Aruba was attacked by Nazi Germany 60 years ago on February 16th
1942. Aruba became World news at that time as it was the first country
to be attacked in the Western Hemisphere and America realized that
World War II was coming to close to home. A day after the attacks
newspapers in the U.S. had front-page titles such as "Now U.S. must
fight for its life".
The oil refinery in Aruba which was during that time one of the biggest
oil refineries in the World was an important supplier of oil for U.S. fighter
planes during World War II. The Germans made plans ready to attack the refinery
in Aruba and in the night of February 16th 1942 it all happened. On a
quiet night at 1:31am a U-156 German submarine has surfaced at sea in front
of the Lago oil refinery and started to attack oil tankers at the harbor
of San Nicolas. The German submarine fired torpedo after torpedo which sank
4 oil tankers by the name of Tia Juana, Oranjestad, Perdernales and San Nicolas.
The submarine then wanted to destroy the refinery itself but the remaining
torpedos were not able to launch, 47 people have lost their lives during
that attack. At a small refinery near Eagle Beach another torpedo was launched
to the oil tanker Arkansas which was at the pier. However the torpedo missed
the ship and landed on Eagle Beach. 4 Dutch marines lost their lives on their
attempt to deactivate the torpedo on the beach which eventually exploded.
The Dutch marines observing the torpedo that missed the oil tanker
Arkansas and landed at Eagle Beach a day after the attack.
In 1982 William C. Hochstuhl has written the first edition of the book titled
"German U-boat 156 brought war to Aruba" to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the
attacks. Now the book is being replaced by a new edition which has more information
regarding the dramatic events that took place on February 16th 1942. The book gives
detailed information on how Nazi Germany attacked the island of Aruba. The book
also describes the history of the U-boat and the people that operated it. The reader
will receive information from those who have survived the attacks on board
the tankers and that jump in the sea to save themselves. More than 40 black and
white pictures describes the attacks that took place in Aruba 60 years ago.
The new 50 page book is priced at U.S. 14,25 and it is available at all bookstores
on the island. The money received from selling the books will be given to
the Aruba Scholarship Foundation which sponsors scholarships to talented Arubans to
continue their studies abroad.
Best wishes,
Fin</HTML>
ARUBA PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE DURING WORLD WAR II
San Nicolas,
Aruba,
February 22nd 2002,
Aruba was attacked by Nazi Germany 60 years ago on February 16th
1942. Aruba became World news at that time as it was the first country
to be attacked in the Western Hemisphere and America realized that
World War II was coming to close to home. A day after the attacks
newspapers in the U.S. had front-page titles such as "Now U.S. must
fight for its life".
The oil refinery in Aruba which was during that time one of the biggest
oil refineries in the World was an important supplier of oil for U.S. fighter
planes during World War II. The Germans made plans ready to attack the refinery
in Aruba and in the night of February 16th 1942 it all happened. On a
quiet night at 1:31am a U-156 German submarine has surfaced at sea in front
of the Lago oil refinery and started to attack oil tankers at the harbor
of San Nicolas. The German submarine fired torpedo after torpedo which sank
4 oil tankers by the name of Tia Juana, Oranjestad, Perdernales and San Nicolas.
The submarine then wanted to destroy the refinery itself but the remaining
torpedos were not able to launch, 47 people have lost their lives during
that attack. At a small refinery near Eagle Beach another torpedo was launched
to the oil tanker Arkansas which was at the pier. However the torpedo missed
the ship and landed on Eagle Beach. 4 Dutch marines lost their lives on their
attempt to deactivate the torpedo on the beach which eventually exploded.
The Dutch marines observing the torpedo that missed the oil tanker
Arkansas and landed at Eagle Beach a day after the attack.
In 1982 William C. Hochstuhl has written the first edition of the book titled
"German U-boat 156 brought war to Aruba" to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the
attacks. Now the book is being replaced by a new edition which has more information
regarding the dramatic events that took place on February 16th 1942. The book gives
detailed information on how Nazi Germany attacked the island of Aruba. The book
also describes the history of the U-boat and the people that operated it. The reader
will receive information from those who have survived the attacks on board
the tankers and that jump in the sea to save themselves. More than 40 black and
white pictures describes the attacks that took place in Aruba 60 years ago.
The new 50 page book is priced at U.S. 14,25 and it is available at all bookstores
on the island. The money received from selling the books will be given to
the Aruba Scholarship Foundation which sponsors scholarships to talented Arubans to
continue their studies abroad.
Best wishes,
Fin</HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
More Aruba Info
|
Fin Bonset | 02/22/2002 05:22PM |
|
Re: More Aruba Info
|
Woody | 02/24/2002 09:28PM |
|
Re: More Aruba Info
|
Jack | 02/25/2002 11:38AM |
|
Re: More Aruba Info
|
Stan Norcom | 01/13/2004 03:34AM |
|
Re: More Aruba Info
|
Ken | 01/01/2018 08:10PM |