SS Pennsylvania Sun

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For ships with a similar name, see SS Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Sun
SS Pennsylvania Sun after being torpedoed by U-571 on 15 July 1942
History
United States
Name
  • SS Pennsylvania Sun (1938-1955)
  • SS Stephanitor (1955-1963)
Owner
Sun Oil Company
Port of registryPhiladelphia, United States
RoutePort Arthur, Texas - Belfast
Builder
Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.
Yard number168
Laid down19 August 1937
Launched20 May 1938
Completed13 July 1938
In service13 July 1938
Out of serviceFebruary 1963
FateScrapped 1963
General characteristics
TypeTanker
Tonnage11.373 GRT
PropulsionScrew propeller
Speed14 knots
Crew60

SS Pennsylvania Sun was a United States

Key West, Florida in the Gulf of Mexico, while traveling from Port Arthur, Texas, to Belfast, United Kingdom (24°05′N 83°42′W / 24.083°N 83.700°W / 24.083; -83.700). She was repaired and went back in service in 1943, she was eventually scrapped in 1963.[1]

Construction

SS Pennsylvania Sun was laid down on 19 August 1937 at the

Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. shipyard in Chester, Pennsylvania. She was launched on 20 May 1938 and completed on 13 July 1938. The ship was assessed at 11.373 GRT and had a single screw propeller.[1]

U-571 Attack

Pennsylvania Sun was traveling from

amidships on the port side between the tanks number 5 and 6. The torpedo also blew away the port wing of the bridge, killing quartermaster James B. Mortimer and able seaman John C. Riley. The ship's cargo ignited and the ship quickly became an inferno.[1]

The master of Pennsylvania Sun, Frederick Lyall steered for five minutes southeast at full speed and then ordered the engines to be stopped while a distress signal was sent. The ship's remaining nine officers, 33 crewmen and 17 armed guards abandoned ship in three lifeboats, rowed away and put out sea anchors to wait for a rescue vessel. They were picked up by USS Dahlgren after three and one-half hours and taken to Key West the same day. There were 57 survivors of which several crew and Armed Guard injured, and 2 crew were lost.[2]

The next evening, the ship's master, three officers and the crew of USS Willet returned to Pennsylvania Sun, when a patrol aircraft reported that the ship was still afloat and the fire had abated. They extinguished the remaining flames and towed her to Key West, where temporary repairs were made and the bodies of the 2 deceased crew members were removed from the ship and buried at their home towns. The tanker steamed under her own power with her crew to Chester, Pennsylvania and returned to service after the permanent repairs were completed in 1943.[2]

Later service and end

Pennsylvania Sun remained with the

ore carrier. The ship was finally scrapped at La Spezia in February 1963 after 25 years of service and surviving a torpedo strike and fire.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Pennsylvania Sun American Motor tanker". uboat.net. 1995. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  2. ^ a b "SS Pennsylvania Sun Burns After Torpedo Hit From U-571". worldwar2database.com. 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Sun Shipbuilding, Chester PA". shipbuildinghistory.com. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
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