SS William Rockefeller was a tanker ship built in 1921 and named after financier William Rockefeller. At the time of her sinking by a German submarine in 1942, the SS William Rockefeller was one of the world's largest tankers, and she was the largest to be lost off the North Carolina coast.
History | |
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Name | William Rockefeller |
Namesake | William Rockefeller |
Owner | Panama Transport Comp. |
Builder | Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News |
Yard number | 262 |
Laid down | 15 December 1920 |
Launched | 5 October 1921 |
Completed | 9 November 1921 |
Identification |
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Fate | Sunk, 28 June 1942 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Tanker |
Tonnage | |
Length | 554 ft 9 in (169.09 m) |
Beam | 75 ft 3 in (22.94 m) |
Depth | 43 ft 0 in (13.11 m) |
Installed power | 621 Nhp, 3,800 ihp |
Propulsion | Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. 3-cylinder triple expansion |
Speed | 11.5 knots (13.2 mph; 21.3 km/h) |
Crew | 50 crew (44 crew members and 6 Naval Armed Guard) |
The William Rockefeller was going to New York from Aruba through Torpedo Alley on June 28, 1942, carrying over 135,000 barrels of bunker "C" fuel oil, when the U-701 sent a torpedo into her port side amidships. A furious inferno ensued. The 44-member crew and her 6-member Naval Armed Guard abandoned her approximately 15 minutes later. They all survived, being picked up by CG-470 and taken to the Ocracoke Coast Guard Station. The ship burned and drifted for 11 hours, and sank after the U-701 fired another torpedo into her. The U-boat escaped, despite aerial and naval attacks, only to be sunk a week later.
The sinking was reported to have occurred 16 miles ENE of Diamond Shoal Light Buoy but the actual final resting place is unknown.
35°14′11″N 75°2′1″W / 35.23639°N 75.03361°W