SS Dixie Arrow
{{Short description|American steam oil tanker (1921–1942)}}
{{Italics|string=Dixie Arrow}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
| infobox caption = | display title = }} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image = Dixie Arrow sea trial.png | Ship image size = 300px | Ship caption = Dixie Arrow photographed during her sea trials on November 23, 1921 | image alt = Dixie Arrow viewed from her port bow }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship name = Dixie Arrow | Ship owner = * Standard Oil Company of New York (1921–1931)
| Ship operator = *Standard Transportation Company, Inc. (1921–1931)
| Ship registry = New York, NY | Ship route = * New York City – Colón – San Francisco – Hong Kong – Manila – New York City (1921–1923)
* Texas City et al. – Paulsboro et al. (1932–1942) | Ship ordered = November 1, 1919 | Ship builder = New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden | Ship original cost = | Ship yard number = 266 | Ship way number = | Ship laid down = August 11, 1920 | Ship launched = September 29, 1921 | Ship christened = | Ship acquired = November 29, 1921 | Ship maiden voyage = | Ship identification = *US Navy designation: ID-4789
| Ship fate = Torpedoed and sunk off Cape Hatteras on March 26, 1942 | Ship notes = | Ship sponsor = Isabelle Brown | Ship class = Arrow-class | Ship namesake = Dixie, nickname for southern US | Ship flag = {{flag icon|United States}} | Ship country = United States | Ship in service = 1921–1942 }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship tonnage = * {{GRT|8046}}
| Ship displacement = 18,277 t | Ship length = {{cvt|468.3|ft}} | Ship beam = {{cvt|62.7|ft}} | Ship height = | Ship draught = | Ship draft = {{cvt|26.0|ft}} | Ship depth = {{cvt|72-89|ft}} | Ship decks = 2 | Ship deck clearance = | Ship ramps = | Ship ice class = | Ship power = * 3 single-ended Scotch boilers, 9 corrugated furnaces total (3 per boiler)
| Ship propulsion = 1 screw | Ship speed = {{convert|11|kn}} | Ship capacity = *{{Convert|4,000,000|gal|L}}
| Ship crew = * 62 (maximum)
| Ship notes = | Ship class = Arrow-class steam oil tanker | Ship boats = 4 lifeboats | Ship endurance = 46 days }} |
The tanker operated for just over two decades, beginning her service in late November 1921. Dixie Arrow carried petroleum products and vegetable oils from North America to East Asia during her first two years, but East Asia was removed from her route after 1923. Her service was limited even further to only the East and Gulf Coasts by the early 1930s.
Dixie Arrow was torpedoed off of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on the morning of March 26, 1942, by the German submarine U-71. The tanker sank that evening, with 22 of her 33-man crew surviving. She was just one of many ships sunk by U-boats off the Outer Banks during the period German sailors called the Second Happy Time.
Construction
File:Dixie Arrow Construction.png
Following the outbreak of World War I, Socony began development of a new class of oil tanker. The company hoped to modernize their fleet of oil tankers, and to replace the aging barques and clippers they had been using since the beginning of the 20th century. The new class of tankers was named the Arrow class, and the first of which was built in 1916. The construction of fourteen sister ships was allotted to Socony, but only twelve were ever ordered—two of them were never built. All of the ships were designed by Nicholas Pluymert, head of the Marine Transportation Department and Socony's naval architect.{{Cite web |last=Marx |first=Deborah |last2=Delgado |first2=James |date=July 15, 2013 |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form |url=https://monitor.noaa.gov/shipwrecks/dixie_arrow_nrn.pdf |access-date=February 7, 2025 |publisher=National Park Service |via=Kami}}Gardiner, Robert (editor), 2000. The Golden Age of Shipping: The Classic Merchant Ship 1900–1960. Chartwell Books. Edison, NJ.
All twelve of the Arrow class ships were of almost equal dimensions, with minimal differences between them. Building several ships using the same plans was extremely efficient, as it saved on cost, materials, and construction time. In addition, no extra time would be needed to be spent training crewmen on new ships, as all of them had the same layout and operated the same. This strategy was commonly used by shipbuilders at the time to make multiple ships quickly and efficiently, which was crucial to continue the war effort during World War I and would become even more so in World War II.
The final ship of the class, yard number 226, was ordered on November 1, 1919.{{Cite web |date=October 22, 2020 |title=New York Shipbuilding Camden NJ |url=http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/newyorkship.htm |access-date=January 11, 2025 |website=shipbuildinghistory.com}}{{Cite web |title=ST DIXIE ARROW |url=https://www.shipvault.com/ships/21505 |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=www.shipvault.com}} Constructed by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at their shipyard in Camden, New Jersey, alongside three other Arrow-class ships, 226 was named Dixie Arrow.{{Cite web |date=22 October 2020 |title=New York Shipbuilding, Camden, NJ |url=https://navalmarinearchive.com/sbh/shipyards/large/newyorkship.html |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=navalmarinearchive.com}}{{Cite book |last=Swazey |first=Edward Scott |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_York_Shipbuilding_Corporation/Ryzv1gmmUZ8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Dixie+Arrow%22&pg=PA16&printsec=frontcover |title=New York Shipbuilding Corporation: A Record of Ships Built |date=1921 |publisher=New York Shipbuilding Corporation |pages=16 |language=en}} Her keel was laid on August 11, 1920. Dixie Arrow had "a most successful launching" from South Yard 3 on September 29, sponsored and christened by Isabelle Brown of Dallas, Texas; daughter of E. R. Brown, president of the board that led the Magnolia Petroleum Company.{{Cite web |last=Kube-McDowell |first=Michael |title=Civil & Merchant Vessels of New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden |url=http://www.yorkship.org/HTML/merchantmarine.htm |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=www.yorkship.org}}{{Cite news |date=1921-09-30 |title=Oil Tanker Launched |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1921-09-30/ed-1/?sp=25&q=%22dixie+arrow%22&r=0.644,0.044,0.41,0.161,0 |access-date=2025-03-31 |work=Evening Star |pages=25 |language=english |issn=2331-9968 |oclc=ocm02260929}}
Dixie Arrow{{'}}s sea trials were conducted on November 23.Tanker Has Trial. Philadelphia Inquirer. 30 November 1921. Philadelphia{{Cite journal |date=December 1921 |title=Trial Trip of the Dixie Arrow |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Marine_Engineering/-1gfAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Dixie+Arrow%22+december+1921&pg=RA1-PA942&printsec=frontcover |journal=Marine Engineering and Shipping Age |volume=26 |pages=942 |via=Google Books}} She was finally completed on November 29, being delivered to the Standard Transportation Company that same day. The tanker was assigned the United States Navy (USN) designation ID-4789, the US official number 221735, and the code letters MDHC.{{Cite web |last=Claes |first=Johnny |date=October 10, 2007 |title=SS Dixie Arrow (+1942) |url=https://wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?15438 |url-status= |access-date=October 3, 2024 |website=wrecksite.eu}}
= Design and specifications =
File:DixieArrowDesign.jpg and cutaway drawing of Dixie Arrow and her three sister ships|left|alt=An illustration of deck plans for an Arrow-class ships. It features a cutaway side view (facing right) as well as four top-down views that are also cutaways.]]Dixie Arrow was {{convert|468.3|ft}} long, {{convert|62.7|ft}} wide, and {{convert|26.0|ft}} from the waterline to the bottom of the keel.{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Lloyd's Register |title=Dixie Arrow |url=https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/ships/dixie-arrow-1921/search/ship-type:tanker-11791/page/26/view-as/list |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=hec.lrfoundation.org.uk |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=The Wreck of The Dixie Arrow |url=https://www.divehatteras.com/dixiearrow.html |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=www.divehatteras.com}} In the aft portion of the bottom deck, the tanker was outfitted with a four-cylinder quadruple expansion steam engine, capable of producing up to {{Convert|3200|hp|kW}}.{{Cite journal |date=1921 |title="Shipbuilding and Shipping Record" Table of Launches |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shipbuilding_Shipping_Record/bDsfAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Dixie%20Arrow |journal=Shipbuilding & Shipping Record |location=London |volume=18 |via=Google Books}} She also had three single-ended Scotch marine boilers with three corrugated furnaces on each, nine in total. With a single propeller, she had a maximum speed of 11 knots.{{Cite web |last=Visser |first=Auke |title=Dixie Arrow – (1921–1942) |url=https://www.aukevisser.nl/mobil/id630.htm |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=Auke Visser's MOBIL Tankers & Tugs Site}}{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Lloyd's Register |title=Report on Machinery for Dixie Arrow, 27th November 1921 |url=https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/documents/lrf-pun-w164-0234-r |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=hec.lrfoundation.org.uk |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=New York Shipbuilding Co |first=Camden |url=https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/ships/dixie-arrow-1921 |title=USA – YN 266 SS Dixie Arrow General Arrangement (1921) |date=1921-07-07 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224000000/https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/ships/dixie-arrow-1921 |archive-date=February 24, 2022}} [https://archive.org/details/yn266ga1921#:~:text=yard:%20New%20York%20Shipbuilding%20Co,completed:%20november%2029%201921 Alt URL] Dixie Arrow had a gross register tonnage of 8,046, a net register tonnage of 4,960, a deadweight tonnage of 13,400, and an underdeck tonnage of 7,834.{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Lloyd's Register |date=December 7, 1921 |title=Steel Steamer Report for Dixie Arrow, 7th December 1921 |url=https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/documents/lrf-pun-w164-0233-r |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=hec.lrfoundation.org.uk |language=en}}{{Cite journal |title=U.S. Merchant Ship Losses December 7, 1941 – August 14, 1945 |url=https://web.kamihq.com/web/viewer.html?state=%7B%22ids%22%3A%5B%2218kSXxS0ARvZlEgLdz_ztD_Jzv7ZQxQkC%22%5D%2C%22action%22%3A%22open%22%2C%22userId%22%3A%22116323042245880596608%22%7D&filename=undefined&kami_user_id=19085093 |journal=U.S. Merchant Ship Losses |pages=6 |via=Department of Defense}} The tanker's displacement was measured at 18,277 tons.
Dixie Arrow boasted three masts, the third of which was shorter than the other two. On the ship's funnel was white "S". The funnel sat atop the aft superstructure, which was a shelter "designed to carry petroleum in bulk with aft positioned machinery." The tanker had ten double cargo holds for bulk oil able to carry roughly {{Convert|4,000,000|gal|L}} gallons of commercial oil, and had room for a maximum of {{Convert|400,000|gal|L}} of fuel that would allow her to steam a maximum length of 46 days.1921. Launching of Dixie Arrow. Nautical Gazette. 8 October 1921:464. A tween deck, designed to carry general cargo, was located between the hold and the main deck, and the space was used significantly during the tanker's service in East Asia. Located on the main deck were five deck cranes, used to transport cargo in and out of the holds. For this purpose, there were eight removable hatches on the main deck.Gordon, Arthur. 1991. The Mobil Book of Ships: A Century at Sea. Mobil Shipping Company. London, England. She carried four wooden lifeboats—two on the forward superstructure and two on the aft superstructure—as well as multiple wooden life rafts.
The tanker's forward superstructure was three decks high, and the aft superstructure was one deck high. Amidships, on the starboard side, was a removable accommodation ladder that ran down to the waterline. It was reported that the ship could carry up to 62 crewmen. In a 1921 Lloyd's Register survey, Dixie Arrow was given a rating of 100A1, meaning she was suitable for seagoing service, and was fit to carry dry and perishable goods.{{Cite web |title=Research guide H6: Lloyd's: Lloyd's Register survey reports {{!}} Royal Museums Greenwich |url=https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/research-guides/research-guide-h6-lloyds-lloyds-register-survey-reports#:~:text=If%20a%20ship%20was%20surveyed,was%20built%20under%20special%20survey. |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=www.rmg.co.uk |language=en}} In the survey's report, it was noted that the tanker had "good and efficient anchoring and mooring equipment." In addition, Dixie Arrow{{'}}s radio system had a maximum telegraphical range of 800 nautical miles while on a frequency of 375 kilocycles, which was controlled by the Radio Corporation of America.{{Cite journal |last=Bloss |first=Frank |date=June 30, 1929 |title=Commercial and Government Radio Stations of the United States |url=https://web.kamihq.com/web/viewer.html?state=%7B%22ids%22%3A%5B%22188ABtHTCg0w801oQ6bLNLFU4dXbc_fSF%22%5D%2C%22action%22%3A%22open%22%2C%22userId%22%3A%22116323042245880596608%22%7D&filename=undefined&kami_user_id=19085093 |journal=United States Department of Commerce |volume=}}{{Cite journal |date=October 30, 1926 |title=Department of Commerce Radio Service Bulletin |url=https://web.kamihq.com/web/viewer.html?state=%7B%22ids%22%3A%5B%221jgcbHT4ANdF7BuA5hByRzmnZcntpvSmr%22%5D%2C%22action%22%3A%22open%22%2C%22userId%22%3A%22116323042245880596608%22%7D&filename=DOC-338339A1.pdf&kami_user_id=19085093 |journal=Department of Commerce Radio Service Bulletin |issue=115 |pages=6 |via=Kami}} The tanker also had a system of electric lights controlled from a panel in the bridge, with the dynamo having a capacity of 182 amperes at 110 volts.{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Lloyd's Register |title=Report on Electric Lighting Installation for Dixie Arrow, 24th November 1921 |url=https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/documents/lrf-pun-w164-0238-r |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=hec.lrfoundation.org.uk |language=en}}
= Ownership =
While Dixie Arrow was built for the Standard Transportation Company, in actuality she was owned by Socony. Standard Transportation Company was a subsidiary of Socony, which was not unusual for large companies at the time. Socony had emerged as one of two major companies to rise from the breakup of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, the other being Standard Oil of New Jersey.[http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/teachers/lesson_plans/pdfs/unit7_8.pdf "The Sherman Antitrust Act and Standard Oil"] (PDF). University of Houston. January 9, 2014. Archived (PDF) from [https://web.archive.org/web/20140109182217/http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/teachers/lesson_plans/pdfs/unit7_8.pdf the original] on January 9, 2014. The two companies would conduct multiple joint ventures before finally merging to form ExxonMobil in 1998.{{Cite web |last=Plummer |first=Marguerite R. |date=2023 |title=Exxon-Mobil Merger Creates the World's Second-Largest Company |url=https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/politics-and-government/exxon-mobil-merger-creates-worlds-second-largest-company#:~:text=In%20December%201998%2C%20the%20merger,second%2Dlargest%20publicly%20traded%20company. |access-date=May 27, 2025 |website=EBSCO}}
Lloyd's of London's registers linked the operator of Dixie Arrow to the Standard Transportation Company for ten years, from 1921 until 1931. The tanker was then registered under Standard Vacuum Transport Company for three years, following the merger of Socony and another oil company, Vacuum, in 1931. After the parent company renamed to Socony-Vacuum Oil Company in 1935,{{Cite web |last=Visser |first=Auke |title=Mobil – History in short |url=https://www.aukevisser.nl/mobil/id514.htm |access-date=March 3, 2025 |website=Auke Visser's Mobil Tankers & Tugs Site}} Dixie Arrow
For the entire duration of her service, Dixie Arrow flew the American flag as her ensign and was registered in New York, New York. The tanker flew the Socony-Vacuum house flag from her mainmast following the 1931 merger of the two companies, consisting of a white swallowtail with blue stripes running along the top and bottom of the flag and a red pegasus located in the center of the field.{{Cite web |last=McMillan |first=Joe |title=House Flags of U.S. Shipping Companies: ExxonMobil |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us~hfexx.html#svoc |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=www.crwflags.com}}{{Cite book |last=Styring |first=John S. |title=Brown's flags and Funnels of british and Foreign Steamship Companies |publisher=Brown, Son & Ferguson |year=1971 |editor-last=Allen |editor-first=J. Harry |edition=7th |pages=38 and 56 |orig-year=1927}} Prior to this, Dixie Arrow flew Socony's house flag, which merely consisted of a white S on a rectangular blue field as the red pegasus was the logo of Vacuum Oil Company.{{Cite book |last=Talbot-Booth |first=E. C. |title=Ships and the Sea |publisher=Samson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd |year=1937 |edition=tbb37 |location=London, United Kingdom}}{{Cite web |last=Wells |first=B. A. |last2=Wells |first2=K. L. |date=March 14, 2010 |title=Mobil's High-Flying Trademark |url=https://aoghs.org/petroleum-art/high-flying-trademark/ |access-date=May 19, 2025 |website=American Oil & Gas Historical Society}}
Service history
= Interwar period =
File:Dixie Arrow drydock.jpg dry dock in New York City, 1922|alt=Dixie Arrow out of the water in a drydock]]
The first year of Dixie Arrow{{'}}s service had among her longest trips, going from New York City, through the Panama Canal, and to East Asia. This route was given to all of the Arrow class ships, only a handful would remain on that route until the outbreak of World War II. Dixie Arrow departed for her first voyage in December 1921, carrying 10,000 tons of fuel oil. The tanker departed from New York City, first docking in the Panamanian city of Colón, then in San Francisco, and finally steaming across the Pacific Ocean to the British territory of Hong Kong.{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Petroleum_Times/9Y09AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Dixie+Arrow%22&pg=PA206&printsec=frontcover |title=Movements of the Oil-Tanker Fleet |date=January-June 1922 |publisher=Petroleum Times |pages=206 |language=en}} After unloading her cargo in the British territory, Dixie Arrow would sail to the US territory of the Philippines to load various vegetable oils in Manila, such as coconut, nut, and what was referred to as China wood oil. These unusual cargos would fill her empty oil tanks before she took the voyage in reverse, heading back to New York. Ships traditionally sailed empty on their return trips with only ballast in the hold, though Socony opposed this approach in order to secure higher profits on each transpacific voyage. Each of these voyages took around six months to complete, and served as "a testament to the Arrow [class'] seaworthiness and range."File:Dixiearrow3.jpg
After three voyages and serving less than two years in East Asia, Dixie Arrow was rerouted to the domestic oil trade in 1923. The tanker's route was changed in order to carry oil back and forth across North America, steaming between the three largest oil producing and consuming states: New York, Texas, and California. This change came after oil fields opened up in the area surrounding Los Angeles earlier that same year, and Socony rerouted several other Arrow-class ships "since their design of being both a general cargo carrier and bulk oil carrier proved to be versatile and efficient."
Dixie Arrow would conduct voyages through the Panama Canal to the cities of San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, steaming from port cities in the northeast such as New York City, Boston, and Providence.{{Cite journal |date=1935 |title=The Panama Canal Record |url=https://web.kamihq.com/web/viewer.html?state=%7B%22ids%22%3A%5B%221xxtqL5fBUI4S9NJK-jQUKl9TLFOQIcWn%22%5D%2C%22action%22%3A%22open%22%2C%22userId%22%3A%22116323042245880596608%22%7D&filename=undefined&kami_user_id=19085093 |journal=The Panama Canal Record |publisher=Panama Canal Press |publication-place=Radio Heights, Canal Zone |volume=28 |via=Internet Archive}}{{Cite web |date=March 8, 1929 |title=The Panama American |url=https://original-ufdc.uflib.ufl.edu/AA00010883/04248/8x |access-date=2025-02-18 |website= |publisher=The Panama American |page=8 |language=en |type=Newspaper}} While primarily carrying her traditional cargo of crude oil, the tanker also carried general freight, as she was flexible in both her route and cargo type. She also carried bunker fuel to New York City, San Francisco, and the Panama Canal Zone for use by transiting vessels.Ratcliffe, Mike. 1985. Liquid Gold Ships: A History of the Tanker. Lloyd's of London Press, LTD. London, England. Dixie Arrow would also make intermediate stops in various Texan ports while on these voyages.{{Efn|These ports included Galveston, Houston, Beaumont, Texas City, and Port Arthur.|name=Notesports}} Compared to her service in East Asia, Dixie Arrow solely sailed in ballast when on her voyages towards California. This practice would be continued for the rest of the tanker's service.
In 1931, following the merger between Socony and Vacuum Oil Company, the tanker's operations were handed over to another subsidiary: Standard Vacuum Transport Company. This subsidiary was a combination of the assets of Standard Transportation Company and Vacuum Oil Company. The amount of oil tankers steaming to and from California and through the Panama Canal had lessened since 1927, with the Californian oil fields becoming insignificant by the early 1930s. Soon afterwards, Socony-Vacuum removed California from the tanker's route. As a result of the change, Dixie Arrow was instead rerouted to directly service Texan ports,{{Efn|These ports included Galveston, Houston, Beaumont, Texas City, and Port Arthur.|name=Notesports}} rather than merely stopping over them on her way to California. The docks that the tanker stopped at while in these ports were operated by one of Socony-Vacuum's affiliates, either the Magnolia Petroleum Company or the Humble Oil and Refinery Company. The ports directly serviced the East Texas Oil Field, which was the largest petroleum reservoir in the state of Texas.
In March 1932, a large storm swept across the East Coast and damaged seven ships steaming off Virginia, including Dixie Arrow—which was the largest vessel affected by the storm. Her steering gear broke down and the tanker became disabled, unable to maneuver herself. The US Coast Guard Cutter Mendota soon arrived to assist Dixie Arrow, who was towed to Newport News for repairs by the steamship Argon. The two ships arrived around 4:00 AM.{{Cite web |title=Image 2 of Evening star (Washington, D.C.), March 8, 1932 {{!}} Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1932-03-08/ed-1/?sp=2&q=%22dixie+arrow%22&r=0.187,0.818,0.383,0.15,0 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.loc.gov}}{{Cite web |title=Image 1 of Imperial Valley press (El Centro, Calif.), March 8, 1932 {{!}} Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn92070146/1932-03-08/ed-1/?sp=1&q=%22dixie+arrow%22&r=0.303,0.52,0.437,0.172,0 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.loc.gov}}{{Cite news |date=March 7, 1923 |title=Storms Sweep |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ao0AAAAIBAJ&pg=PA9&dq=%22Dixie+Arrow%22&article_id=3458,5150663&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj-vfDL0dKNAxWYK1kFHaeBMTU4FBDoAXoECAgQAw#v=onepage&q=%22Dixie%20Arrow%22&f=false |access-date=June 2, 2025 |work=The Lewiston Daily Sun |pages=9}} File:Vacuum Oil Case (wooden case held two drums).jpg
On her voyages up and down the East Coast, Dixie Arrow carried case oil, cargo consisting of a pair of five-gallon oil drums packed together in a small wooden box. The types of oil packed into these drums primarily consisted of petroleum and gasoline. Some drums also carried benzene, kerosene, and lubricating oil, among other types of oil. The operations of Dixie Arrow were returned to her parent company, Socony-Vacuum, in 1936. With the change that same year that changed a ship's unique four-letter identification from signal letters to a maritime call sign, Dixie Arrow
= World War II =
After both the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 and the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Dixie Arrow remained on her regular East Coast route. The tanker was not outfitted with weapons or placed in a convoy, however she was painted grey for camouflage purposes.Duffus, Kevin (2012). "Chapter 10: Growl you Go, but Go you Must". War Zone: World War II Off the North Carolina Coast (1st ed.). Raleigh, North Carolina: Looking Glass Productions, Inc. {{ISBN|1888285427}}. The "S" on her funnel was also painted over, to hide the identity of the tanker's owner; something similar had been done to her sister Sylvan Arrow during World War I.Mooney, James L. (1976). Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Vol. 6: R Through S, Appendices. Washington, DC: Department of Defense, Navy, Naval History Division. p. 705. {{ISBN|9780160020308}}.
Dixie Arrow was formally assigned to carry petroleum from Texas to New York in order to help the American war effort.Bertke, Donald; Smith, Gordon; Kindell, Don (2014). World War II Sea War, Volume 6: The Allies Halt the Axis Advance. Bertke Publications. pp. 138, 140. ISBN With U-boats sinking American vessels off their own eastern coast, oil refineries began to lose their supply of petroleum, threatening the production of war matériel.{{Cite book |last=Goralski |first=Robert |title=Oil & War |last2=Freeburg |first2=Russell T. |date= |publisher=Marine Corp University Press |year=2021 |location=Quantico, VA}}{{Cite journal |last=Martin |first=Keith |date=2018-03-26 |title=The Big Inch: Fueling America's WWII War Effort |url=https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/big-inch-fueling-americas-wwii-war-effort#:~:text=Required%20to%20lubricate%20and%20fuel,off%20those%20of%20their%20enemy. |journal=NIST |language=en}} The Gulf Coast had a large supply of crude oil, however there were not enough tankers to transport it. As such, Dixie Arrow joined some 200 tankers in the task of fueling American factories in the north. Though she did not explicitly service foreign Allied war production, it is certainly possible that the tanker's regular petroleum cargo was offloaded and later transferred to other tankers bound for Europe. It was common practice for American tankers to transport oil to ports such as New York, where it would be loaded onto British-flagged vessels and transported across the Atlantic Ocean.Frey, John W. and Ide, Chandler H. (editors). 1946. A History of the Petroleum Administration for War: 1941-1945. Petroleum Administration for War, United States Government Printing Office. Washington, DC.
Final voyage
{{More information|Second Happy Time|Torpedo Alley}}On March 19, 1942, Dixie Arrow left Texas City, Texas, bound for the city of Paulsboro, New Jersey. The tanker was carrying {{convert|86136|oilbbl}} of crude oil to be used for the Allied war effort, and had a crew numbering 33—eight officers and 25 men.{{Cite web |last=Helgason |first=Guðmundur |title=Dixie Arrow (American Steam tanker) |url=https://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/1475.html#google_vignette |access-date=May 29, 2025 |website=uboat.net}}{{Cite web |date=2010 |title=2010 Battle of the Atlantic Expedition |url=https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/2010battleoftheatlantic/vessels.html |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=sanctuaries.noaa.gov}} She was described as a good ship to work aboard, with fair pay, a reasonable work schedule, and "the best cook available".{{cite book |author=Hickam, Homer H. Jr. |author-link=Homer Hickam |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Torpedo_Junction/Sh1iAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Dixie+Arrow%22&pg=PT107&printsec=frontcover |title=Torpedo Junction |publisher=United States Naval Institute |year=1989 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |chapter=5: The Battle Expands}} Despite many ships being in the vicinity wherever she traveled, Dixie Arrow was not officially travelling in a convoy. The Coastal Convoy System used by the USN was established in the summer of 1942, nearly three months after Dixie Arrow had sunk.Roscoe, Theodore. 1953. United States Destroyer Operations in World War II. US Naval Institute Press. Annapolis, Maryland.
Dixie Arrow{{'}}s master, Captain Anders Johanson, was under orders to follow a {{convert|40|fathom|adj=on|spell=in}} curve away from the shore to keep the tanker safe while steaming past the shoals of Cape Hatteras. While passing St. John's River, Florida, Captain Johanson stopped a USN patrol boat to request further details. He was told that there were "a couple of other navy boats ahead", and that he should contact them for the information instead. Upon attempting to do, Dixie Arrow received no response. As the tanker sailed further up the East Coast, she constantly received messages of SOS and SSSS{{Efn|Also written as SSS; stands for Submarine, Submarine, Submarine, Submarine.|name=Notesa}} from ships that had been torpedoed by U-boats. As a further precautionary measure, Captain Johanson ordered all of Dixie Arrow
While steaming past the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Dixie Arrow{{'}}s crew could see columns of smoke coming from oil fires located south of Morehead City, the result of other ships that had fallen victim to U-boats. Ships traditionally sailed along warm water currents for speed, namely the Gulf Stream. Both the Gulf Stream and the Labrador Current meet off the coast of North Carolina.{{Cite web |title=Naufrágios da Carolina do Norte |url=https://www.naufragiosdobrasil.com.br/Naufragioscarolinadonorte.htm |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=www.naufragiosdobrasil.com.br |language=pt}}{{Cite web |last=Boling |first=Candice |date=2016-04-03 |title=When these two meet... The Graveyard of the Atlantic |url=https://www.wnct.com/news/when-these-two-meet-the-graveyard-of-the-atlantic/ |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=WNCT |language=en-US}} All shipping in the area was either coming from the north or the south, making the region a prime hunting ground for U-boats. In addition, the continental shelf is narrowest along Hatteras Island,{{Cite web |title=Ocean Explorer |url=https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/04etta/background/profile/media/setting_2_462.jpg |access-date=May 21, 2025 |website=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association}} making it convenient for U-boats to hide themselves in deep water while waiting for ships.{{Cite web |title=LECCIONES/ACTIVIDADES DE 8.º GRADO: SEGUNDA GUERRA MUNDIAL (Nivel de lectura 8.8) |trans-title=8TH GRADE LESSONS/ACTIVITIES: WORLD WAR II (Reading Level 8.8) |url=https://web.kamihq.com/web/viewer.html?state=%7B%22ids%22%3A%5B%221_XzhkkY6TysAXEGpL_HkGGTo9P5SLMFV%22%5D%2C%22action%22%3A%22open%22%2C%22userId%22%3A%22116323042245880596608%22%7D&filename=undefined&kami_user_id=19085093 |website=graveyardoftheatlantic.com |language=es}}{{Cite web |last=National Marine Sanctuaries |first=Office of |title=Battle of the Atlantic |url=https://web.kamihq.com/web/viewer.html?state=%7B%22ids%22%3A%5B%221Z7KumG3S3n8-NBNIjvO5Wu7D_gJ3SalG%22%5D%2C%22action%22%3A%22open%22%2C%22userId%22%3A%22116323042245880596608%22%7D&filename=undefined&kami_user_id=19085093 |access-date=7 February 2024 |website=Monitor National Marine Sanctuary}} Just under 400 Allied ships would be sunk by German U-boats off of the coastline of North Carolina by the end of their campaign, officially named Operation Paukenschlag (English: Operation Drumbeat).{{Cite news |last=McCord |first=John |date=October 27, 2010 |title=Documenting the Battle of the Atlantic |url=https://renci.org/news/documenting-the-battle-of-the-atlantic/ |access-date=February 25, 2025 |work=RENCI}} The operation itself was part of the much larger Battle of the Atlantic. Operation Drumbeat would become nicknamed the "Second Happy Time" by Germans sailors due to the high amount of shipping losses suffered by the Allied powers,Miller, Nathan: War at Sea: A Naval History of World War II. Oxford University Press, 1997. {{ISBN|0-19-511038-2}}Michael Gannon, Operation Drumbeat: the dramatic true story of Germany's first U-boat attacks along the American coast in World War II, 1990, Harper and Row publishers, {{ISBN|0-06-016155-8}} and the Americans gave the waters off North Carolina the rather fitting nickname "Torpedo Junction".{{Cite web |title=Torpedo Junction (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/wwii_caha_torpedo_junction.htm |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Stroup |first=Jane Shaw |title=The Battle of the Atlantic off the Outer Banks of North Carolina |url=https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/the-battle-of-the-atlantic-off-the-outer-banks-of-north-carolina/ |access-date=February 10, 2025 |website=North Carolina History Project}}
= Sinking =
Roughly 10 minutes before 09:00 AM EWT (Eastern War Time), in the morning hours of March 26, 1942, Dixie Arrow made her way past both Cape Fear and Cape Lookout, and into Cape Hatteras' infamous Diamond Shoals. The tanker was reported to be zig-zagging with 45° tacks,{{Cite book |last=Bunch |first=Jim |url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=wesmDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA9&dq=%22Dixie+Arrow%22&ots=Tl0XSn49W_&sig=ijEJ94axJeqnkyU2RlfPru9ONU0#v=onepage&q=%22Dixie%20Arrow%22&f=false |title=U-Boats off the Outer Banks: Shadows in the Moonlight |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=2017 |isbn=9781467137676 |pages=89-91 |chapter=Protecting the Homeland}} altering her course every 6–9 minutes, and was steaming at a speed of 10.5 knots. Shortly before 9:00 AM, a United States Coast Guard (USCG) airplane reported that it was circling Dixie Arrow near the Diamond Shoals outer buoy. The tanker was steaming through calm, clear, and smooth seas with a gentle breeze.
File:Dixie Arrow torpedo strike locations.png
Twelve miles (19 km) southwest of Cape Hatteras, the type VIIC submarine U-71 was on its fifth patrol, now under the command of Kapitänleutnant Walter Flachsenberg. The U-boat had had a successful patrol thus far, having sunk both the Norwegian tanker MT Ranja and the American cargo ship SS Oakmar mere days earlier.{{Cite web |last=McDonald |first=Jason |date=February 5, 2024 |title=SS Dixie Arrow Sinking After Torpedo Hits |url=https://www.worldwar2database.com/ss-dixie-arrow-sinking-after-torpedo-hits/ |access-date=February 10, 2025 |website=World War II Multimedia Database}} Having spotted nothing but small fishing boats the night of March 25–26, the submarine had been preparing "to dive and sleep for the day when [the] lookout spotted some masts on the southern horizon." The masts that had been spotted belonged to Dixie Arrow. Preparing to sink the newly-spotted vessel, U-71 disappeared beneath the water and began to maneuver itself in-between the shoreline and the tanker. At 8:58 AM, Kapitanleutnant Flachsenberg gave the order to fire three torpedoes,{{Efn|Some sources, including U-71's official log, state that only two torpedoes were fired.|name=torpedonote|group=lower-alpha}} all of which hit the tanker on the starboard side, amidships.
{{Multiple image
| direction = vertical
| image1 = Dixie Arrow aflame.webp
| alt1 = Dixie Arrow burning, thick smoke surrounding her
| caption1 = The starboard side of Dixie Arrow aflame
| image2 = Dixie Arrow closeup.jpg
| alt2 = Smoke and fire pour from Dixie Arrow's starboard side as she sinks
| caption2 = Smoke pours from the starboard side of Dixie Arrow as she sinks; the bridge is in flames.
| image3 = Allied tanker torpedoed.jpg
| caption3 = Dixie Arrow breaking in half whilst on fire
| alt3 = Dixie Arrow breaking in two, with fire engulfing both parts
| image4 = Dixie Arrow far shot.png
| alt4 = A further away version of photo #3
| caption4 = Dixie Arrow breaking in half, viewed from afar
| width = 250
| image5 =
| alt5 =
| caption5 =
}}
The torpedoes were spotted by the able seaman on the bridge, Oscar Chappell,{{Efn|Spelled as "Chappel" in some sources|name=chapefn}} and he rung the warning bell before attempting to turn Dixie Arrow—albeit far too late. The first torpedo blew up the deckhouse and lit its ruins on fire, killing the radio operator, all the tanker's officers, and a number of crewmen on the bridge—save for Chappell. The other two torpedoes hit the tanker roughly sixty seconds later, the second hitting between the midships mast and funnel, and the third hitting just aft of the deckhouse. The blasts wounded eight men in the dining hall and knocked out the lights in the engine room. Captain Johanson had stepped out of his cabin after the first two blasts and ordered the surviving crew to evacuate the stricken tanker, but he was killed when the third torpedo struck. The engines were stopped by the first assistant engineer, William Rolfe, just before the third blast, and Dixie Arrow drifted to a stop as oil leaked from the ship, which would become subsequently ignited by the torpedoes' explosions. Around this time, the USCG airplane spotted the tanker aflame, and its pilot proceeded to take multiple photographs of her.{{Cite web |title=U-boat Archive – Eastern Sea Frontier – March 1942 – Appendix IV |url=https://www.uboatarchive.net/ESF/ESFWarDiaryMar42APP4.htm |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=www.uboatarchive.net}} Seaman Richard Rushton described the first moments after the strikes in a 2001 interview:
When the torpedo struck, there was sort of a rolling motion. It's not a jarring [motion] because the tanker is so big. It sort of rolled the ship, and we came out of breakfast, and we could see the fire and smoke. One of the older sailors went to a lifeboat, and he panicked. He took the line off the cleats and dropped the boat, but it was on the starboard side where the fire was. He had [the line] around his arm, and it launched him out into the fire. The boat probably weighed 2,000 pounds or so. Steel, too. Full of supplies. He was one of the older sailors, and he knew better, but he panicked.
Chappell quickly turned the tanker to starboard, bringing Dixie Arrow into the wind to keep 8 men trapped on the bow from being burnt to death and allowing them time to jump into the water to reach relative safety. However, in doing this, the wind blew the flames onto the bridge and he was killed.{{Cite news |date=March 1, 2018 |title=Dixie Arrow |url=https://myemail.constantcontact.com/MARCH-NEWSLETTER-.html?soid=1102474588563&aid=pwJMe8jZVO8#LETTER.BLOCK72 |access-date=March 18, 2025 |work=The Wreck Report}} A surviving crewman recalled that "fire was shooting up all about [Chappell]". The able seaman was posthumously awarded both the Distinguished Merchant Marine Medal and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for his actions.{{Cite web |title=Oscar Gaston Chappell (American) – Crew lists of Ships hit by U-boats – uboat.net |url=https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/person/2074.html |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=uboat.net}}{{Cite web |date=2021-04-02 |title=Merchant Marine Heroes – Citations for Distinguished Service Medal during World War II |url=http://www.usmm.org/heroes.html |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=American Merchant Marine at War}} The liberty ship SS Oscar Chappell was named after him, as well as the Able Seaman Oscar Chappell Award For Outstanding Maritime Stewardship.{{Cite web |title=2024 Annual Navy League Professional Excellence Awards |url=https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Portals/55/Messages/ALNAV/ALN2024/ALN24082.txt?ver=MG51OkmlX46vIBnP1R9XMA== |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250308124113/https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Portals/55/Messages/ALNAV/ALN2024/ALN24082.txt?ver=MG51OkmlX46vIBnP1R9XMA%3D%3D |archive-date=2025-03-08 |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=www.mynavyhr.navy.mil}}
A massive explosion tore through Dixie Arrow
The entire starboard side was ablaze, and the oil was pouring out. I got into the [aft port #4] lifeboat and put the plug in the bottom and was getting it ready for launching. It's a tense time, I suppose, but we had practiced this—the lifeboat drill—a time or two. The ship was still underway, and the fire was pouring out and coming around the back. The fire seemed to be close. We had guys pulling on the big oars, and I remember one guy snapped his, he was pulling so hard. These were probably two-inch diameter oars.
The six crewmen that helped launch the lifeboat jumped into the flaming water and managed to find a wooden life raft. It was quickly abandoned by five of the men upon realizing the raft had no oars, but the sixth stayed aboard and promptly died when the raft drifted into flaming oil. Two crewmen on the bow jumped into the water despite not knowing how to swim, and both were eventually rescued after swimming through oil-filled water. Dixie Arrow began to buckle amidships, listing to starboard, as the lifeboat pulled away and the crew in the water swam for their lives.{{Cite web |last=Hurdy |first=Paul M. |title=Wreck of the Dixie Arrow |url=http://www.nc-wreckdiving.com/WRECKS/DIXIE/DIXIE.HTML |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=www.nc-wreckdiving.com}}{{Cite web |title=Dixie Arrow |url=https://monitor.noaa.gov/shipwrecks/dixie_arrow.html |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=monitor.noaa.gov |publisher=Office of National Marine Sanctuaries}} As the tanker's sole radio operator was killed in the initial explosion, no distress call had ever been sent out to alert nearby ships of Dixie Arrow{{'}}s condition, not that it would have helped much. Ships steaming up and down the East Coast seldom stopped to assist the survivors of torpedoed vessels, for fear that they would also find themselves on the receiving end of a U-boat's torpedo.
= Rescue operations =
File:USS Tarbell (DD-142) underway in Charleston harbour, 17 December 1942.jpg, December 17, 1942|left|alt=A warship]]
The USN destroyer {{USS|Tarbell}} spotted the mushroom cloud set off by Dixie Arrow, and the tanker's came at full speed in order to investigate.{{Cite web |title=1942: March 26: Sinking of American tanker SS Dixie Arrow |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/wwii/wwii-atlantic/battle-of-the-atlantic/atlantic-convoys/1942/march-16-dixie-arrow.html |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=National Museum of the U.S. Navy |language=en-US}} Guided by a seaplane, the destroyer arrived at 9:30 AM, roughly half an hour after Dixie Arrow had first been torpedoed. After the seaplane dropped two bombs on the U-boat, the destroyer several depth charges—which killed several of the tanker's crewmen who were floating in the water and did nothing to harm the submarine, though it reportedly shook "from end to end, bracketed by Tarbell{{'}}s depth charges." A crewman of Dixie Arrow reported that he "felt like somebody had kicked him in the stomach"{{Cite book |last=Elizabeth |first=Norma |url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-5hxDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT5&dq=%22Dixie+Arrow%22&ots=BuMqYKCuUm&sig=YhAIgH79sFdml4_vf6oyMK1RbY8#v=onepage&q=%22Dixie%20Arrow%22&f=false |title=Shipwrecks, Disasters and Rescues of the Graveyard of the Atlantic and Cape Fear |last2=Roberts |first2=Bruce |year=2014 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-56164-897-9 |language=en}} after the first depth charges exploded, and several survivors were either knocked unconscious or killed by the blasts. Upon noticing the people in the water, Tarbell
USCGC Dione, an anti-submarine ship, also spotted the mushroom cloud coming from the sinking Dixie Arrow and came quickly to investigate, despite being several miles away. The cutter was the sole ship assigned to conduct anti-submarine warfare in the waters off North Carolina. Nobody informed her master of USS Tarbell{{'}}s arrival, and he became frustrated and angry upon arriving late, finding nothing but bodies and debris. Dione proceeded to head south in order to patrol the waters off the village of Hatteras.
= Aftermath =
File:Dixie Arrow survivors.jpg
While USS Tarbell had initially took the 22 survivors of Dixie Arrow to Morehead City, North Carolina, they were later transferred to Norfolk, Virginia. The less injured among the survivors were taken to the city's Monticello Hotel for quarantine. While there, they were met by several men in dark suits whom the seamen suspected to be from the FBI. The men kept the survivors confined for two days and interviewed them before they were allowed to take a train to New York. Rushton said that the men "wanted to know the particulars, how we happened to take this particular ship and so on." Dixie Arrow
U-71 moved to full power after Tarbell departed and escaped, returning to La Pallice, France, on April 20. The type VII-C submarine went on to have a somewhat successful career, only sinking two other Allied ships over the course of the war.{{Cite web |title=U-71 |url=https://uboat.net/boats/u71.htm |access-date=7 February 2024 |website=U-boat.net}} U-71 was decommissioned and then scuttled on May 2, 1945, in Wilhelmshaven, Germany; six days before the German Instrument of Surrender was issued.Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. {{ISBN|0-85177-593-4}}
Wreck
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = DIXIE ARROW (shipwreck and remains)
| added = September 25, 2013
| location = Offshore Dare County, North Carolina
| coordinates = {{coord|34|54|0.58|N|75|45|1.73|W|display=inline,title}}
| image = Dixie arrow14.jpg
| mpsub = World War II Shipwrecks along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico
| architect = Nicholas Pluymert
| built = 1920–1921
| refnum = 13000781
| area = 61.8 acres
| builder = New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden
| caption = A multibeam scan of Dixie Arrow's wrecksite
| alt = A colored scan showing the wreck of Dixie Arrow
| sigdate1 = 1921
| sigdate2 = 1942
| sigdate2_label = Sunk
| sigdate1_label = Completed
| nearest_city = Ocracoke, North Carolina
| locmapin = North Carolina
| map_caption = The location of Dixie Arrow{{'}}s wreck
}}
The tanker herself drifted north, and she was last spotted around 11:40 AM by USN personnel. By nighttime, Dixie Arrow had drifted inshore to the Cape Hatteras minefields, where she would finally sink.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=March 19, 2013 |title=Горящий американский танкер «Дикси Эрроу», торпедированный немецкой подлодкой U-71 [1] |trans-title=The burning American tanker Dixie Arrow, torpedoed by the German submarine U-71 [1] |url=https://waralbum.ru/145495/ |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=waralbum.ru |language=ru}} There, her frame gave in and broke in two. The tanker's bow disappeared underwater, the superstructure catching on the stern and dragging it down as well. The fires that had once engulfed the tanker were subsequently extinguished by the seawater. As she settled, Dixie Arrow detonated a mine that had been laid by the USN in an attempt to deter U-boats. USCGC Orchid—a buoy tender—was sent to the wrecksite, where she placed a red nun buoy to warn passing vessels of the underwater tanker. Only the masts of Dixie Arrow stuck out of the water.
The shipwreck was used as target practice by planes from the Cherry Point North Carolina Marine Air Station for the next year, and her masts collapsed into the sea in 1943. Dixie Arrow{{'}}s bell was recovered in 1944 by the USN during a dive to the wreck. The bell was later presented to designer Nicholas Pluymert, who dedicated it to Oscar Chappell. After this, the remainder of the tanker's wreck was then wire-dragged to a depth of {{Convert|43|ft|m}} ensure that Dixie Arrow would not be a hazard for navigation.Gentile, Gary. 1992. Shipwrecks of North Carolina from Hatteras Inlet South. Gary Gentile Productions, Philadelphia, PA.
Dixie Arrow currently lays on a flat sand plain, roughly {{Convert|15|mi|km}} south of Hatteras Inlet, at the coordinates 34°54'0.58"N, 75°45'1.73"W, at a depth of {{convert|90|ft}}.{{Cite journal |last=Bright |first=John |date=January 2011 |title=NOAA's Battle of the Atlantic Expedition Continues |url=https://web.kamihq.com/web/viewer.html?state=%7B%22ids%22%3A%5B%221sBu4FT56Eis_JnNVVlSPU2POMZfMDf56%22%5D%2C%22action%22%3A%22open%22%2C%22userId%22%3A%22116323042245880596608%22%7D&filename=undefined&kami_user_id=19085093 |journal=Stem to Stern |publisher=East Carolina University |volume=27 |page=9}}{{Cite book |last=Harrison |first=Molly Perkins |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Exploring_Cape_Hatteras_and_Cape_Lookout/8WwTAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Dixie+Arrow%22&dq=%22Dixie+Arrow%22&printsec=frontcover |title=Exploring Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores |date=2003 |publisher=Globe Pequot Press |isbn=978-0-7627-2609-7 |pages=100 |language=en}} The bow and the stern sit upright, close together and aligned. Both the bow and stern portions of the wreck are both in good condition, with much of the machinery in those parts still in its original positions. The stem rises {{Convert|30|ft|m}} above the sand, and the boilers and engine are the most prominent features of the stern section. Amidships, however, Dixie Arrow
A wide array of wildlife inhabit the wreck, which has become a center for the nautical ecosystem. Marine organisms that have made their home in Dixie Arrow
A category 5 Atlantic hurricane came through the Outer Banks in 2003, named Hurricane Isabel. Despite damaging thousands of houses and washing out a portion of Hatteras Island,{{cite web |title=Hurricane (Typhoon) Event Report for Dare County, North Carolina |url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=5337061 |access-date=December 6, 2006 |website=National Climatic Data Center}} Hurricane Isabel caused no damage to Dixie Arow. The storm simply swept up several feet of sand at the wrecksite, allowing divers to see portions of the tanker that had not been visible before the hurricane. In May 2019, it was reported that a fishing net had gotten stuck on the wreck. It was soon removed by locals with no damage to Dixie Arrow or wildlife.{{Cite news |last=Bayne |first=Randy |date=May 27, 2019 |title=Keeping Hatteras Island Clean, Beneath the Surface – How a Team of Divers Conducted a Unique Net Removal Operation |url=https://islandfreepress.org/hatteras-island-features/keeping-hatteras-island-clean-beneath-the-surface-how-a-team-of-divers-conducted-a-unique-net-removal-operation/ |access-date=February 27, 2025 |work=Island Free Press}}
On September 25, 2013, both Dixie Arrow
See also
- Battle of the Atlantic – the larger conflict that the Second Happy Time was a part of
- SS India Arrow – one of Dixie Arrow
's sister ships, sunk during the Second Happy Time - U-123 – the most successful U-boat of the Second Happy Time
- United States Merchant Marine – the American merchant shipping fleet in World War II
Notes
{{notelist-la}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- Archive.org – Dixie Arrow{{'}}s booklet of general plans
- [https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/ships/dixie-arrow-1921/search/ship-type:tanker-11791/page/26/view-as/list Lloyd's of London] – Collection of documents relating to Dixie Arrow
- [https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/13000781 National Park Service] – NPS listing for Dixie Arrow
{{Arrow-class oil tankers}}{{March 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixie Arrow}}
Category:Battle of the Atlantic
Category:Maritime incidents in March 1942
Category:Petroleum in the United States
Category:Ships built in Camden, New Jersey
Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II
Category:Shipwrecks of North America
Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean
Category:National Register of Historic Places