SS William Rockefeller
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship name=William Rockefeller |Ship owner=Panama Transport Comp. |Ship namesake=William Rockefeller |Ship operator= |Ship registry= |Ship route= |Ship ordered= |Ship builder=Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number=262 |Ship way number= |Ship laid down=15 December 1920 |Ship launched=5 October 1921 |Ship completed=9 November 1921 |Ship christened= |Ship acquired= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship identification=*US Official Number 221675
|Ship fate=Sunk, 28 June 1942 |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship type=Tanker |Ship tonnage=*{{GRT|14054}}
|Ship displacement= |Ship length={{convert|554|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|75|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship height= |Ship draught= |Ship draft= |Ship depth={{convert|43|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship decks= |Ship deck clearance= |Ship ramps= |Ship ice class= |Ship sail plan= |Ship power=621 Nhp, 3,800 ihp |Ship propulsion=Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. 3-cylinder triple expansion |Ship speed={{convert|11.5|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}} |Ship capacity= |Ship crew=50 crew (44 crew members and 6 Naval Armed Guard) |Ship notes= }} |
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.
World War II
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.
References
- [http://www.nc-wreckdiving.com/WRECKS/ROCKEFELLER/ROCKEFELLER.HTML Article by Paul M. Hudy at www.nc-wreckdiving.com]
- http://www.aukevisser.nl/inter/id129.htm
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{{June 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:William Rockefeller}}
Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean
Category:Shipwrecks of the Carolina coast
Category:Maritime incidents in June 1942