SS India Arrow
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | India Arrow |
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Builder | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy |
| Yard number | 1387 |
| Laid down | 3 March 1920 |
| Launched | 28 January 1921 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Harry Dundas |
| Completed | 24 February 1921 |
| Commissioned | 17 March 1921 |
| Maiden voyage | 21 October 1921 |
| Homeport | New York |
| Identification | |
| Fate | Sunk, 4 February 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Tanker |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 468 ft 3 in (142.72 m) |
| Beam | 62 ft 7 in (19.08 m) |
| Draft | 28 ft 2 in (8.59 m) (mean) |
| Depth | 32 ft 0 in (9.75 m) |
| Installed power | 636 Nhp, 3,200 ihp |
| Propulsion | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co. 4-cylinder quadruple expansion |
| Speed | 11 knots (13 mph; 20 km/h) |
India Arrow was a steam tanker built in 1921 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation of Quincy for Standard Oil Co., with intention of transporting oil and petroleum products between United States and the Far East. After serving for approximately ten years in the Pacific trade, the tanker was moved to intercoastal trade routes in early 1930s where she remained for the rest of her career. The vessel was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-103 in February 1942 during one of her routine trips from Texas to New York with a loss of twenty six of her crew.
Design and construction
Early in 1919 Standard Oil Co. decided to add four more tankers of approximately 12,500 deadweight to its existing fleet, expanding their oil carrying business. A contract for these vessels was awarded to the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. India Arrow was the third of these four ships and was laid down at the Fore River shipyard in Quincy on 3 March 1920 (yard number 1387) and launched on 28 January 1921, with Mrs. Harry Dundas, wife of the general manager of the British India branch of the Standard Transportation Company, serving as the sponsor.[1][2] The ship was shelter-deck type, had two main decks and was built on the Isherwood principle of longitudinal framing providing extra strength to the body of the vessel. The ship was equipped with wireless of De Forest type and had electrical lights installed along the decks. The tanker had a cargo pump room located amidships, and had ten double main cargo tanks constructed throughout the vessel with a total capacity to carry 3,665,700 US gallons of oil.[1]
As built, the ship was 468 feet 3 inches (142.72 m) long (between perpendiculars) and 62 feet 7 inches (19.08 m) abeam, and had a depth of 32 feet 0 inches (9.75 m).[3] India Arrow was originally assessed at 8,327 GRT and 5,176 NRT and had deadweight of approximately 12,290.[3] The vessel had a steel hull, and a single 636 Nhp (3,200 ihp) vertical surface-condensing direct-acting reciprocating quadruple expansion steam engine, with cylinders of 24-inch (61 cm), 35-inch (89 cm), 51-inch (130 cm) and 75-inch (190 cm) diameter with a 51-inch (130 cm) stroke, that drove a single screw propeller and moved the ship at up to 11 knots (13 mph; 20 km/h).[4] The steam for the engine was supplied by three single-ended Scotch boilers fitted for oil fuel.[1]
The sea trials were held on 25 and 26 February 1921 in the Massachusetts Bay during which the vessel performed satisfactorily and was transferred to her owners upon their completion.[5]
Operational history
After delivery to Standard Oil in March 1921, India Arrow remained berthed in Boston for the next six months due to overabundance of available tonnage and scarcity of cargo. She sailed from Boston to New York in mid-October for loading and sailed for Hong Kong on 21 October 1921 carrying 10,800 tons of kerosene.[6] After stopping at San Francisco for fuel in mid-November, the vessel reached her destination on December 17.[7] After unloading her cargo the tanker proceeded to Penang to load a cargo of oil and then continued on to Rotterdam which she reached on 17 February 1922 before returning to New York on March 14, thus successfully concluding her maiden voyage.[8] After conducting one more trip to the Far East and several trips between Texas Gulf ports and New York, India Arrow departed Sabine on 20 October 1922 bound for Colombo. After unloading her cargo there in December, the tanker returned to New York on 22 January 1923 completing another round-the-world journey. During 1923 the tanker alternated trips from Gulf ports to China and New York. From late 1923 and until 1927 the vessel was primarily employed to transport petroleum products from the refineries of Southern California to Chinese, and occasionally Japanese ports. In February 1925 India Arrow while on her regular trip to Shanghai ran into some rough weather and was hit by a huge wave which washed away both the forward and after wheel houses, caused other damage about the decks and injured several crew members. The tanker managed to safely reach her destination where she was repaired before resuming her normal service.[9] Starting in 1927 the tanker was mainly used on two intercoastal routes transporting either petroleum products from San Pedro to New York or oil from Texas Gulf ports to various East coast ports such as Baltimore, New York, Boston and Providence. At the same time, she continued to make occasional trips to the Orient and other foreign destinations. For example, India Arrow sailed from Beaumont in May 1928 carrying full cargo of gasoline to Colombo, Madras and Calcutta. On 18 April 1929 the tanker arrived at Colón from San Pedro with one of her summer tank leaking. After transferring her cargo into another tank, India Arrow was able to proceed to her destination next day.[10] In 1931 the vessel conducted another round-the-world trip departing Beaumont in April and returning to San Pedro in late August after first delivering oil to Colombo and then from Batum to Hong Kong.[11] In October 1934 she was chartered for one trip to carry oil from Tampico to Aruba[12][13] before returning to her usual trade carrying crude oil from the terminals of Magnolia Petroleum Company in Beaumont, Humble Oil in Corpus Christi, and Texas Company in Port Arthur and Port Neches to the refineries in the Northeast of the United States. In November 1938 India Arrow was one of the tankers chartered by the United States Navy to bring high octane gasoline from Beaumont to Yorktown.[14]
On 30 December 1927 India Arrow together with several other ships was berthed in Hoboken when a fire started in the plant of Union Ship Scaling Company and quickly spread along the pier. As the fire advanced steamers SS Seneca and SS Hendrik Hudson also caught fire, while several other vessels were pulled away from their berthing positions up the river to save them from spreading flames. At the time India Arrow was high and dry ready to go into drydock for repairs. She was let down the slipway immediately once the fire was noticed and then dragged away up-stream for safety. As the result of fire steamer Seneca completely burned down and was declared a total loss, and Hendrik Hudson had her bow charred but otherwise did not suffered any further damage.[15][16]
Sinking
India Arrow departed for her last voyage from Corpus Christi on 27 January 1942 carrying 88,369 barrels of diesel fuel bound for New York. The tanker was under command of captain Carl Samuel Johnson and had a crew of nine officers and twenty nine men. In the evening of February 4 the tanker was approximately 35 nautical miles (65 km) off Five Fathom Bank and running a non-evasive course. At approximately 18:45 local time the ship was suddenly struck on her starboard side by a single torpedo fired by German U-boat U-103 around #10 hold, just aft of the engine room. The resulting explosion threw several people including the captain overboard and immediately set the ship on fire. The radio operator was able to send a short S.O.S. signal before the electrical dynamo went dead due to complete loss of engine power. Out of vessel's four lifeboats the crew was able to lower only two but only one emerged unscathed from the raging fire as the other lifeboat went under keel of the sinking tanker and was crushed. Nine people were lifted from the water into the remaining lifeboat bringing the total number of survivors to twelve. U-103 surfaced soon after approximately 250 yards away and proceeded to fire six to seven shots into the bow section of the ship setting it also on fire. India Arrow sank quickly stern first in an approximate position 38°33′30.5″N 73°50′04.5″W / 38.558472°N 73.834583°W at about 19:00 local time. After receiving the distress call but no location coordinates from India Arrow, the 5th Naval District requested estimated tanker's position from the ship owners and upon receiving such information dispatched patrol boat Tourmaline to search for survivors in the early afternoon of February 5. Several planes were also dispatched from the Norfolk Air Station. After locating the wreck with her bow still protruding out of the water Tourmaline searched the area but found no survivors. In the meantime, the survivors started rowing towards the shore as they could clearly see the reflected lights of Atlantic City in the distance. After thirty-six hour long struggle against the wind and the waves they were finally spotted by captain Marshall of 24-foot long fishing motor boat Gitama about 12 nautical miles (22 km) offshore and taken to Ocean City where they arrived at 08:55 on February 6.[17][18][19]
References
- ^ a b c "Oil Tanker India Arrow Launched at Fore River". The Boston Globe. 29 January 1921. p. 3. Retrieved 27 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "India Arrow (2221086)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- ^ a b Merchant Vessels of the United States. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office. 1922–1923.
- ^ Lloyd's Register, Steamships and Motorships. London: Lloyd's Register. 1921–1922.
- ^ "Along the Waterfront". Boston Post. 26 February 1921. p. 9. Retrieved 27 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Movement of Ocean Vessels". Panama Canal Record. Vol. XV, no. 13. 9 November 1921. p. 192.
- ^ "Foreign Ports". New York Tribune. 20 December 1921. p. 18.
- ^ "Arrived Yesterday". New York Tribune. 15 March 1922. p. 22.
- ^ "Bay Bound Craft Hit by Wave and Badly Damaged". Oakland Tribune. 13 February 1925. p. 33. Retrieved 28 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Local Port News and Ship Activity". The Baltimore Sun. 21 April 1929. p. 31. Retrieved 29 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Ships on All Oceans Listen For KUP Voice". The San Francisco Examiner. 30 August 1931. p. 32. Retrieved 1 May 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Arrived from Baltimore". The Baltimore Sun. 2 November 1934. p. 23.
- ^ "Ship Radio Reports". The San Francisco Examiner. 3 November 1934. p. 24.
- ^ "Tanker Unloading Fuel at Yorktown". Daily Press. 26 November 1938. p. 5. Retrieved 30 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Liner, 2 Piers, 8 Barges and 2 Plants Burned". The Gazette. 31 December 1927. p. 1. Retrieved 29 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Liner, 2 Piers, 8 Barges and 2 Plants Burned". The Gazette. 31 December 1927. p. 6. Retrieved 29 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Browning, Jr., Robert M. (2011). United States Merchant Marine Casualties of World War II. McFarland. p. 31. ISBN 978-0786446001.
- ^ "Sub Sinks Quincy-Built Tanker". The Boston Globe. 6 February 1942. p. 1. Retrieved 30 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "India Arrow: Survivors Afloat for 36 Hours". The Boston Globe. 6 February 1942. p. 14. Retrieved 30 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
38°33′30.5″N 73°50′04.5″W / 38.558472°N 73.834583°W
