Gulflight
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Gulflight |
| Owner: | Gulf Refining Company |
| Builder: | New York Shipbuilding company, Camden, N.J. |
| Launched: | 8 August 1914 |
| Out of service: | 1937 |
| Fate: | sold |
| Name: | Nantucket Chief |
| Owner: | Nantucket Chief SS Co Inc |
| In service: | 1937 |
| Out of service: | 1938 |
| Fate: | sold |
| Name: | Refast |
| Owner: | Harris & Dixon Ltd, London |
| In service: | 1938 |
| Out of service: | 26 January 1942 |
| Fate: | sank |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | petroleum tanker |
| Tonnage: | 5189 tons |
| Propulsion: | oil fueled |
| Crew: | 38 / 42 |
The American 5,189 ton tanker Gulflight, was built by the New York Shipbuilding Co. of Camden, New Jersey for the Gulf Refining Company (a predecessor of Gulf Oil). It was launched on 8 August 1914. The ship became famous when it was torpedoed early in World War I and became the center of a diplomatic incident which moved the United States closer to war with Germany. The ship survived the attack but was eventually sunk in 1942 by torpedo attack in World War II.
The ship was torpedoed by the German U-boat U-30 commanded by Kptlt von Rosenberg-Gruszczynski on 1 May 1915, despite America being a neutral party in the war at that time. The ship left Port Arthur on 10 April carrying a cargo of gasoline in the ship's tanks and barrels of lubricating oil to Rouen, France
During the latter half of the voyage the ships radio operator had heard messages from a British cruiser which judging from the transmission strength had been keeping station with Gulflight. At a point 22 nautical miles (41 km) west of the Bishop Rock lighthouse, Scilly Isles, at 11:00 am on 1 May, Gulflight was challenged by two British patrol vessels, HMS Iago and HMS Filey, which queried her destination. The patrol ships had been searching for a submarine which had been sinking ships in the area over the last couple of days. The patrol vessels were not satisfied with Gulflight's papers and suspected her of refuelling the U-boat, so ordered the tanker to accompany them into port.
The patrol ships took up station one either side of Gulflight, Iago close on the starboard side and Filey further ahead on the port. While under escort, Gulflight's second officer, Paul Bowers, reported sighting a submarine ahead some 28 minutes before the ship was hit. He reported this to the captain who decided that the submarine must be British, as the escorts had not reacted to its presence. The submarine was visible for 5 minutes and then disappeared.
Shortly before 1pm a submarine surfaced ahead of the ships and ordered them to stop. Filey attempted to ram the submarine, which submerged but fired a torpedo at the tanker. Von Rosenberg reported that he had seen a tanker under escort by ships flying the white ensign and had seen no flag on the escorted ship. After firing the torpedo, he spotted a US flag on the tanker, so broke off the attack. At 12:50 an explosion took place sending a column of water into the air alongside Gulflight's starboard bow. The ship immediately started to sink and shortly the forward deck was awash. The crew abandoned ship and were taken onboard by the patrol ship Iago which turned towards St Mary island. At about 2.30 am Captain Gunter from the Gulflight was taken ill and died around 3:40 am from a heart attack. The remainder of the crew arrived at St. Mary 10 am on Sunday 2 May. The Gulflight did not sink but instead was towed to Crow Bay by patrol vessels. Ralph Smith, previously first officer, was now invited to inspect the ship, which was examined by divers and had a large hole in the starboard bow. Smith and the first engineer remained with Gulflight while the remainder of the crew were evacuated to Penzance.
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Wikipedia