Auke Visser's MOBIL Tankers & Tugs Site | home
Dixie Arrow - (1921-1942)
See also : General Plan "Dixie Arrow"
"Dixie Arrow", broadside view in midstream. The shoreline is visible in the background.( Photo Taylor, William B. )
"Dixie Arrow" was build in 1921, was torpedoed and lost in 1942.
Build by New York SB. Corp., Camden, N.J., yard no. 266.
Keel laid on Jan 24, 1921, launched Sep 29, 1921.
Oil tanker (for Socony-Vacuum Oil), 468 feet, 8046 grt, crew 41.
Torpedoed 3x and sunk off Diamond Shoals by U-71 on Mar 26, 1942,
while en route from Texas City to Paulsboro NJ. 25 killed.
Wreck lies in 90 feet of water and is a popular dive target.
"Dixie Arrow", portside view under way.( Photo John L. Lochhead )
"Dixie Arrow" starboard side anchored, February 11th, 1942.( Photo US Coast Guard )
"Dixie Arrow", seen here in drydock.
"Dixie Arrow", seen here as she was hit by a torpedo, before she sunk.( Photo US Coast Guard )
"Dixie Arrow", seen here as she was hit by a torpedo, before she sunk.( Photo US Coast Guard )
Additional information Starke & Schell registers :
DIXIE ARROW - 1921 USA 1Q (aft) (10½)
8,046 GRT for Standard Transportation Co., Inc., New York 468.3 x 62.7
Tanker build by New York SB. Corp., Camden, N.J. (11) #266 221735
1931 - Standard-Vacuum Transportation Co., Inc., New York
1935 - Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., Inc., New York
Torp. and sunk by U 71, 26 March 1942, in 34.55N-75.02W (off Diamond Shoals), voy. Texas City - Paulsboro, N.J., crude oil.
Additional information from Uboat.net :
Name: Dixie Arrow
Type: Steam tanker
Tonnage: 8.046 tons
Completed: 1921 - New York Shipbuilding Corp, Camden NJ
Owner: Socony-Vacuum Oil Co Inc, New York
Homeport: New York
Date of attack: 26 Mar, 1942
Nationality: American
Fate: Sunk by U-71 (Walter Flachsenberg)
Position: 34.55N, 75.02W - Grid CA 7995
- See location on a map -
Complement: 33 (11 dead and 22 survivors).
Convoy: -
Route: Texas City, Texas - Paulsboro, New Jersey
Cargo: 86.136 barrels of crude oil
History: -
Notes on loss: At 14.59 hours on 26 Mar, 1942, the unescorted and unarmed Dixie Arrow (Master Anders M. Johanson, lost) was
hit by two torpedoes from U-71 on the starboard side about 12 miles off the Diamond Shoals Lighted Buoy, when she was proceeding
on a zigzag pattern with 45. tacks at 11 knots. The first hit amidships and destroyed the deckhouse, killing all deck officers, the
radio operator and several other men. The second struck between the mast and the smokestack and broke the ship in two. The
engine room was not damaged, but the forepart became enveloped in flames almost at once. The engines were stopped and the
tanker was turned into the wind, to allow eight men on the forecastle to jump overboard. The helmsman Able Seaman Oscar G.
Chappell stayed at his post until these men escaped, but died when the flames were blew back toward the bridge. The helmsman
won the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal. Two boats were destroyed by fire and a third boat swamped. The last boat
got away with eight men. These men and 14 others in the water were picked up by the American destroyer USS Tarbell (DD 142)
and taken to Morehead City, North Carolina. Four officers and seven men of eight officers and 25 men died in the attack. The Dixie
Arrow sank about two hours later and her wreck lies in 34.53´30 N / 75.44´42 W.