SS Arabutan

SS Arabutan^[1] was the fifth Brazilian merchant ship to be sunk during World War II. At 21.10 hours on 7 March 1942, the German submarine U-155 fired a stern torpedo that hit the Arabutan (Master Aníbal Alfredo do Prado) after 102 seconds and caused her to sink in 13 minutes about 81 miles off Cape Hatteras, at 35.15N/73.55W.

The ship had been spotted one hour earlier but no neutrality markings were noticed. One crew member, the nurse Manoel Florêncio Coimbra was lost, he probably was killed by the explosion while sleeping in his cabin. The master, 50 crew members, three sailors from the Brazilian tanker Itamarati and a survivor from Buarque abandoned ship in four lifeboats which were sighted about six hours later by aircraft. On 8 March, the US Coast Guard cutter Calypso^[2] picked up the survivors and landed them at Little Creek, Virginia after sinking their boats as a hazard to navigation.

References

Bibliography

• Sander, Roberto. O Brasil na mira de Hitler: a história do afundamento de navios brasileiros pelos nazistas. Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, 2007.
• Wynn, Kenneth G. U-Boat Operations of the Second World War Volume 2: Career Histories. United States Naval Inst Press, 1998

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in March 1942
Shipwrecks	1 Mar: USS Edsall, HMS Encounter, HNLMS Evertsen, HMS Exeter, USS Houston, USS Pecos, HMAS Perth, USS Pope, Rooseboom, U-656 2 Mar: HNLMS Banckert, USAT Don Esteban, Ha-13, HNLMS K X, HNLMS K  XIII, HNLMS K XVIII, HNLMS Koning der Nederlanden, USS Pillsbury, USS Stewart, Toendjoek, HNLMS Witte de With 3 Mar: USS Asheville, USS Perch 4 Mar: HMAS Yarra 6 Mar: HNLMS Pieter de Bitter 7 Mar: Arabutan 8 Mar: HNLMS Eland Dubois, HNLMS Jan van Amstel 10 Mar: Lady Nelson, Kongō Maru, Tenyo Maru, Yokohama Maru 11 Mar: HMS Naiad 12 Mar: Texan 13 Mar: Tama Maru No. 2 14 Mar: U-133 15 Mar: U-503, HMS Vortigern 17 Mar: Île de Batz, San Demetrio 18 Mar: E.M. Clark 19 Mar: Papoose 20 Mar: HMS Heythrop 21 Mar: Vamar 23 Mar: British Prudence 24 Mar: HMS Southwold, U-655 26 Mar: HMS Jaguar, HMS Legion, HMS P39 27 Mar: USS Atik, U-587 28 Mar: HMS Campbeltown, Raceland 29 Mar: Hertford, Z26 30 Mar: U-585
Other incidents	2 Mar: Ruth Kellogg, HMS Walney 4 Mar: HMAS Tambar 5 Mar: Takao Maru 10 Mar: China Maru, Tama Maru No. 2 11 Mar: Komintern 15 Mar: Olean 16 Mar: Irish Willow, U-753 22 Mar: Kingston 25 Mar: Imperial Transport
1941 1942 1943 February 1942 April 1942