''Eastern Sword'' was an unarmed 3,785-ton steam merchant ship that was completed in 1920 at the Uraga Dry Dock Co. Ltd, Uraga, Japan. She was owned by the

Sword Line Inc. Sword Line Inc. was a steamship company founded by Charilaos "Charles" G. Poulacos and Abbott Abercrombie in New York City in 1933. Sword Line Inc. had shipping routes from Atlantic ports to and Gulf of Mexico ports. Charilaos "Charles" G. Poulaco ...

, New York, New York, and she was homeported out of this same city. The vessel was

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

ed and sunk on 4 May 1942 by the about off the Georgetown Light,

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

. 13 of the 38 crew survived.

Description

''Eastern Sword'' was a steam-powered merchant ship that measured , was

long between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of . The vessel was powered by a

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

turning one propeller and had a maximum speed of . The vessel was constructed by the Uraga Dry Dock Co. Ltd in Uraga, Japan with the

yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

166 and completed in August 1920. The ship was constructed on behalf of the United States Government and acquired by the Sword Steam Ship Line Inc. in 1931. ''Eastern Sword'' was registered in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

Sinking

''Eastern Sword'', operated by Alcoa Steamship Company, departed New York with seven officers and twenty-nine crew members, en route to Georgetown, British Guiana in ballast to pick up a load of

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...

. The vessel made a stop at Trinidad and for the entire route, she was unescorted. At about 0345 on 4 May 1942, she was

ed by the about off the Georgetown Light, Trinidad. The ship had been traveling at when attacked. Two torpedoes struck in quick succession on the port side at the #4

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Fermat ...

, aft of the midship house, causing the ship to settle rapidly by the

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...

. The ship sank quickly on an even

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

with of her mainmast above water at . The explosion had destroyed the radio shack, preventing a distress message from being sent. Three officers and nine crewmen abandoned ship in one

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

and landed the next day at Georgetown. One crewman was picked up from a raft by the fishing boat ''Ocean Star'' on 6 May and landed in Georgetown. The remaining crew were lost.

References

{{reflist Merchant ships Maritime incidents in May 1942 Ships built by Uraga Dock Company 1920 ships Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea