''Larry Doheny'' was a

tanker ship A tanker (or tank ship or tankship) is a ship designed to transport or store liquids or gases in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and gas carrier. Tankers also carry commodities such as vegetable oils, ...

that sank during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, after an attack by on October 5, 1942, at 10:00pm. ''Larry Doheny'' sank with six of her crew killed off the coast of Cape Sebastian, off the southern coast of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. ''Larry Doheny'' was on her way to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

loaded with 66,000 barrels of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...

from

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. The

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 ...

attack caused the #2 and #3 storage tanks to explode. The explosion took out the radio, so no distress call was sent. The surviving 40 crew members were rescued by , a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

small

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

, the next day. The ship was not salvaged. and were also attacked and sank off the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

. SS ''Larry Doheny'' was built by

Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company (1917–1989) was a major shipbuilding company in Chester, Pennsylvania on the Delaware River. Its primary product was tankers, but the company built many types of ships over its 70-year history. During World ...

. She had nine cargo tanks, her homeport was

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. When built in 1921, the first owner of ''Larry Doheny'' was the

Norwegian America Line The Norwegian America Line ( no, Den Norske Amerikalinje), was a shipping line, originally an operator of ocean liners and cargo ships. Founded in 1910, the company ran a regular transatlantic service between Norway and the United States, and late ...

and called SS ''Foldenfjord''. In 1928 the ship was sold to

Richfield Oil Company Richfield Oil Corporation was an American petroleum company based in California from 1905 to 1966. In 1966 it merged with Atlantic Refining Company to form the Atlantic Richfield Company (later renamed ARCO). History The Richfield Oil Corporat ...

. wrecksite.eu, SS Larry Doheny
/ref>

References

1921 ships Tankers of the United States Tankers of Norway Maritime incidents in October 1942 Ships built by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company Ships sunk by Japanese submarines World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean United States home front during World War II {{Merchantship-stub

See also

References