SS ''Potrero del Llano'' was an

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cru ...

built in 1912. She sailed for a number of companies, and survived service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, only to be torpedoed and sunk by a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

while sailing under the Mexican flag off the coast of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Her sinking contributed to Mexico's decision to enter the war on the side of the Allies. ''Potrero del Llano'' was originally built by

Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited, often referred to simply as "Palmers", was a British shipbuilding company. The Company was based in Jarrow, County Durham, in north-eastern England, and also had operations in Hebburn and Willingto ...

Hebburn-on-Tyne Hebburn is a town in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It governed under the borough of South Tyneside; formerly governed under the county of Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the sou ...

as the ''F.A. Tamplin'', for service with T.W. Tamplin & Co., of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. She was sold in 1921 to the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

company SA d'Armement, d'Industrie & de Commerce, of Antwerp, and was renamed ''Arminco'', and was sold again in 1930 to the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

company Società Italiana Transporti Petroliferi (SITP), of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, and was renamed ''Lucifero''. She was interned while docked at

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

, in Mexico on 10 June 1940 and was seized on 8 December 1941 by the

Mexican government The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republi ...

and renamed ''Potrero del Llano'' after a town in

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. She was operated by Petróleos Mexicanos ( Pemex), and was homeported in Tampico. ''Potrero del Llano'' was sailing unescorted from Tampico to

New York City 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 Un ...

in May 1942, carrying 6,132 tons of petroleum. She was sighted by the , under

Reinhard Suhren Reinhard Johann Heinz Paul Anton Suhren (16 April 1916 – 25 August 1984) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and younger brother of '' Korvettenkapitän (Ing.)'' and Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipient Gerd Suhren. Suhren was ...

at 07:17 hours on 14 May 1942, while east of the coast of Florida. Suhren noticed an illuminated flag painted on the side of the ship but misidentified it as the

Italian flag The national flag of Italy ( it, Bandiera d'Italia, ), often referred to in Italian as ''il Tricolore'' ( en, the Tricolour, ) is a tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical Pale (heraldry), pales of green, white and red, ...

. Since only ships of the

Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy is one of the two independent armed forces of Mexico. The actual naval forces are called the ''Armada de México''. The ''Secretaría de Marina'' (''SEMAR'') (English: Naval Secretariat) includes both the ''Armada'' itself and ...

were permitted to display the

Mexican flag The national flag of Mexico ( es, Bandera de México) is a vertical tricolor of green, white, and red with the national coat of arms charged in the center of the white stripe. While the meaning of the colors has changed over time, these thre ...

with the eagle in the centre, the flag shown by the ''Potrero del Llano'' resembled the Italian one, and having decided that the tanker's position and course meant that she could not be Italian, Suhren decided to sink her. ''U-564'' duly torpedoed the ''Potrero del Llano'', which sank with the loss of 13 of her crew. Twenty-two survivors were picked up by and taken to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. One of the survivors, José Reyes Sosa, survived another attack on SS Las Choapas, a tanker sunk by on 27 June 1942, and the fourth Mexican tanker sunk by German submarines. On 20 May 1942 a second tanker, ''

Faja de Oro SS ''Faja de Oro'' ("Strip of Gold", which is a petroleum rich area in Mexico) was an oil tanker built in 1914. She sailed for a number of companies, and survived service in the First World War, only to be torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine ...

'', was attacked and sunk, this time by . This established a sound '' casus belli'' for the Mexican government to declare war on the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

on 22 May 1942.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Potrero del Llano 1912 ships 1942 in Mexico Maritime incidents in May 1942 Military history of Mexico during World War II Oil tankers Ships of Mexico Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II Tankers of Belgium Tankers of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Tyne World War I merchant ships of the United Kingdom World War II merchant ships of Italy World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean