''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., 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, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

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

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

. 13 of the 38 crew survived.

Description

''Eastern Sword'' was a steam-powered merchant ship that measured , was long between perpendiculars with a beam 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 heat ...

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 The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.9 ...

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 Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

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 (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...

. 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 (compartment), 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 ...

, 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. O ...

. The ship sank quickly on an even

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

with of her

mainmast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light ...

above water at . The explosion had destroyed the

radio shack RadioShack (formerly written as Radio Shack) is an American electronics retailer that was established in 1921 as an amateur radio mail-order business. Its parent company was purchased by Tandy Corporation in 1962, which shifted its focus from ma ...

, preventing a distress message from being sent. Three officers and nine crewmen abandoned ship in one lifeboat 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