SS ''El Occidente'' was a cargo ship for the Morgan Line, a subsidiary of the

Southern Pacific Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she was known as USAT ''El Occidente'' in service with the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and as USS ''El Occidente'' (ID-3307) in service with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. At the end of war, she reverted to her original name of SS ''El Occidente''. Built in 1910, SS ''El Occidente'' was one of four sister ships that carried cargo and a limited number of passengers for the Morgan Line. She was acquired by the U.S. Army after the United States entered World War I in April 1917, and converted to carry horses and mules to France. In February 1918, she fought a 20-minute gun battle with two German submarines, destroying the periscope of one. In August 1918, the ship was transferred to the U.S. Navy and continued transporting animals through the end of the war. ''El Occidente'' returned to the Morgan Line in 1919 and sailed with them until June 1941, when the entire Morgan Line fleet was purchased by the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The co ...

. While serving as a civilian-crewed cargo ship during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, ''El Occidente'' was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine ''U-435'' on 13 April 1942.

Early career

SS ''El Occidente'' was a cargo and passenger steamship launched on 24 September 1910 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. of

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

(yard no. 133), and delivered to the Atlantic division of the Morgan Line on 2 December 1910. She was the newest of four sister ships; the older three being , ''El Mundo'', and . ''El Occidente'' was , was long by abeam, and made .Crowell and Wilson, p. 315. The vessel sailed for the

Morgan Line The Morgan Line (, ) was the line of demarcation set up after World War II in the region known as Julian March which prior to the war belonged to the Kingdom of Italy. The Morgan Line was the border between two military administrations in the reg ...

, the brand name of the Southern Pacific Steamship Company (a subsidiary of the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

), which employed her to carry cargo and a limited number of passengers between New York and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, the eastern terminus of the Southern Pacific line. In April 1913, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reported that ''El Occidente'', loaded only with cargo, had rammed a

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

in fog off the

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

coast. Responding to a

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided transm ...

message, the Savannah steamer ''City of Montgomery'' came alongside ''El Occidente'' to offer assistance, but was refused. The name and fate of the schooner were not reported.

World War I

After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, the United States Army, needing transports to get its men and

materiel Materiel or matériel (; ) is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commerce, commercial supply chain management, supply chain context. Military In a military context, ...

to France, had a select committee of shipping executives pore over registries of American shipping. The committee selected ''El Occidente'' and thirteen other American-flagged ships that were sufficiently fast, could carry enough fuel in their

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

s for

transatlantic crossing Transatlantic crossings are passages of passengers and cargo across the Atlantic Ocean between Europe or Africa and the Americas. The majority of passenger traffic is across the North Atlantic between Western Europe and North America. Centuries ...

s, and, most importantly, were in port or not far at sea. After ''El Occidente'' discharged her last load of passengers and cargo, she was officially handed over to the Army on 30 May. Before any troop transportation could be undertaken, all of the ships had to be hastily refitted. Of the fourteen ships, four, including ''El Occidente'', were designated to carry animals and cargo; the other ten were designated to carry human passengers. The four ships designated to carry animals had to have ramps and stalls built. All the ships had to have gun platforms installed, before each ship docked at the

Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a se ...

to have the guns themselves installed.The only exception was for , an

American Line The American Line was a shipping company that operated independently from 1871 until 1932, when it was absorbed into the United States Lines. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based company was the largest American shipping company during its exist ...

steamer in transatlantic service to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. ''Finland'' had already been outfitted for guns in early 1917. All the ships were manned by merchant officers and crews but carried two U.S. Navy officers, Navy gun crews,

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...

s, signalmen, and

operators. The senior Navy officer on board would take control if a ship came under attack. The American convoy carrying the first units of the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

was broken into four groups;The individual groups of the first convoy were typically counted as separate convoys in post-war sources. See, for example, Crowell and Wilson, Appendix G, p. 603. ''El Occidente'' was in the fourth group with , , and , and escorts consisting of

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

, U.S. Navy transport , and

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s , , and . ''El Occidente'' departed with her group on the morning of 17 June for Brest, France, steaming at an pace. A thwarted submarine attack on the first convoy group, and reports of heavy submarine activity off of Brest resulted in a change in the convoy's destination to

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...

. ''El Occidente'' departed Saint-Nazaire on 14 July in the company of her convoy mates ''Dakotan'', ''Montanan'', and ''Edward Luckenbach''. Joining the return trip were Army transport , Navy armed collier , Navy oiler , and

, the flagship of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Albert Gleaves, the head of the Navy's

Cruiser and Transport Force The Cruiser and Transport Service was a unit of the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet during World War I that was responsible for transporting American men and materiel to France. Composition On 1 July 1918, the Cruiser and Transport Force was ...

. Sources do not reveal ''El Occidente'''s movements over the next eight months. But in April 1918, the ''

Chicago Daily Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN radio and WGN tel ...

'' reported on an encounter ''El Occidente'' had with two German submarines that had occurred on 2 February. In a 20-minute running gun battle,

Naval Armed Guard The United States Navy Armed Guard was a force of United States Navy gunners and related personnel established during World War II to protect U.S. merchant shipping from enemy attack.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merch ...

smen aboard ''El Occidente'' exchanged fire with two U-boats, one on the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

and one on the

starboard Port and starboard are Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z), nautical terms for watercraft and spacecraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the Bow (watercraft), bow (front). Vessels with bil ...

. The news item reported that ''El Occidente'''s gunners had demolished the periscope of one of her attackers. ''El Occidente'''s next recorded convoy trip took place on 23 March, when she sailed with Navy transports and , Army transport ship , and cruiser , arriving in France on 4 April. ''El Occidente'' next sailed on 18 May with , , stores ship , and Italian steamer . Rendezvousing with a contingent of transports from Newport News— , , , and Italian steamer —the convoy was escorted by American cruiser , and destroyers and . The convoy arrived in France on 30 May. On 10 July, ''El Occidente'' departed Newport News with Navy transports , , ''Martha Washington'', , but had to return to port with a leaky gas injector. On 27 August 1918, ''El Occidente'' was transferred to the Navy and commissioned the same day with Lt. Commander E. S. Campbell,

USNRF The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called ...

. ''El Occidente'' loaded cargo and 585 horses and mules, and sailed for France on 17 September. Five animals died or were destroyed during the voyage. Offloading her cargo at Saint-Nazaire and

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

, ''El Occidente'' returned to the U.S. on 1 November. In port when the

Armistice with Germany {{Short description, none This is a list of armistices signed by the German Empire (1871–1918) or Nazi Germany (1933–1945). An armistice is a temporary agreement to cease hostilities. The period of an armistice may be used to negotiate a peace t ...

was signed on 11 November, ''El Occidente'' loaded of cargo and 800 animals for a second Navy voyage. Departing on 17 November for Verdun, the ship arrived there on 19 December. Returning to

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

for repairs and alterations which included the removal of her armament and the stalls for animal cargo, ''El Occidente'' sailed again on 15 January 1919 for

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

where she unloaded cargo for the Army of Occupation and embarked 90 passengers for return to the United States. She was decommissioned at New York on 18 March 1919, and delivered to the United States Shipping Board the same day.

Interwar civilian service

Returned by the USSB in March 1919, ''El Occidente'' resumed cargo service with the Morgan Line, where she had almost 15 years of routine operation. However, in the 1930s, sailing on a New York –

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

route, ''El Occidente'' was involved in several notable events. In July 1933, ''El Occidente'' had a fire in her No. 1 cargo hold while she was southbound out from Norfolk, Virginia. ''El Occidente'''s initial radio message reported that her crew had the blaze under control, but when that proved not to be the case, she headed in, docked at the Norfolk grain elevator, and requested assistance from local firefighters. In September 1935, ''El Occidente'' came to the aid of Morgan passenger liner , which had been driven onto French Reef by the Labor Day Hurricane. ''Dixie'' had been headed from

to New York when she grounded on the reef, located about south of

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and off shore. ''El Occidente'', one of 15 ships that responded to ''Dixie'''s distress calls, carried two loads of passengers and baggage from ''Dixie'' to Miami. There was no loss of life during the grounding or the rescue of ''Dixie'''s passengers. In January 1937, ''El Occidente'' issued a distress call while she was in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. After she reported a fire while some south of the mouth of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, U.S. Coast Guard cutters and and German freighter ''Leubeck'' all responded to the call. Before any reached the burning vessel, ''El Occidente'' reported that she had gotten the fire under control and needed no further assistance. ''El Occidente'' headed to Galveston. The following month, ''El Occidente'' issued another distress call, this time for a broken

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

while off the

Virginia Capes The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America. The importance of the Chesapeake Bay in American history has lo ...

. Coast Guard cutter responded and towed ''El Occidente'' to Norfolk, delivering her there on 7 February.

World War II

In June 1941, the

(USMC) announced that it had requisitioned the entire Morgan Line fleet of ten ships, including ''El Occidente'' and her remaining sister ships, ''El Oriente'' and ''El Mundo''.The fourth sister, , had been involved in a collision in 1927 and had been scrapped afterwards. See: Colton
Newport News Shipbuilding
. The ships were to finish previously scheduled cargo runs and be handed over to the USMC over the following six weeks. The USMC had been charged with assembling a U.S. fleet to "aid the democracies" fighting Germany in

, and paid $4.7 million for all ten ships and a further $2.6 million for repairs and refits. ''El Occidente'' was handed over to the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...

at Galveston on 7 July and assigned to United States Lines, Inc., for operation. The cargo ship was placed under

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

nian registry by U.S. Lines. Little is known of ''El Occidente'''s movements over the six months, but on 30 January 1942, she left Boston for Halifax loaded with a general cargo. Arriving at Halifax on 1 February,Helgason. she joined Convoy HX 174 and headed for

on 7 February, arriving at her destination on 21 February. Two days later, ''El Occidente'' sailed for

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, where she arrived on 1 March, just in time to depart with Convoy PQ 12 for

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

.Also in Convoy PQ 12 was ''El Coston'', another former Morgan Line ship. After the convoy arrived at Murmansk on 12 March, ''El Occidente'' unloaded her cargo and took on a partial ballast load of

chromium Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium ...

ore. She departed in

Convoy QP 10 Convoy QP 10 was an Arctic convoy of World War II, consisting of empty merchant ships returning from the Soviet Union after delivering their cargo there. The convoy consisted of 16 merchant ships and an escort of nine warships. The convoy depart ...

on 10 April. At 01:29 on 13 April, while at position , German submarine under the command of

Siegfried Strelow Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

fired one or two torpedoes which struck ''El Occidente'' in the engine room, nearly breaking the vessel in half. ''El Occidente'' went down stern first within two minutes, with no time to launch lifeboats. Within 30 minutes of her sinking, , one of the convoy's escorts, rescued 21 of the ship's 41-man crew; the remaining 20 crewmen died.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:El Occidente Ocean liners World War I passenger ships of the United States World War I auxiliary ships of the United States Transport ships of the United States Army World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean 1910 ships Cargo ships of the United States Navy Maritime incidents in April 1942 Ships built in Newport News, Virginia