Velma Lykes
Velma Lykes under her former name Lake Flournoy
| Name | Velma Lykes | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 2.572 tons | ||
| Completed | 1920 - McDougall-Duluth Shipbuilding Co, Duluth MN | ||
| Owner | Lykes Bros SS Co Inc, New Orleans LA | ||
| Homeport | Houston | ||
| Date of attack | 5 Jun, 1942 | Nationality:  American | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-158 (Erwin Rostin) | ||
| Position | 21.21N, 86.36W - Grid DL 6796 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 32 (15 dead and 17 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Galveston - Cristobal | ||
| Cargo | 3629 tons of general cargo | ||
| History | Built as Lake Flournoy for US Shipping Board, Washington DC. 1922 renamed Southseas for Lone Star Steamship Co, Galveston TX. 1929 renamed Velma Lykes for Lykes Bros. Steamship Co, Houston TX. | ||
| Notes on loss | At 03.32 hours on 5 Jun, 1942, the unescorted Velma Lykes (Master Hans G. Beck) was hit on the starboard side by one torpedo from U-158 about 20 miles off Puerto Juarrez in the Yucatan Channel. The wake of the torpedo had been spotted seconds before it struck at the #3 hatch and killed three men on watch below. The ship sank by the stern after one minute with a slight list to starboard after #3 and #4 holds were flooded. The eight officers, 20 crewmen and four armed guards (the ship was armed with one 3in and two .30cal guns) had no time to launch the lifeboats and rescued themselves on three rafts that floated free. The next day, four officers, nine crewmen and four armed guards were picked up by Ardenvohr after being spotted by a Catalina aircraft which escorted a convoy of 17 ships. On 10 June, this ship was torpedoed and sunk by U-68 (Merten) but all men from Velma Lykes survived the second sinking and eventually landed at Cristobal. | ||
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