L.J. Drake
L.J. Drake
| Name | L.J. Drake | ||
| Type: | Steam tanker | ||
| Tonnage | 6.693 tons | ||
| Completed | 1918 - Ames Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co, Seattle WA | ||
| Owner | Standard Oil Co of New Jersey, New York | ||
| Homeport | Wilmington | ||
| Date of attack | 5 Jun, 1942 | Nationality:  American | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-68 (Karl-Friedrich Merten) | ||
| Position | 17.30N, 68.20W - Grid ED 1749 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 40 (40 dead - no survivors) | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Aruba (4 Jun) - San Juan, Puerto Rico | ||
| Cargo | 72.961 barrels of gasoline | ||
| History | | ||
| Notes on loss | At 20.49 hours on 5 Jun, 1942, U-68 fired a spread of three torpedoes at the unescorted L.J. Drake (Master Peter Nielsen) and hit her with all three after 45 seconds. The tanker exploded in flames and afterwards nothing remained but pieces of wreckage. None of the eight officers, 26 crewmen and six armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 3in, two .50cal and two .30cal guns) survived. | ||
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