Pompoon
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| Name | Pompoon | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 1.082 tons | ||
| Completed | 1901 - Söderhamns Mekaniska Verkstad, Söderhamn | ||
| Owner | United Fruit SS Co, New York | ||
| Homeport | Panama | ||
| Date of attack | 13 Nov, 1943 | Nationality:  Panaman | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-516 (Hans-Rutger Tillessen) | ||
| Position | 11N, 75W - Grid EC 7792 - See location on a map - | ||
| Complement | 27 (23 dead and 4 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Cristobal - Barranquilla | ||
| Cargo | General cargo and a deck cargo of 10in steel pipes and steel reinforcing rods | ||
| History | On 27 Dec, 1941, the Finnish Atlas was seized in Philadelphia by the US under an Executive Order and turned over to the US War Shipping Administration (WSA), which renamed her Atlas II and registered the ship in Panama. On 9 Feb, 1942, she was renamed Pompoon and assigned to Alcoa SS Co under a Bareboat Charter, which operated the ship from 7 August to 5 Oct, 1942 under a GAA agreement. After that she was taken over in New York by Bulk Carriers under GAA agreement and operated until 14 Dec, 1942, when she was taken over by United Fruits SS Co also under GAA agreement. | ||
| Notes on loss | At 01.03 hours on 13 Nov, 1943, the unescorted Pompoon (Master Edward Condell) was hit by one torpedo from U-516 about 75 miles north of Cartegnea, Colombia. The torpedo struck amidships on the port side and broke the ship in two. Both ends sank with the midship part sinking first on both ends. The 23 crew members and four armed guards on board had no time to launch a lifeboat. Five survivors managed to rescue themselves on a raft that had floated free, but one of them died the next day and was buried at sea. In the afternoon of 3 December, the four survivors (a messman and three armed guards) were picked up by a Panamanian ship in 09°45/76°45W and were taken to Cristobal where they were hospitalized in serious condition. | ||
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