Q&A on the News

Q: How many American ships were sunk by Germany off the coast of Georgia during World War II? — Bob Markert, Roswell

A: In the early days of the United States’ involvement in World War II, Georgia’s maritime industries and the merchant ships in its waters attracted unwanted attention from German U-boat skipper Reinhard Hardegen. The commander was already prowling the waters off the East Coast as early as January 1942, when his U-123 submarine sank the unarmed and unescorted 5,200-ton Allied freighter the City of Atlanta, a Savannah-based ship, off of North Carolina.

Hardegen sank four more merchant ships before entering Georgia’s shallow waters off St. Simons Island, Bainbridge State College professor John Vanzo wrote for the New Georgia Encyclopedia.

It was there on April 8, 1942 that his U-boat ambushed two merchant ships within an hour — first sinking the 9,200-ton oil tanker Oklahoma before sinking the 8,000-ton Esso Baton Rouge tanker, Vanzo wrote. (Because they sank in such shallow waters, both were salvaged and rejoined the war effort.)

The next day, U-123 claimed the steamship SS Esparta about 14 miles south of Brunswick before heading south to Florida, Vanzo wrote. Those three sinkings — and the 23 crewmen who were killed in the attacks — were the closest German U-boat attacks to the Georgia coast.

However, in summer 1943, the Germans sank two more ships in the waters about 150 miles east of Brunswick. On June 10, 1943, the turbine tanker Esso Gettysburg was sunk by U-66, which also claimed turbine tanker Bloody Marsh on July 2.