| Name: | Bidwell | ||
| Type: | Motor tanker | ||
| Tonnage: | 6.837 tons | ||
| Completed: | 1920 - Baltimore Dry Docks & Shipbuilding Co, Baltimore MD | ||
| Owner: | Sun Oil Company, Philadelphia PA | ||
| Homeport: | Philadelphia | ||
| Date of attack: | 6 Apr, 1942 | Nationality: American | |
| Fate: | Damaged by U-160 (Georg Lassen | ||
| Position: | 34.25N, 75.57W - Grid DC 1246 |
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| Complement: | 33 (1 dead and 32 survivors). | ||
| Convoy: | |||
| Route: | Corpus Christi, Texas (29 Mar) - New York | ||
| Cargo: | 83144 barrels of fuel oil | ||
| History: | Built as steam merchant, 1923 converted to
motor tanker |
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| Notes on loss: | At 08.07 hours on 6 Apr, 1942, the unarmed
and unescorted Bidwell (Master Sedolf
Berg Hegglund) was hit by a torpedo from U-160, while proceeding on a
zigzagging course about 30 miles east of Cape Lookout. The torpedo
struck the port side amidships near the waterline and sent up a column
of flame 150 feet in the air, tore a hole about 20 feet in diameter
through the side and deck and ripped open #7 and #8 tanks and the summer
tanks below them. Oil was spread over the entire length of the tanker,
but it burned for only a short period. The second mate on the bridge was
showered with burning oil, jumped overboard and drowned. The Bidwell did not stop, because the chief engineer saw the burning oil on the surface and stopped some men from lowering the boat #3. The tanker ran in circles for nearly an hour, because the steering gear was damaged. A broken steam line barred communication between the bridge and the men in the after section, so the master and five men in the forepart lowered boat #1. They also searched for the second mate. Then the auxiliary steering gear was working and the ship stopped to pick up the lifeboat. At 10.00 hours, two destroyers appeared astern and offered assistance, but by this time the ship was under control by the crew of eight officers and 25 men. The master´s boat returned after the unsuccessful search and the Bidwell proceeded to Hampton Roads, Virginia at eight knots under her own power, where she discharged her cargo. She was repaired and returned to service. The master Sedolf Berg Hegglund died almost exactly a year later when the Sunoil was sunk by U-530 (Lange) on 5 Apr, 1943. |
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