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 Picture ofStephen Hopkins at her launch. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Stephen Hopkins |
| Namesake | Stephen Hopkins |
| Builder | Permanente Metals Corporation |
| Launched | May 1942 |
| Fate | Sunk in battle September 27, 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Liberty ship |
| Tonnage | 7,181 GRT |
| Length | 441.5 ft (135 m) |
| Beam | 57 ft (17 m) |
| Draught | 27.75 ft (8 m) |
| Propulsion | triple expansion, 2,500 ihp (1,900 kW) |
| Speed | 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) |
| Armament | 1 ×4 in (102 mm)/50 caliber gun (Mark 9)[1] 2 × 37 mm cannon; 6 machine guns |
SSStephen Hopkins was aUnited States Merchant MarineLiberty ship that served inWorld War II. She was the only US merchant vessel to sink a German surface combatant during the war.
She was built at thePermanente Metals Corporation (Kaiser) shipyards inRichmond, California. Her namesake wasStephen Hopkins, aFounding Father and signer of theDeclaration of Independence fromRhode Island.[2] She was operated byLuckenbach Steamship Company undercharter with theMaritime Commission andWar Shipping Administration.
She completed her first cargo run, but never made it home. On September 27, 1942, en route fromCape Town toSurinam, she encountered the heavily armed Germancommerce raiderStier and her tenderTannenfels. Because of fog, the ships were only 2 miles (3.2 km) apart when they sighted each other.[2]
Ordered to stop,Stephen Hopkins refused to surrender, andStier opened fire. Although greatly outgunned, the crew ofStephen Hopkins fought back, replacing theArmed Guard crew of the ship's lone 4-inch (102 mm) gun with volunteers as they fell. The fight was fierce and short, and by its end both ships were wrecks.[2]
| Action of 27 September 1942 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofWorld War II | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States |  Nazi Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
.svg) Paul Buck † |  Horst Gerlach | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Liberty shipStephen Hopkins | Auxiliary cruiserStier Supply shipTannenfels | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 42 killed Stephen Hopkins sunk | 2 killed Stier scuttled Tannenfels lightly damaged | ||||||
Stephen Hopkins sank at 10:00.Stier, too heavily damaged to continue her voyage, was scuttled by its crew less than two hours later. Most of the crew ofStephen Hopkins died, including Captain Paul Buck. The 15 survivors drifted on a lifeboat for a month before reaching shore inBrazil.[2]
Captain Buck was posthumously awarded theMerchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his actions.[3] So wasUS Merchant Marine Academy cadetEdwin Joseph O'Hara, who single-handedly fired the last shots from the ship's 4-inch gun.[4] Navy reservist Lt. (j.g.)Kenneth Martin Willett, commander of the Armed Guard detachment which manned the ship's 4-inch gun, was posthumously awarded theNavy Cross.[5]
TheLiberty shipsSS Paul Buck,SS Edwin Joseph O'Hara, andSS Richard Moczkowski, and the destroyer escortUSS Kenneth M. Willett were named in honor of crew members ofStephen Hopkins, andSS Stephen Hopkins II in honor of the ship itself.[citation needed]
28°12′53″S11°55′6″W / 28.21472°S 11.91833°W /-28.21472; -11.91833
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in September 1942 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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