Naeco

Naeco, location unknown. Photo courtesy of the Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Virginia.

The Sinking of the Naeco:

The Naeco was built in 1918 during World War I. It was originally named Charle M. Everest and was under the control of the U.S. Shipping Board. In 1919, it was purchased by the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company. Finally, in 1933, the ship was sold and renamed the Naeco by Charles Kutz & Company. The tanker transported fuel oil, kerosene, and gasoline from Texas to the East Coast.

In late March 1942, the Naeco left Houston, Texas with a load of kerosene and #2 fuel oil headed to Seawarren, New Jersey. Captain Emil H. Engelbrecht wanted to make sure the ship arrived off the coast of North Carolina, particularly off Cape Hatteras, during the early morning hours. On March 23, 1942, thinking traveling at that time would be best, little did the captain know was they were already being tracked by German U-boat U-124 under the command of Korvettenkapitän Erich Mohr. From the time the Naeco passed 65 miles southeast of Cape Lookout, U-124 had the Naeco as a target. The U-124 had already sunk the Papoose, the W.E. Hutton, and the E.M. Clark just five days earlier and damaged the Esso Nashville two days later.

That morning of March 23, 1942,

Apparently, the first torpedo the U-124 launched either missed its target or was a dud. The U-124 fired a second torpedo into the starboard side of the Naeco just forward the amidships. The hit set off an explosion that set the fuel oil on fire and shortly thereafter the entire ship forward of amidships was burning. All crew members, who were forward when the torpedo hit, were killed. The captain died in the burning inferno in the midship house. All of the lifeboats forward were destroyed in the blast. One of the lifeboats with two members was swept into flames by the winds and they were found burned to death. Fortunately, lifeboat #3 on the port side and lifeboat #4 on the starboard side were not damaged. They were able to be lowered after the torpedo hit the ship. Lifeboat #4 was in trouble right away. Because the ship was still moving, the four crewmen were in the water swimming for their lives. One man was able to swim back and climb back aboard the Naeco. One crewman found a small raft nearby and was able to climb aboard it. The other two men from Lifeboat #4 continued to swim unaware of the others that had climbed aboard Lifeboat #4. The U.S. Coast Guard ship, Dione, picked up the 10 survivors in Lifeboat #3 four hours after the attack. They were also able to rescue the two men swimming away from Lifeboat #4. The USS Umpqua picked up the seaman who had returned to the ship. The USS Osprey rescued the fourth survivor from the life raft. All survivors, including three wounded, were landed at Morehead City, North Carolina.

The Naeco remained floating on the surface for about another hour before she broke into two sections and sank. The bow was the first to sink. The stern continued to float and burn but eventually sunk a little while later. The two pieces sank approximately two miles apart from each other.

THE SHIP'S SPECIFICS:

Built: 1918	Sunk: March 23, 1942
Type of Vessel: Tanker	Owner: Charles Kurz & Company (Pennsylvania Shipping Cos, Mgrs.)
Builder: Bethlehem Ship Building Corp., Wilmington, DE	Power: Oil-fired steam
Port of registry: Wilmington, DE	Dimensions:411' long x 53' wide x 31' deep
Previous Names: Charles M. Everest

LOCATION OF THE SINKING:

Here is the location of the sinking:
Bow Section: 34°3'27.68"N, 76°34'14.92"W
Stern Section: 34°1'31.22"N, 76°38'53.05"W

naeco bow sinking

naeco stern sinking

LOST CREW MEMBERS :

Total Lost: 24, Survivors: 14

Last	First	Date of Death	Position	Home	Age
Baillie	James	March 23, 1942	Quartermaster	Port Hope, Ontario
Blanco	Samuel Anthony	March 23, 1942	Messman	Houston, TX	45
Brannan	Francis Carroll	March 23, 1942	Third Mate	Baltimore, MD	37
Engelbrecht	Emil H.	March 23, 1942	Master/Captain	Williamstown, NJ	45
Ference	Joseph	March 23, 1942	Ordinary Seaman	Houston, TX	27
Huguley	David Henry	March 23, 1942	Oiler	New York, NY	41
Kaiser	Adam	March 23, 1942	Ordinary Seaman	New Orleans, LA	45
Knight	Leo Woodrow	March 23, 1942	Steward	Galveston, TX	28
Lanham	Charles Harold	March 23, 1942	Able Seaman	Houston, TX	41
Mareno	Elmer Henry	March 23, 1942	Second Mate	Houston, TX	46
McQuillan	John Edward	March 23, 1942	Messman	Winthrop, MA	31
Moore	Vincent Haynie	March 23, 1942	Ordinary Seaman	Seatle, WA	18
Pearson	James Edwin	March 23, 1942	Fireman/Watertender	Galveston, TX	21
Pickett	Calvin	March 23, 1942	Pumpman	Port Neches, TX	43
Pickett	George R.	March 23, 1942	Cook	Houston, TX
Reed	Edward	March 23, 1942	Chief Mate	Staten Island, NY	40
Reed, Jr.	George Putnam	March 23, 1942	Ordinary Seaman	Portland, ME	37
Sisk	Ira John	March 23, 1942	Oiler	Dayton, TX	28
Skelly	Clifford Hugh	March 23, 1942	Able Seaman	Chicago, IL	44
Stelwagon, Jr.	Frank Melville	March 23, 1942	Radio Operator	Houston, TX	42
Tate	Andrew Wade	March 23, 1942	Third Assistant Engineer	Houston, TX	37
Tress	Frank Hardman	March 23, 1942	Wiper	Mount Calm, TX
Wise	John Jay	March 23, 1942	Messman	Fresno, CA
Zawerucka	Fred	March 23, 1942	Wiper	Somerset, MA

SURVIVING CREW MEMBERS :

A partial listing of the surviving crew:

Last	First	Position	DOB	Home	Age
Henderson	Garland	Boatswain
Oberer	John Francis	Quartermaster	1914	New York, NY	28
Swank	Walter Wilson	Utilityman	Feb. 6, 1994	Marcus Hook, PA	38
Walczak	Martin Michael	Chief Engineer	Oct. 23, 1889	Cleveland, OH	52

Photos of the Naeco:

Steam engine and boiler assembly at Naeco's stem. Photo courtesy of NOAA	Interior of the intact stem section of Naeco . Photo courtesy of Hoyt, NOAA
Interior hatch on the stern of Naeco. Photo courtesy of NOAA.	Naeco location hosts a subtropical ecosystem. Photo courtesy of NOAA.
The forward end of the engine. Photo courtesy of Paul M. Hudy.	A diver swims near the steering quadrant at the remains of the stern fantail. Photo courtesy of Paul M. Hudy.
Steering quadrant on stern Photo courtesy of Paul M. Hudy	Diver at the stern break. Photo courtesy of Paul M. Hudy
Bow port anchor in the hawse pipe. Photo courtesy of Paul M. Hudy	Bow anchor windlass. Photo courtesy of Paul M. Hudy
Boilers. Photo courtesy of Paul M. Hudy	Divers swim the stern wreckage. Photo courtesy of Paul M. Hudy
Typical wreck vista forward of the stern break. Photo courtesy of Paul M. Hudy	A spare anchor sits in the wreckage at the stern. Photo courtesy of Paul M. Hudy
A diver swims along the port edge of the wreck beside the engine towards the stern. Photo courtesy of Paul M. Hudy