SHIPS SUNK BY GERMAN U-BOAT NEAR ARUBA
Compiled from information provided by Don Gray and others.
February 16, 1942
The SS Oranjestad was sunk by U-156 outside San Nicholas harbor.
SS Rafaela sunk by U-67 west of Curacao.
The SS San Nicolas, SS Tia Juana, and SS Monagas were all sunk by U-boat 502 operating with U-156 in Operation Westindien/Group Neuland on February 16, 1942.
The SS Pedernales was severely damaged by U-156 outside San Nicholas harbor.
She burned and then drifted to the general area of Palm Beach where it was towed back to the Lago drydock. The damaged mid-section cut away, aft and bow sections were then welded back together, a temporary wheelhouse was fitted and a somewhat "shortened' Pedernales was take to Baltimore under her own steam and rebuilt.
February 23, 1942
The Sun, was torpedoed by U-50 and sank north of Venezuela's Penisular de Paraguana.
The Thalia in the same vicinity as the Sun was torpedoed U-502 and sunk.
On March 10, 1942
The Lady Nelson torpedoed by U-161 and sunk north northeast of Bonaire.
On May 12, 1942
The Lise torpedoed by U-69 and sunk due north of Bonaire.
March 18, 1943
Cities Service tanker Ceres(sp.) torpedoed and sunk 400-500 miles due north of Penisular de Paraguana, by U-68.
April 26, 1942
The Alcoa Partner was torpedoed by U-61 and sunk north of Bonaire.
March 7, 1944
The Valera, one of Lago’s lake tankers, was torpedoed and split in half by a German submarine (U-518), off Barranquilla, Columbia, she also sank.
June 11, 1944
The Casandra was torpedoed U-539 and sunk by between Curacao and Bonaire.
May 13, 1942
The Norlantic(sp.) was torpedoed by U-69 and sank north of Bonaire.
There were approximately thirty more ships sunk by German U-boats in the Venezuela-Aruba-Curacao-Bonaire-Trinidad area during the period 1942-1943, with the overwhelming sinkings occurring during 1942.
An added note: The U-boats participating in Operation Westindien, with five of the operation's boats under Group Neuland and concentrated in the Aruba-Curacao-Bonaire-Gulf of Venezuela area, were U-156 (Kapitan Werner Hartenstein: Aruba); U-67 (Gunther Muller-Stockheim: Curacao); U-502 (Jurgen von Rosensteil: Gulf of Venezuela); U-161 (Albrecht Achilles: northeast coast of Trinidad), and U-129 (Nicoli Clausen: between Trinidad and The Guianas).