SS Santa Rita was a refrigerated cargo ship

Cargo ship

A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...

 built for the United States Maritime Commission

United States Maritime Commission

The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I...

 by Federal Shipbuilding of Kearny, New Jersey

Kearny, New Jersey

Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....

 in 1941. Operated by the Grace Line, Santa Rita en route from Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

 to Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

, when she was attacked by on 9 July 1942. Steaming on a non-evasive course at 16 knots 700 nautical miles (1,296.4 km) northeast of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

, a single torpedo from U-172 hit the ship in the near the engine room. The explosion destroyed the engines; opened a 30 feet (9.1 m) hole in the hull of the ship, which immediately flooded the No. 3 cargo hold; and killed one officer and two men. After ten minutes, the ship's master

Captain (nautical)

A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...

, Henry Stephenson, ordered the ship abandoned, although most of the surviving officers and crew and the ship's two passengers had already boarded the Nos. 3 and 4 lifeboats.

When the boat did not immediately sink, U-172 fired machine gun bursts at the vessel to discourage her crew from returning. The U-boat got off four quick shots with her deck gun

Deck gun

A deck gun is a type of artillery cannon mounted on the deck of a ship or submarine.The deck gun was used as a defensive weapon against smaller boats or ships and in certain cases where torpedo use was limited. Typically a crew of three; gunner, loader, and layer, operated the gun, while others...

 that struck Sant Ritas superstructure, but did not finish off the ship. After taking Stephenson prisoner aboard the submarine, crewmen from U-172 boarded the still-floating Santa Rita and searched the ship for two hours, finally emerging with some scavenged food. After seven more shots from the deck gun were fired, Santa Rita rolled over on an even keel and sank at 15:20 near position 26°11′N 55°40′W. American destroyers and rescued most of the survivors and landed them at Port of Spain

Port of Spain

Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...

, Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

, while another boat rescued the rest and took them to Puerto Rico. Stephenson was repatriated to the United States in February 1945.