Seventy years ago on this day, Wednesday, September 30, 1942 during the Battle of the Atlantic four merchant ships were sunk: the unescorted British steam merchant Empire Avocet was torpedoed and sunk by U-125; the unescorted British steam passenger ship Kumsang was torpedoed and sunk by U-125; the unescorted British motor merchant Siam II was torpedoed and sunk by U-506; and the unescorted British steam merchant Alipore was torpedoed and then sunk by gunfire by U-516.
There were 108 U-Boats at Sea (Events this day - U-Boat Net).
During September, 1942: 101 ships (454,957 tons) were sunk and 15 ships (119,941 tons) were damaged by U-boats and mines. The German Army was engaging the Russian Army in Stalingrad. The British were engaging the German Afrika Korps (General Rommel) in North Africa; and the American Marines were engaging the Japanese in Guadalcanal. A Japanese submarine launched a seaplane which dropped bombs in Oregon.
The USS San Francisco (Frank Slater's ship) was 2500 yards on the Wasp's starboard quarter when the torpedoes struck.
This was a David and Goliath Battle. The main gun on the Stephen Hopkins was a 4" 50 Cal, which fired a 33 pound shell at a rate of 9 rounds per minute. The Steir had six - 5.9" (L45) guns, which fired a 100 pound shell at 7 rounds per minute. In one minute the Stephens could deliver approximately 300 pounds of shells on target. During the same period the Steir could deliver over 4,200 pounds on target (if all guns could bear on target).
Because of fog, the ships were only two miles apart when they sighted each other. At 8:55 am, the first round from the Hopkins disabled the Steir's rudder. The second round a water feed pipe in Stier’s engine room. The Steir was dead in the water, but it returned fire and soon the Hopkins was a flaming wreck.
The Hopkins sank at 10 am. Forty-two of her crew were killed in the action, and three more died later; the fifteen survivors finally reached Brazil 31 days later.
Meanwhile Stier had been fatally damaged; unable to make headway, and not responding to the helm, Gerlach made the decision to abandon ship. Stier exploded and sank at 11:40.
Stephen Hopkin's commander, Captain Paul Buck, was posthumously awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his actions. So was US Merchant Marine Academy cadet Edwin Joseph O'Hara, who single-handedly fired the last shots from the ship's 4". The Destroyer Escort Kenneth M. Willett (DE-354) was named in honor of Kenneth Martin Willett who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross during the action. Lt. Willett commanded the Stephen Hopkin's Armed Guard Unit.
