Tanker from Philadelphia Sunk Off Florida
Stuart,
Fla., Feb. 27 (UP)- Destruction in flames of the tanker W.D.
Anderson and apparent loss of all but one member of the crew by enemy
submarine action off the southern Atlantic coast was revealed by the Navy
tonight.
The lone survivor rescued, Frank L.
Terry, 23, of Lansford, PA, a wiper, estimated 34 shipmates and officers
lost their lives in the sinking last Sunday night.
[The Atlantic Refining Company in Philadelphia issued a crew list showing
that there should have been 36 men aboard, including the master, Albert B.
Walters, of Upper Darby, Pa.]
The 10,227 tanker, built in 1921 and
operated out of Philadelphia by the Atlantic Refining Co., was the 47th
vessel of the United Nations known to have been attacked in waters
contiguous to the east coast.
Terry, a former life guard, said he
dived overboard when the first explosion came, and swam for two hours
against the wind- away from the drift of blazing oil on the water- until
he was rescued by E.A. Baldwin, a fisherman, who brought him ashore here.
"Five or six of us were on deck
talking when the explosion came," Terry said. "I knew we had
been hit. I jumped to a railing and dove into the water. While in midair,
another explosion came. There were six in all, but some might have been
the boilers."
"Fire was all around me. I
started to swim but flames were getting closer. I ripped off my clothes. I
saw a body floating by and grabbed it, but I couldn't tow it."
"The fire was getting too hot. I
swam against the wind, hoping that the fire would go the other way. That's
probably what saved me."
"I guess the rest of my buddies
got killed. I don't think they had a Chinaman's chance getting a boat over
the side. We caught fire too fast. I never saw the submarine."
Camden Courier-Post
(Evemimg Courier)
February 28, 1942
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