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| USN Design 1013 Cargo Ship 3,290 Tons 324' x 46' 2" x 25'  RAN 1942 |
Ship History Built by Submarine Boat Company in Newark, New Jersey. Yard Number 103. Ordered under the name Minnewawa. Laid down as EFC Design 1023 cargo ship. Launched January 7, 1920 as Riverside Bridge. During 1928 acquired by the Gulf-Pacific Line and renamed Point Arena. During 1937 acquired by Coastwise Line a coastal line associated with Pacific Far East Lines and renamed Coast Farmer. Wartime History Assigned to the Pensacola Convoy and steamed across the Pacific to Australia. On December 22, 1941 taken over by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) for use by the U.S. Forces in Australia (USFIA) for use as a cargo vessel in Australia. The ship was equipped with a gun crew from U.S. Army 453d Ordnance Company and loaded with military supplies including 2,500 tons of rations. On February 10, 1942 departs Brisbane bound for the Philippines. On February 17, 1942 arrives Anakan on Mindanao and unloads her cargo to Filipino coasters Lepus and Elcano that departed for Corregidor. The supplies were destroyed in transshipment when the three coasters were sunk by the Japanese trying to reach Corregidor. Coast Farmer was loaded with bailed rubber from Cebu from Filipino coasters Agustina, Cegostina, and Emilia then departed. One of the gun crew sent ashore to repair machine guns did not return in time and was left behind. For the mission, master John A. Matson later earned Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) and the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal. Coast Farmer was one of only three ships to break the Japanese blockade, the other two were Dona Nati and HMS Anhui. Afterwards, returned to Australia as one of seven vessels in the USFIA fleet. On June 1, 1942 anchored in Fairfax Harbor off Port Moresby around 11:40am targeted by G3M2 Nells that bombed from 20,000' but was not damaged. Sinking History On July 21, 1942 at 2:04am off Jervis Bay spotted by surfaced Japanese submarine I-11 that fired two torpedoes. One torpedo hit amidship and the ship sank within twenty minutes at roughly at Lat 35° 23' S Long 151° 00' E. One of the crew was lost in the sinking. Afterward, I-11 surfaced and used a searchlight to examine the ship's lifeboats then departed to the southwest. Rescue Afterwards, a RAAF crash boat rescues the 40 survivors. References Some sources list the date of the sinking date as July 20, 1942 incorrectly. Contribute
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