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Cargo Ship 5,645 Tons 426' 8" x 54' 1" x 27' 2" 130.1m x 16.5m x 8.3m  Prewar |
Ship History Built by Western Pipe & Steel Company in San Francisco. Laid down 1920 with yad number 18 as a cargo ship. Completed and launched as SS West Carmona by the United States Shipping Board (USSB). During 1928 purchased by Oceanic & Oriental Navigation Company and renamed SS Golden State. During 1937 purchased by Matson Navigation Company, Alexander & Baldwin and renamed SS Lahaina. At the start of the Pacific War is attempting to return to Hawaii with a cargo of 745 tons of molasses and 300 tons of scrap iron. On December 11, 1941 while underway roughly 700 miles northeast of Oahu at roughly Lat 27°42'N, Long 147°38'W, Japanese submarine I-9 surfaces off the starboard quarter of SS Lahaina and fires a warning shot. The ship transmits an S.O.S. signal and abandons ship into a lifeboat. The submarine fires 25 shells scoring 12 hits (8 starboard and 4 port) and causes a fire in the superstructure. Damaged, the ship remains afloat and the submarine departs. Sinking History On December 12, 1941 in the morning, the crew attempt to reboard the damaged ship but found fires and flooding were out of control and after an explosion the ship capsized to port and sank around 12:30pm at roughly Lat 27°42′N Long 147°38′W. Fates of the Crew Afterwards, two crew members die of exposure and two others committed suicide. The remaining 30 survivors are lost at sea and drift towards the Hawaiian Islands. Rescue On December 20, 1941 thirty survivors of SS Lahaina aided by USCGC Tiger, reach Sprecklesville Beach east of Kahului on Maui, having lost four crew in their one lifeboat. References Some sources list the attack and sinking as near the Bonin Islands, this location is incorrect as they are over 3,750 miles to the west of Honolulu. Other sources often list the location as 800 miles northeast of Honolulu while Japanese submarine I-9 reported the location as 700 miles northeast of Oahu. Steel Shipbuilding under the U.S. Shipping Board, 1917-1921. page 580 Map Room Papers (Roosevelt Administration), 1942 - 1945. U.S. Joint Intelligence Committee. Daily summary No. 12 dated 22 December 1941 Combined Fleet - IJN Submarine I-9: Tabular Record of Movement Contribute
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