How To Live Comfortably At Sea For A Month

May 18, Mon.
General
Office of Naval Inspector General (Rear Admiral Charles P. Snyder) is established.

Arctic
U.S. freighter Deer Lodge, anchored in Kola Inlet, is bombed by German planes, and damaged by near-misses. There are no casualties among the 34-man merchant complement or among the 11-man Armed Guard sailors, and the ship is moved to another anchorage.

Atlantic
Brazilian steamship Commandante Lyra is torpedoed by Italian submarine Barbarigo at 02°59'S, 34°10'W; light cruisers Milwaukee (CL-5) and Cincinnati (CL-4) rescue survivors. Small seaplane tender Thrush (AVP-3) tows the damaged ship to Fortaleza, Brazil, while PBYs (VP 83) provide cover.

Unarmed U.S. freighter Quaker City is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-156 approximately 300 miles east of Barbados, 15°47'N, 53°12'W; ten men perish (one man will subsequently die of wounds). The 30 survivors take to four lifeboats. U-156 surfaces and questions the survivors as to the name of the ship and her cargo and destination; the Germans then provide the Americans with directions to Barbados (see 22, 24 and 26 May).

British steamship Hororata rescues raft with the last survivor from U.S. freighter Alcoa Guide sunk by German submarine U-123 on 16 April. A total of six have perished from Alcoa Guide's 34-man complement.

Rescue craft (not specified) recovers last survivor from torpedoed U.S. freighter Steel Maker, sunk by German submarine U-136 on 19 April. This man, the radio operator, had pooled the supplies from several rafts in his vicinity after the ship sank and "lived comfortably" until rescued.

Lifeboat with 17 survivors of unarmed U.S. fishing trawler Foam, attacked by German submarine U-432 the previous day, reaches Sambro Light Ship, whence they are transported to Halifax by a Canadian patrol craft (see 19 May).

Caribbean
Unarmed U.S. tanker Mercury Sun is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-125 at 20°02'N, 84°25'W, and abandoned; six merchant seamen perish in the attack (see 19 May).

Unarmed U.S. freighter William J. Salman is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-125 at 20°08'N, 83°47'W, as the American ship proceeds to Antigua, B.W.I.; six men perish (see 19 May).

Gulf of Mexico
U.S. tanker Benjamin Brewster rescues 19 survivors from U.S. tanker Gulfoil, sunk by U-506 on 16 May, and transports them to Galveston, Texas.