Ship Eventually Dies

MON 11 MAY 1942
Pacific

Stolen (fair & square) from The Ship That Wouldn't Die: The Saga of the USS Neosho

In the wake of the Battle of the Coral Sea, oiler Neosho (AO-23), damaged and adrift since 7 May and deemed beyond salvage, is scuttled by torpedoes and gunfire of destroyer Henley (DD-391), which rescues survivors from Neosho and Sims (DD-409). Among those men is the injured Chief Watertender Oscar V. Peterson, who dies of his wounds.

Submarine S-42 (SS-153) torpedoes Japanese minelayer Okinoshima west of Buka Island, Solomons, 05°06'S, 153°48'E (see 12 May).

Japanese merchant cargo ship Oridono Maru is sunk by Japanese mine near Surabaya, Java, 07°00'S, 112°40'E.

Gulf of Mexico
U.S. motor tanker Aurora, torpedoed and shelled by German submarine U-506 the previous day, is brought to Southwest Pass, Louisiana, under tow of Coast Guard tug Tuckahoe (WYT-89). Civilian tug Robert W. Wilmot aids Tuckahoe but Aurora drifts onto a shoal at the entrance of the Pass. Subsequently, however, Aurora is salvaged and returns to service as Jamestown.