SS Samuel Heintzelman

{{short description|World War II Liberty ship of the United States}} {{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image | image = Liberty ship at sea.jpg | image_caption = A Liberty ship at sea }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career | hide_header = | country = United States | flag = {{USN flag|1947}} | name = ''Samuel Heintzelman'' | namesake = Samuel Heintzelman | owner = | operator = | registry = | route = | ordered = | awarded = | builder = California Shipbuilding Corporation, Terminal Island, Los Angeles | original_cost = | yard_number = 134 | way_number = | laid_down = 27 August 1942 | launched = 30 September 1942 | sponsor = | christened = | completed = | acquired = | commissioned = | decommissioned = | in_service = | out_of_service = | renamed = | reclassified = | refit = | struck = | reinstated = | homeport = | identification = | motto = | nickname = | honors = | captured = | fate = Sunk on 9 July 1943 by {{GS|U-511||2}} | notes = | badge = }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics | hide_header = | header_caption = | class = Type EC2-S-C1 Liberty ship | tonnage = | displacement = {{convert|14245|LT|MT}}<ref name="davies">{{cite web |url=http://ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf |title=Liberty Cargo Ships |first=James |last=Davies |work=ww2ships.com |year=2012 |page=23 |accessdate=13 May 2012}}</ref> | length = *{{Convert|441|ft|6|in|abbr=on}} o/a *{{Convert|417|ft|9|in|abbr=on}} p/p *{{Convert|427|ft|abbr=on}} w/l<ref name="davies"/> | beam = {{Convert|57|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="davies"/> | height = | draft = {{Convert|27|ft|9|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="davies"/> | depth = | hold_depth = | decks = | deck_clearance = | power = | propulsion = *Two oil-fired boilers *Triple-expansion steam engine *{{Convert|2500|hp|abbr=on}} *Single screw | speed = {{Convert|11|kn|lk=in}}<ref name="davies"/> | range = {{Convert|20000|nmi|abbr=on}} | endurance = | boats = | capacity = {{convert|10856|MT|LT|0|abbr=on}} deadweight (DWT)<ref name="davies"/> | troops = | complement = 42 merchants and 27 US Armed Guards | crew = 81<ref name="davies"/> | time_to_activate = | sensors = | EW = | armament = *Stern-mounted {{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on}} deck gun *Variety of anti-aircraft guns | armor = | notes = }} }} '''SS ''Samuel Heintzelman''''' (MC hull number 651) was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. Named after Samuel Heintzelman, a United States Army general, the ship was laid down by the California Shipbuilding Corporation at Terminal Island in Los Angeles, and launched on 27 August 1942.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergencylarge/wwtwo/kcalifornia.htm |title=Kaiser California Shipbuilding |work=shipbuildinghistory.com |year=2011 |accessdate=13 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510113117/http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergencylarge/wwtwo/kcalifornia.htm |archivedate=10 May 2012 }}</ref> It was operated by Coastwise Line.

''Samuel Heintzelman'' was en route from Fremantle, Australia, to Colombo, Ceylon without a convoy, carrying 5,644 tons of ammunition. On 9 July 1943, the ship was torpedoed by a German submarine ''U-511'', causing it to explode and sink. The entire crew of 42 merchant sailors, 27 US Navy Armed Guard members, and six passengers were lost. The ship sank near the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, at {{coord|9|S|81|E}}. It had been scheduled to arrive in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 14 July 1943, before continuing to Karachi, Pakistan and Calcutta, India.<ref>[https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?17613 wrecksite.eu ''Samuel Heintzelman'']</ref><ref name=SH>{{cite web |url= http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/2998.html |title=Samuel Heintzelman |publisher=Uboat |accessdate=31 March 2012}}</ref>

All the missing crew were declared dead on January 7, 1946. Later, Heinz Rehse, a crew member of ''U-511'', reported the date and location of the sinking of the SS ''Samuel Heintzelman''. On September 30, 1943, wreckage from ''Samuel Heintzelman'' washed ashore on Diego Garcia Island, an atoll just south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean.<ref>[https://www.armed-guard.com/sunk.html armed-guard.com, Sunk]</ref><ref>[http://www.heintzelman.info/ heintzelman.info, About Samuel Heintzelman]</ref><ref>[http://heintzelman.info/crew.htm Samuel Heintzelman Crew]</ref><ref>[http://heintzelman.info/heintzelman.htm heintzelman.info, Samuel Heintzelman]</ref><ref>[http://www.usmm.org/armedguard.html usmm.org killed]</ref><ref>[https://jdalager28.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/alton-dalager-goes-down-with-the-ss-samuel-heintzelman-1943/ Alton Dalager goes down with the SS Samuel Heintzelman, 1943, March 9, 2009]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/LibShipsS.html |title=Liberty Ships ("Samuel Heintzelman") |work=mariners-l.co.uk |year=2011 |accessdate=13 May 2012}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}} {{refbegin}} * [http://www.usmm.org/l/calship.html Liberty Ships built by California Shipbuilding Corp., Terminal Island, CA]. {{refend}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel Heintzelman}} Category:Liberty ships Category:Ships built in Los Angeles Category:1942 ships