AH-WR-1943

Buarque

Freighter · Lost 1942 · The Outer Banks

A Hog Island freighter under the Brazilian flag, Buarque was torpedoed off North Carolina in February 1942.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in 1919 at Hog Island for the U.S. Shipping Board as Bird City, she later sailed as Scanpenn before being sold to Lloyd Brasileiro in 1940 and renamed Buarque. Neutral Brazil's freighter was carrying general cargo from Rio de Janeiro to New York when U-432 torpedoed her off North Carolina on February 15, 1942. Crew and 11 passengers took to the boats; one passenger died of a heart attack, and the rest were rescued and landed at Norfolk.

Vessel

Built: 1919
Builder: American International Shipbuilding Corp.
Yard: Hog Island, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Material: Steel
Length: 390 ft
Beam: 54.2 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam turbine
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: February 15, 1942
Cause: Enemy action
Location: Off the Outer Banks, North Carolina
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil → New York
Cargo: 4,639 tons of general cargo including castor beans, rubber, and beryllium and aluminum ores
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 1
Master: Not established