AH-WR-1772

F.W. Abrams

Tanker · United States · Lost 1942 · The Outer Banks

F.W. Abrams strayed into an Allied defensive minefield off North Carolina in 1942; all thirty-six aboard survived.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

F.W. Abrams was built at Camden, New Jersey, in 1920 and first sailed as Nora. The steel tanker departed Aruba for New York in June 1942 with crude oil, traveling unarmed. On June 11, she lost sight of her Coast Guard escort in heavy rain and struck mines in an Allied defensive minefield off Cape Hatteras. All thirty-six crew were rescued, but the damaged vessel finally sank on June 15. NOAA documents the divided and later cleared wreck in about 85 feet of water.

Vessel

Built: 1920
Builder: New York Shipbuilding Corporation
Yard: Camden, New Jersey
Material: Steel
Length: 467.6 ft
Beam: 62.7 ft
Tonnage: 9,310 gross tons
Propulsion: Not established
Owners: Grace Line Inc. as Nora (1920–1932); Standard Oil Company, New Jersey, at loss

Loss

Date: June 15, 1942
Cause: Navigational error
Location: Off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in the wartime defensive minefield area
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Aruba → New York City
Cargo: About 90,000 barrels of crude oil; statistics give 90,000 and narrative says over 90,000.
Aboard: 36
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 85 ft
Condition: Two slightly offset sections separated by about 30 feet; little relief after navigational-hazard clearance. Three boilers, exposed machinery and bow structure survive.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 34.990° N 75.801° W
Accuracy: Surveyed position
Nearest: Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
Region: The Outer Banks

NOAA publishes this decimal position alongside site plan, side-scan and multibeam survey documentation. Offshore approach-area location, not claimed inside an inlet.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Well documented (94/100)

The unarmed merchant tanker was a wartime mine casualty, not a documented naval vessel. Whole-hull imagery is interpretive because the surviving wreck is divided and reduced.

NOAA — Monitor National Marine Sanctuary
1920 construction, Nora former identity, dimensions and machinery, petroleum service; June 11 Allied mine strikes and abandonment distinct from June 15 completed sinking; 36 survivors, one injured, surveyed coordinates, 85-foot depth, divided wreck and subsequent clearance.