SS Amazone
Cargo Steamship · Netherlands · Lost 1942 · Florida's Atlantic Coast
A Dutch freighter torpedoed off Fort Pierce during World War II, sinking in under two minutes and taking 14 crew with her.
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The Vessel and Her Loss
Amazone was a Dutch steam freighter built in 1922 for the Royal Dutch Steamship Company. On 6 May 1942, while sailing unescorted from Curaçao toward New York, she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-333 off Fort Pierce, Florida. The blast broke off her stern and she sank within about two minutes, too fast for an orderly evacuation. Survivors clinging to swamped boats and a raft were rescued hours later by a U.S. Navy patrol craft and landed at Miami.
Vessel
- 1922
- Meyer & Co's Scheepsbouw Mij NV
- Zalt-Bommel, Netherlands
- Steel
- 255 ft
- 37 ft
- 1294
- Steam engine, single screw
- NV Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Mij (KNSM), Amsterdam
Loss
- May 6, 1942
- Enemy action
- About 16 miles east-southeast of Fort Pierce, Florida
- Atlantic Ocean
- Curaçao, via Haiti and Key West → New York
- 926 tons of general cargo, mainly coffee, sisal, and oil
- 34
- 14
- Johannes Pieter Giltay
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established in the sources reviewed
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 27.35° N 80.07° W
- Approximate position
- Fort Pierce, Florida
Based on reported attack position of 27°21'N, 80°04'W.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (78/100)
Exact wreck location, depth, and condition have not been confirmed in the sources reviewed.
Attack details, casualties, and rescue.
Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency)
Historical and archaeological assessment of the wreck.
