AH-WR-0688

SS Australia

Tanker · United States · Lost 1942 · The Outer Banks

A Texaco tanker torpedoed near Diamond Shoals in 1942, now a scattered but popular Hatteras-area wreck dive.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in 1928 as Mary Ellen O'Neil and renamed Australia for the Texas Company, the tanker was torpedoed by U-332 on March 16, 1942 near the Diamond Shoals Light Buoy while carrying fuel oil. Four of her 40 crew were killed; survivors were rescued by a nearby merchant ship. The wreck was later declared a total loss and demolished as a hazard to navigation, and today lies broken in two main sections popular with divers.

Vessel

Built: 1928
Builder: Sun Shipbuilding and Drydocks Co.
Yard: Chester, Pennsylvania
Material: Steel
Length: 509 ft
Beam: 70 ft
Tonnage: 11628
Propulsion: Twin diesel engines, twin screw
Owners: The Texas Company (Texaco), Wilmington, Delaware

Loss

Date: March 16, 1942
Cause: Enemy action
Location: Near Diamond Shoals Light Buoy, off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Port Arthur, Texas → New Haven, Connecticut
Cargo: 110,000 barrels of fuel oil
Aboard: 40
Lives lost: 4
Master: Martin Ader

The Wreck Today

Depth: 100-110
Condition: Broken into two sections; shifting sands periodically bury and reveal portions of the wreck.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established