SS Cities Service Toledo
Tanker · United States · Lost 1942 · The Gulf of Mexico
A crude oil tanker sunk in two separate torpedo attacks off Louisiana within a few hours, part of the deadly 1942 Gulf U-boat campaign.
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The Vessel and Her Loss
Cities Service Toledo, built in 1918 as J.A. Bostwick, was carrying crude oil from Corpus Christi to Portland when U-158 struck her twice, hours apart, off the Trinity Shoal Light. Fire spread quickly and the tanker sank about two hours after the first hit, with 15 of 45 aboard lost. Survivors were picked up by a Norwegian tanker.
Vessel
- 1918
- Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp
- Wilmington, Delaware
- Steel
- Not established
- Not established
- 8192
- Steam, single screw
- Cities Service Oil Company
Loss
- June 12, 1942
- Enemy action
- About 20 miles east of the Trinity Shoal Light Buoy
- Gulf of Mexico
- Corpus Christi, Texas → Portland, Maine
- 83,000 barrels of crude oil
- 45
- 15
- Kosti F. Toivola
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 29.03° N 91.98° W
- Approximate position
- Trinity Shoal, Louisiana
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)
Present wreck depth and condition are not established in the sources reviewed.
uboat.net Allied Ships Hit by U-boats
Attack narrative, casualties, route.
