SS India Arrow
Tanker · United States · Lost 1942 · The New Jersey Coast
A Standard Oil tanker torpedoed off Cape May during the 1942 U-boat offensive that brought the war to America's doorstep.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
SS India Arrow was a Socony-Vacuum tanker carrying kerosene from Texas to New York when a German submarine torpedoed her off Cape May in January 1942. She was among the first wave of merchant ships sunk along the U.S. East Coast in the opening months of America's involvement in World War II. The attack caused casualties among her crew and left burning wreckage visible from shore. Her sinking, along with sister losses in the same weeks, exposed how unprepared coastal shipping was for submarine warfare.
Vessel
- 1921
- Not established
- Not established
- Steel
- 468 ft
- Not established
- 8327
- Steam turbine, single screw
- Standard Oil Company (Socony-Vacuum)
Loss
- January 24, 1942
- Enemy action
- About 8 miles off Cape May, New Jersey
- Atlantic Ocean
- Corpus Christi, Texas → New York
- Kerosene
- 41
- Sources differ on exact toll; several crew were killed, others rescued. Precise number not firmly established in reviewed sources.
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 130 ft
- Broken up, scattered wreckage on the seabed
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Cape May, New Jersey
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (68/100)
The exact number of lives lost and the precise wreck coordinates are not firmly established in the sources reviewed.
NOAA Office of Coast Survey / AWOIS
General wreck location off Cape May.
New Jersey Maritime Museum
Vessel history and loss narrative.
