AH-WR-0692

SS Manuela

Freighter · United States · Lost 1942 · The Outer Banks

A sugar freighter torpedoed while rounding Cape Lookout in convoy, now a deep, three-part wreck southeast of Ocracoke.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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 1934 for the A.H. Bull Steamship Company, Manuela was carrying sugar from San Juan to New York in an eleven-ship convoy when U-404 torpedoed her rounding Cape Lookout on June 24, 1942. Two crewmen were killed and the ship remained afloat for many hours before finally sinking. The wreck now lies in three sections at about 160 feet, a deep advanced-level dive.

Vessel

Built: 1934
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.
Yard: Newport News, Virginia
Material: Steel
Length: 394 ft
Beam: 55 ft
Tonnage: 4772
Propulsion: Steam turbine, single screw
Owners: A.H. Bull Steamship Co. Inc., New York

Loss

Date: June 25, 1942
Cause: Enemy action
Location: About 75 miles east of Cape Lookout, North Carolina, in a convoy rounding the cape
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: San Juan, Puerto Rico → New York, New York
Cargo: Approximately 6,500 tons of raw and refined sugar
Aboard: 43
Lives lost: 2
Master: Conrad G. Nilsen

The Wreck Today

Depth: 160 ft
Condition: Broken into three main sections lying on its starboard side: bow, midship hull, and stern.
Orientation: On starboard side
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established