AH-WR-0575

SS Oaxaca

Cargo Freighter · Mexico · Lost 1942 · Texas & the Western Gulf

The only ship confirmed sunk by an enemy submarine off the Texas coast: a Mexican freighter torpedoed by U-171 seven miles off Matagorda Peninsula in 1942.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

SS Oaxaca, a 4,351-ton Mexican freighter originally built in 1921 as the German-flagged Hameln, was seized by Mexico in 1941 and operated by the Mexican Navigation Company. On July 26, 1942, while sailing from New Orleans toward Veracruz, she was struck by a single torpedo from the German submarine U-171 about seven miles off Matagorda Peninsula. She sank within about two hours; of her 45 crew, 30 survived and reached shore at Port O'Connor and nearby beaches. The wreck, lying in two pieces in about 65 feet of water, was designated a Texas state archeological landmark in 2010 as the only vessel confirmed sunk by enemy submarine action off the Texas coast.

Vessel

Built: 1921
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Steel
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 4351
Propulsion: Steam
Owners: Mexican Navigation Company (previously German-flagged as Hameln)

Loss

Date: July 26, 1942
Cause: Enemy action
Location: About 7 miles off Matagorda Peninsula, Texas
Water: Gulf of Mexico
Voyage: New Orleans, Louisiana → Veracruz, Mexico (via Tampico)
Cargo: General cargo
Aboard: 45
Lives lost: 15
Master: Francisco Rodriguez

The Wreck Today

Depth: 65 ft
Condition: Lies in two pieces on the seabed
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Texas state archeological landmark, designated by the Texas Historical Commission in February 2010

Position

Coordinates: 28.58° N 96.02° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Matagorda Peninsula, Matagorda County, Texas
Region: Texas & the Western Gulf

General area only: coordinate of Matagorda Peninsula, the named place near which this vessel was lost, from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, not a surveyed wreck position.