SS Republic
Tanker · United States · Lost 1942 · Florida's Atlantic Coast
A Houston-flagged tanker torpedoed off Jupiter Island and lost to reefs off Hobe Sound within Florida's brutal 1942 U-boat campaign.
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The Vessel and Her Loss
Republic was a steam tanker built in 1920, later renamed for American Petroleum Co of Houston. On 22 February 1942, while carrying water ballast from New Jersey toward Texas, she was torpedoed twice by U-504 near Jupiter Island Lighthouse. The blast destroyed her engine room and killed three men on watch. Survivors abandoned ship in two lifeboats; the badly damaged hull drifted onto reefs off Hobe Sound and sank two days later.
Vessel
- 1920
- Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp
- Wilmington, Delaware
- Steel
- 392 ft
- 51 ft
- 5287
- Steam, single screw
- Petroleum Navigation Co / American Petroleum Co, Houston, Texas
Loss
- February 22, 1942
- Enemy action
- About 3.5 miles northeast of Jupiter Island Lighthouse, Florida
- Atlantic Ocean
- Paulsboro, New Jersey → Port Arthur, Texas
- Water ballast
- 34
- 5
- Alfred Hildebrand Anderson
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Broke up on reefs after grounding near Hobe Sound.
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 27.08° N 80.08° W
- Approximate position
- Jupiter Island, Florida
Attack position reported by uboat.net as 27°05'N, 80°05'W; final grounding site about five miles east of Hobe Sound is not separately pinpointed.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (78/100)
The final resting position on the reefs off Hobe Sound is not precisely documented in the sources reviewed.
Attack details, casualties, tonnage, route.
Casualty log and rescue narrative.
