Sylvan Arrow (Id. No. 2150)
1918-1919
The Navy retained the name carried by this vessel at the time of her acquisition.
(Id. No. 2150: displacement 18,610; length 467'6"; beam 62'6"; draft 27'7"; speed 11.0 knots; complement 90; armament 1 6-inch, 1 5-inch)
Sylvan Arrow was built in 1918 at Camden, N. J., by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., The ship was owned and operated as tanker by the Standard Oil Co. She arrived at New York on 15 July 1918; was taken over and refitted for naval use, given the identification number (Id. No.) 2150; was commissioned on 19 July 1918 and assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service.
Sylvan Arrow loaded a cargo of fuel oil and seaplanes at New York and sailed for England on 28 July 1918. She arrived at Devonport on 14 August and began her return voyage on the 17th. She delivered cargo to Brest, France, on 22 September and unloaded another at Sheerness, England, on 11 November, the day the Armistice, ending the Great War [World War I] was signed.
When the tanker returned to New York on 29 November 1918, she was ordered demobilized. Sylvan Arrow was stricken from the Navy Register on 20 January 1919 and placed out of commission on 21 January 1919 and returned to her owner.
Sold to Standard-Vacuum Transportation Co., Inc., of New York in 1931, Sylvan Arrow operated under that house flag until 1935, when she was sold to Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., Inc., of New York. Acquired by the Brilliant Transportation Co., S. A., of Panama.
Turned over to the War Shipping Admninistration at Hampton Roads, Va., at 8:30 a.m. on 21 April 1942, Sylvan Arrow was operated under a term charter agreement by Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., Inc. On the afternoon of 21 May 1942, she was steaming in convoy QT-1 when she and another tanker were attacked by the German submarine U-155 (Kapitanleutnant Adolf Cornelius Piening, commanding). One of U-155's torpedoes hit Sylvan Arrow (Arthur J. Beck, master)., fires resulted immediately, forcing the officers and men to abandon ship; the six-man U.S. Navy armed guard valiantly manned the single gun but flames compelled them over the side as well, one of their number drowning. Destroyer Barney (DD-149) picked up the 43 survivors and transported them to Port of Spain, Trinidad.
An attempt to salvage the vessel failed, and she sank on 28 May 1942 while under tow.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
27 March 2024
