Onondaga
American Steam merchant
| Name | Onondaga | ||
| Type: | Steam merchant | ||
| Tonnage | 2,309 tons | ||
| Completed | 1920 - Detroit Shipbuilding Co, Wyandotte MI | ||
| Owner | Ford Motor Co, Detroit MI | ||
| Homeport | Dearborn | ||
| Date of attack | 23 Jul 1942 | Nationality:  American | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-129 (Hans-Ludwig Witt) | ||
| Position | 22° 40'N, 78° 44'W - Grid DM 6464 | ||
| Complement | 34 (20 dead and 14 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Nuevitas, Cuba - Havana | ||
| Cargo | magnesium ore | ||
| History | Built for Independent SS Co, Cleveland OH 1924 sold to Ford Motor Co, Detroit MI. | ||
| Notes on event | At 22.22 hours on 23 July 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Onondaga (Master George Dewey Hodges) was hit by one torpedo from U-129 about five miles north of Cayo Guillermo, while steaming on a nonevasive course at 8.5 knots. The torpedo struck on the port side amidships, causing the ship to sink within one minute. The eight officers, 25 crewmen and one passenger abandoned ship by jumping overboard and swam to two rafts that had flooded free. Six officers, 13 crewmen and the passenger were lost. The survivors were picked up by the Cuban fishing boat Laventina the next morning and landed at Punta San Juan, Cuba. The passenger was the master of the Thomas McKean which had been sunk by U-505 (Loewe) on 29 June 1942. | ||
| On board | We have details of 33 people who were on board. | ||
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