SS Stephen Hopkins

The SS "Stephen Hopkins" was a United States Merchant Marine Liberty ship that served in World War II. She was the first US ship to sink a German surface combatant during the war.

She was built at the Permanente Metals Corporation (Kaiser) shipyards in Richmond, California. Her namesake was Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Declaration of Independence from Rhode Island.

She completed her first cargo run, but never made it home. On September 27, 1942, en route from Cape Town to Dutch Guiana, she encountered the German commerce raider "Stier" (German for 'bull') and her tender the "Tannenfels". Because of fog, the ships were only two miles (3 km) apart when they sighted each other.

Ordered to stop, the "Stephen Hopkins" refused to surrender, and the "Stier" opened fire. Although greatly outgunned, the crew of the "Hopkins" fought back, replacing the crew of the ship's lone 4 inch (102 mm) gun with volunteers as they fell. The fight was fierce and short, and by its end both ships were wrecks.

The "Stephen Hopkins" sank at 10:00. The "Stier", too heavily damaged to continue its voyage, was scuttled by its crew less than two hours later. Most of the crew of the "Hopkins" died, including captain Paul Buck. The survivors drifted on a lifeboat for a month before reaching shore in Brazil.

Captain Buck was posthumously awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his actions. So was Merchant Marine Academy cadet Edwin Joseph O'Hara, who single-handedly fired the last shots from the ship's 4-inch gun. O'Hara was the second cadet to win this award, and the first to win it posthumously. Navy reservist Lt. (j.g.) Kenneth Martin Willett, gun boss for the 4-inch gun, was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

The Liberty ships SS "Paul Buck", SS "Edwin Joseph O'Hara", and SS "Richard Moczkowski", and the destroyer escort USS "Kenneth M. Willett" (DE-354) were named in honor of crew members of the "Stephen Hopkins", and SS "Stephen Hopkins II" in honor of the ship itself.

External links

* [http://www.usmm.org/hopkins.html The Gallant Liberty Ship SS Stephen Hopkins Sinks a German Raider] from American Merchant Marine at War - U.S. Maritime Service Veterans
* [http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/ships/html/sh_087300_stephenhopki.htm Ships of the World: An Historical Encyclopedia] from Houghton Mifflin.
* [http://www.usmm.org/duffyheroic.html Tribute to Paul Buck] and an account of the battle.

References

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