A lot of brave merchant mariners sailed those ships. Slow, defenseless and vulnerable to submarine attack.
many paid the full price trying to deliver the materials of war to our armed forces and allies.
Not always defenseless. Liberty Ship SS Stephen Hopkins sailed out of the fog in the South Atlantic, sighted the German surface raider Stier. Stier demanded Hopkins surrender. Captain Buck of Stephen Hopkins refused. Stier opened up with her 6 x 5.9 in guns. Hopkins fired back with the single 4 inch gun she carried. It was a really uneven fight, Stephen Hopkins was shot up pretty quickly, but her gunners did manage to damage Stier’s engines and steering gear. Hopkins sank soon after, with 42 crewmen killed. During the action, as one of the U.S. Navy gunners was hit, a mariner would step forward to replace him at the gun. The gun boss (LTjg) Kenneth Willett was killed, he was replaced by USMMA Midshipmen Edwin Ohare. Captain Buck, Midshipman Ohare were both posthumously awarded the Merchant Marine Dishtinguished Service Medal. Ltjg Willett was awarded the Navy Cross, posthumously. The serviving crewmen were in lifeboats for 30 days until they reached Brazil. The Captain of Stier order her scuttled when it was determained that she could not be repaired. The Germans lost 2 men, the crew and officers transferred to a German supply ship accompanying Stier