Robert served as a Able-Bodied Seaman, S.S. India Arrow, U.S. Merchant Marines during World war II.
He resided in Riverside, Rhode Island prior to the war.
The duties of the Able-Bodied Seaman was to perform any deck duties aside from the actual navigation of the vessel. In general his duties included the ability to splice wire or fibre line, to work aloft and over the side of the ship, to operate the deck machinery such as the windlass or winches, to paint and mix paint, to know the principles of cargo stowage, to be a good wheelsman and competent lookout, to overhaul and install any running or standing rigging on the ship, and to be able to sew, repair and mend canvas.
The unescorted & unarmed " S.S. India Arrow " , while enroute from Corpus Christi, Texas to Carteret, New Jersey with a cargo of 88.369 barrels of diesel fuel, was hit by a torpedo fired by German Submarine U-103 approximatley 20 miles southeast of Cape May, New Jersey.
The torpedo struck on the starboard quarter at about the #10 bunker. The ship caught fire and began to sink rapidly by the stern. The nine officers and 29 crewmen immediately began to abandon ship. Two lifeboats were destroyed by the explosion and a third was pulled beneath the water by the sinking tanker, drowning 18 of the 20 occupants in it.
U-103 then surfaced and fired seven shells from her deck gun at two minutes intervals from a distance of 250 yards into the bow section which remained above water as the stern was sinking. Two men died as a result of the shelling. The " S.S. India Arrow " lost " 8 " officers and " 18 " of her crew. Only " 1 " officer and " 11 " crewmen survived.
Robert was declared "Missing In Action" in this sinking during the war.
He was awarded the Merchant Mariner's Medal and the Combat Bar with a Star!
Son of Robert Dart and Mary Bessie Tucker, of Riverside, RI.
( Bio & Family Links by: Russ Pickett )
He resided in Riverside, Rhode Island prior to the war.
The duties of the Able-Bodied Seaman was to perform any deck duties aside from the actual navigation of the vessel. In general his duties included the ability to splice wire or fibre line, to work aloft and over the side of the ship, to operate the deck machinery such as the windlass or winches, to paint and mix paint, to know the principles of cargo stowage, to be a good wheelsman and competent lookout, to overhaul and install any running or standing rigging on the ship, and to be able to sew, repair and mend canvas.
The unescorted & unarmed " S.S. India Arrow " , while enroute from Corpus Christi, Texas to Carteret, New Jersey with a cargo of 88.369 barrels of diesel fuel, was hit by a torpedo fired by German Submarine U-103 approximatley 20 miles southeast of Cape May, New Jersey.
The torpedo struck on the starboard quarter at about the #10 bunker. The ship caught fire and began to sink rapidly by the stern. The nine officers and 29 crewmen immediately began to abandon ship. Two lifeboats were destroyed by the explosion and a third was pulled beneath the water by the sinking tanker, drowning 18 of the 20 occupants in it.
U-103 then surfaced and fired seven shells from her deck gun at two minutes intervals from a distance of 250 yards into the bow section which remained above water as the stern was sinking. Two men died as a result of the shelling. The " S.S. India Arrow " lost " 8 " officers and " 18 " of her crew. Only " 1 " officer and " 11 " crewmen survived.
Robert was declared "Missing In Action" in this sinking during the war.
He was awarded the Merchant Mariner's Medal and the Combat Bar with a Star!
Son of Robert Dart and Mary Bessie Tucker, of Riverside, RI.
( Bio & Family Links by: Russ Pickett )
Robert served as a Able-Bodied Seaman, S.S. India Arrow, U.S. Merchant Marines during World war II.
He resided in Riverside, Rhode Island prior to the war.
The duties of the Able-Bodied Seaman was to perform any deck duties aside from the actual navigation of the vessel. In general his duties included the ability to splice wire or fibre line, to work aloft and over the side of the ship, to operate the deck machinery such as the windlass or winches, to paint and mix paint, to know the principles of cargo stowage, to be a good wheelsman and competent lookout, to overhaul and install any running or standing rigging on the ship, and to be able to sew, repair and mend canvas.
The unescorted & unarmed " S.S. India Arrow " , while enroute from Corpus Christi, Texas to Carteret, New Jersey with a cargo of 88.369 barrels of diesel fuel, was hit by a torpedo fired by German Submarine U-103 approximatley 20 miles southeast of Cape May, New Jersey.
The torpedo struck on the starboard quarter at about the #10 bunker. The ship caught fire and began to sink rapidly by the stern. The nine officers and 29 crewmen immediately began to abandon ship. Two lifeboats were destroyed by the explosion and a third was pulled beneath the water by the sinking tanker, drowning 18 of the 20 occupants in it.
U-103 then surfaced and fired seven shells from her deck gun at two minutes intervals from a distance of 250 yards into the bow section which remained above water as the stern was sinking. Two men died as a result of the shelling. The " S.S. India Arrow " lost " 8 " officers and " 18 " of her crew. Only " 1 " officer and " 11 " crewmen survived.
Robert was declared "Missing In Action" in this sinking during the war.
He was awarded the Merchant Mariner's Medal and the Combat Bar with a Star!
Son of Robert Dart and Mary Bessie Tucker, of Riverside, RI.
( Bio & Family Links by: Russ Pickett )
He resided in Riverside, Rhode Island prior to the war.
The duties of the Able-Bodied Seaman was to perform any deck duties aside from the actual navigation of the vessel. In general his duties included the ability to splice wire or fibre line, to work aloft and over the side of the ship, to operate the deck machinery such as the windlass or winches, to paint and mix paint, to know the principles of cargo stowage, to be a good wheelsman and competent lookout, to overhaul and install any running or standing rigging on the ship, and to be able to sew, repair and mend canvas.
The unescorted & unarmed " S.S. India Arrow " , while enroute from Corpus Christi, Texas to Carteret, New Jersey with a cargo of 88.369 barrels of diesel fuel, was hit by a torpedo fired by German Submarine U-103 approximatley 20 miles southeast of Cape May, New Jersey.
The torpedo struck on the starboard quarter at about the #10 bunker. The ship caught fire and began to sink rapidly by the stern. The nine officers and 29 crewmen immediately began to abandon ship. Two lifeboats were destroyed by the explosion and a third was pulled beneath the water by the sinking tanker, drowning 18 of the 20 occupants in it.
U-103 then surfaced and fired seven shells from her deck gun at two minutes intervals from a distance of 250 yards into the bow section which remained above water as the stern was sinking. Two men died as a result of the shelling. The " S.S. India Arrow " lost " 8 " officers and " 18 " of her crew. Only " 1 " officer and " 11 " crewmen survived.
Robert was declared "Missing In Action" in this sinking during the war.
He was awarded the Merchant Mariner's Medal and the Combat Bar with a Star!
Son of Robert Dart and Mary Bessie Tucker, of Riverside, RI.
( Bio & Family Links by: Russ Pickett )
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