Following her construction, Eastern Exporter was delivered to the USSB.[7] In 1923, the ship was sold by the USSB to the Garland Steamship Corporation of New York and renamed William Campion.[7] Just four years later, in March 1927,[2] she was purchased by the Calmar Steamship Company—a subsidiary of Bethlehem Steel—and renamed Oakmar.[7]
Sinking
Oakmar departed Port of Spain in early 1942, bound for Boston. She had a crew of 36 men under the command of Captain Nolan Fleming. In addition, a single passenger bound from India to the United States was aboard. The ship evaded four U-boats while crossing the Atlantic, each time travelling at full speed a sub got near her.[3]
On March 20, Oakmar was 310 nautical miles (570km; 360mi) northwest of Bermuda and 300nmi (560km; 350mi) southeast of Nantucket. She was travelling at top speed, passing by Cape Hatteras around 2:00 PM. The seas were heavy, and a gale of 35–40 knots (65–74km/h; 40–46mph) came from the northwest.[3] The German submarineU-71 suddenly surfaced, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Walter Flachsenberg. Due to the heavy seas, Flachsenberg did not want to conduct a torpedo attack. Instead, U-71 surfaced and began to follow Oakmar. Her radio operator sent out an SSSS signal at 2:49 PM.[8] It was reported that the ship was being pursued by a German submarine, and the signal was received by the Fifth Naval District Headquarters.[3]
U-71 suddenly opened fire on Oakmar with a machine gun located on its conning tower.[9] Bullets struck Oakmar's bridge and superstructure, despite her having turned to port in an attempt to avoid the submarine. Captain Fleming assumed the gunfire was the submarine firing warning shots, and ordered her stopped as he dumped confidential papers overboard in a weighted bag.[3]
Oakmar's starboard lifeboat managed to get away with 30 men aboard, including the ship's passenger. The side of the lifeboat was smashed while lowering. Two men leapt from the deck of the ship into the water, but the lifeboat was unable to rescue them due to the heavy seas. Captain Fleming and three other men were seen launching the port lifeboat, and those in the starboard one noted that "Oakmar was bobbing like a cork" while U-71 remained stationary in the water.[3]
More shells were fired at Oakmar, some 30 or 40 shells fired in a time period of just 15 minutes.[3]U-71 eventually fired a torpedo at the sinking ship, somehow missing her entirely. A second torpedo was fired, this one striking just forward of the bridge.[9]Oakmar sank by the bow in a matter of minutes at 2:55 PM.[9] Captain Fleming and the remaining crew presumably went down with the ship, as the port lifeboat was never seen in the water.[9]U-71 submerged and eventually departed from the scene, not once interacting with the men in the starboard lifeboat.[3]
The lifeboat drifted for two days among the waves, before it was eventually spotted by the Greek steamer Stravos around 8:00 PM on March 22.[3][8] The survivors of Oakmar arrived at Bermuda on March 24 at 5:00 PM, where one of them were hospitalized. The remainder were flown to La Guardia Airport in New York City aboard a Pan American Clipper aircraft, arriving on April 1.[3]
