SS Arabutan was a cargo steamship. She was built in California in 1917 for the United Kingdom Shipping Controller as War Sword. In 1919 Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) bought her and renamed her . In 1932 she grounded off Rio de Janeiro, and her wreck was acquired by Brazilian interests. She was refloated, and laid up in . In 1941 she was reconditioned, renamed Arabutan, and returned to service. In March 1942 a German U-boat sank her, killing one member of her crew.
She was the third NGI ship to be named after the island of Caprera, off Sardinia. The first was an iron-hulled ship, built in 1856 as Express, renamed in 1862, sold and renamed in 1899, and scrapped in 1913. The second was a steel-hulled ship built in 1904, and sunk by a U-boat in 1917.
War Sword Union Iron Works in San Francisco built the ship as yard number 142; launched her on 7 July 1917 as War Sword; and completed her that September. Her registered length was ; her beam was ; her depth was ; and her draught was . Her tonnages were and . She had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine that was rated at 609 NHP.
On 3 August 1917, the US government took over the ship, as one of 400 ships that it took up for the US war effort. However, that September, it released her to the UK government. War Sword was registered in London. Her UK official number was 140413, and her code letters were JQSV. The Shipping Controller appointed Cunard Line to manage her. On 13 October, while carrying cargo including 500 tons of explosive, War Sword successfully fought off a U-boat attack that lasted for several hours.
In 1919, bought the ship, and renamed her after the Sicilian island of Caprera. She was registered in Genoa, and her Italian official number was 888. By 1922, her code letters were NKVD; but by 1930, they had been changed to NHRB, and had been equipped with wireless direction finding. On 2 January 1932, her owners became part of Italia Flotte Reuniti.
On 1 June 1932, grounded at in Guanabara Bay in Brazil, 15 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. She was declared a total loss, but that August she was refloated, and laid up in Rio de Janeiro. At first owned her wreck, but by 1934 she belonged to .
Arabutan In 1941, Henrique Lage's shipyard on in rebuilt the ship. She was renamed Arabutan; registered in ; and appointed Lloyd Nacional to manage her.
Early in 1942, Arabutan left New York for Trinidad and . She called at Hampton Roads, and was carrying a cargo of coal and coke. Her Master was Captain , and her complement included 50 other officers and ratings. She also carried one survivor from , which had been sunk on 15 February; and three sailors from the Brazilian tanker .
At 21:10 hrs on 7 March 1942, Arabutan was about 81 miles off Cape Hatteras when hit her with one torpedo fired from one of its stern tubes. One crew member was killed; probably by the explosion while he was asleep in his cabin. Captain , his crew, and passengers abandoned ship in four lifeboats. Arabutan sank at position , 13 minutes after being hit.
About six hours later, an aircraft sighted the boats. On 8 March, USCGC rescued the survivors from all four boats; sank the boats to prevent a hazard to navigation; and landed the survivors at Little Creek, Virginia. On 15 February, Calypso had rescued survivors from , which meant that the survivor aboard Arabutan was rescued twice in three weeks by the same cutter.
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