Hoosier was a Design 1022 cargo ship that was built in 1920, by American International Shipbuilding, Hog Island, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the United States Shipping Board (USSB).
Construction Laid down as Carlecay, she was completed as Tomalva. The ship was a Design 1022 cargo ship built in 1920, by American International Shipbuilding, Hog Island, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was yard number 1532.
The ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of . She was assessed at .
The ship was propelled by a double reduction geared steam turbine, driving a single screw propeller. The turbine was made by General Electric Co., Inc., Schenectady, New York.
Ship history Tomalva was put into service on 13 September 1920. In 1932, she was sold to Black Diamond Lines, Inc., and renamed Black Eagle. He tonnage was increased to .
In 1941, Black Eagle was sold to Hoosier Marine Corp., and renamed Hoosier.
On 20 December 1941, Hoosier was purchased by the War Shipping Administration (WSA).
On 27 June 1942, Hoosier departed Hvalfjordur, Iceland, en route to Reykjavík and then Arkhangelsk, with convoy PQ-17. She was carrying of machinery and explosives, along with tanks on her deck.
Sinking On 4 July 1942, while part of convoy PQ-17, she was ordered by the Admiralty to disperse while in the Barents Sea, due to the threat of the , sailing from Norway. Upon reaching Novaya Zemlya, she met up with five other merchant ships and eight escorts from the convoy, in the Matochkin Strait. Commodore John Dowding, the commander of convoy PQ-17, was able to assemble a small convoy and proceeded to sail for Murmansk and Archangel, on 7 July.
The small convoy was attacked at 21:45, by Junkers Ju 88 aircraft from Kampfgeschwader 2 and 3, on July 9, north of Iokanka. The first run on Hoosier missed, but the second run landed from the boat deck, and the third run landed away. The explosions caused damage to steam pipes and oil lines, along with springing some hull plates and disabling the engines. With the ship disabled and taking on water, the order was given to abandon ship. At 00:30, Hoosier, which had sailed with eight officers, one radioman, and thirty-three Merchant Marines, along with her Armed Guard of one officer and ten sailors, climbed into the four lifeboats that she carried. picked up the crew after 30 minutes, with no loss of life or injuries.
The commander of attempted to tow Hoosier to port by embarking a salvage crew, which included Hoosiers engineers. was spotted astern of the corvette, so it was decided to release the tow line and disembark the salvage crew. Poppy then attempted to sink Hoosier with gunfire, but was unsuccessful.
hit Hoosier with a torpedo at 02:56, on 10 July, but failed to sink the burning and drifting wreck. At 03:02, she again fired a torpedo, but this one missed. At 03:07, U-376 hit the engine room with a final torpedo and Hoosier sank by the bow.
Wreck location:
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