34°16′23.66″S 18°22′48.33″E / 34.2732389°S 18.3800917°E / -34.2732389; 18.3800917

History
Name	SS Thomas T. Tucker
Owner	US Navy
Operator	Merchants & Miners Transportation Company
Port of registry	United States
Yard number	269
Laid down	June 16, 1942
Launched	August 31, 1942
Completed	September 21, 1942
Out of service	27 November 1942
Fate	Ran aground November 27, 1942
General characteristics
Class and type	EC2-S-C1
Tonnage	7,000 tons DWT
Length	135 m (443 ft)
Beam	17.3 m (57 ft)
Draft	8.5 m (28 ft)
Propulsion	Two oil-fired boilers, triple-expansion steam engine, single propeller, 2500 horsepower (1.9 MW)
Speed	11 to 11.5 knots (20 to 21 km/h)
Capacity	9,140 tons cargo

The SS Thomas T. Tucker (Hull Number 269) was a Liberty ship built by The Houston Shipbuilding Corporation for service as a troop and weapons carrier.^[1]

Liberty ships were named after prominent (deceased) Americans, starting with Patrick Henry and the signers of the Declaration of Independence. She was named after Thomas Tudor Tucker, an American physician and politician from Charleston, South Carolina. He represented South Carolina in both the Continental Congress and the U.S. House. He later served as Treasurer of the United States.

Career

The ship was laid down on June 16, 1942, then launched on August 31, 1942. She was operated by Merchants & Miners Transportation Company under charter with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration. She ran aground off Olifantsbos Point, near Cape Point, on November 27, 1942, during heavy fog while on her maiden voyage from New Orleans to Suez.^[2] She was sailing close to the coast – as she usually did when the sea was rough, due to the German U-boats actively patrolling the area – and the captain misjudged the ship's location because of the heavy fog. Assuming they were close to Robben Island, and therefore not far from Cape Town, the crew relaxed, and the ship ran aground. After an investigation, it was discovered that the ship's compass was out by 37°, although no conclusive reason was found for the incident.^[3]

Location

The wreck is located on stretch of rocks on the shoreline of Olifantsbos Beach, within The Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. It is split into three sections with a boiler higher up on the beach.^[2]