SS Irish Oak (1919)

Oil painting by Kenneth King depicting the moments after the Irish Oak was torpedoed after first lifeboat had just been lowered (National Maritime Museum of Ireland).
History
Name	West Neris (1919–41) Irish Oak (1941–43)[1]
Owner	United States Maritime Commission (1919–28) Mississippi Shipping Company (1928–33) United States Shipping Board (1933–35) United States Shipping Board Bureau (1935–37) United States Maritime Commission (1937–43)
Operator	United States Shipping Board (1919–28) Mississippi Shipping Company (1928–33) United States Shipping Board (1933–35) Laid up (1935–41) Irish Shipping Ltd (1941–43)
Port of registry	New Orleans (1919–41) Dublin (1941–43)[1]
Route	Cork – Tampa (1941–43)
Builder	Southwestern Shipbuilding, San Pedro, Los Angeles
Yard number	11
Launched	24 August 1919
Completed	December 1919
Out of service	1935–41
Identification	United States official number 219434 (1919–41) United Kingdom official number 159359 (1941–43) Code letters LVFP (1919–33) Code letters KOTK (1934–41) Code letters EINY (1941–43)[1]
Fate	Torpedoed and sunk by U-607, 15 May 1943
Notes	Built to Design 1019
General characteristics
Tonnage	5,589 GRT[1] tonnage under deck 5,084[1] 3,483 NRT[1] 8,542 DWT[citation needed]
Length	410.5 ft (125.1 m)[1]
Beam	54.3 ft (16.6 m)[1]
Depth	27.2 ft (8.3 m)[1]
Installed power	359 NHP[1]
Propulsion	Triple-expansion steam engine, Llewellyn Iron Works, Los Angeles[1]
Speed	10.5 knots (19.4 km/h)

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Location of where Irish Oak was torpedoed.

The SS Irish Oak was an Irish-operated steamship that was sunk in the North Atlantic during World War II by a German submarine.

As the West Neris, she had been built in the United States and operated by the US Shipping Board. In 1941, she was chartered by Irish Shipping Limited to transport wheat and fertilizer from North America to Ireland. Sailing as a clearly marked neutral vessel and not in convoy, she was nonetheless torpedoed and sunk by U-607 on 15 May 1943 midway between North America and Ireland with the crew being rescued.

There were then both conflicting reports that she had not and allegations that she had warned a nearby convoy of the presence of a U-boat. The British nationality of her captain became an issue in the June 1943 Irish general election, there were diplomatic exchanges between the United States and the Republic of Ireland and questions raised in the British House of Commons. In Germany, the U-boat's captain received a mild reprimand.