SS Carolyn, a 3141 gross ton freighter, was built at Newport News, Virginia, in 1912. Though inspected for possible U.S. Navy use during World War I, and assigned the registry ID # 1608, she remained in civilian hands throughout that conflict and for over two more decades was commercially employed along the U.S. East Coast and in the Caribbean area.
In January 1942 the Second World War brought Carolyn into U.S. Navy service. Commissioned as Atik (AK-101) in early March, she was outfitted as a "Q" ship, intended by her innocent appearance to lure German submarines into a fatal close-range gunfire engagement. However, in Atik's case the scheme had a tragic outcome. Torpedoed by U-123 on 27 March 1942, she opened fire on the submarine, was torpedoed again and blew up violently. USS Atik's entire crew lost their lives in the battle, or during the North Atlantic storm that quickly followed her sinking.
This page features the only view we have concerning S.S. Carolyn and USS Atik (AK-101).
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 9 April 2004