DOB/DOD: May 24, 1904 (Bridgeport, CT) – September 24, 1942; 38 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Anna V. Booth (1899-1995) on October 24, 1927, in Shelton
CHILDREN: One son, John H. Twiss (1928-2019).
LOCAL ADDRESS: Devon
SERVICE NUMBER: Z-234204
FAMILY: Born to Clifford G. (1877-1946) and Florence J. Hiltz Twiss (then Geary, then Lee) (1883-1973). No siblings.
CIRCUMSTANCES: At 0924 hours on September 24, 1942, the SS West Chetac (Master Frank Matthew Jasper), dispersed about seven hours earlier from convoy TRIN-14, was hit on the port side at #2 hold by one torpedo from U-175 about 100 miles north of Georgetown, British Guiana. The U-boat reported that the ship had an aircraft escort for some time, was zigzagging at various speeds, and was hit by a spread of three torpedoes at 0645 hours. The explosion blew off the hatch covers and beams and caused the ship to sink by the bow within two minutes. The nine officers, 30 crewmen, and eleven armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, four 20mm, and two .30cal guns) tried to abandon ship in four lifeboats, but rough seas and the suction of the sinking ship capsized all boats, drowning many men. Three officers, 14 crewmen, and two armed guards rescued themselves on three rafts and were questioned by the Germans. The survivors were picked up on October 1, 1942, by USS Roe (DD 418) about 20 miles off Trinidad and landed at Port of Spain, where six crewmen and the armed guards were hospitalized.
The fate of U-175
Sunk on April 17, 1943, in the North Atlantic south-west of Ireland, in position 47.53N, 22.04W, by depth charges and gunfire from the US Coast Guard cutter USCGC Spencer. 13 dead and 41 survivors. [uboat.net]