DOB/DOD: February 28, 1900 (Middleborough, MA) – May 12, 1942; 42 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unknown
LOCAL ADDRESS: Glastonbury
SERVICE NUMBER: Z-019292
FAMILY: Born to Wallace C. (1870-1908) and Mary E. Flinn Collins (1877-1951). Thomas was their only child.
CIRCUMSTANCES: Died when his ship, the SS Virginia, a tanker, was torpedoed in the Gulf of Mexico.
At 2203 hours on May 12, 1942, the unescorted and unarmed Virginia (Master Bengt H. Larson) was hit on the port side at the #8 tank by one torpedo from U-507 while lying stopped at the pilot buoy one and a half miles off the entrance to Southwest Pass, Mississippi River. Two minutes later, she was hit on the same side in the engine room by two more torpedoes, which caused a fire in the stern that quickly spread around the ship on both sides. The ship sank within a few minutes, with the superstructure remaining above water. The master, seven officers, and 33 crewmen had no time to launch lifeboats, so they were forced to jump overboard. Only the two officers and 13 crewmen who jumped from the windward side and swam away from the tanker survived, but one crewman later died of burns in the Marine Hospital in New Orleans. The survivors were picked up by the PT-157 after 30 minutes and landed at Burwood, Louisiana. Several crewmen exhibited bravery by saving the lives of men who had severe burns and could not swim. Position was 28° 53’N, 89° 29’W. [from uboat.net]
The fate of U-507
Sunk on January 13, 1943, in the South Atlantic north-west of Fortaleza, Brazil, in position 01.38S, 39.52W, by depth charges from a US Catalina aircraft (VP-83 USN/P-10). 54 dead (all hands lost).
Memorial headstone in East Cemetery, 220 E. Center Street, Manchester, Connecticut. Plot Grave
