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The San Pablo was a merchant ship belonging to the United Fruit Company that left New Orleans and docked in Puerto Limon.
As the steamer was unloading its cargo on a clear night in July 3 1942, in a fully lit port, at about 9PM U-161 Type IXC submarine of the Kriegsmarine lobed two torpedoes amidships.
The whole city was shook, and the possibility of the Germans invading it could have been possible.
The steamer settled on the bottom, but its superstructure was visible.
Family members on my mother’s side related that body parts were everywhere to be seen. One crew member and 22 or 23 stevedores died.
The captain of the submarine, Albrecht Achiles, and the whole crew perished when the sub was sunk off Bahia, Brazil in September 1943.
One aunt still shows a memento of the San Pablo. An Esterbrook fountain pen.
One of my uncles held the belief that it was actually an American sub that did the deed.
Of hearing the news, some people in the capital San Jose went on a rampage of looting German and Italian businesses. Even though they were owned by Costa Rican citizens.
Yes, I believe even Costa Rican’s don’t know about it. I don’t remember hearing about in school either.
In July 1942 the Caribbean was a beehive of German submarines, and the Kriegsmarine called it the “Happy Time” due to the enormous tonnage sunk by them.
As I recall, the San Pablo was re-floated and towed back to either New Orleans or Florida, but was sunk off Florida as a total loss.
You have to remember also why they tried to salvage it, as the Germans were sinking more steamers than were being built.
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