Action of 6 June 1942 The Action of 6 June 1942 was a single ship action fought during World War II . The German raider " Stier " encountered and sank the American liberty ship SS " Stanvac Calcutta " while cruising in the South Atlantic Ocean off Brazil . Background . The " Stanvac Calcutta " was a 10 , 170 ton tanker with a crew of forty - two merchant marines and nine armed guards aboard . The ship was commanded by Gustav O . Karlsson and the guards by Ensign Edward L . Anderson . Throughout World War II liberty ships were lightly armed and out of the six to be attacked by German raiders , only " Stanvac Calcutta " and " Stephen Hopkins " offered serious resistance and both were sunk . When Ensign Anderson was assigned to the liberty ship he was responsible for finding armaments and it proved to be difficult . Anderson acquired one 4 - inch 50 - caliber naval gun salvaged from World War I and an 5 - inch 25 - caliber anti - aircraft gun from the same era to arm his ship . The " Stier " was heavily armed , she was under the command of Captain Horst Gerlach and mounted six 150 - millimeter guns , one 37 - mm gun , two 20 - millimeters and two torpedo tube s . Captain Karlsson left Montevideo on May 29 , 1942 headed north along the coast for Caripito , Venezuela . Action . A week after leaving Montevideo at 10 : 12 am on June 6 , the American ship was 500 miles east of Pernambuco , Brazil , weather was overcast and the sea rough . Suddenly gunfire was heard and the Americans observed the " Stier " sailing out of a squall and quickly heading towards the " Stanvac Calcutta " almost head on and signaling the Americans to cut their engines . The Germans apparently believed the liberty ship was an unarmed merchantman . Beforehand Captain Karlsson and Ensign Anderson had planned a course of action for defending the vessel . As soon as the Germans were spotted , " Stanvac Calcutta " turned to the side to bring her guns to bear and when the raider closed to an estimated 3 , 500 yards , Ensign Anderson ordered his gunners to open fire . In succession the armed guards fired five shots with the after 4 - incher and several rounds of the bow anti - aircraft gun . The last of the five shells struck and disabled a 150 - millimeter gun aboard the " Stier " just before it began delivering broadsides of four cannons and machine gun fire . Merchant sailors were trained and used to man the anti - aircraft gun , it fired continually throughout the battle though it misfired a few times because of old ammunition . In fifteen minutes of fighting the " Stanvac Calcutta " was struck several times in the bridge and elsewhere , killing Captain Karlsson and a few other men . After hitting the " Stier " the guards manning the 4 - inch gun were reported to have been encouraged and continued firing accurately until shrapnel damaged their weapon . The sights were destroyed but the Americans continued shooting until the ammunition on deck was exhausted . At this time Ensign Anderson ordered two men to retrieve more ammunition from below deck though as soon as they left , Captain Gerlach maneuvered his ship for a torpedo attack . When lined up , the " Stier " fired one torpedo and it dove into the water and headed straight for the " Stanvac Calcutta " where it detonated on the portside . Water began flowing in and the vessel started listing . A number of additional men were killed in the torpedo explosion and when it was clear that the American ship could not be saved , Ensign Anderson ordered the survivors to evacuate ship and he began to lower life rafts . While operating the crank a piece of shrapnel entered Anderson ' s back , paralyzing his legs but he continued to lower the boat and after looking around to see if anybody else needed help , the ensign slipped over the side into an oil slick . With a broken leg Anderson swam over to a wounded officer in the water and attempted to pull him to one of the life rafts but the man died of his wound first and a few moments later the Germans lowered boats and began rescuing the Americans . The Germans fired 148 shells and one torpedo while the " Stanvac Calcutta " fired only twenty - five , hundreds of machine gun rounds were also expended by both sides Aftermath . Sixteen merchant sailors and armed guards were killed in action , thirty - seven prisoners were taken , of whom fourteen were wounded , one armed guard died later aboard the " Stier " . Two Germans were wounded and the " Stier " continued raiding for 4 months , sinking only two more ships before being sunk by the SS " Stephen Hopkins " in a mutually destructive battle . The SS " Stanvac Calcutta " was one of only two liberty ships to receive the title of Gallant Ship , an honor from the United States Navy also received by the " Stephen Hopkins " . Ensign Anderson was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander before leaving the navy sometime after the war . The American prisoners were eventually turned over to the Japan ese .