USS Atik ( AK - 101 ) USS " Atik " ( AK - 101 ) was a Q - ship of the United States Navy named for " al - Atik " , a double star in the constellation Perseus . Her twin sister ship was . History . The steel - hulled , single - screw steamer " Carolyn " was laid down on 15 March 1912 at Newport News , Virginia , by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company , for the A . K . Bull Steamship Lines ; launched on 3 July 1912 , sponsored by Ms . Carolyn Bull ( for whom the ship was probably named ) , a granddaughter of the shipping firm ' s owner , Archibald Hilton Bull ( 1847 – 1920 ) , and delivered on 20 July 1912 . For the next 30 years , " Carolyn " carried freight and passengers between the West Indies and ports on the eastern seaboard of the U . S . During World War I , she received a main battery of one and one gun , and a Navy armed guard detachment served in the ship from 28 June 1917 – 11 November 1918 . During that time , too , the Navy gave her the identification number Id . No . 1608 , but did not take her over for naval service . " Carolyn " pursued her prosaic calling under the house flag of the Bull Line through the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . A dispatch dated 31 January 1942 , expressed the Chief of Naval Operations ' desire that " Evelyn " and " Carolyn " " be given a preliminary conversion to AK ( cargo ship ) in the shortest possible time . " A letter from the Chief of the Bureau of Ships elaborated on the " shortest possible time , " when it stated on 12 February that the conversion and outfitting of the vessels was desired " by 1 March 1942 . " Acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission , " Carolyn " steamed to Portsmouth , New Hampshire , where she was turned over to the Navy under a bareboat charter at 15 : 30 on 12 February 1942 . As could be expected , the process of converting two venerable tramp steamers into men - of - war was by no means complete ; but , over the next few weeks , the two erstwhile " tramps " were given their main and secondary batteries and sound gear . Nevertheless , they appeared to be mere cargo ships . " Carolyn " became " Atik " , and was given a cargo ship hull number , AK - 101 ; " Evelyn " became " Asterion " ( AK - 100 ) . They were to use their old identities when communicating with friendly vessels and stations ; if enemy ships should challenge , reply should be made in accordance with International Procedure , using the identification SS " Vill Franca " , of Portuguese Registry , callsign CSBT . " Atik " ( AK - 101 ) was placed in commission at 16 : 45 on 5 March 1942 , at the Portsmouth Navy Yard , Lieutenant Commander Harry Lynnwood Hicks , USN , in command . At the outset , all connected with the program apparently harbored the view that neither ship " was expected to last longer than a month after commencement of [ her ] assigned duty . " " Atik " s holds were packed with pulpwood , a somewhat mercurial material . If dry , " an explosive condition might well develop and , if wet , " rot , with resultant fire might well take place . " Despite these disadvantages , pulpwood was selected as the best obtainable material to assure " floatability . " " Atik " s mission was to lure some unsuspecting U - boat into making a torpedo attack . According to the projected scenario , the submarine , having deemed the tramp unworthy of the expenditure of more torpedoes , would surface to sink the crippled foe with gunfire . The plan presupposed that supporting forces would come to the rescue whenever a Q - ship ran into difficulties . In March 1942 , though , there was no such reserve available . The commanding officer s of the two ships were told that they could expect little help if they got into trouble . Every available combatant ship and plane was employed in convoy and patrol duties . Following fitting out and brief sea trials , she and " Asterion " got underway on 23 March 1942 . Soon after leaving port , " Atik " and " Asterion " went their separate ways . On the night of 26 – 27 March , she was cruising about east of Norfolk , Virginia and " Asterion " was cruising some to the south of this area . Action . At 19 : 45 ( Eastern War Time , UT - 4 — note that some accounts use German Winter Time , UT + 1 ) on the night of 26 March , the Duty Officer in the Joint Operations Control Room , Eastern Sea Frontier ( ESF ) , was informed that an SOS had been picked up from an unidentified ship which had been torpedoed . Nothing further . " Atik " had attracted the attention of , on her second war patrol off the eastern seaboard . The U - boat , on the surface , began stalking " Atik " at 17 : 00 , and at 19 : 37 fired one torpedo from away which struck the ship on her port side , under the bridge . Fire broke out immediately , and the ship began to assume a slight list . At 20 : 53 , radio stations at Manasquan , New Jersey , and at Fire Island , New York , intercepted the distress message : Two minutes later , a second distress message further amplified : As " U - 123 " proceeded around under her victim ' s stern , her captain , " Kapitänleutnant " Reinhard Hardegen , noted one boat being lowered on the starboard side and men abandoning ship . Because such attacks were a regular occurrences at this time and because all available surface craft were on patrol the dispatch from " Carolyn " produced no immediate action . The Duty Officer in the Control Room had not been informed as to the secret nature of " Carolyn " , and consequently his only action was to forward the dispatch to Commander - in - Chief , United States Fleet ( COMINCH ) . " Carolyn " was not dead — yet . After " U - 123 " turned to starboard , " Atik " gathered steerage way , paralleling her course by turning to starboard as well , and dropped her concealment , commencing fire from her main and secondary batteries . The first shell dropped short of the U - boat , as she made off presenting a small target ; the others were off in deflection . A veritable hail of . 50 - caliber machine gun fire , though , ricochetted around the U - boat ' s decks as she bent on speed to escape the trap into which Hardegen had fallen . One bullet mortally wounded a midshipman standing watch on " U - 123 " ' s bridge . Gradually , the U - boat pulled out of range behind the cover of a smoke screen emitted by her straining diesels , and her captain assessed the damage . As he later recorded , " We had been incredibly lucky . " " U - 123 " submerged and again approached her opponent . At 21 : 29 , the U - boat shot a torpedo into " Atik " s machinery spaces . Satisfied that this blow would be fatal , " U - 123 " stood off and watched as " Atik " settled by the bow , her single screw now out of the water . Once again , " Atik " s crew could be seen embarking in her boats , as their ship clung stubbornly to the surface . " U - 123 " surfaced at 22 : 27 , confident that " Atik " was no longer a threat , and continued to watch until 22 : 50 , when a cataclysmic explosion blew her to pieces . Ten minutes later , " U - 123 " buried her only casualty — the midshipman killed by the Q - ship ' s machine gun fire . " Atik " s entire crew perished – either in the blast or during the severe gale that blew up soon after the ship disintegrated . Several hours after receiving the report of the SOS , an officer in Cominch Operations room phoned the Duty Officer and asked if the Commander , Eastern Sea Frontier ( CESF ) , or the Chief of Staff had been notified . They had not . The Duty Officer was informed that they should be , immediately . Because CESF and his Chief of Staff were both in Norfolk on that particular night , the Duty Officer notified the Operations Officer at his home . Early the next morning , an Army bomber was sent to search the area from which " Carolyn " had sent her distress message ; the destroyer and the tug were sent to assist . The Army bomber returned without having sighted anything . The tug and the destroyer encountered such heavy weather that " Sagamore " was recalled on 25 March ; " Noa " searched the area until fuel shortage compelled her to return to New York on 30 March . Other flights were unsuccessful until 30 March , when two Army planes and one PBY - 5A Catalina flying boat out of Norfolk reported that they had sighted wreckage roughly ten miles south of the original reported position . " Asterion " had intercepted the distress messages from " Atik " and proceeded directly to the area , Lieutenant Commander Legwen deeming his orders " sufficiently broad to proceed immediately to her assistance , " but " Asterion " encountered difficulties with her steering gear , and only continued the search for 24 hours before being forced to put into Hampton Roads for repairs . The Norwegian freighter was sighted in the vicinity , southbound for St . Thomas , Virgin Islands . On her arrival there , she was boarded and interrogation revealed that her crew had sighted no wreckage and had picked up no survivors . Twelve days later , CESF reported all known details to COMINCH on the " suspected sinking of the SS " Carolyn " , " and concluded : " . . . it is believed that there is very little chance that any of her officers and crew will be recovered . It is therefore recommended that if no further information is received by 27 April , they be considered lost and that next of kin be notified . " On 9 April , Radio Berlin reported that a U - boat had sunk an adversary . The Associated Press distributed the announcement and it was printed in the " New York Times " the next day . As of 2013 , no other ships in the United States Navy have been named " Atik " .