SS David H. Atwater

History
United States
NameDavid H. Atwater
OwnerAtwacoal Transportation Co., Fall River, Massachusetts
BuilderGreat Lakes Engineering Works, Ashtabula, Ohio
Yard number505A
LaunchedJune 1919
Sponsored byU.S. Shipping Board
FateSunk 2 April 1942
General characteristics
TypeSteam cargo ship
Tonnage
Length253.33 ft (77.21 m)
Beam43.5 ft (13.3 m)
Depth25 ft (7.6 m)
Crew8 officers, 19 men

SS David H. Atwater was a United States Merchant Marine coastal steamer which was sunk on 2 April 1942 by gunfire from the German submarine U-552 during World War II. The circumstances of the destruction of the vessel along with almost all of its crew fueled persistent rumours at the time of war crimes being perpetrated by Nazi Germany's U-boat fleets on the high seas against shipwrecked Allied sailors.