SS Potrero del Llano

The SS Potrero del Llano was a Mexican oil tanker built in 1912, it served under the administration of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex for its acronym), it would be torpedoed by a U-boot off the coast of Florida, and it would also be one of several oil tankers sunk which would push the entry of Mexico into the Second World War on the Allied side.

History
Name	F.A. Tamplin (1912–1921) Arminco (1921–1930) Lucifero (1930–1941) Potrero del Llano (1941–1942)
Owner	T.W. Tamplin & Co, London (1912-1921) SA d'Armement, d'Industrie & de Commerce, Antwerp (1912–1930) Società Italiana Transporti Petroliferi (SITP), Genoa (1930–1941) Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Tampico (1941–1942)
Port of registry	Tampico (1941–1942)
Builder	Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Hebburn-on-Tyne
Launched	6 November 1912
Completed	December 1912
Fate	Torpedoed and sunk on 14 May 1942
General characteristics
Class and type	Steam tanker
Tonnage	4,000 GRT

Historial and Sinking

The Potrero del Llano would be built in England and had previously served a Belgian company based in Antwerp SA d'Armement, d'Industrie & de Commerce, from 1921 to 1930 when it had been sold to the Società Italiana Transporti Petroliferi of Genoa and would be renamed Lucifero. She would be decommissioned by the Mexican Government in 1940 and she would be renamed Potrero del Llano (name of a locality in Veracruz) and registered at the Port of Tampico.

The German submarine U-564, which was circling the Florida coast under the command of Captain Reinhard Suhren, at 7:17 a.m. on May 14, 1942, the Potrero del Llano with a load of 6,132 tons of petroleum, at first he thought it was an Italian flag ship, but realizing that it had the Eagle of the Mexican Shield, he decided to sink it, which would happen killing 13 crew members, only 22 survived and would be rescued by a US coastal ship that would take them to Miami, among the survivors was José Reyes Sousa, survivor of the SS Las Choapas, which would be sunk by the U-129, one month later.

Other websites

Helgason, Guðmundur. "Potrero del Llano (steam tanker)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 February 2010.