Overview
Samuel L Fuller was a 6,950-ton American tanker carrying fuel oil in Atlantic convoys during 1943. Convoy records say she returned after losing her rudder and later sailed in further convoys, proving that she did not become a total wreck at the saved Sound of Mull point. The Scottish entry is therefore best treated as an incident or uncertain identification, not a confirmed sinking.
The vessel and voyage
Built in 1921, Samuel L Fuller was an American tanker of about 6,950 tons. She carried fuel oil in the Atlantic convoy system during the Second World War, including several recorded crossings in 1943.
How it was lost
The available convoy evidence does not show a sinking. It records the tanker returning after losing her rudder, then lists her in later convoys. The exact event behind the 1943 Sound of Mull point has not been proved, so it may mark temporary trouble, an anchor or another wrongly identified contact.
Deaths and survival
No deaths have been tied to the saved Scottish record. Because the ship returned and sailed again, this was not the loss of the whole tanker and crew.
What remains
There is no sound evidence here for the remains of Samuel L Fuller at the marked point. Any seabed object there needs a separate identification; later convoy appearances show that it cannot be the tanker's complete 1943 wreck.
Why it mattered
The tanker helped carry the fuel on which Allied ships, aircraft and vehicles depended. More importantly for this record, her later service corrects a likely false wreck claim and prevents a surviving wartime ship from being given an invented sinking story.
History checked 2026-08-15 against the named sources below.
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