 During American involvement in World War II, April 29, 1942, Socony's unescorted tanker, named "Mobiloil", was sunk by a German U-boat (German Type IX submarine "U-108" captained by Klaus Schlotz), and all 52 people survived after 86 hours adrift in lifeboats.Socony-Mobil ranked 86th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.Through the years, Mobil was among the largest sellers of gasoline and motor oils in the United States and even held the top spot during the 1940s and much of the 1950s.