Propulsion: Fuel/Oil - Electric Motor

Type: Tug - Tender & Recovery

Tonnage: 427 Gross Tons

Length: 147 Feet

Width: 27 Feet

Armament: Unarmed

On wednesday July 15th, 1942 convoy KS 520 is attacked by the U-576, the U-boat drives the convoy into a nearby allied minefield after firing and hitting 3 merchant vessels with torpedoes. One of those vessels was the Panamanian freighter J.A. Mowinkel which had sustained both torpedo and mine damage during the assault but remained afloat. Four days later the Keshena and another tug were sent to recover the Mowinkel as quickly as possible. During towing manuevers however the Keshena strikes another mine and sinks just east of Ocracoke. Two crew members are killed by the mine explosion, the rest of the crew consisting of one woman and 14 men are returned to the Ocracoke Coast Guard Station on Sunday the 19th of July.

During the first six monthes of 1942 U-boats sank hundreds of merchant vessels off the coast of the United States, more than eighty of these ships sank off North Carolina. Due to the geographic location of the outer barrier islands, U-boats could easily escape retaliation by fleeing to nearby deep waters after attacking allied ships. This made places like Cape Lookout shoals and Diamond shoals ideal haunts for marauding subs, slow moving freighters and tankers were easy targets and no match for the German "Wolfpacks".

The coastal waters became so dangerous that Captains referred to our coast as "Torpedo Junction" and dreaded having to travel past our shoals. Ships could burn for weeks at a time and cause many hazards to other ships passing by, including both merchant and military vessels. In response to this increasing aggression by the Germans, the U.S. Navy engaged in offensive and defensive measures to mitigate attacks. Ships and planes were used to conduct escort, patrols and search & destroy missions to defend against U-boats. Merchant ships would be grouped with light cruisers and destroyers in convoys designed to help protect them from enemy attacks and allow them to deliver the much needed cargo to aid the war effort.

Coast Guard crew of the Cutter Spencer setting depth charges.

Lat: N 34 59.950 Lon: W 75 45.820

Depth of wreck: 84'

Data written and compiled by BluewaterBandit

Propulsion: Single screw - Steam driven

Type: General Cargo

Tonnage: 2,650 Gross Tons

Length: 312 feet

Width: 50 feet

NAECO

U.S. Merchant Vessel

Builder: Bethlehem Shipbuilding - Built as the Charles M. Everest

Port of Origin: Wilmington, Delaware - Launched 1918

Propulsion: Single screw - Steam driven

Type: Fuel/Oil Tanker

Tonnage: 5,373 Gross Tons

Length: 425'

Width: 52'

Armament: Unarmed

Remarks:

The unarmed tanker Naeco was torpedoed mid-morning on March 23rd, 1942, while enroute to New Jersey. The Naeco was carrying a cargo of gasoline and fuel oils originating from Texas, she was attacked by the U-124 on her way to Cape Lookout whilst following the standard procedure of steering from buoy to buoy along the coastline. This practice of following the same routes made it easier for the German U-boats to hunt and zero in on the allied tanker fleets, which most of the time did not have escorts. The U-124 struck the Naeco on her starboard side, the impact caused an explosion that ignited the fuel oil in the cargo holds setting the vessel aflame. Captain Emil Engelbrecht instructed his crew of 37 sailors to lower the lifeboats and abandon ship as quickly as possible. The USCG cutter Dione was alerted and proceeded to their location, the minesweeper USS Osprey (AM-56) and the tug USS Umpqua (AT-25) joined in the rescue operation. Tragically only 14 survivors were recovered, 24 crewmen lost their lives as a result of this attack.

The Naeco eventually broke into two pieces, the stern sank instantly, but the bow section had to be fired upon by the Destroyer USS Roper (DD-147) in order to sink it and clear the navigation hazard.

Factoid:

The U-124s' radio report back to headquarters during this patrol read:

"Heavy traffic off Hatteras, a number of tankers at intervals in mornings and evenings. Night stretch from Hatteras to Cape Fear. No night shipping between Cape Fear and Charleston. Ships steering straight course from buoy to buoy. No mines off Hatteras, so diversion is probably on account of wrecks or because the Americans suspect German mines. Single destroyers occasionally patrol shipping route, air patrol towards evening."

GPS:

There are two wreckage locations:

Naeco Tanker Naeco SW

Lat: N 34 03.297 Lon: W 76 34.116 Lat: N 33 55.260 Lon: W 76 31.100

Depth of wreck: 130 feet Depth of wreck: 150 feet

Data written and compiled by BluewaterBandit

PROTEUS

U.S. MERCHANT VESSEL

Propulsion: single screw - steam turbine

Type: Passenger

Tonnage: 4,830 Gross Tons

Length: 406 Feet

Width: 50 Feet

Armament: Unarmed

Remarks:

The Proteus collided with the U.S. tanker Cushing on the evening of August 19, 1918. While attempting to manuever around Diamond Shoals without her running lights on, the Proteus failed to see the tanker S.S. Cushing in time, the resulting impact flooded and sunk the Proteus.

GPS:

Lat: N 34 45.801 Lon: W 75 33.754

Depth of wreck: 125 Feet

Data written and compiled by BluewaterBandit

BRITISH SPLENDOUR

British Merchant Vessel

Builder: Palmers Shipbuilding & Iron Co, Ltd.

Port of Origin: United Kingdom - Launched 1931

Propulsion: single screw - motor tanker

Type: Cargo Tanker

Tonnage: 7,138 - Gross Tons

Length: 456'

Width: 59'

Armament: armed and escorted

Owner History:

British Tanker Co., London

Remarks:

Moving north just off the Carolina coast, the merchant vessel British Splendour was making her way back to the U.K., escorted by two British armed trawlers the H.M.S. Hertfordshire as well as the H.M.S. St. Zeno it seemed she was well protected. However, pre-dawn on April 7th, 1942 their convoy was attacked and torpedoed by the U-552, sinking the British Splendour, destroying her cargo of 10,000 tons of benzine and killing 12 of her crew members. Rescue operations for the survivors were implemented by both the H.M.S. St. Zeno and U.S. tanker Pan-Rhode Island, a total of 40 crewmates and Captain John Hall were accounted for and returned to Virginia.

Factoid:

The U-552 under Commander Erich Topp sank three vessels off the North Carolina coast during this 9th active combat patrol, in addition Topp sank a total of seven Allied vessels in less than three weeks during the srping of 1942.

GPS:

Lat: N 34 49.005 Lon: W 75 54.060

Depth of wreck: Approx. 125 feet

Data written and compiled by BluewaterBandit

Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart