Aircraft sunk with SS Alexander Macomb 1942

[Franz von Werra]

I've just seen a docu (on YouTube) about this Liberty ship sunk near Georges Bank, off the US East Coast. Luckily the death toll was small but obviously all Sherman tanks and P-38 aircraft it carried were lost.

It is reported that part of the ship's load was salvaged in the mid '60s but no website elaborates on that.
It would be good to know wheter there was any attempt at restoring the tanks and aircraft at the time of the recovery.
Yet, the damage done by seawater and marine micro-organisms might not be superficial...I saw a V-12 completely covered in shells and the like, so much that the engine shape was barely recognizable.

[Alex Smart]

Hello Franz,

Well this is most interesting.

Sunk by U-215 and with some P38's on board as cargo.

It looks like she was bound for the USSR but must have been due to stop off in the UK on the way ? I have never heard of any P38's been sold to the USSR or even Lend-Lease.

Due to the time factor would it be possible to narrow down the P38 production list up to the time of her sailing and therby seek out the serial numbers of the p38's on board ?

Hope you had a Great Xmas
Alex

[Franz von Werra]

The 'planes were loaded in NY and possibly their destination was Boston. Or maybe Alaska, since the ship was bound for Halifax and the USSR. Anyway she was sunk on July 3, 1942. Lightning production started in summer 1941 so...Here's a clue.

Hope you had a Great Xmas

Of course I had!

[waldo_pepper]

There is a little info on the SS Alexander Macomb here...
http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?15261

[Leendert]

Franz,

This website has a little info about the salvage. It appears that the team was more after the 1.700 tons of copper and aluminum than the pieces of Sherman and P-38 scrap...

See http://www.blacklaserlearning.com/in...ask=view&id=20

Regards,

Leendert

[Martin Gleeson]

Hallo all,

I am not so sure about the cargo as stated. Where did the information about the Sherman tanks and the P-38s come from ?

This ship was heading in a northerly direction, towards Britain or the northern Soviet ports. If the latter then the cargo as stated could not have been on board. P-38s were never sent to Russia, but P-39s and P-40s were. Especially the latter in 1942. I don't think any M-4 Shermans reached Russia until 1943, but M-3 Stuart light tanks and M-3 Lee medium tanks did in 1942 and possibly as early as 1941.

Again unlikely Shermans or P-38s were being shipped to Britain in early July 1942. At this time the Sherman was the newest and best American tank and was not being produced in sufficient quantities for even the US Army. The Sherman first saw action in Egypt from late October 1942. I expect any shipments from the US to Egypt would have gone south via the Cape of Good Hope and up the Red Sea. At least one ship with Shermans bound for the British 8th Army was sunk in transit.
At this time Operation BOLERO was in full swing. P-38s were being flown across the Atlantic by USAAF Fighter Groups. Shortly after this the decision was taken to ship them as deck cargo to Britain, but AFAIK the first such shipments did not reach Britain until September or October 1942.

Where can one find the cargo manifest I wonder ?

Regards,

Martin Gleeson.

[Alex Smart]

hello Martin,

You have arrived at the same conclusion that I did at least with regard to the P-38's.

Franz, what is your reference for the cargo containing P-38 Lightning's please ?

The RAF had only got their Lightnings from march 1942 and it seems odd that the US would be sending P-38's to Russia.

The ship SS Alexander Maccomb with a cargo of Aircraft ( only here by Franz have I seen ref to the a/c being P-38's), AFV's and Explosives bound for Archangelsk, Russia. Sailed from Cape Cod Canal on the 2nd July 42 as part of Convoy BX-27 along with some 36 other ships and was due to arrive in Halifax on the 4th July 42. Some time after had mechanical problems and dropped behind the convoy. At a later time she was regaining her position in convoy on the 3rd July 42 when she was hit by torpedo from the U-215 and sunk. The U-215 was in turn also sunk and was the first Uboat lost in Canadian waters.

A friend is I hope going to look up Ships Manifest and at this time I do not know if he will be successful.

Refs:
uboat.net
convoyweb.org.uk
wrecksite.eu

All for now
Alex

[Franz von Werra]

Franz, what is your reference for the cargo containing P-38 Lightning's please ?

My source is just the documentary voice-over. I found it strange that Lightnings were aboard a ship bound for Russia, so I decided to try and find extra info through this Forum.
Maybe the P-38 were going to be disembarked somewhere along the way. But then, in case of a short-range transfer, a ferry flight would have made more sense.
Or they were aircraft actually bound for Russia and incorrectly identified as P-38s.

[waldo_pepper]

Would the Lloyds of London register of shipping losses in WW2 have cargo manifest information? Just a thought.