Since I have been on the subject of the U-boat war fought off the east coast of the United States in World War II, I will continue with another story, this time about the loss of the HMT (His Majesty's Trawler) Bedfordshire May 11, 1942 with the loss of all hands. I mentioned it in yesterday's entry about looking for World War II wrecks off North Carolina's coast.
The Bedfordshire was a British armed anti-submarine trawler, built in 1935 as a commercial fishing trawler and acquired by the Admiralty in 1939 and armed with a 4-inch gun, machine gun, and depth charges to be used against German U-boats. It weighed 443 tons, was 162 feet long, and had a 27 foot beam.
Things were going badly for Allied ships off the US coast in the early part of World War II. In January 1942, 35 ships were sunk. The US was ill-prepared for submarine warfare at the time. Between February and April, another 45 went down. Only one submarine, the U-85, was sunk during this time.
Britain decided to help the Americans and detached 24 ships to the US, including the Bedfordshire.
On May 10, 1942, the HMT Loman and HMT Bedfordshire were dispatched from their base in Morehead City to look for a U-boat seen off Ocracoke Island. It turned out to be the U-558.
From Wikipedia.
More to Come. --Cooter
No comments:
Post a Comment