January 6th KMTR News.
The ship Helen E made a brief appearance along the southern Oregon coast. During World War II, it was used as a Navy subchaser. It grounded on the beach bu Coos Bay in 1951 and was first sighted around Thanksgiving. More and more became visible and between Christmas and New Year's it could really be seen at low tide. The sea has since reclaimed it.
After the war, it was used as a fishing boat until it beached at North Spit March 5, 1951, north of the entrance to Coos Bay. All the crew made it to shore safely. Efforts to salvage it failed and it was burned.
The ship was built in Nyack, New York, of both metal and wood components in 1943 as Subchaser SC-1316. It becomes visible as a result of El Nino.
I came across a mention of SC-1316 being damaged by a coastal mortar in the Marianas Islands, but that is the only mention of its war service.
The ship was 110 feet long. An article and picture of it burning is in the Jan. 6, 2010 The World, serving Oregon's southern coast.
A Memory Comes Back. --DaCoot
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