Ghosts of the USS Yorktown by Bruce Orr

Author:Bruce Orr
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2012-09-16T04:00:00+00:00

One branch of the service that is often overlooked for its service during times of war is the United States Coast Guard. The average person does not realize the contributions that the Coast Guard made in preserving the daily freedoms that we enjoy.

During World War II, 231,000 men and 10,000 women served in the Coast Guard. Of this group, 1,918 made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives in service.

In the spring of 1941, Coast Guard cutters were assigned to the United States Navy. They were not only assigned port security, beach patrol and search and rescue as we readily recognize today but they also participated in amphibious landings, Long Range Navigation (LORAN) duties and anti-submarine warfare escorts.

Coast Guard ships sank at least eleven enemy submarines and rescued more than 1,500 military personnel that survived enemy torpedo attacks. The cutters on escort duty saved an additional 1,000.

The USCGC Comanche was one of those cutters.

The Comanche was commissioned on December 1, 1934. She was originally stationed at Stapleton, New York, which remained her homeport until 1940. At Stapleton, she carried out the standard operations of the Coast Guard at that time, including light ice-breaking on the Hudson River.

In 1940, the USS Comanche transported the first American consul to Ivigtut, Greenland, at the invitation of the Danish government-in-exile. This made history by beginning a close association between Greenland and the United States and, in particular the Coast Guard, during World War II. On June 1, 1941, the Comanche was assigned to the newly established South Greenland Patrol and was permanently transferred to the United States Navy on July 1, 1941. She was primarily used for convoy escort through Greenland’s waters.

On January 29, 1943, the Comanche was assigned as an escort along with the Tampa and Escanaba. They departed from St. John’s, Newfoundland, escorting convoy SG-19. This was a convoy consisting of the USAT Dorchester, SS Biscaya and SS Lutz. Convoy SG-19 was bound for Greenland.

During the early morning of February 3, 1943, the German U-Boat U-223 fired five torpedoes at the convoy. One of the first torpedoes struck and exploded against the Dorchester, on her starboard side. The Dorchester was formerly a merchant ship that had been converted to military use in February 1942. She was now serving as a U.S. Army transport ship, and just one year into her service, she was the victim of a German U-boat.

Hans J. Danielsen was USAT Dorchester’s captain during convoy SG-19. He was concerned and cautious because earlier the Tampa, one of the escort ships, had detected a submarine with its sonar.

The Dorchester was now only 150 miles from its destination, but the captain ordered the men to sleep in their clothing and keep life jackets on. Because of the engine’s heat, many soldiers sleeping deep in the ship’s hold disregarded the order. Others ignored it simply because the life jackets were uncomfortable.

Early that fateful morning, at 12:55 a.m., a periscope broke the chilly Atlantic waters. Through the cross hairs, an officer aboard the German submarine U-223 spotted the Dorchester.

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