SS ''Alexander Macomb'' was a Liberty ship built in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She was named after Alexander Macomb, the Commanding General of the United States Army from May 29, 1828, until his death on June 25, 1841. Macomb was the field commander at the

Battle of Plattsburgh The Battle of Plattsburgh, also known as the Battle of Lake Champlain, ended the final British invasion of the northern states of the United States during the War of 1812. An army under Lieutenant General Sir George Prévost and a naval squadro ...

, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, and after the stunning victory, was lauded with praise and styled "The Hero of Plattsburgh" by some of the American press. He was promoted to

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

for his conduct, receiving both the Thanks of Congress and a Congressional Gold Medal.

Construction

''Alexander Macomb'' was laid down on 18 February 1942, under a

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

(MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 36, by the

Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard The Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard of Baltimore, Maryland, was a shipyard in the United States from 1941 until 1945. Located on the south shore of the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River which serves as the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, Ba ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland; and was launched on 6 May 1942.

History

She was allocated to

A. H. Bull Steamship Company A. H. Bull Steamship Company was a shipping company and passenger liner service founded in New York City in 1902 by Archibald H. Bull (1848-1920). Service started with shipping between New York and Florida. His fleet of ships then added service t ...

, on 2 June 1942.

Sinking

She sailed from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where she loaded her cargo of of tanks, aircraft, and explosives for the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, to join Convoy BX 27 for Halifax, on her maiden voyage. The convoy was set to departed from the northern end of the

Cape Cod Canal The Cape Cod Canal is an artificial waterway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts connecting Cape Cod Bay in the north to Buzzards Bay in the south, and is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The approximately canal traverses the neck o ...

on 2 July 1942, but with the grounding of the cargo ship on 28 June 1942, it was forced to sail around

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

. On the evening of 3 July 1942, sailing in heavy fog and with the fear of colliding with other ships in the convoy, ''Alexander Macomb'' fell behind. With hope of catching up with the convoy in daylight, the captain of ''Alexander Macomb'' only maintained an intermittent

zigzag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...

course. At 12:30, on 4 July, with the rear of the convoy and her escorts in sight, ''Alexander Macomb'' was struck between the #4 and #5 holds by a torpedo from , at . The torpedo caused her cargo of explosives to ignite and burst into flames. The crew of eight officers, 33 crewmen, and 25 Armed guard were able to abandon the ship in three lifeboats and a raft. Because the ship had not been secured and still had forward movement one of the lifeboats capsized. ''Alexander Macomb'' sank at 13:00, east of Cape Cod. The British trawler picked up 23 crewmen and 8 Armed guards, while the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

corvette picked up another 14 crewmen and 11 Armed guards. Six Armed guards and four crewmen died in the attack. ''Le Tiger'' and pursued ''U-215'' and succeeded in sinking her with

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

s, with a loss of all hands.

Wreck discovery

The wreck of ''Alexander Macomb'' was discovered in October 1964, by the Risdon Beazley company salvage ship ''Droxford'' at position . The bulk of the metal cargo was removed in 1965, by ''Droxford''. She is considered to be "dangerous to dive". The wreck of ''U-215'' was discovered by Canadian divers and marine archaeologists in July 2004.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander Macomb (1942) World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Shipwrecks of the Massachusetts coast Liberty ships Ships built in Baltimore 1942 ships Maritime incidents in July 1942 Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II