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The SS ''Paul Hamilton'' (Hull Number 227) was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Paul Hamilton, the third United States Secretary of the Navy. Se was operated by the Black Diamond Steamship Company under Austin Anderle Find a grave memorial
/ref>
They Died Together; The Vagaries of War
– An eyewitness account by an ex-Merchant Marine seaman.
Liberty ships Ships sunk by German aircraft 1942 ships Ships lost with all hands Maritime incidents in April 1944 World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Naval magazine explosions {{liberty-ship-stub
The SS ''Paul Hamilton'' (Hull Number 227) was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Paul Hamilton, the third United States Secretary of the Navy. Se was operated by the Black Diamond Steamship Company under charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration.
On her fifth voyage the SS Paul Hamilton left Hampton Roads, Virginia
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic O ...
on 2 April 1944 as part of convoy UGS 38, carrying supplies and the ground personnel of the 485th Bombardment Group 485th may refer to:
* 485th Aero Construction Squadron, part of the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico
* 485th Air Expeditionary Wing, provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command
* 485t ...
of the United States Army Air Forces to Italy. On the evening of 20 April it was attacked 30 miles (48 km) off the coast of Cape Bengut near Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
in the Mediterranean Sea by 23 German Ju 88 bombers of III./Kampfgeschwader 26
''Kampfgeschwader'' 26 (KG 26) "Löwengeschwader" (in English ''Bomber Wing 26'' aka ''"Lions' Wing"'' by virtue of its insignia) was a German air force Luftwaffe bomber wing unit during World War II.
Its units participated on all of the fronts ...
, I. and III./Kampfgeschwader 77
''Kampfgeschwader 77'' (KG 77) was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II.
Its units participated on all of the major fronts in the European Theatre until its dissolution in 1944. It operated all three of the major German bomber types; the ...
. One aerial torpedo
An aerial torpedo (also known as an airborne torpedo or air-dropped torpedo) is a torpedo launched from a torpedo bomber aircraft into the water, after which the weapon propels itself to the target.
First used in World War I, air-dropped torped ...
struck the ''Paul Hamilton'' and detonated the cargo of high explosives and bombs, and the ship and crew disappeared within 30 seconds. The crew and passengers, who included 154 officers and men of the 831st Bombardment Squadron and 317 officers and men of the 32nd Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, were all lost. Of the 580 men aboard only one body was recovered./ref>
References
External links
They Died Together; The Vagaries of War
– An eyewitness account by an ex-Merchant Marine seaman.
Liberty ships Ships sunk by German aircraft 1942 ships Ships lost with all hands Maritime incidents in April 1944 World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Naval magazine explosions {{liberty-ship-stub