USS ''Muskeget'' (AG-48) – originally USS ''YAG-9'' – was a former commercial

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

acquired by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in 1941 for use during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She was outfitted with a variety of guns,

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

tracks,

Y-gun A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarines by detonating in the water near the target and subjecting it to a destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use high explosives with a fuze set to deto ...

s, and

Mousetrap A mousetrap is a specialized type of animal trap designed primarily to catch and, usually, kill Mouse, mice. Mousetraps are usually set in an indoor location where there is a suspected infestation of rodents. Larger traps are designed to catch ...

and placed in service as a

patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they ...

. Transferred to the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

for use as a

weather ship A weather ship, or ocean station vessel, was a ship stationed in the ocean for surface and upper air meteorological observations for use in weather forecasting. They were primarily located in the north Atlantic and north Pacific oceans, report ...

in the

North Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

and renamed USCGC ''Muskeget'' (WAG-48), she disappeared in September 1942 with the loss of all on board, the only U.S. weather ship lost during World War II. It was later determined that she had been sunk by a German

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

Construction, commercial career, acquisition, and commissioning

''Muskeget'' was built as the commercial

SS ''Cornish'' in 1923 by

Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco-based shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917, it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuil ...

Sparrows Point Sparrows Point is an industrial area in unincorporated Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, adjacent to Edgemere. Named after Thomas Sparrow, landowner, it was the site of a very large industrial complex owned by Bethlehem Steel, known ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Crewed by 34 merchant seamen,uscg.mil USS Muskeget, 1942; YAG-9; AG-48; WAG-48, ex-''Cornish''
/ref> ''Cornish'' operated on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

. The U.S. Navy acquired ''Cornish'' under charter from Eastern Shipbuilding Lines, Inc., of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, on 29 December 1941. She was converted at a cost of $250,000 for use as a

by the

Sullivan Drydock and Repair Corporation Sullivan Drydock and Repair Corporation was a shipyard located in Brooklyn, New York. It was located off 23rd Street in Greenwood Heights/ Sunset Park, in the Tebo Basin. Sullivan DD&RC built Submarine chasers (PC boats), and altered, repaired and ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, classified as a "miscellaneous district auxiliary" (YAG), and commissioned as the patrol vessel USS ''YAG-9'' on 3 January 1942.

World War II service

U.S. Navy service

Assigned to the

3rd Naval District United States Naval Districts is a system created by the United States Navy to organize military facilities, numbered sequentially by geographic region, for the operational and administrative control of naval bases and shore commands in the Unit ...

, ''YAG-9'' performed patrol duty off New York City. She was reclassified as a "miscellaneous auxiliary" (AG) and renamed USS ''Muskeget'' (AG-48) on 30 May 1942.

U.S. Coast Guard service

On 30 June 1942, the Navy transferred ''Muskeget'' to the

for service as a

. Commissioned into the Coast Guard as USCGC ''Muskeget'' (WAG-48) on 1 July 1942, she was assigned

, as her

home port A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull. In the cruise industry the term "home port" is also oft ...

and to duty with the North Atlantic Weather Patrol.

Meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...

s used

weather balloon A weather balloon, also known as a sounding balloon, is a balloon (specifically a type of high-altitude balloon) that carries instruments to the stratosphere to send back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind spe ...

s launched from her deck to gather data on pressure, winds, temperatures, and humidity to support weather forecasts in support of Allied military operations.Ruane, Michael E., "Lost at sea during WWII, weathermen to get their Purple Hearts at last," washingtonpost.com, 18 November 2015, 8:07 p.m. EST.
/ref> ''Muskeget'' departed Boston on 6 July 1942 for her first weather patrol, which took place at Weather Station No. 2 in the

off the southern tip of

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

. She concluded this patrol on 27 July 1942. On 24 August 1942, ''Muskeget'' departed Boston for her second weather patrol,Associated Press, "Coast Guard Cutter Believed Lost", ''The San Bernardino Sun'', San Bernardino, California, Saturday 10 October 1942, Volume 49, page 1. again at Weather Station No. 2. She issued the first weather report of her patrol on 28 August and arrived on station on 31 August. After she issued a weather report on 9 September 1942, Allied forces did not see or hear from her again.

Loss

At 14:54 hours on 9 September 1942, the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

''U-755'', operating as part of a wolfpack, sighted ''Muskeget'' emerging from a rain

squall A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed lasting minutes, as opposed to a wind gust, which lasts for only seconds. They are usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to the ...

in a heavy swell about east of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

and misidentified her as an auxiliary merchant cruiser. ''U-755'', commanded by ''

Kapitänleutnant , short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( or ''lieutenant captain'') is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the modern German . The rank is rated Ranks and insignia of NATO navies' officers, OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to i ...

'' Walter Göing, fired two

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

es, heard the sounds of ''Muskeget''s

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...

s exploding and bulkheads collapsing as she sank, then surfaced and found a

life raft A lifeboat or liferaft is a small, rigid or inflatable boat carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard a ship. Lifeboat drills are required by law on larger commercial ships. Rafts ( liferafts) are also used. In the m ...

and survivors in the water, but little wreckage. ''U-755'' departed the area, but returned a few hours later to find a large oil slick and two life rafts tied together with eight men on them. As they shouted at ''U-755'', Göing thought he heard them say that they were from an American ship named ''Muskogee'', ''Mukited'', or something similar. ''U-755'' then again departed the area. ''Muskeget'' was due to be relieved on station by the Coast Guard weather ship USCGC ''Monomoy'' (WAG-275). ''Monomoy'' reported on 11 September 1942 that she could not contact ''Muskeget'', and arrived at Weather Station No. 2 on 13 September 1942 to find no sign of ''Muskeget''. When ''Monomoy'' again reported her inability to contact ''Muskeget'' on 15 September, Allied ships and aircraft were ordered to search for the missing ship. Their search, on 16 September 1942, found no sign of ''Muskeget'', nor did ''Monomoy'' find any trace of ''Muskeget'' or her crew while operating at Weather Station No. 2 continuously until 22 September 1942. When ''Muskeget'' was overdue in returning to Boston later in September 1942, she was presumed lost with her entire complement of nine officers, 107 enlisted men, one

United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services which manages public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The assistant s ...

officer, and four civilian

United States Weather Bureau The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

meteorologists. ''Monomoy'' concluded her weather patrol on 1 October 1942 and, upon arrival at Boston on 12 October, reported 20 to 35 German submarines operating within striking range of the weather station, shadowing the two or more Allied

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s which passed each day through the area in which Weather Station No. 2 was located. No bodies were ever recovered, and ''Muskegets wreck was never found. On 10 September 1943, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard officially declared all on board ''Muskeget'' to have been

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

, and on 26 October 1943 she was struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

. Only later did it become known that ''U-755'' had sunk her. ''Muskeget'' was the only U.S. weather ship lost during World War II.

Belated Purple Heart for meteorologists

Although the other personnel lost with ''Muskeget'' all received a posthumous award of the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

, the four civilian Weather Bureau meteorologists – Luther H. Brady, Lester S. Fodor, George F. Kubach, and Edward Weber – did not. In ca. 2012, researchers from the U.S. Coast Guard and the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

– which oversees the U.S.

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

, the successor organization to the Weather Bureau – detected the oversight and the circumstances of their deaths, which occurred at a time when civilians

qualified for the Purple Heart. The four men received the Purple Heart posthumously in a ceremony at the Naval Heritage Center auditorium at the

United States Navy Memorial The United States Navy Memorial is a memorial in Washington, D.C. honoring those who have served or are currently serving in the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and the Merchant Marine. It lies on Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 7th Street No ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on 19 November 2015.

Commemoration

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

Post 2543 in

Plattsmouth Plattsmouth is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,620 at the 2020 census. History The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed the mouth of the Platte River, just north of what is now Main Str ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, is named for Fireman First Class Harold Wolever, Jr., a Coast Guardsman who died in the sinking of ''Muskeget''.

References

*
NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USCGC ''Muskeget'' (WAG-48) – ex - USS ''Muskeget'' (AG-48) (1942) - USS ''YAG-9'' (1942)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muskeget Ships built in Sparrows Point, Maryland Steamships of the United States Navy World War II patrol vessels of the United States World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Patrol vessels of the United States Navy Ships of the United States Coast Guard World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean 1923 ships Maritime incidents in September 1942 Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II Warships lost in combat with all hands Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the United States Coast Guard Weather ships