1942 — Dec 2, Tug Admiral Sinks, Lake Erie Storm, ~10m off Avon Pt. Cleveland, OH– 14

–14 Alchem Incorporated. Erie-Huron Shipwrecks.
–14 Evening Gazette, Xenia OH. “Fear 32 Deaths in Lake Tragedy,” Dec 5, 1942, p. 1.
–14 Evening Independent, Massillon OH. “14 Drowned…Tug Sinks…Lake Erie.” 12-2-1942, 1
–14 Hebert, Lou. “Lake Erie Tragedy Echoes in December Winds.” 24 News, Toledo, OH.
–14 OhioShipwrecks.org. “Admiral. Story of the Loss.” Shipwrecks & Maritime Tales…OH Trail.
–14 Swayze. Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory…Shipwrecks on…Great Lake. 1992, 15.
–14 Swayze. The Great Lakes Shipwreck File, Vessels Names That Begin with “A”
–11 Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive. Report News (December 2008).

Narrative Information

Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive: “On this day in 1942, the Tug Admiral and tanker-barge Clevco encountered a late season blizzard on Lake Erie. The Admiral sank approximately 10 miles off Avon Point, Ohio, with a loss of 11. The Clevco sank 30 hours later off Euclid Beach with a loss of 19.” (Report News, December 2008.)

Swayze: While towing a barge near Cleveland, encountered heavy gale, foundered and sank. No survivors. (Swayze. Great Lakes Shipwrecks A.)

Newspapers

Dec 2: “Cleveland, Dec. 2 (AP) — Fourteen men drowned before dawn today as the 89-foot tug Admiral, ‘swept by strong, freezing winds, went down off Avon Point.

“Officials of Cleveland Tankers, Inc., which operated the wood-hulled, 94 ton tug for the Allied Oil Co., said at noon they had abandoned hope that any of the crew, under Capt. John O. Swanson of River Rouge, Mich., had survived.

“Another 19 seamen aboard the oil barge Cleveco, commanded by Capt. William Smith of Cleveland, awaited rescue from their powerless 250-foot craft as coast guard cutters, tugs and the civil air patrol fruitlessly searched the area for tug survivors.

“The disaster — Lake Erie’s worst since 18 men went down on the Canadian vessel Sand Merchant in a 1936 storm – occurred about eight miles off Avon Point as the Admiral was towing the Cleveco here from Toledo with between 8,000 and 10,000 tons of fuel oil. Company officials said they could not explain the sinking.

“Allied Oil Co. said the barge would be towed into Cleveland.

“The Admiral formerly was the George H. Meyer, and was built in 1898. The Cleveco was constructed in 1913 at Lorain, O., and displaces 2,441 gross tons.

“Coast guard life boats from Cleveland and Lorain and one tug from each port were sent to the scene.

“The Cleveco reported the sinking to the coast guard, relaying information that the “Admiral” disappeared. The tow line remained intact.

15 Miles Northwest Of Cleveland

“Efforts were being made to bring the barge to either Lorain or Cleveland, and the coast guard requested the civil air patrol to scout Lake Erie waters for possible survivors or bodies. The scene was about 15 miles northwest of Cleveland.

“The cause of the sinking was not known, a coast guard officer said.” (Evening Independent, Massillon, OH. “14 Drowned as Tug Sinks in Lake Erie.” 12-2-1942, p. 1.)

Sources

Alchem Incorporated. Erie-Huron Shipwrecks. Accessed 1-28-2009 at: http://www.alcheminc.com/huron.html

Evening Gazette, Xenia OH. “Fear 32 Deaths in Lake Tragedy,” Dec 5, 1942, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=87495116

Evening Independent, Massillon, OH. “14 Drowned as Tug Sinks in Lake Erie.” 12-2-1942, p. 1. Accessed 10-12-2012: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=103267654

Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive. Report News (December 2008). Accessed at: http://www.boatnerd.com/news/archive/12-08.htm

Hebert, Lou. “Lake Erie Tragedy Echoes in December Winds.” 24 News, Toledo, OH. Accessed 11-9-2020 at: https://nbc24.com/news/local/lake-erie-tragedy-echoes-in-december-winds

OhioShipwrecks.org. “Admiral. Story of the Loss.” Shipwrecks & Maritime Tales of the Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail. Accessed 11-9-2020 at: http://ohioshipwrecks.org/shipwreckdetail.php?Wreck=28

Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter A. Accessed 9-8-2009 at: http://greatlakeshistory.homestead.com/files/a.htm

Swayze, David D. Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory of Over 3,700 Shipwrecks on the Great Lake. Boyne City, MI: Harbor House Publications, Inc., 1992.