1942 — Mar 14, US merchant vessel Lemuel Burrows torpedoed, off Atlantic City, NJ– 20

–20 Doylestown Intelligencer, PA. “World War II Diary.” 3-13-1992, A-13.
–20 Galiano, Rich. Lemuel Burrows. New Jersey Scuba Diving. Accessed 2-13-2021.
–20 uboat.net. “Ships hit by U-boats. Lemuel Burrows. American Steam merchant.”

Narrative Information

Uboat.net: “Lemuel Burrows
“Type: Steam merchant
“Tonnage: 7,610 tons
“Completed: 1917 – New York Shipbuilding Corp, Camden NJ
“Owner: Mystic SS Co., Boston MA
“Homeport: Boston
“Date of attack: 14 Mar 1942
“Nationality: American
“Fate: Sunk by U-404 (Otto von Bulow)
“Position: 39° 21’N, 74° 13’W – Grid CA 5176
“Complement: 34 (20 dead and 14 survivors). [20 fatalities are named]
“Route: Norfolk, Virginia – New York – Boston, Massachusetts
“Cargo: 12.450 tons of coal
….
“Notes on event: At 07.58 hours on 14 March 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Lemuel Burrows (Master Grover Dale Clark) was torpedoed by U-4-4 about five miles south-southwest of the Brigantine Gas Buoy off Atlantic City after spotting the silhouette of the collier against the bright lights of the city. The U-boat had earlier missed with two torpedoes before hitting with the third on the starboard side between the #2 and #3 holds, followed by another torpedo at 08.15 hours on the port side amidships. Most of the eight officers and 26 crewmen abandoned ship in two lifeboats, just before the ship was hit at 08.28 hours by a coup de grâce on the starboard quarter, causing the ship to lift and then sink, swamping the nearby lifeboats. All survivors were thrown into the icy water. Only eight men managed to cling to the overturned boat, but two eventually slipped into the water and drowned, while other survivors swam to two rafts, which had floated free. The U-boat surfaced and questioned the survivors before leaving the area.

“After drifting for six hours, eight survivors were picked up by the American steam merchant Sewalls Point and seven others by a boat from the American steam merchant James Elwood Jones. Four officers and 16 crewmen were lost. All survivors were landed at New York, where one survivor died in the Marine Hospital at Staten Island.” [The names of the fatalities are provided at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship1436.html ]

Newspaper

1992, March 13: “March 14, 1942….The U boat war shocks the people along the New Jersey when they hear the torpedo explosion that destroys the American steamship Lemuel Burrows near Atlantic City. Twenty crew men are killed.” (Doylestown Intelligencer, PA. “World War II Diary.” 3-13-1992, A-13.)

Sources

Doylestown Intelligencer, PA. “World War II Diary.” 3-13-1992, A-13. Accessed 2-13-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/doylestown-intelligencer-mar-13-1992-p-7/

Galiano, Rich. Lemuel Burrows. New Jersey Scuba Diving. Accessed 2-13-2021 at: https://njscuba.net/dive-sites/new-jersey-dive-sites/cape-may-chart/lemuel-burrows/

uboat.net. “Ships hit by U-boats. Lemuel Burrows. American Steam merchant.” Accessed 2-13-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1436.html