1943 — June 1, MM freighter John Morgan/tanker Montana collide, off Cape Henry VA–86

–86 Dunn, Ken. “Re: losses discrepancy.” 12-20-2006. Accessed 4-21-2021.
–67 John Morgan
–42 merchant marine (all 42 crew onboard)
–25 Naval Armed Guard (out of 28—13 survivors)
–19 Montana
— 9 crew (28 survivors)
–10 Navy Armed Guard ( 9 survivors)
–86 American Merchant Marine at War. U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged on Eastcoast…WWII.
–67 John Morgan
–42 crew
–25 armed guard
–19 Montana
— 9 crew
–10 armed guard
–84 Port Arthur News (TX). “Collision of 2 Ships Kills 84,” June 7, 1943, p. 1.

Merchant Marine Freighter John Morgan:
–67 John Morgan. Camden, N.J. World War II Merchant Marine Memorial (Website).

Narrative Information

American Merchant Marine: Crew of 42 and armed guard of 25 died on the Liberty Merchant Marine John Morgan, which sank. Crew of 9 and armed guard of 10 died on the tanker Montana, which was damaged. (American Merchant Marine at War. U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged on Eastcoast…WWII.)

Camden, NJ Merchant Marine Memorial Website: “…the Liberty Ship SS John Morgan, sailing from Philadelphia PA, en route to Bandar Shahpour, Iran loaded with P-39 airplanes, tanks, arms, and ammunition of all kinds… on her maiden voyage when on June 1, 1943 while approaching Newport News VA, the SS John Morgan collided with an outbound ship, the SS Montana, off Cape Henry VA. The John Morgan split in two, exploded, and her stern sank almost immediately, taking 42 crew members and 25 of its armed guard to their death.” (Camden, N.J. World War II Merchant Marine Memorial (Website).)

Dunn (General Discussions Forum post, 12-20-2006):
“…The men killed on the SS Montana were killed in a collision with the SS John Morgan.

“On the SS Montana there were 9 crew killed out of 37 leaving 28 crew survivors and 10 Navy Armed Guard killed out of 19 leaving 9 Navy Armed Guard survivors for a total of 37 survivors and 19 killed. Note that my source only lists the names of the crew killed, not the Armed Guard. Here are the details for both ships:

“SS John Morgan

Company: Wessel, Duval & Co. New York, NY
Master: Joseph D. Lydon (Lost)
Gross Tons: 7176
Home Port: Baltimore, MD
Built: May 1943 @ Baltimore, MD
Dimensions: 441’x 57’x 37′

“The Liberty Ship, SS JOHN MORGAN, on her maiden voyage, collided with the Texas Company tanker SS MONTANA at 0400 EWT on June 1, 1943 off the Chesapeake Capes (36-53 North/76-00 West) while en route from Baltimore to the Persian Gulf with a cargo of explosives, in Convoy NK-544. Her complement was 42 merchant crew and 28 Naval Armed Guard. Three Navy men were the only survivors.

“The SS MONTANA was inbound to Norfolk to join a convoy going to Iceland. The MORGAN was outbound. They approached each other with a routine port to port passing when suddenly the MORGAN changed course to port and headed directly for the MONTANA. The MONTANA was struck by the bow of the MORGAN on the port side just forward of the midship house. There was a terrific explosion as the MORGAN disintegrated killing all on board except for 3 Navy gun crew.

“SS John Morgan crew killed (42):

Allen, Carl E. (O.S.)
Bailey, Leon B. (Oiler)
Byrnes, Thomas, Jr. (O.S.)
Calvert, Andrew L. (2nd Cook)
Dembowczyk, Anthony (Wiper)
Edwards, Tazwell B. (O.S.)
Flowers, Alfred E. (Ch. Cook)
Goldberg, Louis T. (Messman)
Graham, Roy E. (A.B.)
Holleran, Sydney (Utility)
Jeffreys, Robert R. (A.B.)
Karkota, Richard (Messman)
Kirk, John J. (Purser)
Koegier, Walter (Steward)
Lawrence, Henry B. (Jr. Engr.)
Lock, Jesse (3rd Mate)
Losada, Manuel (Radio Oper.)
Lydon, Joseph D. (Master)
McMahon, Martin J. (Wiper)
Meyer, Arthur (Ch. Engr.)
Nebraska, John H. (A.B.)
Obara, Jan (F I WT)
O’Leary, Henry J. (Messman)
Patterson, Thomas A. (Oiler)
Rafferty, Charles H. (2nd Mate)
Ramos, Alberto (Utility)
Reid, Percy A. (Dk. Engr.)
Roffey, George (3rd Engr.)
Saethre, Karl W. (A.B.)
Schweitzer, Herman E. (A.B.)
Slaski, Edmund (O.S.)
Solano, Antonio (F I WT)
Solar, William (1st Engr.)
Stanley, David J. (Wiper)
Stevensen, Clifford C. (A.B.)
Stockmal, Stanley J. (O.S.)
Talbott, John 0. (Dk. Cadet)
Tompson, Albert C. (3rd Cook)
Turner, Ralph W. (Oiler)
Werley, Maurice C. (Bosun)
Wilkinson, Benjamin H. (Eng. Cadet)
Winter, Harold B. (Utility)

“SS Montana

Company: The Texas Co. New York, NY (Texaco, Inc.)
Master: Lee D. Riggs (Lost)
Gross Tons: 9310
Horne Port: Wilmington, DE
Built: 1942 @ Chester, PA
Dimensions: 489’x 68’x 36′

“The Tanker, SS MONTANA, was rammed in a collision with the Liberty ship SS JOHN MORGAN about 0400 EWT on June 1, 1943 off the Chesapeake Capes (36-53 North/76-00 West) while en route from Baytown, Texas to Iceland via Norfolk, Virginia with a cargo of high octane gasoline. Her complement was 37 crew members and 19 Naval Armed Guard. Nine of the ship’s crew was lost including the Master and the 3 deck officers. Ten Navy men were lost.

“The MONTANA was entering Hampton Roads to await a convoy to Iceland. The MORGAN was on her maiden voyage from Baltimore to ports in the Persian Gulf. Her cargo included 5000 tons of high explosives. The two ships were meeting port to port when the MORGAN suddenly changed course to port striking the MONTANA on her port side just forward of the midship house. Some of the ship’s tanks exploded causing the ship to catch fire instantly. The MORGAN blew up and disintegrated. So tremendous was the explosion, debris was showered on the decks of vessels over a quarter mile away. The ship started down by the bow until the stern was well out of water. The MONTANA did not sink but burned for a number of days before a Navy firefighting crew boarded the ship and put out the fire with foam apparatus. Some of the gasoline cargo was salvaged.

“The MONTANA was eventually repaired and returned to service. As all the lifeboats were destroyed in the explosion and fire, the survivors on the stern section had to jump overboard from the starboard quarter and swim through pockets of flaming gasoline on the water. Some rafts were launched and some survivors climbed aboard them. Others clung to bits of floating wreckage. Survivors were picked up by Navy escort vessels after being in the water about an hour. An alert engineer was responsible for saving many lives on the stern section when he shut down the main engines.

“SS Montana crew killed (9):

Averill, John P. (3rd Mate)
Halvorsen, Ole (Ch. Mate)
Hansen, Vagn A. (2nd Mate)
Hastings, J. R. (O.S.)
Riggs, Lee D. (Master)
Resiand, John (Messman)
Schwartz, Harold (A.B.)
Smith, Monroe J. (A.B.)
Spotts, Gerald (Dk. Maint.)

“Source: Moore, Captain Arthur R. A Careless Word — A Needless Sinking. Kings Point, NY: The American Merchant Marine Museum at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point NY, 1988. Copyright: Captain Arthur R. Moore, 1983.

Newspaper

June 7: “Norfolk, Va., June 7 (AP) — —Eighty-four men lost their lives in terrific explosions and blazing oil when an American tanker and an American freighter loaded with ammunition collided in the dark a few days ago off the United States east coast. The navy announced the collision yesterday and said an investigation is being made.

“So tremendous were the explosions that debris was showered the decks of a Coast Guard ship a quarter of a mile away. The blast killed 66 of the 69 men aboard the freighter, tore the ship to pieces and sent her to the bottom almost immediately after the collision. Eighteen of the tanker’s 82 seamen perished in the seething flames, which burned the lifeboats before they could be launched and forced those still alive to leap overboard.

“The victims included 35 members of navy gun crews, of whom 25 were aboard the freighter and 10 aboard the tanker…

“The two ships survivors said, were proceeding in opposite directions when the freighter veered
suddenly and rammed her bow into the tanker’s port side aft of the forecastle head….” (Port Arthur News (TX). “Collision of 2 Ships Kills 84,” June 7, 1943, p. 1.)

Sources

American Merchant Marine at War. U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged on Eastcoast of U.S. and Gulf of Mexico During World War II. Eastcoast of U.S. (175 ships). 12-22-2010. Webpage accessed 4-21-2021 at: http://www.usmm.org/eastgulf.html

Camden, N.J. World War II Merchant Marine Memorial (Website). Accessed 8-28-2009 at: http://www.dvrbs.com/monuments/camden/camden,nj-ww2-merchant-marine-memorial.htm

Dunn, Ken. “Re: losses discrepancy.” 12-20-2006. Accessed 4-21-2021 at: https://uboat.net/forums/read.php?3,47135,47177

Port Arthur News, TX. “Collision of 2 Ships Kills 84,” 6-7-1943, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=47584619