1944 — Sep 12-15, Great Atlantic Hurricane, NC-ME esp. USCG/USN/339-341; MA/NY– 390-395
— >400 NWS FO, Philadelphia/Mount Holly. “Historical Weather Facts…,” Oct 17, 2005.[1]
— >400 Nese, Jon and Glenn Schwartz. The Philadelphia Area Weather Book, 2002, p. 142.
–300-400 Wikipedia. “1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane.” [Blanchard: This is a very large range.]
–387-395 Blanchard range.*
— 390 Barnes. North Carolina’s Hurricane History (3rd edition). 2001, p. 77.
–344 At sea –46 On land/coastal (45 New England {26 MA} –1 NC
— 390 Blake/Rappaport/Landsea. The Deadliest, Costliest…[US] Cyclones…, 2007, p. 7.[2]
— 390 Dunn and Miller. Atlantic Hurricanes (Revised Edition). 1964, p. 309.
— 390 Hebert/Jarrell/Mayfield. The Deadliest, Costliest…[US] Hurricanes… 1993, p.80.[3]
— 390 Jarrell/Mayfield/Rappaport/Landsea. The Deadliest…United States Hurricanes. 2001.
— 390 Ludlum. The American Weather Book, 1982, p. 191.
— 390 Norcross. Hurricane Almanac. 2007, p. 54.[4]
— 390 Rappaport and Fernandez-Partagas. The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones. 1995.
— 390 Sav. Natural Disasters: Some Empirical and Economic Considerations. 1974, p. 8.
— 390 Smith. “MEMA: A Look Back at the Most Notable Hurricanes to Hit New England.”[5]
–344 At sea. — 46 On land.
— 389 Harm’s Way: Response Recovery Resilience. Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944.
— 344 Douglas 1958, 291. (Maritime)
Maritime (341)
—<400 NOAA. 70th Anniversary of the Great Atlantic hurricane (webpage). 9-15-2014.[6]
— 344 Douglas. Hurricane. 1958, p. 291. (Presumably all at sea.)
— 341 Blanchard tally from breakouts below:
— 33 USS YMS-409 Sep 12, foundered off Cape Hatteras, NC.
–248 USS Warrington (DD-383). Sep 13, Caribbean, foundered; all hands lost.
— 26 USCG Cutter Bedloe Sep 14, off Cape Hatteras, NC (of 38)
— 22 USCG Cutter Jackson Sep 14, off Cape Hatteras, NC (of 41)
— 12 USCG Lightship LS-73 Sep 15, Vineyard Sound, MA
* The maritime loss (341) for five USCG and USN vessels is generally accepted. The land loss is another matter. Our tally of deaths reported in the press at the time gives us a range of 41-54. The low-end of the range represents deaths that were specified in some way, such as the drowning death of a man in a named locale. The high-end of the range includes reporting such as a death in Virginia, which we could not find any detail, or deaths in Connecticut over and above the number for which we did find detail. Given that multiple sources note 46 deaths on land, we assume there may well have been on the order of five deaths concerning which we have not located confirming detail. The Independent News Service on Sep 17 reported 51 land deaths.
Land/Coastal (41-54)
Connecticut (3-6) Massachusetts ( 15) North Carolina ( 1)
Delaware (1-2) New Jersey ( 7-9) Rhode Island (0-1)
Maine ( 2) New York (12-17) Virginia (0-1)
Land/Coastal Fatalities Reporting
— 51 INS. “51 Persons Reported Dead in Hurricane.” Port Arthur News, TX, 9-17-1944, p. 2.
— New Jersey
— New York
— New England
— 46 Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA. “The dirty dozen of New England hurricanes.” 6-7-2011.
— 40 New York Times. “Storm Toll Rises to 40 Along Coast.” 9-17-1944, p. 34.
–14 New England
— 7 New Jersey
–17 New York
— 1 North Carolina
— 1 Virginia
— 39 ANS. “Death Toll from Hurricane in Eastern U.S. Hits 39.” Stars and Stripes. 9-18-1944, p1.
— 4 Connecticut
–15 Massachusetts
— 3 New Jersey
–17 New York
—>37 AP. “Death Toll 37 in Northeastern Gale.” Delta Democrat-Times, Greenville MS, 9-17-1944, 1.
–13 New England
— 5 New Jersey
–17 New York
— 1 North Carolina
— 1 Virginia
— 36 UP. “Hurricane Toll Reported at 37.” Telegraph-Herald, Dubuque, IA, 9-17-1944, p. 4.
— 6 Connecticut
— 2 Maine
— 5 Massachusetts
— 4 New Jersey
–17 New York City and Long Island
— 1 North Carolina
— 1 Rhode Island
— 1 Virginia
— 28 (Non-maritime). UP. “Hurricane Damage…N.E.” Lowell Sun, MA, 9-16-1944, p. 32.
Breakout by State (Onshore) and Maritime Location of Loss-of-Life
Maritime (341)
–344 Sumner. “The North Atlantic Hurricane of Sep 8-16, 1944.” MWR, 72/9, 1944, p189.[7]
–341 Blanchard tally; Warrington, Bedloe, Jackson, YMS-409, Lightship LS-73 losses.[8]
Onshore ( 46)
— 64 Blake/Rappaport/Landsea. The Deadliest, Costliest…Most Intense US Cyclones, 2007.[9]
–41-54 Blanchard tally from State breakouts below.[10]
— 51 INS. “Hurricane Death Toll 51.” Syracuse Herald-American, NY, 9-17-1944, p. 10.
— 46 Douglas 1958, p. 291.
— 46 Sumner. “The North Atlantic Hurricane of Sep 8-16, 1944.” MWR, 72/9, 1944, p. 189.
— 46 Webster. “Lightship Crew Remembered.” Naval Institute Proceedings, 1999.
— 40 New York Times. “Storm Toll Rises to 40 Along Coast.” 9-17-1944, p. 34.
— 37 UP. “Hurricane Toll Reported at 37.” Telegraph-Herald, Dubuque, IA, 9-17-1944, p. 4.
— 26 (New England only.) Gelber, Ben. The Pennsylvania Weather Book. 2002, 233.)
Connecticut ( 3-6)
–6 UP. “Hurricane Toll Reported at 37.” Telegraph-Herald, Dubuque, IA, 9-17-1944, p. 4.
–4 ANS. “Death Toll from Hurricane in Eastern U.S. Hits 39.” Stars and Stripes. 9-18-1944, p1.
–4 Assoc. Press. “Hurricane Death Toll Rises to 28.” Albuquerque Journal, NM, 9-16-1944, p1.
–4 Sumner. “The North Atlantic Hurricane of Sep 8-16, 1944.” MWR, 72/9, 1944, p. 189.
–3 United Press. “Hurricane Damage Heavy in N.E.” Lowell Sun, MA, 9-16-1944, p. 32.
–3 Blanchard tally from locality breakouts:
Breakout by locality of Connecticut hurricane-related fatalities (where noted):
–1 Naugatuck. Unidentified man “found dying on a road in Naugatuck…”[11]
–1 New Haven, Sep 15. Unidentified man electrocuted; touched steel fence with downed wire.[12]
–1 Niantic, East Lyme. Clayton Darrow drowned trying to beach rowboat during storm.[13]
Delaware (1-2)
–1 South Bowers Beach. “Death attributed to over-exertion.” Found on beach; Robert Ewing, 69.[14]
–1 Wilmington. Death “caused by over-exertion during the storm…” [Heart attack?][15]
Maine ( 2)
–2 UP. “Hurricane Toll Reported at 37.” Telegraph-Herald, Dubuque, IA, 9-17-1944, p. 4.
–1 Bangor, Sep 15. “Mrs. Eleanor Gallant, 40, was killed by a rain-blinded bicyclist.”[16]
–1 Portland, Sep 15. Electrocution; Keith Fraser, 10, came into contact with downed wire.[17]
Massachusetts (15)
–26 Sumner. “The North Atlantic Hurricane of Sep 8-16, 1944.” MWR, 72/9, 1944, p. 189.[18]
–15 ANS. “Death Toll from Hurricane in Eastern U.S. Hits 39.” Stars and Stripes. 9-18-1944, p1.
— 5 UP. “Hurricane Toll Reported at 37.” Telegraph-Herald, Dubuque, IA, 9-17-1944, p. 4.
— 3 Assoc. Press. “Hurricane Death Toll Rises to 28.” Albuquerque Journal, NM, 9-16-1944, p1.
— 3 United Press. “Hurricane Damage Heavy in N.E.” Lowell Sun, MA, 9-16-1944, p. 32.
— 1 Harwich, Sep 17. Vehicle hits storm-uprooted tree; Frederick L. Rolfe, 50, inspecting damage.[19]
New Jersey (7-9)
–9 Sumner. “The North Atlantic Hurricane of Sep 8-16, 1944.” MWR, 72/9, 1944, p. 189.
–8 Nese and Schwartz. The Philadelphia Area Weather Book. 2002, p. 142.
–7 New York Times. “Storm Toll Rises to 40 Along Coast.” 9-17-1944, p. 34.
–7 Blanchard tally from locality breakouts below.
–5 AP. “Death Toll 37 in Northeastern Gale.” Delta Democrat-Times, Greenville, MS, 9-17-1944, 1.
–4 UP. “Hurricane Toll Reported at 37.” Telegraph-Herald, Dubuque, IA, 9-17-1944, p. 4.
–3 ANS. “Death Toll from Hurricane in Eastern U.S. Hits 39.” Stars and Stripes. 9-18-1944, p1.
–2 Assoc. Press. “Hurricane Death Toll Rises to 28.” Albuquerque Journal, NM, 9-16-1944, p1.
–2 United Press. “Hurricane Damage Heavy in N.E.” Lowell Sun, MA, 9-16-1944, p. 32.
Breakout of New Jersey hurricane-related fatalities by locality where noted:
–1 Asbury Park, Sep 15. Electrocuted; JCP&L lineman making repairs on pole downtown.[20]
–1 Atlantic City, Sep 14. John Di Cicco hit by piece of cornice ripped from bldg. by wind.[21]
–1 Atlantic City. “…a woman died of a heart attack…” NYT. “Hurricane Tears…” 9-15-1944, 1.
–2 Beach Haven, Ocean County. Bodies of unidentified man and woman wash up on shore.[22]
–1 “ “ “ “ Unnamed toddler. Larsen. “Shore battered by Great Atlantic…”
–1 Monmouth Co. Larsen. “Shore battered by Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944.” 9-11-2017.
New York (12-17)
–17 ANS. “Death Toll from Hurricane in Eastern U.S. Hits 39.” Stars and Stripes. 9-18-1944, p1.
–17 New York Times. “Storm Toll Rises to 40 Along Coast.” 9-17-1944, p. 34.
–17 New York City and Long Island. United Press, Boston, Sep 16.[23]
–13 NYC and Long Island, “most of them by electrocution.”[24]
–12 Blanchard tally of locality breakouts below.
— 6 Sumner. “The North Atlantic Hurricane of Sep 8-16, 1944.” MWR, 72/9, 1944, p. 189.
Breakout by locality on New York hurricane-related fatalities (where noted):
–10 NYC. Electrocutions; “from touching live wires broken by the storm…” NYT. 9-15-1944, p. 1.[25]
–1 Brooklyn, Sep 14. Electrocuted; Joseph Lauzon, motorman, as he stepped from car.[26]
–1 Hollis, Queens. Presumed electrocution; found dead on street, Bernard McLaughlin, 54.[27]
–1 Jamaica, Queens. Presumed electrocution; found dead in street, Alex Dorgan, 58.[28]
–1 Jamaica, Queens. Presumed electrocution; found dead in street, Charles Mochringer, 77.[29]
–1 Jamaica, Queens. Presumed electrocution; found dead in street, Louis Torsiello, 55.[30]
–1 Ozone Park, Queens. Jack Graffigino, 60; electrocuted; stepped on live wire.[31]
–1 Ridgewood, Queens. Electrocuted; Antone Kappus, 54, blown off train platform onto 3rd rail.[32]
— 1 Oceanside, Long Island. Over-exertion during the storm [heart attack?]. NYT. 9-15-1944.[33]
— 1 Port Washington, Johnson Shipyard vessel. Drowning; unidentified man washed overboard.[34]
North Carolina ( 1)
–1 Sumner. “The North Atlantic Hurricane of Sep 8-16, 1944.” MWR, 72/9, 1944, p. 189.
–1 United Press. “Hurricane Damage Heavy in N.E.” Lowell Sun, MA, 9-16-1944, p. 32.
–1 Nags Head. Electrocution; live wire blown onto car; Levin Solon Parkerson.[35]
Rhode Island (0-1)
–0-1 Blanchard. Could well be accurate, but could find no confirmation with details.
— 1 UP. “Hurricane Toll Reported at 37.” Telegraph-Herald, Dubuque, IA, 9-17-1944, p. 4.
Virginia (0-1)
–0-1 Blanchard. Could well be accurate, but could find no confirmation with details.[36]
— 1 United Press. “Hurricane Damage Heavy in N.E.” Lowell Sun, MA, 9-16-1944, p. 32.
Breakout of Maritime Losses by Ship and Crew:
USS Warrington (DD-383) (248) Sep 13, Caribbean, foundered; all hands lost.
–248 US Dept. Navy. “Casualties: US Navy…Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured…”
–248 US Naval Historical Ctr. “Typhoons and hurricanes: The Effects of…,” 2017.
–“some 247.” Dawes. The Dragon’s Breath: Hurricane At Sea. 1996, back cover..
–247 Webster. “Lightship Crew Remembered.” Naval Institute Proceedings, 1999.
USS YMS-409 ( 33) Sep 12, foundered off Cape Hatteras, NC
–33 USS YMS-409 Minesweeper, Sep 12. Wrecksite.eu. USS YMS-409 (+1944).[37]
–33 USS YMS-409 Minesweeper, Sep 12. NavSource Online; U.S. Navy. Casualties…[38]
USCG Cutter Bedloe ( 26) Sep 14, off Cape Hatteras, NC (of 38)
–26 USCG Cutter Bedloe (Sep 14). USCG, Historian’s Office. “Bedloe, 1927.
USCG Cutter Jackson ( 22) Sep 14, off Cape Hatteras, NC (of 41)
–22 USCG Cutter Jackson, Sep 14, off Cape Hatteras, NC. USCG. Jackson, 1927.[39]
–21 USCG Cutter Jackson (Sep 14). USCG, Historian’s Office. “Bedloe, 1927.
USCG Lightship Vineyard (LS-73) ( 12) Sep 15, Vineyard Sound, MA[40]
–12 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 94.[41]
–12 New England Historical Society. The Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944… 2017.
–12 US Navy. Ships Lost: Navy & Coast Guard Vessels, WW II, Dec 7, 1941-Oct 1, 1945.
–12 Webster, W.R. “Lightship Crew Remembered.” Proceedings of the Naval Institute, 1999.
Narrative Information
(General/Overview)
Douglas: “In New England, few people had heard that the hurricane of 1815 had been followed exactly six years later by that if 1821. Now, with coasts blacked out and radios silenced by the war, there were almost no warnings of a violent disturbance which followed the track of the New England hurricane of `38, from Puerto Rico to Long Island. On the eighth of September 1944, a weather officer tried to fly an army reconnaissance plane into it but winds of 140 miles per hour sheared rivets of the wings. The hurricane passed Hatteras, moved up the coast northeastward across Rhode Island and Massachusetts and along the Maine coast. By the fifteenth it was blowing over Newfoundland and was lost off Greenland.
“There was damage enough, but only one-third that of `38, on land, and only 46 deaths. At sea, 298 service men were lost with one destroyer, two Coast Guard cutters, a lightship and a mine sweeper.” (Douglas 1958, p. 291.)
Ludlum: “Great Atlantic Hurricane swept Cape Hatteras with central pressure of 27.97 in…; sideswiped New Jersey and Long Island, crossed southeast Massachusetts; 390 lost at sea.”
(Ludlum 1982, p. 191.)
NWS: “Sep 9…1944… The “Great Atlantic Hurricane” ravaged the east coast. The storm killed 22 persons and caused 63 million dollars damage in the Chesapeake Bay area, then besieged New England killing 390 persons and causing another 100 million dollars damage. (TWC[42]).[43]….
NWS: “Sep 14…1944… A very destructive hurricane swept across Cape Hatteras, side swiped NJ and LI, and crossed SE MA. The hurricane killed more than 400 persons, mainly at sea, putting this hurricane on The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492 to Present, list….The hurricane destroyed the ACY [Atlantic City] boardwalk. A wind gust was measured to 100 mph from the NE at ACY, NYC had a gust to 97 mph from the N, Cape Henry, VA, G148/NW, and ORF, G79/N. These were the strongest wind gusts recorded at those places in 1944. PHL [Philadelphia] received 1.49″ of rain on the 12th, 2.80″, a daily record, on the 13th, and 1.17″ on the 14th, for a total of 5.46″. NYC received daily record rainfall amounts of 3.94″ on the 13th and 3.82″ on the 14th. The pressure at PHL fell to 29.33″, the 6th lowest reading for the month of Sep. This hurricane was the 2nd, and strongest, tropical system to affect the Mid-Atlantic states in 1944. (For detailed information on an attack of giant tsunami-like waves upon the NJ shore associated with this hurricane, from the Mt Holly home page, go to Office Information, then to Research/Reports, and then to Tsunami Information.)” (NCC[44]) (NHC[45]) (Ludlum[46]) (TWC[47]).” (NWS FO, Philadelphia/Mount Holly. “Historical Weather Facts…,” Oct 17, 2005.)
Sumner: “The intense Atlantic coast hurricane of September 8-16 and the Florida-Cuba storm of October 13-21, each of which wrought damage in excess of $100,000,000, carried the hurricane season of 1944 into second position among the most destructive years of record. The historical New England hurricane of September 17-21, 1938, which from the viewpoint of property damage was probably the greatest natural disaster ever to befall the country, placed the season of 1938 at the top of the list….The second most destructive hurricane in the history of the country struck inland over Long Island on September 14, took a toll of 390 lives (including marine casualties), and wrought property damage of over $100,000,000.” (Sumner. “North Atlantic Hurricanes…Trop. Disturb…1944.” MWR, V72/N12, 3/5 1945, p. 237.)
Sumner on Sep 12: “A weather officer aboard an army reconnaissance plane which became involved in the storm estimated the wind at about 140 miles per hour. He reported turbulence so great that with the pilot and copilot both at the controls the plane could not be kept under control and several times it was feared it would be torn apart or crash out of control. When they returned to base it was found that 150 rivets had been sheared off on one wing alone….
“Moving almost due north, at a rate of 25-30 miles per hour, the center passed just east of Hatteras at about 9:20 arm. (E. W. T.) on the 14th. Then turning slightly to the northeastward it moved up the coast, at an accelerated speed of about 40 miles per hour, and crossed over eastern Long Island at about 10 p. m. on the same date. Moving inland about an hour later near Point Judith, R. I., the center crossed the States of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, passing a short. distance southeast of Boston, and moved into Massachusetts Bay after 1 a.m. The center again passed inland, and later crossed southeastern New Brunswick near the head of the Bay of Fundy….” (Sumner. “The North Atlantic Hurricane…Sep 8-16, 1944.” MWR, 72/9, 1944, pp. 187-188.)
“The highest wind velocity recorded by instrument was an extreme velocity of 134 miles per hour, observed at approximately 12:20 p.m. on September 14, at Cape Henry, Va. Maximum wind velocities equaled or exceeded all previous records at Hatteras, Cape Henry, Atlantic City, New York, and Block Island….
“A total of 390 lives were lost as a result of the 1944 hurricane, a large proportion of them as a result of marine casualties. The 46 deaths listed as occurring along the coastal areas of the United States is less than 10 percent of the 494 fatalities resulting from the storm of 1938. Navy marine casualties were directly related to intensified patrol work and other exigencies resulting from weather conditions. Property damage has been estimated at approximately $100,000,000 or about one-third that estimated for the 1938 hurricane….
“A total of 51 warnings and advisories were issued by the Hurricane Warning Centers at San Juan, Miami, Washington, and Boston. Prompt dissemination of these warnings by news distributing agencies resulted in the evacuation of thousands of persons in threatened areas, and the safeguarding from storm damage, insofar as was possible, of protectable property. In New York City, during the period of storm inquiries from September 12 to 15 inclusive, a total of 289,486 calls were received over the automatic telephone system….” (Sumner. “The North Atlantic Hurricane…Sep 8-16, 1944.” MWR, 72/9, 1944, p. 188.)
“A release by the public relations once of the fifth Naval district lists 344 men, dead or missing, from 5 vessels wrecked and sunk during the hurricane of Sept. 8-16, 1944. The casualties were from the destroyer Warrington, the Coast Guard cutters Jackson and Bedloe, the light vessel Vineyard Sound, and the minesweeper YMS-409.[48] The cutters capsized and sank while protecting a Liberty Ship torpedoed off the North Carolina Coast, and the light vessel dragged anchor and sank about 2 miles to the northeastward of her station off Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.” (Sumner. “The North Atlantic Hurricane…Sep 8-16, 1944.” MWR, 72/9, 1944, 189.)
Bedloe and Jackson
USCG Historian’s Office: “Two Coast Guard cutters the CGS’s BEDLOE (ex-ANTIETAM)[49] and JACKSON, foundered in heavy weather off Cape Hatteras on 14 September, 1944. The cutters had gone to the assistance of a Liberty Ship which had been torpedoed off the North Carolina coast and almost driven ashore in a later hurricane but she had weathered both blows and was towed to Norfolk with no casualties among her 40 man crew and only slight damage to her cargo. The two cutters were each 125 feet in length and of 220 tons each. The commanding officer of the BEDLOE was Lt. A. S. Hess, and of the JACKSON, Lt. (jg) N. D. Call. The BEDLOE had 5 officers and 33 men on board when sunk, of whom 2 officers and 24 men were lost. The JACKSON had 5 officers and 36 men on board and 2 officers and 19 men were lost. [One from Jackson died after rescue.]
“LIFE RAFTS SPOTTED BY PLANES
Twelve survivors from the BEDLOE and nineteen from the JACKSON were spotted on life rafts, those from the BEDLOE being spotted by a patrol plane and picked up an hour later by a Navy minesweeper. Those from the JACKSON were spotted by a Coast Guard plane from Elizabeth City, N. C., and picked up by a 36 foot cutter from the Oregon Inlet Lifeboat Station, 15 miles away. The former had been in the water 51 hours and the latter 58 hours. The Coast Guard planes landed in the swells, a plane next to each liferaft, and crew members dived into the sea and hauled semi-conscious men onto the wings of the tossing planes, where first aid was administered. A Navy blimp dropped emergency rations. Guided by PBM’s and another Navy blimp, the Coast Guard cutter made directly for the Jackson’s survivors and quickly hauled them aboard. Near the shore the men were transferred aboard a Navy vessel, where they were treated by a physician until Coast Guard PBM‘s[50] landed and flew them to Norfolk for more hospitalization. An intensive search was instituted for the 48 officers and men reported missing in the twin disaster, including the 23 year old skipper of the JACKSON, Lt. (jg) N. O. Call.
“CREWS OF EACH CUTTER LOOKED TO OTHER FOR RESCUE
“Survivors said 37 officers and men originally clung to the three Jackson rafts, but 17 died during the second night from exposure and exhaustion. Added to the torment of parched throats, crowded rafts and heavy seas during their 58 hour vigil were sharks and “Portuguese men-of-war,” multi-tailed marine pests whose stingers continually lashed the bodies of the storm-tossed men. Ironically enough, crew members of each vessel pinned their hopes on rescue by the other, unaware of the like doom of each ship. Lt. Hess of the Bedloe explained: “Skippers often think alike. I was trying to work our way out to sea a bit to avoid the heavy swell hitting near the shore and I figured the Jackson was doing likewise and would be somewhere in the vicinity.”
“BEDLOE GOES UNDER
“Struck four times by the towering waves, the Bedloe tossed like a matchstick in the ocean before going down. All 38 officers and crew men safely abandoned ship and at least 30 were able to obtain a hold on the liferafts. However, the strain of fighting the hurricane aboard, plus the ordeal of hanging to liferafts for 51 hours, proved too much for most of the men and only 12 were able to hang on until rescued. One man slid under the water only minutes before the rescue craft came into sight.
“END OF THE JACKSON
“Borne to the top of a huge swell, the Jackson was struck by two swells and rolled over until the mast dipped water. As the swells subsided, the ship righted and was hit by another high sea and turned on her side a second time. Struggling out of that, the vessel was carried high by a third sea. It seemed then, survivors said, that she hung in mid-air for seconds; then the wind seized her, turned her on her side and completely over. She disappeared under a huge wave. Next day, two of the survivors had tried to swim ashore which they thought was 10 miles away. After swimming about 3 hours they realized they were making little headway and decided to return. Turning back, one of them saw a shark about 30 feet away headed for the other. The shark was more than six feet long but passed him without harm.
“”WE MADE IT”
“William W. McCreedy, boatswain’s mate 1/c from the Oregon inlet Lifeboat Station, who assisted in the rescue of the survivors from the Jackson said the first thing he saw was a man doubled up in a small raft, his eyes resembling “a couple of blue dots in a beefsteak.” “He flashed a beautiful smile that couldn’t be missed,” McCreedy continued, “I felt I had looked at something a man sees once in a lifetime — sort of thought I had come to the edge of heaven. Then, as though his last will to fight had been lost when he saw us, slumped into the water. The radioman grabbed him and held him in the raft. I went overboard to help and the three of us dragged the raft down. The unconscious man’s foot was twisted in the lines, but I cut him free and we put him in the boat.” Just before reaching shore, the man reached, stroked McCreedy’s face and mumbled “We made it.” Then he died.” (USCG, Historian’s Office. The Coast Guard at War. “Lost Cutters…Bedloe,” 1949.)
Ostrom: “Search and Rescue duty in the Atlantic posed the dual threats of U-boats and seasonal storms. Responding to the 12 September 1944 torpedo attack on a U.S. merchant ship off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the Coast Guard cutters Jackson and Bedloe were lost when struck by the category 4 Great Atlantic Hurricane. Forth-eight Coastguardsmen lost their lives when the cutters rolled and sank in heavy seas.” (Ostrom 2009, 98.)
Vineyard Lightship #73
New England Historical Society: “One of the worst tragedies of the Great Atlantic Hurricane was the sinking of the Vineyard Lightship, moored off the entrances of Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound…the ship’s commanding officer Warrant Officer Edgar Sevigny…asked permission to move to a sheltered location for a couple of hours while the storm passed, but was denied….By morning, the lightship had disappeared. All the Navy reported was the lightship was off station. When she was finally found, she was sunk in 80-feet of water nearly a mile and a half away from her last position. The vessel’s masts and funnel were snapped off at the deck but her moorings were still attached, which suggests the crew attempted to obey orders and keep the vessel at its position right until it was overwhelmed by the waves.” (New England Historical Society. The Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944… 2017.)
Webster: “On 15 September, 1999, the U. S. Coast Guard and the City of New Bedford, Massachusetts honored 12 crew men lost in the sinking of the Coast Guard’s Vineyard Lightship #73 off Cuttyhunk in a horrific 1944 hurricane. The solemn ceremony ended a 55-year quixotic journey of the light ship’s sole surviving crew man, Boatswain Mate Senior Chief Harold Flagg, USN (Retired)….
“There were 17 men assigned to the Vineyard Lightship #73, with a crew of 12 on the boat at all times. The remaining five crewmen were off on compensatory leave for a period of two weeks….
“Built by the Spedden Ship Building Company of Baltimore, Maryland in 1901, the 129 foot long [boat]…was originally designated “No. 73.” From 1902-1924, No. 73 was positioned near Pollock Rip, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Later, the ship was transferred to the Sow and Pigs Reef
at the Western end of Cuttyhunk Island…and given the name “Vineyard.” Her charge was to warn ships entering Vineyard Sound and nearby Narragansett Bay of the reef’s rocks and shoals. Many ships have come to grief in this area, including the famous New Bedford whaler Wanderer in 1924, the passenger ferry Pilgrim Belle in 1985 and most recently, the Queen Elizabeth II in 1992. (Unpublished manuscript Harold Flagg.)
“The September 1944 “Great Atlantic Hurricane,” as termed by the US Weather Bureau, was one of the largest and most powerful storms to savage the east coast. It was also one of the first hurricanes to be flown into and tracked by the then newly formed Army Air Corps Hurricane Weather Reconnaissance Squadron. Perhaps one of the largest Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded, the Great Atlantic Hurricane generated hurricane force winds over an estimated width of 200 miles and spawned gale force winds over a swath of 600 miles.
“In terms of destruction, this hurricane sank a total of five ships, claiming 344 lives at sea and 46 lives ashore. Two hundred forty seven officers and men of the USS Warrington died, as well as 97 other sailors from the Coast Guard cutters Jackson, Bedloe, Vineyard Lightship #73 and the Navy minesweeper YMS 409….
“Although the exact cause of the sinking will never be conclusively known, the Coast Guard’s own investigation reported that “as a result of a hurricane, the Vineyard Lightship #73 foundered.” (30 September 1944 ROI COTP New Bedford p. 6)” (Webster, W. R. “Lightship Crew Remembered.” Proceedings of the Naval Institute, 1999.)
USS Warrington
Dawes (inside cover): “Over the centuries thousands of ships have been lost to violent storms at sea, but the story of the USS Warrington is like no other. The destroyer’s loss in the Atlantic in September 1944 is one of the few cases in which there were enough survivors to re-create a complete picture of what happened. This book recounts the experiences of the Warrington’s sixty-eight survivors, who spent some forty hours in the water, It is based on their testimony before a Court of Inquiry and on the author’s own firsthand experience with the ship and its crew – Cdr. Robert Dawes was her captain until fourteen days before she sank.
“The story that emerges is one of heroism and neglect. Dissecting the reasons for the disaster, Commander Dawes shows that the ship’s loss was the result of a series of mistakes that should never have happened, and he cites compelling and disturbing evidence. Some fourteen weather warnings were ignored, for example, vividly demonstrating the fact that the finest system of weather advisories in the world is useless if warnings are not heeded. Neglected maintenance and repair caused machines to break down. Long months of unrelieved, mind-numbing operations had taken their toll on the men….
“The author questions the Court of Inquiry’s harsh treatment of some of the survivors and the court’s failure to recognize the heroism of several crew members while criticizing other actions that had no bearing on the Warrington’s loss….
Elbert B Smith Foreword to Dawes: “On 13 September 1944, the USS Warrington, DD 383, capsized and sank in a hurricane some three hundred miles off the coast of northern Florida. Three-fourths of her officers and crew, including one of my dearest friends, were lost after herculean efforts to save the ship, most of them because of an inexcusable delay in rescue operations. After a lengthy inquiry, three officers faced courts-martial. The records tell a gripping dstory of a tired crew and overworked ship under a new captain barely acquainted with his vessel, officers, and men, ordered to sail despite a lack of urgency into the teeth of an already identified hurricane. She was escorting and was subject to the orders of a new and much larger ship also commanded by a new captain. A lack of cooperation between the two captains played a major role in the catastrophe. Using his best judgment, the Warrington’s captain made mistakes that are far more obvious to the historian who knows the results than they were to the captain struggling to save his ship. But for a careless error at the Brookly Navy Yard, the Warrington would have been on another assignment nowhere near the hurricane on 13 September…” (p. xi.)
(Dawes, Cdr. Robert A. Jr. (USN, Ret.). The Dragon’s Breath: Hurricane At Sea. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1996.
Naval Historical Center: “…the destroyer USS Warrington (DD-383) sank off Florida–drowning 248–during a great Atlantic hurricane on 13 September 1944.” (Naval Historical Ctr. “FAQs. Typhoons and Hurricanes…,” 2005.)
YMS-409 (USN)
Adams: “Great Atlantic Hurricane, 1944 – The Great Atlantic Hurricane was one of the worst to ever strike the US eastern seaboard, wreaking havoc with shipping (similar to the 1919 storm). It saw one of worst peacetime losses in the US Navy’s history…. The minesweeper USS YMS-409 also sank with the loss of all 33 crew.”
Cressman, September 14 (Thursday): “Motor minesweeper YMS 409, assigned duties as an additional escort to the NG convoy scattered by the storm, founders in the hurricane and sinks.” (Cressman. The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II, Part 773, p. 254.)
HyperWar: “12 September, Tue….Motor minesweeper YMS-409 founders and sinks off Atlantic Coast.” (HyperWar. The Official Chronology of the US Navy in World War II, “Chapter VI: 1944.”
Uboat.net: “Lost 12 Sep 1944…Foundered and sunk off the US east coast during a storm.” (Uboat.net. Allied Warships. “USS YMS-409 (YMS-409).” Accessed 3-11-2017.)
Newspapers
Sep 11: Miami, Fla., Sept. 11 – (AP) – Weather Bureau officials said a tropical storm attended by winds of full hurricane force near the center and by gales over a large area was centered early today about 540 miles east of Nassau, capital of the Bahama Islands. At its present speed and direction the hurricane would not reach the United States coast for from 40 to 50 hours, the weather bureau said.” (Associated Press. “Hurricane Winds East of Bahamas,” The Salisbury Times, MD. 9-11-1944, p. 1.)
Sep 12: “Miami, Fla., Sept. 12 – (AP) – The weather bureau reported today that hurricane warnings are indicated for the northern Bahama islands, and advised persons along the Atlantic coast from Miami to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to be on the alert for further advices about a severe tropical storm. ‘The great Atlantic hurricane,’ said the bureau, in a 10 a.m. advisory, ‘is centered near latitude 36 [unclear] degrees north, longitude 72 degrees west, moving westward abut 10 or 12 miles per hour. This position is about 525 miles east of Miami. ‘It is attended by full hurricane winds over a considerable area around the center, and gales extending outward 200 miles ‘Broadcast by all radio stations on south Atlantic coast requested.’
“The advisory said ‘there is still a chance for a change in the direction of movement,’ but added: ‘Warning may be necessary late today or tonight for some sections of the United States coast.’
“Army and navy hurricane-hunting planes which took off before dawn flew into the storm area while crew members sent back observations which led the weather bureau to issue the preliminary alert.” (Associated Press. “Tropical Storm Warnings to Coastal Residents of State.” The High Point Enterprise, NC, 9-12-1944, p. 1.)
Sep 13: “Miami, Fla., Sept. 13 – (AP) – Storm warnings were hoisted along the Carolina and North Georgia coasts today as a great Atlantic hurricane moved close to the threatening point. A 10:30 a.m. Weather Bureau advisory placed the storm about 300 miles east of Titusville, Fla., and forecast a curse which would ‘bring the center close to the coast of the Carolinas.’ Meteorologist Grady Norton noted, however, a tendency for the big hurricane to turn more to the northward, or even to the northeastward, and thus spare the coast a dangerous blow. ‘If the storm is to miss the Carolina coast,’ he said, ‘it will have to turn within the 18-hour period which began at 8 a.m. today. There is still a good chance that it will swing away, but I strongly urge persons in the warning area to keep in the closest touch with developments.’
“The hurricane is the strongest in years to blow out of tropical seas and head in the general direction of the American coast. The advisory said there were full hurricane winds, of 75 miles an hour or higher, over a considerable area around the center, and gales over a very large area.” (Associated Press. “Hurricane is Still Threat to East Coast.” The Salisbury Times, MD. 9-13-1944, p. 1.)
Sep 14: “Norfolk, Va., Sept. 14. – (AP) – Hampton Roads communities prepared today for the approaching Atlantic hurricane, which the Norfolk weather bureau reported would sweep80 to 100 miles off the Virginia Capes about 6 p.m. (E.W.T.) [Eastern War Time]. Winds of 75 miles per hour were expected at Virginia Beach and 60 miles per hour at Norfolk,
“Meteorologists here said at 11 a.m. that the hurricane, moving north-northeast at a speed of about 20 miles per hour, had caused wind velocities of 74 miles at 10 a.m. at Caffey’s Inlet, N.C., 70 miles north of Cape Hatteras, with gusts of 90 miles per hour recorded at Weeksville, south of Elizabeth City, N.C.
“The wind velocity at Cape Henry, just south of Virginia Beach, climbed from 35 miles an hour at 9 o’clock this morning to 56 miles at 11 a.m., and the wind was blowing 36 miles an hour at Norfolk at the same hour. The port city felt gusts up to 50 miles per hour.
“High seas will lash nearby beach areas, the Norfolk weather station reported, and should reach their peak about 7 p.m. Tides four feet above normal were predicted for Norfolk. The highest tide on record here was nine feet above normal in the hurricane of Aug. 23, 1933.
“Mayor W. W. Elliott of Virginia Beach ordered all volunteer firemen at the resort community to stand by for possible emergency and all Coast Guard personnel at the beach was held on duty. No evacuation order had been issued to Virginia Beach residents at 11 a.m. today, but Lt. C. O. Peele of the beach Coast Guard station said the operators and occupants of all ocean front hotels and cottages had been advised of the storm’s extent. Peele reported that many were leaving the resort.” (Associated Press. “Norfolk Gets Set for Storm.” Gastonia Daily Gazette, NC. 9-14-1944, p. 1.)
Sep 15, NYT: “Leaving havoc in its wake along a 500-mile path, the most destructive hurricane since the disaster of 1938 battered the Atlantic Seaboard from Cape Hatteras north to Long Island yesterday.
“Moving up the coast from Long Island, the center of the hurricane passed over Rhode Island early this morning, then veered sharply northeastward to Boston, hitting the Massachusetts coast at a point twenty miles south of the city, near Brockton. From there it was expected, the Boston Weather Bureau said, to pass out to sea. Two men were injured to Topfield, Mass., during the height of the storm, when a tree was blown over and crashed into the top of the bus in which they were riding.
“Although lashed by drenching rain, which was turned almost into sheets of spray by gusts of wind of gale force, New York City was spared the worst of the West Indian storm, the center of which apparently passed over eastern Long Island somewhere between Patchogue and Southampton.
“Even so, subway service was repeatedly7 disrupted and countless windows were broken by the raging northeaster, which hit the city late in the afternoon and grew in violence until it reached a peak about 9 P.M. Hundreds of thousands of homeward-bound New Yorkers were soaked when they were trapped by the storm at the evening rush hour.
“At 0:20 P.M. the Weather Bureau announced that the storm center had passed the city and that the barometer was beginning to rise. Winds were beginning to diminish at that time, the observer on duty reported, and by 1 o’clock this morning the rain had stopped and the wind had dropped to 24 miles an hour. He said, however, that all records for wind velocity here had been broken when thee hurricane’s average velocity reached 80 miles an hour at 8:25 P.M.
“Scattering reports of fatalities resulting from the hurricane began to come in late last night after the hurricane itself had roared far to the north and the skies over the city were clearing rapidly. In New York ten persons met death from touching live wires broken by the storm; in Atlantic City an air raid warden was killed by flying debris and a woman died of a heart attack, and deaths were caused by over-exertion during the storm in Oceanside, L.I., and Wilmington, Del.
“Trees were toppled by the hundreds in the outlying sections of the city, while police emergency squads were kept busy safeguarding cornices that were threatening to go over before the gale.
“An alert of State Police, State Guard and civilian defense workers throughout Brooklyn and Long Island was ordered last night by Acting Gov. Joe R. Hanley, according to an Associated Press dispatch from Warwick, N.Y., which said that the Acting Governor was keeping in touch with developments through Charles Breitel, Governor Dewey’s counsel, at Albany.
“Smaller communities along the Long Island and New Jersey shores and as far south as North Carolina were much harder hit….
“Half a dozen small communities along the New Jersey shore sixty to eighty miles south of New York were ordered evacuated, including Manasquan Beach, Bay Head, Mantoloking, Lavallette and Seaside Park. Farther south, 2,000 residents of Morehead City, N.C., and between 500 and 1,000 residents of Ocean City, Md., were likewise removed to the interior.
“Gov. Leverett Saltonstall of Massachusetts broadcast an appeal to residents of the shore area of that State to leave their homes by 9:30 P.M. and proceed to inland points, while the Rhode Island State police cleared a twelve-mile stretch of the shore from Watch Hill to Weekapaug. Among those moved inland here were hundreds of naval personnel from the naval air station at Charlestown, R. I.
“In Providence, R.I., the police ordered the streets cleared of all traffic, both pedestrian and automobile, at 6 P.M. as a safety measure.
“Although preliminary reports, necessarily incomplete because of the frequent disruption of communications, failed to show anything approaching the catastrophic effects of the 1938 hurricane, which striking on Sept. 21, took 680 lives and caused $400,000,000 property damage, there was no doubt even as the storm was passing that it had caused heavy damage and much suffering.
“Atlantic City, N.J., and neighboring communities on Absecon Island, including Ventnor, Margate and Longport, were cut off from the outside world. Train service in and out of the island was stopped by trees felled across the tracks, and the highways leading to the area were flooded, in some points to a depth of four and five feet. Reports from Atlantic City indicated that hundreds of persons had been left homeless by the blow there and placed estimated property damage in the millions. The famous Steel Pier was badly damaged and the boardwalk was destroyed or damaged for most of its length. Philadelphia sent 100 policemen, twelve ambulances and other rescue workers and equipment to the aid of Atlantic City. Only the flickering lights of candles and lanterns illuminated the homes of the south Jersey shore communities as the electric power lines were downed by the storm. Trolley and bus service was suspended and automobiles parked in streets near the waterfront were completely submerged by the roaring high tide.
“Along the south shore of Long Island, Patchogue, Freeport and other communities were likewise plunged into darkness by power failures. Service on the Long Island railroad to many points, including the Rockaways and Long Beach, was seriously delayed. Two persons were marooned in a beach house at Long Beach but were rescued at 9 o’clock last night by a Coast Guard boat from the Atlantic Beach station that went through churning seas to take them to safety….
“Live wires were one of the commonest and most serious hazards resulting from the storm. Caused in most cases by falling trees or limbs, they were present in large numbers in every city and twon that was hit hard by the hurricane. In Westchester alone the Westchester Lighting Company reported there were at least 500 cases of broken wires. Fire companies were busy battling small blazes that resulted….” (New York Times. “Hurricane Tears Destructive Path 500 Miles on Coast.” 9-15-1944, pp. 1 and 10.)
Sep 15: “New Haven, Conn. Sept. 15 (AP) – Connecticut was wind-battered and wet today, and there was at least one death – but the state was thankful that the hurricane which blasted in from the Atlantic between 9 and 10 p.m. last night was no worse. Everywhere there was a tangle of fallen wires, streets strewn with tree limbs and some fallen trees, washed out roads and flooded basements; but there was no casualty list to scan as was the case after the hurricane of September 1938, and the damage was not expected to approach the total of the multi-million dollar destruction wrought six years ago…
“The one storm death reported up to 5 a.m. was that of an unidentified man here who came in contact with a steel fence onto which an electric wire and fallen. The victim, whose face was burned badly, was found lying against the fence shortly after 2 a.m. today. He was pronounced dead from electric shock by physicians at Grace hospital. He was dressed in working man’s clothes and apparently between 35 and 40 years old, detectives said.
“A total of 4.02 inches of rain – more than half an inch an hour – fell in New Haven from 6 p.m. yesterday until the hurricane abated early today, and the figure for Hartford was 4.05 inches….” (Associated Press. “Connecticut Wind-Battered and Wet Today – But Very, Very Thankful.” Lowell Sun, MA. 9-15-1944, p. 1.)
Sep 15: “Portland, Sept. 15. – (AP) – Two persons lost their lives in Maine in the Atlantic hurricane which spent much of its wrath to the southward before its center passed over Portland at 4:30 a.m. today. Keith Fraser, 10, of Portland, was electrocuted by contact with a high voltage wire broken by the storm. At Bangor, Mrs. Eleanor Gallant, 40, was killed by a rain-blinded bicyclist.
“High winds beat at Maine’s coast, reaching 42 miles an hour at Portland, with 60-mile gusts, as the great storm roared northeastward over the sea. Their force, however, was nothing like the 98 miles recorded at Boston.
“Communications were disrupted in places as power and light lines were cut and trees and branches were felled. The State Agriculture Department reported about half Maine’s McIntosh apple crop, ready for harvest, was blown from the trees. A telephone company spokesman estimated 9,000 to 10,000 local telephones and 150 toll circuits in Maine were knocked out temporarily and about 150 poles toppled. Augusta, Waterville, Rockland and Bath areas were hit hardest.
“Passage of the storm center brought the wind around from the southeast to the northwest, or off the land, knocking down somewhat the danger of an abnormally high tide at 10:50 a.m.” (AP. “Hurricane Takes Two Lives in State of Maine.” Biddeford Daily Journal, ME. 9-15-1944, p. 1.)
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United States Navy. Typhoons and Hurricanes: The Effects of Cyclonic Winds on U.S. Naval Operations (webpage). Naval History and Heritage Command, 9-14-2017. Accessed 2-1-2020 at: https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/t/the-effects-of-cyclonic-winds-on-us-naval-operations.html
The Wrecksite. USS YMS-409 (+1944). Last update 12-28-2015. Accessed 9-4-2016 at: http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?137056
Uboat.net. Allied Warships. “USS YMS-409.” Accessed 3-11-2017. Accessed 3-11-2017 at: http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/9827.html
Webster, Captain W. Russell (U.S. Coast Guard Historian). “Lightship Crew Remembered.” Proceedings of the Naval Institute, 1999 and June 2000. Accessed 2-1-2020 at: http://www.wrussellwebster.com/articles/lightship-crew-remembered/
Wikipedia. “1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane.” Accessed 2018 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1944_Great_Atlantic_Hurricane
Wrecksite. “USS YMS-409 (+1944).” Website accessed 2-1-2020 at: https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?137056
[1] Sep 14, 1944: “A very destructive hurricane swept across Cape Hatteras, side swiped NJ and LI, and crossed SE MA. The hurricane killed more than 400 persons, mainly at sea…”
[2] Notes 64 deaths and includes footnote noting: “Total including offshore losses is 390.”
[3] Notes “Some 344 of these lost on ships at sea.”
[4] “…390 sailors died when several sank, including a destroyer, the USS Warrington.” [Our figures show 341 maritime deaths and 41-54 mainland deaths.]
[5] “390 deaths were attributed to this hurricane, most of which were at sea. The relatively low number of land deaths (46) was attributed to the well-executed warnings and evacuations.”
[6] Gives impression that this loss of life was at sea (which we doubt): “Most of its fury was spent out to sea where the death toll reached nearly 400 people lost on numerous ships.” Specifically names USCCG cutters Bedloe and Jackson, Vineyard Sound lightship, USN minesweeper YMS-409 and USN destroyer Warrington.
[7] Sumner: “A release by the public relations office of the fifth Naval district lists 344 men, dead or missing, from 5 vessels wrecked and sunk during the hurricane of Sept. 8-16, 1944. The casualties were from the destroyer Warrington, the Coast Guard cutters Jackson and Bedloe, the light vessel Vineyard Sound, and the minesweeper YMS-409. The cutters capsized and sank while protecting a Liberty Ship torpedoed off the North Carolina coast, and the light vessel dragged anchor and sank about 2 miles to the northeastward of her station off Marth’s Vineyard, Mass.” [Blanchard note: We choose to use loss-of-life numbers which were assigned to these craft afterwards.]
[8] Difference of one for the Warrington (247 or 248); difference of one for YMS-409 (32 or 33); difference of one for the USCG Cutter Jackson (21-22); and using Sumner figure of 344 as high end of range — perhaps there were one to three maritime deaths other than the five USN ships, or he has differing figures for the five ships noted.
[9] Interesting to note that other versions of The Deadliest…, and other sources note 46 deaths. It is possible that the number 46 was mistakenly entered as 64 — the numbers 4 and 6 being inverted. For this reason we do not use.
[10] One sees the range and uncertainty derived primarily from looking at newspaper reporting at the time. It is quite possible that there were exactly 46 deaths, such as reported by NWS/NOAA (Hebert/Jarrell/Mayfield), and by Sumner in Monthly Weather Review.
[11] New York Times. “Connecticut Storm Death Toll 3…” 9-16-1944, p. 11.
[12] AP. “Connecticut Wind-Battered and Wet Today – But Very, Very Thankful.” Lowell Sun, MA. 9-15-1944, p. 1.
[13] New York Times. “Connecticut Storm Death Toll 3…” 9-16-1944, p. 11.
[14] AP. “High Winds Lash Jersey, Long Island. Troy Record, NY. 9-15-1944, p. 23. Though Bowers is about sixty miles down the Delaware Bay from Wilmington, it is conceivable that the two reports concern the same fatality.
[15] New York Times. “Hurricane Tears Destructive Path 500 Miles on Coast.” 9-15-1944, p. 1.
[16] Associated Press. “Hurricane Takes Two Lives in State of Maine.” Biddeford Daily Journal, ME. 9-15-1944, p. 1.
[17] Associated Press. “Hurricane Takes Two Lives in State of Maine.” Biddeford Daily Journal, ME. 9-15-1944, p. 1.
[18] We suspect that Sumner, like the press at the time, included the Vineyard Sound loss-of-life (reported in press as 11) in the Massachusetts total. See: AP. “Lightship is Reported Lost in Hurricane. Toll of Dead in New England 27.” Biddeford Daily Journal, ME. 9-19-1944, p. 1. That is understandable, but we choose to include these losses from the Vineyard Sound in the Maritime section.
[19] AP. Cape Cod Communities, Hit by Hurricane, Stride Back to Normalcy.” Lowell Sun, MA, 9-18-1944, p. 8.
[20] Larsen, Erik. “Shore battered by Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944.” App.com (USA Today Network), 9-11-2017.
[21] AP. “Atlantic City, Other Coastal Resorts Hit Hard by Hurricane.” Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV. 9-15-1944, p1.
[22] AP. “Death Toll 37 in Northeastern Gale.” Delta Democrat-Times, Greenville, MS, 9-17-1944, 1.
[23] United Press. “Hurricane Damage Heavy in N.E. Lowell Sun, MA, 9-16-1944, p. 32.
[24] Associated Press. “Hurricane Death Toll Rises to 28.” Albuquerque Journal, NM, 9-16-1944, p. 1.
[25] New York Times. “Hurricane Tears Destructive Path 500 Miles on Coast.” 9-15-1944, p. 1.
[26] AP. “Atlantic City, Other Coastal Resorts Hit Hard by Hurricane.” Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV. 9-15-1944, p1; Associated Press. “High Winds Lash Jersey, Long Island. Troy Record, NY. 9-15-1944, p. 1. This latter article gives the victim’s age as 55 and notes that the street car motorman “was electrocuted when he stepped from his car and onto a live wire pulled down by a tree that had fallen on the tracks.”
[27] Associated Press. “High Winds Lash Jersey, Long Island. Troy Record, NY. 9-15-1944, p. 23.
[28] Associated Press. “High Winds Lash Jersey, Long Island. Troy Record, NY. 9-15-1944, p. 23.
[29] Associated Press. “High Winds Lash Jersey, Long Island. Troy Record, NY. 9-15-1944, p. 1.
[30] Associated Press. “High Winds Lash Jersey, Long Island. Troy Record, NY. 9-15-1944, p. 23.
[31] Associated Press. “High Winds Lash Jersey, Long Island. Troy Record, NY. 9-15-1944, p. 23.
[32] Associated Press. “High Winds Lash Jersey, Long Island. Troy Record, NY. 9-15-1944, p. 23.
[33] New York Times. “Hurricane Tears Destructive Path 500 Miles on Coast.” 9-15-1944, p. 1.
[34] Associated Press. “High Winds Lash Jersey, Long Island. Troy Record, NY. 9-15-1944, p. 1.
[35] United Press. “Hurricane Damage Heavy Along Coast.” The Daily Independent, Kannapolis, NC, 9-17-1944, B6; Associated Press. “Hurricane Victim to be Buried at Manteo.” Gastonia Daily Gazette, NC, 9-18-1944, p. 1.
[36] The National Weather Service, Wakefield VA, office notes no fatalities in its note on this hurricane in: The Hurricane History of Central and Eastern Virginia. Weather.gov
[37] Wreck Site notes the “YMS-409 and her 33 crew disappeared in the Great Atlantic Hurricane, off the Diamond Shoals [off Cape Hatteras, NC], Sept. 1944. Cites: R.J. Cressman. Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in WW II. Naval Hist. Center, 1999.
[38] U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command notes the date of loss and location as North Atlantic. NavSource Online lists compliment of 33, and writes: “Foundered 12 September 1944 off Cape Hatteras, NC in the Great Atlantic hurricane of 1944 with the loss of all hands.”
[39] Writes: “On 14 September 1944 she was ordered, along with sister cutter Bedloe, to go to the assistance of torpedoed merchant vessel George Ade off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in the midst of a powerful hurricane. Both cutters sank in the heavy seas. The Jackson lost 22 of her crew.”
[40] Vineyard Sound lies between the Islands of Martha’s Vineyard to the east and Naushon Island to the west.
[41] Berman notes the date of loss as September 14.
[42] The Weather Channel, “Weather Calendar” (Atlanta GA, 1988- 1990).
[43] 22 fatalities in Chesapeake Bay area and 390 in New England equals 412 in all.
[44] National Climatic Center
[45] National Hurricane Center
[46] Ludlum, David, editor of “Weatherwise” magazine (Princeton NJ).
[47] The Weather Channel, “Weather Calendar” (Atlanta GA, 1988- 1990).
[48] USN site (Casualties: U.S. Navy) notes “USS YMS-409 foundered in the North Atlantic, 12 September 1944.”
[49] “Launched and commissioned as Antietam, she was first stationed in Boston, where she served out of until 1935. She was assigned to law enforcement and search and rescue duties and also broke ice when needed. She then transferred to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and saw service on the Great Lakes. She was sent to Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1940 where her armament was upgraded at the plant of Tietjen & Lang. She was assigned to the EASTSEAFRON (Eastern Sea Frontier) and was stationed out of Stapleton, Staten Island, where she saw service as a convoy escort vessel along the eastern seaboard. “ (USCG. “Bedloe, 1927”)
[50] Patrol Bomber, Martin (maritime patrol flying boat).