Jackson WSC-142

&

Bedloe WSC-128

    The Jackson and Bedloe were built by the American Brown Boveri Electric Group, and commissioned in 1927 at a cost of $63,173 each. They were originally built as a patrol boats to be used in the fight against alcohol smugglers during the prohibition years. This class of vessels were 125ft in length and had a draft of approximately 7ft, a beam of 23ft, and displaced 232 tons. Originally when outfitted, this class of vessel had two, six cylinder diesel engines each producing three hundred horsepower. Which would have given them a top speed of approximately 10 knots. In the late 1930's this class of vessel was refitted with more powerful eight cylinder diesel engines that increased the top speed of the ships to 13 knots. These boats were favored by the men that were on them and had a reputation for being sturdy and durable.

    This class of vessel has a long history in the Coast Guard, of this class of vessel 16 were still in use during the 1960's, the last to be decommissioned from service in the 1970's being the Morris. All of these boats saw action during World War II, The Jackson and the Bedloe being the only two that were lost during a Hurricane in 1944.

     Both the Jackson and the Bedloe were dispatched to escort a rescue tug Escape (ATR-6) which was attempting to tow in the liberty ship George Ade, struck by a torpedo from the U-518. During the escort service the convoy was caught in a hurricane of devastating proportions that ultimately caused the loss of six ships and three hundred men.

    The Jackson / Bedloe convoy were further cursed by trying  to cross Diamond Shoals, the graveyard of many a ship. During the storm the Escape lost the tow line to the George Ade twice, forcing the Escape to re-establish a line and continue the rescue. All the while the Jackson and the Bedloe were maintaining station off of the two vessels. During the storm visual contact was lost, radio silence was maintained due to a U boat threat, and the cutters resolved themselves to surviving the hurricane. Both vessels succumbed to the hurricane and sank in positions unknown. Since radio silence was enforced no distress signal was sent, no one in command knew they were down. The survivors of the ships were cast to sea and had only themselves to depend on for their survival. The official rescue efforts began on the fifteenth, since no contact with the vessels could be accomplished from base, The rescue efforts included twenty six planes and four blimps. The first sighting and rescuing of survivors occurred on the sixteenth of September, two full days after the sinking of the ships. On the seventeenth with no further success, the rescue efforts were abandoned.

    Of the crews: the Jackson which had a complement of 39 men aboard, 19 were rescued; from the Bedloe; which had a complement of 39 men aboard, 11 were saved. The records and accounts for these sinkings' are somewhat confused due to the circumstances involved, therefore making the location of the final resting places for the Jackson and Bedloe hard to pinpoint.  Further investigation and exploration of the wreck site is needed before a positive ID can be made. At this point it is believed that the site we visit is the Jackson, but until positive proof is provided, she might just be the Bedloe.

Sources

U.S.C.G. & Gary Gentile: Shipwrecks of North Carolina