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Naval Disaster in Newfoundland

THE WRECKAGE OF THE U.S. NAVY SUPPLY ship Pollux lies aground off the Newfoundland coast, where it foundered in a storm February 18 with many lives lost. The U.S. destroyer Truxtun was wrecked near the same spot during the storm. (AP Wirephoto/NHHC Collection)

THE WRECKAGE OF THE U.S. NAVY SUPPLY ship Pollux lies aground off the Newfoundland coast, where it foundered in a storm February 18 with many lives lost. The U.S. destroyer Truxtun was wrecked near the same spot during the storm. (AP Wirephoto/NHHC Collection)


By Captain George Stewart, USN (Ret.)

This post provides a description of the events surrounding the loss of USS Truxtun (DD 229) and USS Pollux (AKS 2) by grounding off the coast of Newfoundland in February 1942. Because over 200 lives were lost, it is considered to be one of the worst disasters in Naval history. The information contained in this post was obtained from a number of sources including NAVSOURCE, DANFS, Theodore Roscoe’s Tin Cans, and a variety of online web sites.

In order to fully understand the circumstances surrounding the event, it is first necessary to look at it from an overall historical perspective. By 1939, major world events had taken place. Germany invaded Poland and Britain and France declared war in response. Meanwhile in the Atlantic, German commerce raiders began operating. This resulted in the establishment of a neutrality patrol in the Atlantic. In 1940 Great Britain and the United States signed the Destroyers for Bases agreement. That same year, Germany began unrestricted U-Boat warfare. It was decided at that time to establish naval bases at Casco Bay, Maine, and Argentia, Newfoundland. These sites were chosen because of their proximity to convoy routes.

The Argentia base was located at the north end of Placentia Bay on the southern coast of Newfoundland. It was commissioned in July 1941. The base included both naval facilities and an airfield.

The three ships involved in the incident were the USS Truxtun (DD 229), USS Pollux (AKS 2), and USS Wilkes (DD 441). A brief description of each ship follows:

Pictured L to R, USS Truxtun (DD 229), USS Pollux (AKS 2), and USS Wilkes (DD 441)

Pictured top to bottom, USS Truxtun (DD 229), USS Pollux (AKS 2), and USS Wilkes (DD 441)

USS Truxtun (DD 229) was a Clemson-class destroyer. It was one of 156 ships of the class that were commissioned between 1919 and 1922. A number of ships of the class served in World War II. They were frequently referred to as “four pipers”. Most of Truxtun’s service prior to War II was in the Pacific. The ship was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet in 1939 where it performed patrol and convoy escort duties. At the time of the grounding, the ship’s crew consisted of 156 personnel.

USS Pollux (AKS 2) was originally built as a standard Maritime Commission Design C-2 type cargo ship. It was launched in 1939 and acquired by the US Navy for conversion into a general stores ship. It was commissioned in May 1941. It served with the Atlantic Fleet on regular provisioning cruises. Its normal crew complement was 159 personnel. However, it was carrying 74 additional personnel on its trip to Argentia for a total of 233.

USS Wilkes (DD 441) was a Gleaves-class destroyer. It was commissioned in April 1941. At the time, it was one of the Navy’s most modern and technically advanced destroyers. For this reason, it was often assigned flagship duties when operating in convoy. The Gleaves-class was the last of the of the raised forecastle “step deck” type destroyers.  Wilkes served in the Atlantic until 1944 when it was transferred to the Pacific. It was decommissioned in 1946. Its normal complement was 239 personnel.

In February 1942, Pollux departed Casco Bay, Maine, along with Wilkes and Truxtun who were assigned as convoy escorts. The ship was carrying a cargo of bombs, radio equipment, aircraft engines, and other supplies for delivery to the naval base at Argentia. Wilkes was acting as the convoy flagship. As the ship approached Newfoundland, a severe winter storm developed and visibility was reduced to near zero and the ships were unable to effectively obtain radio direction finder bearings. It appears that the ships were driven northward of their plotted track. This led to the groundings on 18 February 1942.

In order to completely understand the following events it is necessary to understand the geography of the south coast of Newfoundland.

Placentia Bay is located in the Southeast part of Newfoundland, It is bounded by the Avalon Peninsula to the East and the Burin Peninsula to the West. Argentia is on the East side of the bay, about 70 miles to the north of open water. The disaster actually took place on the southwest side of the Burin Peninsula after the ships got lost In the storm and failed to make their right turn to go up the bay to Argentia. As can be seen in the following photo, this is a very bad place to run aground because the area has a rocky coast and is bounded by high cliffs, making rescue very difficult.

(Image courtesy Fisheries and Oceans, Canadian Govt.)

(Image courtesy Fisheries and Oceans, Canadian Govt.)

The groundings actually took place at about 4 AM on 18 February 1942 within minutes of each other. Truxtun grounded at Chambers Cove near the town of St Lawrence. The area is bounded by cliffs as much as 400 feet high. Pollux grounded about 1.5 miles to port of Truxtun at Lawn Point near the small fishing village of Lawn. The cliffs in this area are about 250 feet high.  As soon as the word got out of the grounding, the local villagers organized rescue efforts. Unfortunately, the only effective method for recovering survivors was by lowering ropes and dragging them up the cliffs before the tide came up. Because of the difficult surf and the bitter weather, loss of life was high on both Truxtun and Pollux.

Truxtun broke up almost immediately upon grounding. Out of the crew of 156, only 46 crew members survived and 110 were lost.  The survivors were rescued by residents of the nearby mining town of St Lawrence. They were picked up by the Navy the next day.

Pollux ran aground shortly after Truxtun. As soon as he realized that the ship was aground, the Commanding Officer ordered full speed ahead in order to keep the ship from sliding back and sinking into deep water. Some of the crew attempted to swim ashore via swim lines without success because the lines became oil soaked. Finally, lines with a boatswain’s chair were rigged to a ledge and the remaining crew members were conveyed ashore by that method where they were trapped on an icy cliff until rescuers arrived from the town of St. Lawrence. The ship broke up shortly thereafter. Out of the crew of 233 personnel, there were 140 survivors with 93 personnel lost.

The high cliffs of Argentia Bay (USN Photo/Natl. Archives/Image # 80-G-K-13566)

The high cliffs of Argentia Bay (USN Photo/Natl. Archives/Image # 80-G-K-13566)


Wilkes’ fate was very different. The ship actually ran aground slightly before Truxtun and Pollux. Fortunately, only its front portion ran aground. The ship was able to break free and back out to sea without casualties by moving personnel and cargo aft. Due to the seas, there was little they could do to help the survivors. Wilkes later proceeded to Argentia where she remained for six days prior to proceeding to Boston for repairs.

Out of a total of 389 personnel aboard Truxtun and Pollux, there were 203 casualties and 186 survivors. This made it the largest single casualty experienced by the US Navy in World War II up until that date. It remains among the worst in naval history.

Newspaper headline, Tuscaloosa News, March 25, 1942

Newspaper headline, Tuscaloosa News, March 25, 1942


A great deal of credit goes to the tireless, efficient, and in some cases heroic efforts of the shore side people of the towns of St Lawrence and Lawn on the Burin Peninsula. Without these efforts, the number of casualties would have been much higher.

The Naval Station at Argentia was decommissioned in 1973 and the land was transferred to the Canadian government in 1975. The last US Navy personnel left the area in 1994.

George W. Stewart is a retired US Navy Captain. He is a 1956 graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. During his 30 year naval career, he held two ship commands and served a total of 8 years on naval material inspection boards, during which he conducted trials and inspections aboard over 200 naval vessels. Since his retirement from active naval service in 1986 he has been employed in the ship design industry where he has specialized in the development of concept designs of propulsion and powering systems, some of which have entered active service. He currently holds the title of Chief Marine Engineer at Marine Design Dynamics.

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28 Comments

  1. I would just like to clarify one error in this post..The USS Pollux was first sighted by 2 young men from the small community of Webbers Cove,NL.They made the journey into the town of Lawn to alert the residents there of the grounding 10 men from Lawn set out in a storm to see if they could assist anyone left alive.Only 8 managed to reach Lawn Point..these men were instrumental in rescuing most of the survivors of the Pollux before any other help from St Lawrence arrived.I am a member of The Little Lawn Memorial Trail of Heroes..we are in the process of making a trail to this site that has been forgotten by many.The only marker to this terrible time in US naval history is a cross placed there in 1988 by the Royal Canadian Legion in Lawn.Someday we hope to get a memorial placed there to remember the 54 that were never recovered and our heroes from Lawn who helped but were only given a passing glance in recognition.As Mr Joseph Manning said in his first hand testimony written in March 1942,he said””We credits ourselves for helping haul up 137 men that night but (some) died by the fire.”
    He also notes that while the U.S. government is wealthy, it hasn’t got enough money to pay him to put in another night like that – unless, once again, it was to save lives…There are Memorials all over the world to lost US lost servicemen..why isn’t one here..Thanks for reading my post.

  2. Ashmead P. Pipkin

    Edward A. McInerney wrote a 1992 account of the sinking of the Truxtun. At the time it sank, he had been aboard about a year. His duty was in the No. 1 Fire Room and he had just been relieved from the midwatch when the ship ran aground. After the grounding, Mr. McInerney writes: ‘Sloan Jones, TM 3/C, and I got a spanner wrench and set all the depth charges on safe. We then went into the torpedo shack and “shot the bull” and ate our stack of chocolate. At about 5:15 [a.m.] I decided to go down and get a flashlight and my foul weather clothing. I started down and observed a mattress floating by and decided against going to my locker. At approximately 8:30 a.m., we heard a loud crack at the after engine room and saw that the after deck house and after compartment had broken free. At about 9:30 a.m. the ship broke again between the No, 3 stack and the galley deck house. At this time, approximately 20 of us were on the galley house deck throwing food crates, ammunition, etc., anything to try to correct the starboard list.” Eventually, later that day, three giant waves rolled over what was left of the ship. So it appears that the statement in the above account that “the Truxtun broke up immediately” is incorrect.

    • Margaret Isaacs

      Yes that is incorrect as to the fact she broke apart immediately there are photos of The USS Truxtun taken in 1942 that shows the bow of the ship in Chambers Cove still intact.

  3. Margaret Isaacs

    There are a lot of discrepancies with recounting of the wrecks of the USS Pollux & Truxtun…A lot think there was only one African American (Lanier Phillips)saved but there was also one saved from the USS Pollux named Leon Dawson who lived & stayed in the navy long after the war ended..Someday hopefully the real story will be recounted…

  4. My Uncle George Coleman was a Seaman on board the Pollux when it broke up off the coast of Newfoundland. He spoke about this role in helping to rescue other Sailors. George I visited Argenta in 1977 and there was not much marking the spot. But I did find local newspapers describing the event. I was spending the summer doing research on early theatre in Newfoundland and so daily I scanned many years of old newspapers. I think that this story needs to be told in a more accurate way that takes into account the heroism of the townspeople.

  5. Pingback: USS Wilkes – DD 441 – Life of Lloyd & Joan Martin

  6. i was stationed at argentia naval base 1956 1957 sea and air rescue crash boat never heard of that grounding some story if the base was 70 miles from that point crash boat could not have helped

  7. I have a photo of a memorial to Charles Lloyd Prichard Jr., who was a civilian aboard one of the ships at the time of the disaster. His body was never recovered. The memorial is at Onondaga Valley Cemetery in Syracuse NY and was erected by his heart broken parents. I would attach the photo here if a means existed. “God knows how much we miss him. Never shall his memory fade.”

    • Margaret Isaacs

      Hello Frank,it states that Charles was a passenger on The USS Pollux but was a carpenters mate,we have a Room of Remembrance here in Lawn Newfoundland.We have crosses outside with the names of those who were never found on it Charles name is there if you would like any photos of our room just email me.

      • Kim Lawson

        How about Farrell Gipson, he was on the Pollux, I do not think that they found his body. Can you tell me if his name is on a cross

  8. JULIA LODER

    My Mom and Dad Leo and Lillian Loder were there helping in any way as were the people from Lawn and surrounding areas. On the 18th of Feb. at 9 pm documentary channel, you can watch AS THEY WERE ANGLES about this very sad disaster.——-Out of a total of 389 personnel aboard Truxtun and Pollux, there were 203 casualties and 186 survivors. This made it the largest single casualty experienced by the US Navy in World War II up until that date. It remains among the worst in naval history. A correction not to forget another big disaster ———-The Biggest Disaster in Naval History was the— USS Indianapolis, 900 died out of 1196 World War II sinking, 1945.

  9. James McInerney

    My dad Edward McInerney was one of the survivors of the USS Truxtun DD-229 he told us many stories about the ship wreck and his love for the people of Newfoundland .My father brothers and I went to the 50th reunion and the unveiling of the statue .A time we will never forget meeting all the families that helped rescue our sailors.We were treated like family I have met no finer people kind and generous a love for life which I believe rubbed off on my Dad, also surviving such a day gave him a grateful spirit he loved life and people and was a great father and role model .He served on the Jeffers DDMS 621 after the Truxtun and went through 5 invasions in Europe and the Pacific . I could write a novel but at the moment would like to Thank all the people involved in helping our sailors and keeping these stories alive for future generations.

    • Hello, James McInerney, My father was Henry Strauss of the Pollux. I went with him to the first reunion in 1988 and we met and filmed with your dad and the other survivors who came back that year. I’ve made a documentary about the shipwreck, rescue and reunion, and the Newfoundland people who have kept the story alive and memorialized it all these years. The documentary is called …AS IF THEY WERE ANGELS, and is finally available on demand, released just this month, on iTunes and Amazon. Your father is in the documentary, vividly recalling some of his experience. He was indeed a wonderful man and I was lucky to meet him. I’m so glad to see you here, and hope you’ll respond.

    • Paul T. Ross

      My grandfather’s brother, Norman Carl Ross F3C, (from Detroit, Mich.) perished on the Truxtun. I would love to exchange emails with any relatives of his shipmates, as I have been fascinated to learn of this event only in the last year. I know he was a fireman who served with Eugene Keith Plummer, Herbert Raymond Shuttleworth, Edward A. McInerney, Edison Pete Buie, and William Allen McLaughlin.
      I have Uncle Norman’s flag, from when his remains were brought to the States to be buried in 1950.

  10. Ronald W. Ketchie

    I just came across your site and I thought you might like to know that my Dad was one of the survivors of theUSS Truxton. My Dad was a Sea2c USN. My Dad’s name is Marvin Elmer Ketchie and has lived in Merrimack, New Hampshire for many years.He passed away in 1997 of a fatal fall. I have my Dad’s diary of his sailing up to and including the sinking and passage back home. I also have an original postcard of his ship going under the Manhattan Bridge. Also I have a complete list of the ship crew both survivors and the missing and dead. My dad’s diary starts on January 1 ,1942.God Bless all who have Served…….RWK

  11. Hi Ronald any photos or information would be appreciated. God must have watched over him that day he was one of the very lucky ones. Thanks Margaret

  12. William Kohnke

    I came to this site because I am currently reading a 1942 original print of a book titled “The Courage and the Glory” (John J. Floherty). It is a collection of stories about American heroes very early in WWII. One of these stories, “Shipwreck and Sacrifice”, recounts the loss of the USS Pollux, focusing mainly on the valiant and crucial efforts of a very young sailor named Billy de Rosa, a kid from the Bronx who joined up in early 1941. It is a riveting and heartbreaking tale. Possibly due to wartime censorship or for morale reasons, the details regarding how the ship was discovered by the locals is at variance with some comments I’ve seen posted by other readers. According to Floherty, the first notification they received of the tragedy was from a small group of USN sailors who managed to find a nearby village. Immediately, a call went out for action among the surrounding communities. This is a small point and in no way detracts from the courage and generosity of the Newfoundlanders.

  13. Dan Conley

    My Uncle Harold F Conley, Storekeeper Third Class of Chicago, Illinois was on the USS Pollux when
    it ran aground on February 18,1942. This Friday February 18, 2022 will mark the the 80th Anniversary
    of this terrible disaster. May all those men who lost their lives that Rest in Peace. Thank you to all
    those people who help safe all the others with their heroic efforts.
    Anyone willing to share information with me it it will be greatly appreciated.
    [email protected]
    Thank you
    Dan Conley

  14. Paul T. Ross

    My grandfather’s brother, Norman Carl Ross F3C, (from Detroit, Mich.) perished on the Truxtun. I would love to exchange emails with any relatives of his shipmates, as I have been fascinated to learn of this event only in the last year. I know he was a fireman who served with Eugene Keith Plummer, Herbert Raymond Shuttleworth, Edward A. McInerney, Edison Pete Buie, and William Allen McLaughlin.
    I have Uncle Norman’s flag, from when his remains were brought to the States to be buried in 1950.

  15. Darlene Corrigan

    I have just met the niece of a sailor who died in the storm on that frigid night in February of 1942. That 28 year old sailor who froze to death was Metalsmith First Class William Bedell Kemp. He served on the Pollux. Since I learned about him and this disaster I have been reading everything I could find about it – reading as tears run down my face – both in sadness for all the men who died that horrible night and for the heroics and warmth and kindness of the villagers who cared for and saved the lives of the survivors. Bless them all!

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