The Nevada now had a 30 degree list when the Comanche arrived. They found the Nevada's lifeboats gone and circled the stricken ship before seeing two red flames go off in the distance. Investigating, they found 32 men from the Nevada in a lifeboat. One moment, the lifeboat would be way below the Comanche and the next, way above it. Many attempts were made and three men were lost getting the Nevada's men aboard.
Another raft with six men was found. Several of the Comanche's crew donned rubber suits and jumped into the water and rescued five others, including the ship's mascot, a dog named Grondal.
The Nevada's other lifeboats and rafts were never found.
The 28-year-old ship was too damaged and plans were made to sink her but the storm died. On December 18, 1943, the USAT Nevada, 950 tons, carrying a military cargo, sank by the bow.
Twenty-six survivors and Grondal were transported to Narsarssuak, Greenland, and transferred to the USAT Fairfax.
Ten months earlier, the Comanche has helped rescue passengers and crew from the USAT Dorchester which had been torpedoed and sunk by the U-223 off the coast of Newfoundland. The story of the Four chaplains came from this.
--GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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