Loss of USCGC Escanaba

From the June 17, 2013, M Live  "Look back: Grand Haven USCGC Escanaba lost during World War II" by Dave LeMieux.

Seventy years ago, Grand Haven, Michigan learned of the loss of "its" ship, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba.  The 165-foot-long ship was sunk at 5:10 a.m. June 13, 1943, on convoy duty off Greenland, resulting in the death of all aboard but two.

The cause is still unknown.  Perhaps it was sunk by a submarine or hit a mine or maybe even an internal explosion.  The two survivors were picked up by the Rariton.

At one time, most of the crew lived in Grand Haven, where it was stationed.  the ship was built at a cost of $550,000 after a series of marine tragedies in 1929 that claimed the lives  of men with the sinking of four vessels.  The Escanaba underwent extensive renovation for war in late 1940 and 1941.  The hull was strengthened, ammunition lockers installed, machine guns, anti-aircraft guns and depth charges mounted.

No one still knows what caused it to sink.

Its 60-foot tall mast was removed in a 1940 refit and is today a memorial along with a life raft on Grand Haven's waterfront.

A third cutter named Escanabia was commissioned in 1985 and is stationed in Boston.

GreGen