Wreck of USS Nauset (AT-89)

Italy / Campania / Atrani /
 Second World War 1939-1945, military, shipwreck, tugboat, United States Navy
USS Nauset was a Navajo Class Fleet Ocean Tug in service with the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet during the Second World War and by late summer 1943 had already been involved heavily in the North African and Italian campaigns lending assistance to dozens of disabled vessels.

Following her participation in the mop-up of the Allied Invasion of Sicily, the Nauset joined the massing Allied forces in Bizerte preparing for Operation Avalanche; the Invasion of mainland Italy. Sailing with a contingent of Royal Marines aboard on September 7th, the Nauset and her crew evaded several German and Italian air attacks during their crossing of the Mediterranean Sea and arrived off the beaches of Salerno early in the morning of September 9th, 1943.

Discharging her cargo of Royal Marines into their rocket-armed mine clearing landing craft, the Nauset withdrew from the coastline to deeper waters to await the return of the boats for rearming. At 04:30hrs (4:30AM) radar screens on Allied ships began to pick up the first wave of German fighters heading for the landings, and the crew of the Nauset took to their AA guns to lend their support in repulsing their attackers. Shortly after the fight began, the Nauset was straddled by several bombs which sparked large fires onboard and caused serious damage to her hull below the water line. Taking an immediate list to Port, the topside crew not severely burned by the flames attempted to fight the fires only to find no water pressure in the hoses, as fires below deck had prevented the crews there from activating the emergency generators. Without water the fires above and below deck quickly grew out of control as the tugs USS Intent and USS Narragansett came alongside to removed the wounded and help in fighting the topside fires.

After about half an hour, the numerous crew members who were badly burned or killed in the attack had been removed and the surviving crew had managed to extinguish the fires topside, but with still no water pressure the fires below deck were burning out of control. As the Nausets' list passed 40 degrees to Port, her commanding officer ordered the ship abandoned and the towlines pulling the ship away from the dangerous shores cut. Shortly after she was abandoned however, the Nauset righted herself to 20 degree list, enough to have her Captain, 1st Lieutenant and Bosun reboard her in order to resecure towing lines. As they worked the Nauset drifted ever closer to shore and before a towline could be properly attached, the Nauset hit a mine which blew the stricken ship in half, and sinking her at this location. All three men who reboarded the ship went down with her, becoming the 16th, 17th & 18th members of her crew killed in action on September 9th, 1943.

USS Nauset received 2 Battle Stars for her World War Two service.

www.navsource.org/archives/09/47/47089.htm
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nauset_(AT-89)
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   40°38'0"N   14°37'59"E

Comments

  • My brother was on this tug and was wounded and later died in Brooklyn hospital. His name Joseph garlick
  • There is an error in the last sentence. The CO and First LT did go down with the ship. The Bosun, (my father) Emmanuel Mello, survived.
  • My father, George Pelkey, was a survivor.
  • My father Joseph Pfeiffer was on the deck gun when the ship was hit. He helped rescue Lenn Harten by carrying him to the USS Narragansett.
  • My dad, LT Edwin Reel was also a survivor...thank God or I wouldn't be here to tell you about it. He had to do the report being the highest ranking surviving officer!!!
  • I served aboard the Destroyer named after the Nauset's CO, USS Orleck DD 886. USS Orleck is now a museum ship in Louisiana.
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This article was last modified 13 years ago