James E. Newsom
Canadian Sailing ship
James E. Newsom as seen from Wawaloam. Photo courtesy of Patsy Kenedy Bolling
| Name | James E. Newsom | ||
| Type: | Sailing ship | ||
| Tonnage | 671 tons | ||
| Completed | 1919 - East Coast Ship Co, Boothbay Harbor ME | ||
| Owner | Zwicker Geldert Shipping Co Ltd, Halifax, NS | ||
| Homeport | Halifax | ||
| Date of attack | 1 May 1942 | Nationality:  Canadian | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-69 (Ulrich Gräf) | ||
| Position | 35° 50'N, 59° 40'W - Grid CB 9486 | ||
| Complement | 9 (0 dead and 9 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | |||
| Route | Turks Island – Barbados - St. Johns, Newfoundland | ||
| Cargo | Molasses | ||
| History | On 23 Aug 1919, launched for Crowell & Thurlow, Boston under American flag. The schooner made her first voyage to Buenos Aires, but spent most of her career carrying cargoes on the American East Coast. 1928 sold to Zwicker Geldert Shipping Co Ltd and was renamed D. Geldert from 1931 to 1935. | ||
| Notes on event | At 17.28 hours on 1 May 1942, U-69 began to shell the unescorted and unarmed James E. Newsom about 370 miles northeast of Bermuda. The U-boat had spotted the schooner about six hours earlier and during the chase encountered U-558 (Krech) at 13.58 hours. U-69 opened fire from a distance of about 1 mile and fired 12 high explosive and 54 incendiary rounds from the deck gun and 60 rounds from the 20mm AA gun until the vessel sank at 18.03 hours. The crew of nine men was seen to abandon ship in a lifeboat and later made landfall on Bermuda. | ||
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