Coamo
American Steam passenger ship
| Name | Coamo | ||
| Type: | Steam passenger ship | ||
| Tonnage | 7,057 tons | ||
| Completed | 1925 - Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co, Newport News VA | ||
| Owner | Agwilines Inc, New York | ||
| Homeport | New York | ||
| Date of attack | 2 Dec 1942 | Nationality:  American | |
| Fate | Sunk by U-604 (Horst Höltring) | ||
| Position | 48° 45'N, 23° 30'W - Grid BE 1739 | ||
| Complement | 186 (186 dead - no survivors) | ||
| Convoy | MKF-3 (dispersed) | ||
| Route | Gibraltar (26 Nov) - New York | ||
| Cargo | |||
| History | In January 1942 time chartered as US Army transport.
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| Notes on event | On 1 Dec 1942 the Coamo (Master Nels Helgesen) left convoy MKF-3 about 150 miles west of Ireland on orders of the British Admiralty and proceeded independently. At 20.18 hours on 2 Dec 1942 U-604 fired one torpedo from 800 yards at the Coamo, which was proceeding at 17.5 knots. The torpedo struck under the bridge and caused her to sink in about five minutes. The ship had eleven officers, 122 crewmen, 37 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, two 3in and six 20mm guns) and 16 US Army passengers on board. A few men were seen leaving the ship on rafts but they were likely killed in the gale that swept the area for three days beginning on 3 December. This was the greatest single loss of a merchant crew on any US Flag merchant vessel during the Second World War. | ||
| On board | We have details of 186 people who were on board. | ||
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