Hunting New England Shipwrecks

Shipwreck Data
Vessel Name	Alexander Macomb
Other Names
Vessel Type	American freighter (Liberty ship)
Owner
Length / Beam / Draft (feet)	441' / 56' /
Tonnage	10,000 DT
Hull Construction	Steel
Propulsion	Steam / Screw
Cargo	War materials
Built	1942 at Baltimore, MD (Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard)
Date of Loss	July 3, 1942
Reason for Loss	Torpedoed by German submarine U-215 (see our U-215 data page)
Fatalities	10 (31 crewmen rescued)
Location	200 miles east of Boston, MA (on Georges Bank), near the wreck of the U-215. The wreck is located in Canadian territorial waters.
Coordinates (Lat/Lon)	41.48 N / 66.38 W (per U-boat.net)
Coordinates (Loran C)
Water Depth (feet)	270'
Typical Visibility (feet)
Wreck Condition
Diving Considerations
Other Information	The newly-built Macomb was traveling in a wartime convoy bound for Murmansk, Russia, via Halifax. The convoy was being escorted by British and American warships. Due to some problem, the Macomb lagged behind the convoy and was torpedoed and sunk by the U-215. When the attack occurred, the British ship HMS Le Tigre chased down the sub and destroyed it with depth charges. The exact locations of the Macomb and U-215 wrecks were unknown for many years. Then in the summer of 2004, the wrecks were located by a Canadian team of researchers. For more information on the discovery of these wrecks, see CBC News report

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A typical World War II Liberty ship (Paul Sherman collection)	A World War II convoy at sea (Paul Sherman collection)