SS ''John Morgan'' was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...

built by the

Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding C ...

at their Bethlehem-Fairfield yard at

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland, and launched on 4 May 1943. She was operated by the Wessel Duval & Company for the war. However, on 1 June 1943, during its maiden voyage ''John Morgan'' collided with the tanker off Cape Henry on the coast of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. ''John Morgan'' broke in two and sank immediately at position , but started fires aboard ''Montana''. , engaged in gunnery practice in Chesapeake Bay, was sent to investigate. She sent a party aboard ''Montana'' to assist in extinguishing the fires, but recalled them after discovering that ''Montana'' was also carrying ammunition. Soon afterwards and arrived, and circled the area looking for survivors, but recovered only 12 bodies.

The wreck

The ship lies in approximately of water. It is largely broken up, but the bow and a structure known as the "hospital" are still recognizable. The ship was on the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

lend-lease program and was loaded with war supplies such as

Valentine tank The Tank, Infantry, Mk III, Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during World War II. More than 8,000 of the type were produced in eleven marks, plus various specialised variants, accounting for approximately a quarter ...

P-39 The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

s, and large amounts of ammunition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:John Morgan 1943 ships Liberty ships Ships built in Baltimore Maritime incidents in June 1943 Ships sunk in collisions