USS ''Manhasset'' (AG-47/YAG-8) – later known as USCGC ''Manhasset'' (WIX-276) – was a commercial cargo ship leased by the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was armed with guns and

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

s and was used as a weather patrol ship, a convoy escort, and as a patrol craft. She experienced action in the dangerous North Atlantic Ocean, but returned home safely after war's end.

Constructed in Maryland

''Manhasset'' (AG 47) was built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Sparrows Point, Maryland, in 1923 as merchantman ''Wilton''; acquired by the U.S. Maritime Commission from her owner,

Eastern Steamship Lines Eastern Steamship Lines was a shipping company in the United States that operated from 1901 to 1955. It was created through successive mergers by Wall Street financier and speculator Charles W. Morse.Robert F. Bruner and Sean D. Carr, ''The Panic ...

, Inc., in 1941; transferred under time charter to the Navy 2 January 1942; renamed ''Manhasset'' and reclassified from ''YAG-8'' to ''AG-47'' on 30 May 1942; converted for use as a weather patrol ship by Sullivan Drydock and Repair Corp.,

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

; and loaned to the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

being commissioned on 8 August 1942.

World War II operations

Equipped with specialized meteorological instruments, ''Manhasset'' joined the weather patrol in the North Atlantic Ocean to gather vital weather information used in compiling forecasts for Allied European operations against the Axis. She braved the dangers of stormy seas and the menace of German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s while operating her assigned and isolated patrol areas out of

Argentia, Newfoundland Argentia ( ) is a Canadian commercial seaport and industrial park located in the Town of Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on the southwest coast of the Avalon Peninsula and defined by a triangular shaped headland which re ...

, and Boston, Massachusetts. She averaged about one patrol a month, usually about three weeks long. ''Manhasset'' also patrolled and searched for German submarines. While cruising midway between

Flemish Cap The Flemish Cap is an area of shallow waters in the north Atlantic Ocean centered roughly at 47° north, 45° west or about 563 km (350 miles) east of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The shallow water is caused by a wide underwater p ...

and Cape Farewell, Greenland, she

d a suspected U-boat, with no positive results, 27 April 1943. The following week convoy ONS-5 (Outbound from Liverpool to Nova Scotia, Slow) steamed through her patrol station, and on 5 May she provided support during one of the largest convoy battles of World War II, the convoy included 43 merchant vessels, 7 escorts, 2 trawlers, and a fuel ship and was joined by other Allied ships as the battle progressed. Attacking them were members of three Wolfpacks, ''Specht, Meisel,'' and Amsel, including 58 U-boats. The battle raged between late 4 May and early 6 May. Although the convoy lost 13 ships, the escorts sank five U-boats and repulsed the remainder. Occurring in " Black May," the month marking the dramatic decline in the U-boat effectiveness in WWII, when Allied efforts repulsed or sank most opposition, the Battle with ONS-5 was the fina
wolfpack
attack against the northern merchant trade routes in the Battle of the North Atlantic. As ''Manhasset'' patrolled near the British merchant ship ''Dolius'',

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

ed and abandoned earlier in the day but still afloat, she made sound contact with a submarine late in the afternoon. She made six vigorous depth charge attacks and sighted first a

periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

wake followed by an oil slick. However, she sighted no wreckage and broke off attack to guard the torpedoed ship after more than 2 hours of searching.

Transferred to the Coast Guard

''Manhasset'' contained her weather station patrols during the rest of the war. The Navy transferred her to the

22 October 1943, and her name was struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

30 October 1943.

Post-war dispositioning

On 15 October 1945 she was decommissioned by the Coast Guard, and, on 16 October 1946, she was sold. Entered merchant service as Manahasset (Cia de Navigacion Maritima Cassipio SA, Panama), 1946. Wrecked on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, 4 July 1947.

References

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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USCGC Manhasset (WIX-276) – ex - USS Manhasset (AG-47) (1942 - 1943) - Manhasset (YAG-8) (1942)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manhasset Ships built in Sparrows Point, Maryland Steamships of the United States Navy Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the United States Coast Guard World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Patrol vessels of the United States Navy Ships of the United States Coast Guard 1923 ships Weather ships