The second USS ''Pollux'' (AKS-2) was a ''Castor''-class

general stores issue ship General stores issue ship is a type of ship used by the United States Navy during World War II and for some time afterwards. The task of the general stores issue ship was to sail into non-combat, or rear, areas and disburse general stores, such a ...

. ''Pollux'' was laid down by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Hoboken, N.J. as SS ''Comet'' on 26 May 1939; launched on 16 December 1939, acquired by the Navy on 16 January 1941; converted to a general stores ship by the Brewers Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Hoboken, N.J., and commissioned on 6 May 1941.

Service history

''Pollux'' was ready for sea on 24 May 1941, and served with the Atlantic Fleet on regular provisioning cruises.

Loss

On 18 February 1942 ''Pollux'' grounded during a storm at Lawn Point off

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and was wrecked with 93 fatalities. was also wrecked, at Chambers Cove, off St. Lawrence harbour with 110 fatalities. grounded at the same time, but made way with no fatalities. At 04:14 on the 18th,

searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direc ...

s were sighted revealing land 2 points on the port bow. The Commanding Officer of ''Pollux'' had just entered the bridge from the chart house, and immediately gave the order for full speed astern, hard right rudder and sounding collision quarters. But it was too late and 3 minutes later the ship grounded. Realizing that she was hard aground and starting to go down slightly by the head, the Commanding Officer ordered full speed ahead to prevent the ship from sliding off and sinking in deep water. Due to the extremely difficult surf caused by the gale raging in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and the bitterness of the winter weather loss of life was heavy on both ''Pollux'' and ''Truxtun''. Heroic efforts to swim lines ashore failed due to the inability to handle them when they became oil soaked. Some of the crew attempted to swim ashore, many unsuccessfully. Finally lines with a boatswain's chair were rigged to a ledge and the remaining personnel were conveyed ashore. ''Truxtun'' broke up almost immediately after grounding and soon thereafter ''Pollux'' did likewise. The survivors owed their rescue in large measure to the tireless, efficient and in many cases heroic action of the people of Lawn and St. Lawrence, Newfoundland.Dead Reckoning: The Pollux-Truxton Disaster
/ref> ''Pollux'' was struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 25 March 1942. The total loss of life between both the USS ''Pollux'' and the USS ''Truxtun'' was 203 victims.

References

External links

Unofficial website for the USS ''Pollux'' (AKS-2) and USS ''Pollux'' (AKS-4)

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080828070229/http://www.discoverstlawrence.com/truxton_pollux.htm The Sinking of the USS ''Pollux'' and USS ''Truxtun''
'As If They Were Angels' documentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollux (Aks-2) Type C2 ships Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey 1939 ships Merchant ships of the United States Castor-class general stores issue ships Type C2 ships of the United States Navy World War II auxiliary ships of the United States World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Shipwrecks of the Newfoundland and Labrador coast Maritime incidents in February 1942