SS ''Albert C. Field'' was a Canadian cargo ship, sunk during World War II. The ship was built by the Furness Shipbuilding Company of

Haverton Hill Haverton Hill is an area within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. Once considered a part of Billingham, Haverton Hill was once a thriving industrial community which has suffered significant depopu ...

, and launched on 28 May 1923. Her first owner was the Eastern Steamship Company of St. Catharines, Ontario. She was sold to the Upper Lakes & St. Lawrence Transportation Company, also of St. Catharines, in 1937. The ship was requisitioned by the British government during World War II. On 16 June 1944 ''Albert C. Field'' sailed from Penarth as part of Convoy EBC-14 bound for the Normandy beachhead. She was carrying 2,500 tons of munitions and 1,300 bags of mail. On 18 June, when south-west of

The Needles The Needles is a row of three stacks of chalk that rise about out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, United Kingdom, close to Alum Bay and Scratchell's Bay, and part of Totland, the westernmo ...

, the convoy was attacked by German aircraft. The ship was hit by a torpedo and sank within three minutes. Four of the crew were killed. The hull is currently located below sea level on a gravel seabed at . The wreckage is badly damaged. The boilers are the highest point at below. There are several small pieces of exploded ammunition. The machinery is right aft and the bridge is right forward while everything in the middle was cargo space. In May 2019, the UK Government designated the ''Albert Field

Marine Conservation Zone A Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) is a type of marine nature reserve in UK waters. They were established under the Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009) and are areas designated with the aim to protect nationally important, rare or threatened habit ...

'', which covers approximately 192km² and includes this wreck site.

References

1923 ships Ships built on the River Tees Steamships of Canada Ships sunk by German aircraft World War II shipwrecks in the English Channel Maritime incidents in June 1944 Wreck diving sites in the United Kingdom Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II {{ship-stub