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

Furness Shipbuilding Company The Furness Shipbuilding Company was a shipbuilding company in Haverton Hill, Stockton on Tees, England. It was established during the First World War and operated from 1917 until 1979. The company was dissolved multiple times since but thes ...

of Haverton Hill, 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 Penarth ( , ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a Seaside resort#Brit ...

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 are 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 weste ...

, 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 United Kingdom, UK waters. They were established under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009) and are areas designated with the aim to prot ...

'', which covers approximately 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 {{Merchantship-stub