In the shadow of Reykjavík, beneath the cold waters of Faxaflói Bay, lies a ship tied to both American and Icelandic wartime history. The USCGC Alexander Hamilton, a vessel with roots in the lead-up to World War II, became the first American Coast Guard ship lost in that conflict. Its sinking in 1942 is a story of design, tragedy and a remarkable rediscovery decades later.
An American cutter meets Atlantic warfare
Built at the New York Navy Yard, the cutter began life in the mid-1930s, taking design cues from the Erie class of US Navy gunboats. Its purpose placed it among the Treasury-class, or Secretary-class, a group of Coast Guard ships often serving alongside naval vessels. Originally named Hamilton, its full name, USCGC Alexander Hamilton, was restored in 1942 after requests to distinguish it from another ship bearing the Hamilton name.
During the height of the Atlantic campaign, the Hamilton was patrolling close to Iceland. On January 29, 1942, the ship became the target of the German U-boat U-132. A torpedo strike on the starboard side proved catastrophic. Twenty lives were lost in the initial blast, and six more men died from their injuries. Over the following day, the vessel capsized. With salvage out of reach, the wreck was deliberately sent to the seafloor by the American destroyer USS Ericsson just over 45 kilometres from the coast.
Rediscovery and remembrance
For over six decades, the remains of the Alexander Hamilton rested unseen. Then, in July 2009, an Icelandic Coast Guard aircraft noticed an oil patch in Faxaflói, raising suspicions of a long-lost shipwreck. Confirmation followed in August with the help of sophisticated underwater vehicles. A year later, this remote site received an unusual visitor: Paul Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft, journeyed to Iceland and descended to the wreck in a mini-submarine, his yacht Octopus docking in Reykjavík for the occasion.
In 2011, a team of divers became the first to explore the sunken Hamilton, descending to a depth of 95 metres, setting new Icelandic diving records in the process. Conditions below were harsh, and surface weather was severe, but underwater visibility was better than hoped for. The ship, now resting upside down, became a place of reflection for descendants of those lost.
Two years later, divers returned at the request of families with ties to the men who had served on the ship. They attached a plaque to the wreck, listing those who died in the torpedo attack less than two months after Pearl Harbor. This act of remembrance coincided with the launch of a new vessel bearing the Hamilton name, continuing the tradition into the 21st century.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- Wikipedia (Icelandic) in Icelandic
