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 SS Maiden Creek II
Built: 1943 by Waterman Steamship Corp., Mobile, Alabama
Ship type: Freighter
Tonnage: 6,156 tons
Draft: 19 feet, 6 inches
Power: Steam Turbine
Armament: 5 inch/.38 caliber deck gun
Master: Capt. Oscar Pedersen
This bell represents the US Merchant Marine and was loaned to West Hartford by the United States Maritime Administration to be proudly displayed at the site of the Connecticut Veterans Memorial.
Maiden Creek II was built in 1943 by the Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation Shipyard, Chickasaw, Alabama and as is the custom, its bell was cast in its shipyard foundry that was operated by the Waterman Steamship Corporation of Mobile, Alabama. While in route with convoy SNF-17 from Naples, Italy to Oran, Algeria, SS Maiden Creek II, under command of Captain Oscar Pedersen, USMS, was torpedoed by German Submarine U-371 on March 17, 1944 about 30 miles north of Bougie, Algeria. Her merchant crew of 45 and naval armed guard of 29 were manning the SS Maiden Creek II during the blast. A total of 11 men were lost.
The bell was later in the S. S. Mission San Diego, later named Sealand Washington. The bell was there during the heroic missions of the Merchant Marine in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. |
