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Updated 7/15/02, Click Here! |
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WINTER FISHING REPORT
The seas were calm and the temperature was 38` on that Saturday morning - March 4, 1942. Most of the 150 enlisted sailors aboard the destroyer Jacob Jones were asleep in their bunks as the destroyer was on an Atlantic submarine patrol just 30 miles due east of our Indian River Inlet.
It was just before dawn when the first torpedo hit her bow at 4:55 AM, wrecking the bridge and forward living areas killing the captain, lieutenant commander Hugh David Black, her executive officer lieutenant commander Thomas W. Marshall Jr. and many of those enlisted men asleep in the forward bunks. Less than one minute later, the 2nd torpedo struck the stern, exploding depth charges stored there killing most of the men in that area, some of which were already in the oil coated water.
Joseph Paul Tidwell of Tuscaloosa, Alabama was probably the only survivor who actually saw the submarine in the darkness about 100 yards off the port side. He had just taken a break for coffee and was in the galley when the first torpedo struck, he then ran out on the deck as the second torpedo struck dove into the water and climed on one raft with Struthers and Dors. There was fuel oil in the water all around but did not catch fire and he stated that all through the abandoning the men were calm and collected. Soon after the remaining mid section of the ship disapeared beneath the waves, another explosion shot up from out of the water, knocking some of the men off the rafts.
The Jacob Jones was the first naval vessel known to have been lost in our Atlantic coastal waters since the war began, although twenty four merchant ships have been sunk in this area.
In all, only eleven survivors made it to Cape May after drifting for four hours in their life rafts. Upon arrival at Cape May they were permitted to tell their stories.
The wreck is in two pieces. The section with the boiler room lays on clean sand bottom in 110' of water and extends up about 30' and is upright. The Jacob Jones has become a popular fishing and diving wreck, housing many species of fish such as Sea Bass, porgie, Tau Tog and shark. During the summer season , boats trolling around the two sections can expect to find Tuna, Mako, Dolphin and Wahoo.
Jacob Jones West Piece ( Stern)
GPS: 38.40.07.20 074.28.31.80
Loran: 26928.40 42573.20
Jacob Jones S.E. Piece (boiler)
GPS:38.38.30.70 074.23.59.90
Loran: 26899.60 42558.80
A footnote: The German submarine that sank the Jacob Jones was U-578 commanded by Captain E. A. Rehwinkle. She carried 49 men and was lost with all hands including Captain Rehwinkle on August 10, 1942, northwest of Cape Ortegal, Spain, by a bombing attack. Captain Rehwinkles war diary was translated later to reveal specific accounts of the sinking of the Jacob Jones.
More wreck stories next week. Don't forget! Mark your calendar! Fishing tackle flea market on our parking lot Saturday April 6, 2002. Space for selling is free.
Philadelphia Public Ledger January 27, 1915
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