Keshena
Tug · Lost 1942 · The Outer Banks
The unarmed rescue tug Keshena struck a mine off Cape Hatteras on July 19, 1942; fifteen aboard survived.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Keshena was a steel ocean-going tug built at Superior, Wisconsin, in 1919. Requisitioned during World War II, the unarmed vessel joined the Naval Rescue Tug Service. She was dispatched to help remove Chilore and J.A. Mowinckel from the Cape Hatteras minefield after those damaged merchant vessels struck mines. On July 19, 1942, Keshena left the swept safe channel, struck a mine and sank within ten minutes. Fifteen of the seventeen aboard survived; NOAA documents the wreck in 85 feet of water.
Vessel
- 1919
- Whitney Brothers Company
- Superior, Wisconsin
- Steel
- 142 ft
- 27.5 ft
- 427 gross tons
- Steam
- United States Navy (NOAA)
Loss
- July 19, 1942
- Enemy action
- Cape Hatteras minefield, off North Carolina
- Atlantic Ocean
- Not established
- Not established
- 17
- 2
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 85 ft
- Most of the wreck remains contiguous; upright slightly tilted bow, two boilers amidships and intact fantail twisted to starboard.
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (88/100)
Exact wreck coordinates and commissioning or hull-designation details are not established in the reviewed source.
NOAA — Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, Keshena
1919 builder, steel hull, dimensions, engine, Navy ownership, registry; unarmed wartime requisition and Naval Rescue Tug Service; July 19 mine strike and completed sinking, 17 aboard/15 survivors/two deaths; 85-foot depth, condition, site plan and NOAA 2016 survey.
