Lillian
Freighter · United States · Lost 1939 · The New Jersey Coast
A sugar freighter lost in a foggy 1939 collision, remembered partly for her wireless key jammed open as she went down.
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The Vessel and Her Loss
The Lillian, formerly the Maddequet, was carrying sugar from Puerto Rico to New York when she collided with the freighter Wiegand in dense fog in February 1939. All 32 crew survived, though the sinking ship's telegraph key locked in the transmit position and broadcast a continuous signal until the Coast Guard shot away her aerial. The wreck, in the deep offshore Mud Hole, was later wire-dragged and now lies mostly collapsed.
Vessel
- 1920
- Bethlehem Shipbuilding
- Wilmington, Delaware
- Steel
- 327 ft
- 46 ft
- 3482
- Steam, triple expansion, single screw
- Not established
Loss
- February 26, 1939
- Collision
- New Jersey Mud Hole, off Manasquan Inlet
- Atlantic Ocean
- Puerto Rico → New York
- Sugar
- 32
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 150-160
- Mostly collapsed, with an intact bow section festooned in fishing net; broken down further by wire-dragging
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 40.01° N 73.50° W
- Approximate position
- Manasquan Inlet, New Jersey
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (72/100)
The vessel's full ownership history and precise collision circumstances are not established in the sources reviewed.
Build data, collision details, wreck condition.
Down Too Long dive-trip archive
Wreck description and diving conditions.
