AH-WR-0039

SS Charles S. Haight

Liberty Ship · United States · Lost 1947 · Cape Ann & the Gulf of Maine

A mass-produced wartime Liberty ship that ran aground and broke up off Rockport's outer breakwater in the years after World War II.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Charles S. Haight was one of thousands of Liberty ships built for wartime cargo service, launched in 1944 at Brunswick, Georgia. After the war she continued in general freight service until she ran aground off Rockport, Massachusetts, near the outer breakwater. Her hull broke up in the shallow, rocky waters there. Remnants including a large engine block remain visible today, and her binnacle is preserved at the Sandy Bay Yacht Club.

Vessel

Built: 1944
Builder: J. A. Jones Construction
Yard: Brunswick, Georgia
Material: Steel
Length: 422.8 ft
Beam: 57 ft
Tonnage: 7198
Propulsion: Steam, single screw
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: March 4, 1947
Cause: Grounding
Location: Off Rockport, Massachusetts, near the outer breakwater
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Broken remains including a large engine block lie a short distance northeast of the outer breakwater.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 42.68° N 70.58° W
Accuracy: Reported, unconfirmed
Nearest: Rockport, Massachusetts
Region: Cape Ann & the Gulf of Maine

Reported wreck position off Rockport near the outer breakwater, per a New England shipwreck research database.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (60/100)

The exact date of loss is inconsistently given as 1946 in some local sources and 1947 in registry records, and the cause beyond grounding is not detailed in the sources reviewed.