AH-WR-0035

SS Pendleton

Tanker · United States · Lost 1952 · Cape Cod & Nantucket Shoals

A World War II-era tanker that split in half in a ferocious 1952 nor'easter off Chatham, prompting one of the Coast Guard's most famous small-boat rescues.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Built in 1944 as a wartime T2 tanker, the Pendleton was carrying fuel oil along the Massachusetts coast when a violent nor'easter on February 18, 1952, broke her hull in two east of Chatham. The tanker Fort Mercer split apart in the same storm the same day. A Coast Guard crew under Bernard Webber, aboard the 36-foot motor lifeboat CG-36500, made a harrowing rescue of most of the men trapped in the drifting stern section. The bow section was later salvaged and rebuilt, while the stern remains on the seabed off Monomoy Island.

Vessel

Built: 1944
Builder: Kaiser Company, Swan Island Shipyard
Yard: Portland, Oregon
Material: Steel
Length: 504 ft
Beam: 68.2 ft
Tonnage: 10448
Propulsion: Steam turbo-electric, single screw
Owners: War Shipping Administration (1944–48); National Bulk Carriers (1948–52)

Loss

Date: February 18, 1952
Cause: Storm
Location: East of Chatham, off Monomoy Island, Massachusetts
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Fuel oil
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Most of the stern-section crew were rescued by the Coast Guard; some losses occurred in the disaster, exact figures vary by account.
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Stern section sank off Monomoy Island; bow section was towed to port and later rebuilt into a new vessel.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 41.60° N 69.95° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: Chatham, Massachusetts
Region: Cape Cod & Nantucket Shoals

General area east of Chatham where the stern section sank; precise position varies by source.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)

The exact number of lives lost across the disaster is inconsistently reported between accounts and is not stated here as a firm figure.

Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources
Vessel specifications, loss date, and location.
U.S. Coast Guard historical records
Rescue operation details and crew names.