SS Persephone
Tanker · Panama · Lost 1942 · The New Jersey Coast
A tanker torpedoed off Barnegat Light in May 1942 during the submarine campaign along the New Jersey shore.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Persephone was a steel tanker carrying petroleum up the American coast in the spring of 1942, when German submarines were working close inshore. On 25 May she was torpedoed off Barnegat Light, New Jersey, and settled by the stern in shallow water. Patrol craft took off most of her crew, though several men were killed in the attack. Her broken remains are a familiar New Jersey dive site.
Vessel
- 1926
- Not established
- Not established
- Steel
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Steam, single screw
- Not established
Loss
- May 25, 1942
- Enemy action
- Off Barnegat Light, New Jersey
- Atlantic Ocean off New Jersey
- New York
- Petroleum
- Not established
- Several men were killed in the attack; accounts differ on the exact number.
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Broken sections on a sand bottom off Barnegat.
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 39.73° N 74.02° W
- Approximate position
- Barnegat Light, New Jersey
Position given for the reported wreck area off Barnegat Light.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (68/100)
The exact number of lives lost and the extent of the surviving structure are not settled in the sources reviewed.
NOAA, Battle of the Atlantic shipwreck records
Attack date, location and wartime context.
New Jersey Maritime Museum
Vessel history, casualties, present condition of the wreck.
