AH-WR-1082

S.S. Willis A. Slater

Concrete Cargo Ship · United States · Lost Scuttled in 1948 to form a breakwater · The Potomac & the Virginia Chesapeake

One of the most photographed hulls of the Kiptopeke concrete fleet, its broken stern rising from the shallows at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Willis A. Slater was built in 1944 by McCloskey and Company of Tampa, Florida, as one of the U.S. Maritime Commission's wartime fleet of reinforced-concrete cargo ships, and served as a transport and training vessel in the Pacific during World War II. In 1948 she was scuttled with eight sister ships off Kiptopeke, Virginia, to protect the Little Creek-Cape Charles ferry terminal. Her bow and a heavily damaged stern remain visible today, making her one of the most recognizable hulls in the breakwater.

Vessel

Built: 1944
Builder: McCloskey and Company
Yard: Tampa, Florida
Material: Composite
Length: 366 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam
Owners: U.S. Maritime Commission

Loss

Date: Scuttled in 1948 to form a breakwater
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Kiptopeke, Northampton County, Virginia, at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay
Water: Chesapeake Bay
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Bow and stern sections visible above water with a large hole in the stern; frequently photographed as the most accessible hull in the line
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Within Kiptopeke State Park, Virginia