USCGC Bedloe
Patrol Cutter · United States · Lost 1944 · The Outer Banks
The Coast Guard cutter Bedloe capsized in the 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane; twelve of thirty-eight aboard survived.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built at Camden, New Jersey, the Active-class cutter was commissioned as Antietam in 1927. She served in law enforcement and rescue, worked on the Great Lakes, then received upgraded armament for Eastern Seaboard convoy escort. Renamed Bedloe on June 1, 1943, she was assigned with Jackson to aid the torpedo-damaged George Ade during the Great Atlantic Hurricane. Bedloe capsized on September 14, 1944; twelve of thirty-eight aboard survived. NOAA documents her largely intact wreck on its side in 140 feet of water.
Vessel
- Not established
- American Brown Boveri Electric Company
- Camden, New Jersey
- Not established
- 125 ft
- 23.5 ft
- 232 gross tons (NOAA)
- Not established
- United States Coast Guard
Loss
- September 14, 1944
- Storm
- Off the North Carolina coast
- Atlantic Ocean
- Not established
- Not established
- 38
- 26
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 140 ft
- Almost fully intact on its side; some outer hull plating missing, pilothouse and forward deck gun survive.
- On its side; specific side not stated
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Not established
Evidence
Overall confidence: Well documented (91/100)
Construction year, numerical wreck position and exact commissioning day are not established here; institutional commissioning dates differ. Offshore, not claimed inside a harbor.
NOAA — Monitor National Marine Sanctuary
Builder, former name, 1927 commissioning year, Active-class dimensions and tonnage, Coast Guard/wartime escort service, 1943 renaming, September 14 hurricane capsize, 38 aboard/12 survivors/26 deaths, rescue after 51 hours, 140-foot depth and largely intact side-lying wreck; construction year not inferred.
