AH-WR-0779

USS Cherokee

Tugboat · United States · Lost 1918 · Delaware Bay & the Approaches

A Navy tug built in Camden, New Jersey, that foundered in a winter gale off the Delaware coast in 1918 with the loss of 28 of her 38 men.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Originally built as the commercial tug Edgar F. Luckenbach in Camden, New Jersey, the vessel was acquired by the Navy in 1917 and renamed USS Cherokee. On February 26, 1918, while steaming south in a severe gale to be outfitted for overseas duty, she foundered off the Delaware coast, and 28 of her 38-man crew were lost. She now rests upright in about 95 feet of water and is a well-known regional dive site.

Vessel

Built: 1891
Registry: SP-458
Builder: John H. Dialogue & Son
Yard: Camden, New Jersey
Material: Steel
Length: 120 ft
Beam: 25 ft
Tonnage: 272
Propulsion: Steam, single screw
Owners: United States Navy

Loss

Date: February 26, 1918
Cause: Storm
Location: About 12 miles off Fenwick Island Light Vessel, near the Delaware coast
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Newport, Rhode Island → Washington Navy Yard
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 38
Lives lost: 28
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 90-100
Condition: Sits upright, hull largely intact, stern showing the highest relief
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 38.84° N 74.80° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: Fenwick Island, Delaware
Region: Delaware Bay & the Approaches

Position given in Wikipedia's article on USS Cherokee (SP-458), describing the site about 12 miles off the Fenwick Island Light Vessel where she foundered in 1918; treated as an approximate historical position rather than a precise modern survey.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (78/100)

Exact wreck coordinates were not confirmed in the sources reviewed.

MaritimeQuest
Build history, Navy acquisition, and loss narrative.
Wikipedia, citing Naval History and Heritage Command
General class background used for cross-checking (note: this article concerns a later, different USS Cherokee).
Wikipedia (USS Cherokee (ID-458))
wreck position