USS Jacob Jones
Destroyer · United States · Lost 1942 · Delaware Bay & the Approaches
A destroyer torpedoed off Cape May in February 1942, with only a handful of her crew surviving.
The Vessel and Her Loss
The Jacob Jones was a First World War era destroyer patrolling the American coast during the German submarine offensive of early 1942. On 28 February she was torpedoed off Cape May and sank quickly, and only a small number of her crew survived. Her wreckage lies at the approaches to Delaware Bay and is protected as a naval war grave.
Vessel
- 1919
- Not established
- Not established
- Steel
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Steam turbine
- Not established
Loss
- February 28, 1942
- Enemy action
- Off Cape May, New Jersey, at the approaches to Delaware Bay
- Atlantic Ocean
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- The great majority of her crew were lost; only a handful survived.
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Broken wreckage in two main sections.
- Not established
- Not established
- Sunken military craft of the United States Navy; a war grave.
Position
- 38.60° N 74.50° W
- Reported, unconfirmed
- Cape May, New Jersey
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)
The precise position and the exact number of lives lost are not established in the sources reviewed.
Naval History and Heritage Command
Service record, loss, casualties.
Published accounts of the 1942 coastal submarine campaign
Circumstances of the sinking.
