USS Macaw
Submarine Rescue And Salvage Vessel · United States · Lost 1944 · The Hawaiian Islands
A Navy submarine rescue ship that ran aground at Midway Atoll in 1944 while trying to save a stranded submarine, and was lost herself.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Commissioned in 1943, the submarine rescue and salvage ship USS Macaw was called out from Midway Atoll on January 18, 1944, to help free the submarine USS Flier, which had grounded on a nearby reef in heavy weather. While under the direction of the Midway harbor pilot, Macaw herself ran aground; flooding quickly overwhelmed her motor and generator rooms, and a subsequent storm on February 12, 1944, finished breaking her apart on the reef. The wreck has since been extensively documented by NOAA maritime archaeologists.
Vessel
- 1942
- ASR-11
- Moore Drydock Company
- Oakland, California
- Steel
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Diesel-electric
- U.S. Navy
Loss
- February 12, 1944
- Grounding
- Midway Atoll, Hawaii
- Pacific Ocean
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Extensively documented wreck site in the atoll's channel
- Not established
- Not established
- Within Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
Position
- 28.20° N 177.35° W
- Approximate position
- Midway Atoll, Hawaii
Position approximates Midway Atoll's channel.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (88/100)
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
Build details, grounding narrative, and loss circumstances.
NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, USS Macaw Wreck Site Survey
Archaeological survey documentation of the wreck site.
