USS Pollux
Stores Ship · United States · Lost 1942 · Newfoundland
A US Navy stores ship wrecked at Lawn Head during the same February 1942 storm that claimed USS Truxtun, saved in large part by Newfoundland rescuers.
The Vessel and Her Loss
USS Pollux was en route with USS Truxtun to the American naval base at Argentia, Newfoundland, when a winter storm and navigational error drove both ships onto the rocky Burin Peninsula coast on February 18, 1942. Pollux grounded at Lawn Head, about a mile and a half from Truxtun's wreck site, and 93 of her 233 crew died before rescue. Townspeople from Lawn and St. Lawrence carried out one of the most celebrated rescue efforts in Newfoundland history, saving the majority of those aboard both ships.
Vessel
- 1941
- AKS-2
- Not established
- Not established
- Steel
- Not established
- Not established
- 13910
- Steam
- United States Navy
Loss
- February 18, 1942
- Storm
- Lawn Point (Lawn Head), near Lawn, Newfoundland
- North Atlantic Ocean
- Portland, Maine → Argentia, Newfoundland
- Naval stores
- 233
- 93
- Hugh W. Turney
The Wreck Today
- 30 ft
- Broken up on the rocks at Lawn Head; wreckage visible underwater near shore.
- Not established
- Not established
- Designated National Historic Site of Canada (USS Truxtun and USS Pollux Wreck Sites), recognized 2005.
Position
- Not established
- Approximate position
- Lawn, Burin Peninsula, Newfoundland
Lies off Lawn Head Point at the entrance to Little Lawn Harbour; a precise verified position was not available in the sources reviewed.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
Government of Canada, Department of National Defence
Date, location, casualty figures, depth, and site status.
Canadian Register of Historic Places
Formal designation details and site description.
