USS Truxtun
Destroyer · United States · Lost 1942 · Newfoundland
A US Navy destroyer wrecked in Chambers Cove during a February 1942 storm, saved in part by the heroism of the people of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland.
The Vessel and Her Loss
USS Truxtun was escorting the supply ship USS Pollux toward the American naval base at Argentia when a severe winter storm and navigational miscalculation drove the convoy onto the rocky south coast of Newfoundland on February 18, 1942. Truxtun broke apart in Chambers Cove, and 110 of her 156 crew died in the freezing water and surf. The disaster, and the extraordinary rescue efforts of the townspeople of St. Lawrence and Lawn, became one of the defining stories of wartime Newfoundland.
Vessel
- 1920
- DD-229
- Not established
- Not established
- Steel
- Not established
- Not established
- 1215
- Steam turbines
- United States Navy
Loss
- February 18, 1942
- Storm
- Chambers Cove, near St. Lawrence, Newfoundland
- North Atlantic Ocean
- Portland, Maine → Argentia, Newfoundland
- Not established
- 156
- 110
- Ralph Hickox
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Broken up by the sea; wreckage remains scattered in Chambers Cove.
- Not established
- Not established
- Designated National Historic Site of Canada (USS Truxtun and USS Pollux Wreck Sites), recognized 2005.
Position
- Not established
- Approximate position
- St. Lawrence, Burin Peninsula, Newfoundland
Located within Chambers Cove at Chamber Point, about 8 km west of St. Lawrence; a precise verified position was not available in the sources reviewed.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
The vessel's exact present wreck position and depth were not established in the sources reviewed.
Government of Canada, Department of National Defence
Date, location, casualty figures, and site status.
Narrative of the disaster and rescue.
