U-Boat Attack in the Atlantic
On May 29 1944, Block Island was torpedoed by U-549 which had slipped undetected through her screen. ... The German submarine put one and perhaps two more torpedoes into the stricken carrier before being sunk by Eugene E. Gilmore (DE-686) and Ahrens (DE-575). When Block Island was torpedoed six men were lost. Six planes were in the air at the time of the sinking. With nowhere to land, they flew to the nearest islands but only two of the planes made successful landings. ... Four aviators from Block Island were lost.
