BURR-WILLIAM

LOST  AT  SEA

The SS Harry Luckenbach was an American steam merchant ship built in 1919.  On March 17, 1943, the ship was in Convoy HX-229 about 400 miles southeast of Greenland when the convoy was attacked by the German submarine U-91 which reportedly fired five torpedoes at the convoy.  Two torpedoes found their target when they hit the starboard side of SS Harry Luckenbach amidships in the machinery spaces, causing her to sink within three minutes in the rough seas.  Historical records report that some of the 79 men on board were able to abandon the ship in three lifeboats which were later spotted by a small military escort vessel which was unable to assist as it was already overloaded with survivors.  Additional efforts to locate the lifeboats were unsuccessful and none of the men from the ship were seen again.

LTJG William Alfred Burr was the officer-in-charge of the Naval Armed Guard aboard the ship.  He reportedly joined the Navy from Arkansas after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and was survived by his mother who was living in Little Rock, Arkansas.  As his body was never found he was declared dead in March 1948 and the name of LTJG William A. Burr is inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing at the American Cemetery and Memorial in Cambridge, England.

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)