U-Boat Attack off coast of Greenland
The Transport Ship Dorchester was torpedoed by U-223 while en convoy from New Foundland to Greenland. The torpedo struck the starboard side of the ship, opening a hole in the hull which flooded the engine room. The engines were destroyed as were two life boats. ... Orders to abandon ship were issued within three minutes. Dorchester sank within twenty five minutes. ... Two hundred and thirty survivors were later picked up by CGC Escanaba and CGC Comanche who continued their search into the darkness. ... Four U.S. Army chaplains, Father John Washington (Catholic), Reverend Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed), Rabbi Alexander Goode (Jewish) and Rev. George Fox (Methodist) were among the first on deck, handing out life jackets and assisting as they could. They were last seen by witnesses standing arm-in-arm on the hull of the ship. ... Six hundred and seventy-five were lost, making it the third largest US loss at sea of its kind during the war