HAMILTON WPG 34
Ship Name and Designation History
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.
Keel Laid September 11 1935 - Launched January 6 1937 |
This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
- Covers Page 1 (1977)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.
A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an
image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN
THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
existing example.
|
Postmark Type |
Date From to Date To |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
|---|
|
Locy Type |
1977-01-29 |
 |
N/A |
35th Anniversary of Loss, Cachet by Rich Hoffner, sponsored by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
Other Information
"As Alexander Hamilton was making her way there, the storeship Yukon (AF--9) suffered an engine casualty while en route to join convoy ON-57, a half-hour before midnight on 23 January 1942. Directed to the scene, the Coast Guard cutter arrived on the 25th and took the disabled "beef boat" in tow. The destroyer Gwin (DD--433) provided an escort, and the little convoy then crept toward Reykjavik at a snails pace.
By noon on the 29th, the three ships were only ten miles from their destination. The British tug Frisky put out from Reykjavik to take Yukon in tow, while the two escorts screened the operation. Alexander Hamilton then cast off the tow line and proceeded ahead, slowly, to keep clear of the tug and her charge, eight miles off Skaggi Point light, near the entrance to the swept channel to Reykiavik. At 1312 on 29 January 1942, a torpedo from U--132--which had been patrolling off Reykjavik since 21 January--struck the cutter amidships without warning. One torpedo, of a four-torpedo spread, smashed into Alexander Hamilton's starboard side, directly abeam of the stack. It hit the fireroom bulkhead and flooded the two largest compartments of the ship, blew up two boilers, exploded directly under the main electrical switchboard, demolished the starboard turbines and flooded the auxiliary engine room, and wrecked the auxiliary radio generator and emergency diesel generator as well. The blast also destroyed three of the ships seven boats. The interior of the ship was plunged into darkness--no heat, steam, nor electricity remained.
While U--132 escaped the attention of nearby destroyers over the next several hours (she would ultimately reach La Pallice on 8 February and be sunk on 5 November 1942 by British planes) Alexander Hamilton settled lower in the water. Twenty-six men were killed instantly; six died later of the injuries sustained in the torpedoing. Ten more injured men required hospitalization. At 1345, eight officers and 75 enlisted men went over the side into the four remaining boats; Icelandic fishing trawlers then took these 81 men on board and carried them to Reykjavik.
With Alexander Hamilton down at the stern by some eight to ten feet by 1447, Gwin came alongside briefly to take off the last of the cutters crew, including her commanding officer, Comdr. Arthur G. Hall, USCG, who had ordered "abandon ship" when it became evident that, with the ship powerless and in imminent danger of being torpedoed a second time, nothing more could be done at that point.
That evening, the British tug Restive attempted to take the crippled cutter in tow, abandoning the effort after two hours due to the heavy seas. Brief consideration was given to having Gwin transfer a skeleton crew to Restive to attempt to board Alexander Hamilton but, again, the weather prompted abandonment of those plans. Throughout the night, Restive, Frisky, and the Coast Guard tug Redwing attempted to salvage the ship, but without success.
At 1015 the following day, the seas having moderated, Frisky took Alexander Hamilton in tow and, as the day wore on, progressed 18 miles. The cutters list increased rapidly to starboard, however, and she suddenly capsized at 1728 on 30 January 1942 at 64032 north latitude, 22 58 west longitude. She remained afloat, though, bottom-up, and Ericsson (DD-440), which had arrived on the scene that morning to join the destroyer Livermore (DD-430) and seaplane tender Belknap (AVD-8) in escorting the salvage group, was then given the task of sinking the derelict. Three hits put Alexander Hamilton lower in the water, but she still remained defiantly afloat at nightfall, her hull barely awash. The cutter was reportedly still afloat that evening, prompting the dispatch of Ericsson to the scene, but the destroyer arrived the following morning to find only an oil slick. {DANFS}
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