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JAY A. HAMMERSHAY 

Cadet Jay A. Hammershay died as a direct result of the sinking of the SS HENRY R. MALLORY on February 7, 1943.  The passenger ship, SS HENRY R. MALLORY, was torpedoed by the German submarine U-402 at 0538 GCT on February 2, 1943 about 600 miles SSW of Iceland (55-18 North/ 26-29 West) while en route from New York to Reykjavik, Iceland via Halifax, Nova Scotia.  She was traveling in Convoy SC-118 (#33) with a cargo of clothing, food, trucks, tanks, cigarettes, 610 bags of mail and 383 passengers.  The passengers were 136 U.S. Army personnel, 72 Marine Corps personnel, 173 Navy personnel, and 2 civilians.  In addition to the passengers, the ship carried a crew of 77 and an Armed Guard of 34.  There were 270 men lost and 224 were saved.  It is definitely known that 39 crewmembers were lost.

            At 0538 GCT, a torpedo struck on the starboard side at the #3 hold.  After being hit, the ship did not list, or settle in the water.  The main steam lines let go and the engines were secured.  There was no fire and no radio damage.  It was firmly believed the ship would stay afloat for some time.  Two of the stern lifeboats were damaged when the hatch covers from the #4 hold blew off and landed on them.  Number 9 lifeboat was blown out of its chocks and #10 was damaged.  Without much warning, the ship began to sink with the stern awash and a port list.  Within 30 minutes after the attack the ship was submerged.      

            When the ship started to list and go down by the stern, the crewmembers began to abandon ship.  The only lifeboat to get away safely from the starboard side was #5, and it was fully loaded.  Lifeboats number 1 and 3 capsized upon hitting the water.  On the port side, #6 and #8 lifeboats were the only boats to get away safely.  Lifeboats number 2 and 4 capsized when lowered.  The majority of the men on board jumped overboard and climbed aboard rafts.  Many of them took to the donut-type, which capsized frequently.  Some life rafts were tied down with one-inch lines and could not be cut or untied in time so these went down with the ship.  The survivors of the ship were not sighted until 4 hours after the attack.  No one in the convoy or in the 11 escort vessels knew the MALLORY had been hit.  The skipper of the USS SCHENCK (DD-159), who was sweeping well astern of the convoy for survivors from the British rescue ship SS TOWARD, saw lights in the distance and started to head in that direction.  When he requested permission to investigate the lights, permission was denied and he was informed the HMS LOBELIA would recover the survivors.  This decision cost the lives of scores of men struggling in the frigid water. Approximately 4 hours after the attack, the USCGC BRIBB found a boat with survivors from the MALLORY.  It was only then that it was discovered the MALLORY had been hit.  The BRIBB picked up 205 survivors, three of whom died on board after being rescued.  The USCGS INGHAM picked up 24 survivors, two of whom died aboard the cutter.  It is on one of these ships that Midshipman Hammershay died.

            The lifeboats that did get away from the MALLORY were dangerously overloaded with 70-75 men.  The bilge pumps failed to work so they bailed with their caps, cans, or anything that would hold water.  The men who were warmly clothed survived.  Those who were scantily clad died.  Men on box-type rafts were in better condition than those recovered from the donut-type raft.  Many were sighted within the donut rafts already dead from exposure and constant immersion in the very cold water.

            The German submarine U-402 was bombed and sunk in the Mid Atlantic by aircraft from the USS CARD (CVE-11) on October 13, 1943.  There were no survivors.