Lost to the Minefield: The Wreck of F.W. Abrams off Cape Hatteras, NC

Author(s): Chelsea R. Freeland

Year: 2017

Summary

The U.S. Merchant Marine provided a necessary supply line to Allied troops through the entirety of WWII. In June 1942, the crude oil tanker F.W. Abrams fell victim to the Hatteras minefield, a defensive mechanism meant to protect U.S. merchant vessels. The ship struck three mines before sinking just off the coast of Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. In May 2016, the Battle of the Atlantic Research Expedition Group began a Phase I survey of the site, primarily to corroborate or compare to historical sources on the operational history of the vessel and the circumstances of its loss. This paper will briefly describe the results of both that historical research and the data collected during the archaeological survey.

Cite this Record

Lost to the Minefield: The Wreck of F.W. Abrams off Cape Hatteras, NC. Chelsea R. Freeland. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435626)

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 580