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USS MANARGO

Discussion in '☆☆ New Recruits ☆☆' started by Alaw, Feb 1, 2018.

  1. Alaw

    Alaw New Member

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    Trying to find any data on this ship, USS Manargo. Apparently it was a troop transport, and was sunk on September 23, 1943. Not the MUnargo. which is the ship I usually get when searching. My dad was on it when it went down. His service records has the date when it was sunk but I want to know more about what happened and where. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks
     
  2. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    No listing in DANFS. But there's no listing in DANFS for "Munargo", despite being AP-20. Are you certain about the "USS" part?
     
  3. lwd

    lwd Ace

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  4. lwd

    lwd Ace

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    From the google blurb associated with the link above it was an Army transport.
     
  5. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    "
    As soon as the negotiations with the Danish Minister were sufficiently advanced, President Roosevelt authorized the War Department to

    [​IMG]
    Bluie West 1 Narsarsuaq Greenland

    go ahead with preparations for building the airfields. During the following months various details were worked out. The Greenland force consisted of the Army transport USS Manargo, the troopship Chateau Thierry,the 21st Engineers battalion, a composite battery of the 62nd Coast artillery (AA), plus the necessary service troops. Colonel Benjamin Giles, Army Air Corps was in command. The Greenland force proceeded to Narsarssuak and construction on the major U.S. Army and Navy airbase, Bluie West I, began in July 1941. The infrastructure was erected, the grading was completed and the first runway was ready for use in February 1942. This airfield was one of the first to make use of steel matting in runway construction, an important engineering development that contributed greatly to winning the war, especially in the Pacific. Construction began on the airfield at Bluie West 8 at Sondre Stromfjord in October and this airfield was also completed in February 1942. The first Bulk shipment of aviation fuel arrived in June."
     
  6. ColHessler

    ColHessler Member

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    Would that make it USAT Manargo?
     
  7. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    GOOGLE doesn't care for the USAT prefix.
     
  8. ColHessler

    ColHessler Member

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    Like I care what Google thinks!
     
  9. ColHessler

    ColHessler Member

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  10. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    I meant that it got no hits.
     
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  11. lwd

    lwd Ace

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  12. Alaw

    Alaw New Member

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    Great question. The documents say USS but I was suspect it may not be. And some of the posts below are indicating it may not be. Thanks everyone for your help!!! I will check out all the info below and keep digging. This is much more than I found. I'm really trying to find out the circumstances of her sinking. My dad was very reluctant to say much, obviously a bad ordeal. He finished his tour on the Quincy (II)
     
  13. Takao

    Takao Ace

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    With regrets...It was the MUnargo that was in Iceland. Any source that lists the MAnargo is a typo.
     
  14. lwd

    lwd Ace

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    I wondered about that. It mentioned the sinking of one of the other transports ships later in the war, didn't understand why they would do that for one and not the other.
     
  15. Alaw

    Alaw New Member

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    Actually I have several other accounts of the Manargo being in Iceland. Maybe they were both there, don't know but it looks like the Munargo was converted to a hospital ship in 43 : U.S. Navy which commissioned the ship USS Munargo (AP-20). She operated in the Atlantic Ocean for the Navy until returned to the War Department in 1943 for conversion into the Hospital ship USAHS Thistle. The ship I'm looking for info on is the Manargo, sunk in 1943. Thanks everyone for your additions!! Still nothing about where or how she was sunk.
     
  16. lwd

    lwd Ace

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    I didn't see it on this list:
    Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged during 1943
    Not on this list either:
    List of US Navy ships sunk or damaged in action during World War II - Wikipedia
    It isn't on this list either:
    List of shipwrecks in September 1943 - Wikipedia
    but USS APc-35 sunk on the 22 might be a candidate. Here's some more info on it:
    Small Coastal Transport (APc)

    *** edit for ***
    More info on it at (or perhaps more of the same info)::
    HyperWar: USS APc-35
    Sunken Ships World War II
    http://www.davidbruhn.com/images/APc and FS Hall of Valor.pdf
     
  17. Alaw

    Alaw New Member

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    Thanks for doing all this research. According to my dad it went down quickly. He spent some time in the water awaiting rescue. I'm stuck here too. Its not on any lists I can find either. Makes no sense. Its on his Naval record. Ship, date sunk, etc. and...he told me about it shortly before he passed. But he did not share many details and I didn't push him. Now looking through some "Stuff" I find his naval record and discharge papers and ran across the Manargo sinking again. I have found on-line some personal naval accounts and an obituary mentioning being on board the Manargo. One sailing from a port in New York and one from Iceland. Thanks Again!!
     
  18. lwd

    lwd Ace

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    It's possible that there was a typo in the records but it sounds like it would have to have been multiple typos. Date line issues could easily cause the date to be off a day or so but APc-35 was the only one I saw close to the 23 of September and it was beached if I got that right. If you could scan and post the documents here some might able to dig a bit more out of them.

    Could the month or year be wrong? The various lists of ships sunk by date don't leave much hope for finding anything other than what's been mentioned for September of 43. Some smaller craft lost only have a letter and number designation but they sometimes had names.

    Do you have any idea where he was when his ship was sunk (Pacific, Atlantic, Med, ...).
     
  19. Alaw

    Alaw New Member

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    Thanks again. The only ship that comes close in spelling is the Munargo and it was not sunk. (converted to a hospital ship) I believe he spent most of his career in the pacific. I just looked at the discharge paper again and there is a notation I missed before. "lost in Jap Mine field" So it apparently hit a Jap mine. Its incredible we cant find the story. Thanks again!!
     
  20. lwd

    lwd Ace

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