US Coast Guard Mengens (USS Menges DE-320) escort ship in dry dock at military shipyard No. 95 in New York with the stern cut off.
The USS Menges DE-320 was damaged by an acoustic torpedo from a German U-371 submarine on the night of May 2, 1944 in the Mediterranean. The torpedo hit the stern of the ship, but it remained afloat and did not sink. 31 American sailors died, 25 were injured.
The USS Menges DE-320 was towed to the Algerian port of Bougie, where it unloaded the wounded and killed sailors. After that, the USS Menges DE-320 moved to Oran, where minor damage was repaired and the damaged rear third of the hull was completely cut off and the ship was prepared for towing across the Atlantic Ocean. After that – through the Azores – the ship was towed to New York as part of one of the sea convoys.
The USS Menges DE-320 was repaired in an original and unique way for that time – from the same type of escort “Holder” (USS Holder DE-401), heavily damaged by torpedoes of German aircraft in the Mediterranean in April 1944, a third of the stern was cut off in dry dock rearranged to USS Menges DE-320.
The USS Menges DE-320 was completely repaired and returned to the US Navy on September 14, 1944.
Location: New York, USA
Photo date: 1944