The JAMES H. REED, a steel bulk freight propeller, met its tragic end on April 27, 1944. The vessel, with an official number of 77589, was built in 1903 by Detroit Shipbuilding in Wyandotte, Michigan (hull# 154). It had dimensions of 448 feet in length, 52 feet in width, and 29 feet in depth. The JAMES H. REED had a gross tonnage of 5598 and a net tonnage of 4125.
The collision took place in Lake Erie, approximately 20 miles north of Conneaut, Ohio, off Long Point. The JAMES H. REED was carrying iron ore and was bound from Superior, Wisconsin, to Erie, Pennsylvania. It was rammed broadside dead amidships by the 550-foot steel freighter ASHCROFT. The impact caused the JAMES H. REED to sink rapidly. Sadly, the collision resulted in the loss of 12 lives.
Following the sinking, the wreckage of the JAMES H. REED was later dynamited to level it. The vessel was owned by Interlake Steamship, based in Cleveland. Additional information about the JAMES H. REED was provided by Doyle C. Rogers in 1999, who had served as a 17-year-old crewman aboard the ship.
The JAMES H. REED is included on lists of U.S. World War II war losses, highlighting the vessel’s role and fate during the war. The merchant vessel, with an official number of 77589 and a gross tonnage of 5265, had a significant collision in Lake Erie, north of Ashtabula, Ohio, on April 27, 1944.
According to the Detroit/Wyandotte Shipbuilding Master List, the JAMES H. REED was a steel bulk propeller built on May 28, 1903. It had an official U.S. number of 77589 and a tonnage of 5598 gross tons and 4125 net tons. The vessel’s dimensions were recorded as 448 feet in length, 52.2 feet in width, and 29 feet in depth. The JAMES H. REED’s home port was Duluth.
Tragically, the JAMES H. REED sank as a result of a collision with the Canadian steamship ASHCROFT on April 27, 1944, approximately 20 miles north of Conneaut, Ohio, in Lake Erie. The collision claimed the lives of 12 individuals.
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