USS YP-389

Fishing trawler Cohassett prior to its conversion into USS YP-389. Courtesy of the National Archives.

The Sinking of the USS YP-389:

The USS YP-389 started its life as a steel hull fishing trawler. Its original name was the Cohassett. Its life as a fishing vessel didn't last very long. A year after it was built it was put into service by the U.S. Navy. On February 6, 1942, Cohessett was converted to a minesweeper, AMc-201. Even its career as a minesweeper didn't last long either. By June, it had been retrofitted and reclassified as a patrol vessel, USS YP-389. It was assigned to patrol the North Carolina area, particularly the Hatteras minefield area. One of its duties was to warn any merchant vessels if they strayed off course.

When retrofitted USS YP-389 was equipped with on 3-inch/23 gun, two .30 caliber Lewis Machine guns, and six depth charges. The weaponry would be fine to fight a battle with another patrol boat but no match for a German U-boat. Adding to it being overmatched it was unequipped with any sound gear. This meant if a U-boat was in the area, USS YP-389 would have no idea of its presence.

The USS YP-389 was patrolling off Cape Hatteras minefield. It would patrol the outskirts of the minefield's north to south buoy, turn around and head back following the same pattern. Meanwhile, the German U-boat U-701 arrived in the area on June 16 ready to look for merchant ships to sink. The U-boat's captain, Horst Degen, grew frustrated with the USS YP-389's constant patrolling.

So at 2:45 AM on June 19, the U-701 attacked the patrol vessel. Knowing that the vessel was small the U-boat didn't want to waste a torpedo. At the same time, it didn't want to give USS YP-389 time to report its location or drop depth charges. The U-701 began its attack with its deck guns. This started a gun battle between the two enemies. The Germans opened fire with the anti-aircraft funs from the starboard quarter. They followed this up with rounds from the deck gun. This attack was a mixture of armor piercing, high explosive, and incendiary shells. The USS YP-389 tried to avoid the shelling by maneuvering in a way that presented the German U-boat with a smaller target. With this maneuvering, it only allowed the ship to its two machine guns. The main gun was out of service due to a faulty firing spring. Using this strategy was ineffectual and appeared to make for an easier target. A distress signal was sent via radiotelephone and four depth charges were dropped to discourage the U-boat from chasing the ship. One of the depth charges wound up being a dud. The shelling from the U-boat started a fire forward but was quickly extinguished. However, another shell disabled the carbon dioxide extinguishing system and flooded the engine room with fumes. Next, the fuel tanks were hit, and then the wheelhouse and chart house was on fire. The ongoing battle lasted over an hour and a half. Prior to USS YP-389, the crew abandoned the ship in their life jackets. They did this because the lifeboats were destroyed in the gun battle.

The men floated in the water until the next morning when they were rescued by two Coast Guard cutters at 8:00 AM. The USCGC CG-462 and USCGC CG-486 brought the men to the Ocracoke Coast Guard Station. Eight injured men and the body of one of the men who died was mortally wounded and died while waiting to be rescued were then taken to Morehead City Section Base. Four of the seriously injured men were then flown to the Norfolk Naval Hospital by a Hall flying boat.

Crew List of USS YP-389

THE SHIP'S SPECIFICS:

Built: 1941	Sunk: June 19, 1942
Type of Vessel: New England Fishing Trawler converted to U.S. Navy patrol vessel	Owner: U.S. Navy
Builder: Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co, Quincy, MA	Power: Diesel engine
Port of registry:	Dimensions:
Previous Names: Cohassett, USS AMc-201

LOCATION OF THE SINKING:

Here is the location of the sinking: 34° 10'N, 76° 41'W

LOST CREW MEMBERS :

Total Lost: 6, Survivors: 18

Last	First	Date of Death	Position	Home	Age
Cole	Wilson Burnett	June 19, 1942	Fireman Third Class	Flint, NI
Crabb, Jr.	Vincent Weathers	June 19, 1942	Fireman Second Class	Dallas, TX
Doucette	John Collins	June 19, 1942	Fireman Third Class	Lynn, MA	19
Hensley	Charley Francis	June 19, 1942	Seaman Second Class	Ridgeway, MO
Hia	Magnus	June 19, 1942	Seaman First Class	Brooklyn, NY
McLean	Cornelius Francis	June 19, 1942	Seaman Second Class	Boston, MA

SURVIVING CREW MEMBERS:

A listing of the surviving crew:

Last	First	Position	DOB	Home	Age
Anotil	D.L.	Seaman Second Class
Baker, Jr.	Roy Palmer	Ensign
Battisti	Anthony Tony	Seaman Second Class
Behrman	George	Seaman Second Class
Bonsall	Eugene Carroll	Fireman Third Class
Harris	Calvin Paul	Motor Machinist's Mate First Class
Holt	Nelson	Seaman Second Class
Long	Robert J.	Seaman Second Class
MacPherson	Gelbert Leslie	Signalman Second Class
McKellar	Robert Morrison	Ensign	March 7, 1920	Seattle, WA	22
Murch	Robert Lyman	Seaman Second Class
*Nazarsky	William Walter	Seaman Second Class	Aug. 30, 1924		17
Philips	R.J.	Lieutenant
Sesselman	William John	Fireman Third Class
Smith	W.A.	Ship's Cook Third Class
Tunmer	George	Machinist's Mate First Class
White	Leroy Albert	Seaman Second Class	Jan. 22, 1921	Brockton, MA	21
Wilson	Robert	Fireman First Class

* He was aboard the Richard Caswell as a Seaman First Class when it was sunk on July 16, 1943, by German U-boat U-513.

Photos of the F.W. Abrams:

Multibeam survey of USS YP-389. Photo courtesy of NOAA.

Photomosaic of USS YP-389. Photo courtesy of NOAA, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary.

The wreck of the USS YP-389, a United States Navy yard patrol boat. Photo courtesy NOAA, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary