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| The SS Hebe (Unknown Date) |
The SS Hebe was a Dutch cargo transport which struck the British armed trawler, HMT St Cathan (FY 234), on Saturday April 11th 1942. Both ships were under blackout orders. All 31 crew members of the Hebe survived.. The St. Cathan had a crew of forty-one. Two crew members remained at Charleston Naval Base, SC in the sick bay. Of the thirty nine which were on the trawler when the collision occurred nine survived and the other thirty from perished.
The Hebe was built in 1916 by Boele´s Scheepswerven En Machinefabriek, in Bolnes, South Holland, Netherlands. The ship weighed 1,140 tons and was steam drive with a 800 horsepower triple expansion engine. The ship had a cruising speed of ten knots.
The St. Cathan was built in 1936 by Cook, Welton & Gemmel Ltd. in Beverley, England. The St. Cathan was about half the size of the Hebe weighing 565 tons. The armed trawler was part of 24 trawlers sent to the United States between February and October 1942 to assist in securing the eastern seaboard and hunt German u-boats. The trawlers were crewed with Royal Naval Patrol Service members and made up the British 22nd A/S Strike Group. The St. Cathan was equipped with a single 4" deck gun. Lt. John Mackay, RNR commanded the St. Cathan from June 12th 1941 until it sunk. Lt. Mackay was one of the nine survivors.
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| 1953 Cerveceria Regional Label |
The Hebe hit the St. Cathan in the starboard quarter at 0215 am EST on the morning of April 11th. The St. Cathan sank in approximately five minutes while it took the Hebe thirty minutes. Initial it was reported that the Hebe had been torpedoed.
A District Patrol Vessel (YP-22) was first on the scene and rescued seven men from the St. Cathan and the thirty-one member crew of the Hebe. Patrol Yachts Beryl (PY-23) and Azurlite (PY-22) along with the SS Kosmos also assisted in the recovery. The Beryl and Azurlite returned the survivors plus one dead body to Charleston.
The ships now rest 1/4 mile apart in 90-110 feet of water. Large parts of the Hebe's hull are still in tact as well as the main section of the mid-deck hold. Near the wheel house there is a porcelain toilet and black and white checkered tile wall. Perpendicular to the wreck lies the masts, with attached ladders.
I have been unable to find a full survey or site-plan of the Hebe or Cathan wreck sites. Future trips to the sites should focus on multi-beam sonar imaging of the sites and diver recorded site-plans.
Below is a list of those that lost their lives on the St. Cathan
Sub-Lieut. GEORGE PATTON ALLWORK
Ord. Sea. RONALD CHARLES BAKER
Seaman LAWRENCE BURNS
Asst. Cook FREDERICK JOHN BUXTON
Ord. Sea. DAVID SNOWDON COULTHARD
Ord. Sea. RUSSAGE EVANS
Seaman JOHN FINDLAY
Seaman GEORGE WILLIAM GLENTON
Ldg. Sea. ALBERT ROBERT HARRIS
Sub-Lieut. HENRY BLEBY HODGSHON
Ord. Sea. WILLIAM HUGHES
Sto. 2nd Cl. CHRISTOPHER HYNES
Ord. Sea. WILLIAM GEORGE MAIR
Seaman JAMES McKENNA
Ch. Engineman ALEXANDER REID
P.O. JAMES BEATTY RUSSELL
Seaman ALEC ARTHUR SKARRATT
Asst. Steward JOSEPH TAYLOR
Seaman WILLIAM REES THOMAS
Sto. ARNOLD ROBERT WATSON
Seaman JOHN WEBSTER
Cook DOUGLAS FREDERICK WHITE
Seaman JAMES WYLIE
*Note - List only contains 23 names, 7 are missing. The list was collected from the Royal Naval Patrol Service Memorial
