S.S. Jacksonville 

Mariners' Medal

The location where the Jackson was sunk ( 5530N 0730W) is marked with a white cross

As the Jacksonville peeled off from the main convoy to go north to Loch Ewe,
the U-boat fired a spread of two torpedoes and obtained two hits. The first
torpedo exploded the cargo of gasoline, giving the crew little chance of abandoning the blazing ship, and the second caused a huge explosion which broke the tanker in two.

A fireman named Frank B Hodges, and a US Navy gunner by the name of Marcellus R. Wegs were rescued by USS Poole. They were the only survivors.

Mr. Rush Webb of Sandusky, Ohio witnessed another sinking by U-482 on September 8, 1944 when the British ship Empire Heritage was torpedoed while sailing alongside his ship, the SS Martin Van Buren.  On the return trip to the USA onboard the SS Exchecker he met one of the Jacksonville survivors, Marcellus Wegs. Marcellus told him that he had thrown his life preserver over the side into the flaming water and dived in near it. He came up swirling his arms to get air, grabbed the lifejacket and swam under the water, towing it until he had got away from the flames. He then saw another person swimming in the edges of the flames (Frank B Hodges) and swam over and towed him to safety. They were later picked up by USS Poole and taken to England. Both Marcellus and Frank sustained injuries from the flames. 
 

USS Poole

Bob Miller was a gunner's mate on the USS Peterson. He witnessed the sinking of the USS Jacksonville and took this picture of the Jacksonville after it was torpedoed. In the picture you will see the convoy in the distance with a plume of smoke rising from the USS Jacksonville. See also Bob's comments under the picture.

Story of Frank B. Hodges, one of the two survivors of the torpedoing of the SS JACKSONVILLE (courtesy of Capt. James B. Wallace):

"When the explosion blasted the ship I ran out of the mess room and found our vessel enveloped in flames and smoke. I tried to reach the boat deck to get my life jacket, but flames and smoke soon engulfed me. However, I managed to reach the rail over the stern and jumped. By this time I was in a dazed condition but when I sank beneath the flames I revived somewhat. When I came to the surface I found flames enveloped me so I swam under the water again. I had to keep under water intermittently until I found a break on the surface where there were no flames. Somehow I managed to reach the windward side of the ship. The flames were shooting high above it and covered the water in all directions.

As I cleared the flames, I saw many of the crew floating on the water but I could not recognize their faces because they were all charred. I recall attempting to hold one man up but it was impossible to do so. As I floated near the ship I saw quite a few life jackets in seaman's hands. They had not had time to put them on. At the time we were hit, there were about a dozen of us in the mess room. I never saw any of them after the explosion. I was told that I was picked up by a United States Destroyer Escort about an hour and a half later in a delirious condition."

In a telephone conversation in December 2004, Frank Hodges told Richard Hubenet (Edward's brother) that he survived three sinkings during the war as well as the landing at Omaha Beach on D-day. He said that he was having coffee in the mess hall before going on duty in the engine room when the ship was hit by the first torpedo that started a fire forward. As the crew moved forward to fight the fire, the second torpedo hit aft and blew the ship in two. Frank doesn't know whether he jumped or was blown overboard, but he came up behind the propellers which whirled him around. To get away from the flames he dove underwater and came up for air where the water was dark several times before he was away from the flames. He got hold of the Armed Guardsman (Mercellus Wegs) and the two swam until they were picked up by a navy destroyer.

Click here to see ULTRA intercepts relating to the sinking of the Jacksonville              

Click here to see some official documents and newspaper articles about the sinking       

The Jacksonville was a T2 tanker built by the Kaiser Company at Swan Island Shipyard in Portland, Oregon. She was delivered in January 1944. More than 500 such tankers were built during the war.

U-482, a Type VII C U-boat, had been launched on September 25, 1943, to commission on December 1 the same year. It went missing around December 7, 1944 in the North Channel, possibly lost to mines north-west of Malin Head. All hands were lost.