President Coolidge
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President
Coolidge went down 26.October 1942 with a cargo of
soldiers and military material meant as reinforcements to
the invasion of Guadalcanal. In early October 1942 she
left San Francisco under the command of Captain Nelson
with course toward New Caledonia. She carried 5092
soldiers from 43. Infantry division. Early in the morning
26.October she arrived at the eastern part of Segond
Channel outside Espiritu Santo. This part of the ship lane
had been mined, but information about this minor detail
was not forwarded to President Coolidge. After several
misunderstandings with a guard boat, she continued and hit
two mines. Captain Nelson immediately gave the order to
beach the ship and at 10:00 she was anchored up on the
nearby bank. The soldiers were ordered to abandon ship,
but without their equipment. At 10:55 she rolled over on
her port side and sank together with all the equipment of
the Infantry division. The wreck rest today on a depth of
15 to 70 meter.
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| 15°31'27.1"S 167°14'06.8"E  Picture: President Coolidge Courtesy of Leslie Godfrey Last updated: March 2021 |
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