Friendly St. Paddy's Day Fire

FRI 17 MAR 1944
Pacific
Motor torpedo boat PT-283 is sunk by friendly fire from destroyer Guest (DD-472), Solomons, 06°27'S, 155°08'E.

Mediterranean
Off Anzio, destroyers Madison (DD-425) and Eberle (DD-430) make sound contact 25 miles southwest of the port; five-hour search yields no result. Tank landing craft LCT-277 is damaged in air raid.

During German air raid on the port of Naples, Italy, U.S. freighter James Guthrie is damaged by bomb; there are no casualties among the ship's company.

German submarine U-371 attacks Naples-bound convoy SNF 17 about 30 miles north-northeast of Bougie, Algeria, and torpedoes U.S. freighter Maiden Creek 37°08'N, 05°27'E. Initially, the ship is abandoned, but is reboarded and prepared for towing. U-371 again torpedoes Maiden Creek, the resulting explosion killing six merchant seamen and two of the 29-man Armed Guard.

Destroyer MacKenzie (DD-614) joins three British escort vessels for submarine hunt off Philippeville, with no results.

Indian Ocean
Last survivors of U.S. tanker H.D. Collier torpedoed and shelled by Japanese submarine I-26 on 13 March 1944, are rescued by steamship Karagola.

Atlantic
Aircraft (VC 6) from escort carrier Block Island (CVE-21), along with destroyer Corry (DD-463), and destroyer escort Bronstein (DE-189) sink German submarine U-801 west of the Cape Verdes, 16°42'N, 30°26'W.

German submarine U-801 sinking with bow high, 16 41N, 29 58W on 17 March 1944.
USS Corry (DD-463) is at right. The submarine was sunk by aircraft and surface ships of the
USS Block Island (CVE-21) group. Photographed from a TBM Avenger of squadron VC-6,
based on Block Island. Official U.S. Navy Photograph #80-G-222850.