COMMANDER ATWOOD
HOLYHEAD NAVY BASE
GOSS HOSPITAL
NAVAL SICK QUARTERS

JUGOSLAV SS SENGA (under Tito's flag)
CAPTAIN NICKOLAS SUSTERSIC
CHIEF ENGINEER C. GUDAC
Address GPO London.

Torpedoed at 1623 on 1-11-45
Picked up at about 1800
Irish Sea between Holyhead & Dublin
27 men in starboard boat
picked up by Jugoslav SS SENGA (GPO - London)
Port boat picked up by Royal Navy PC 74
Men in starboard boat landed HOLYHEAD about 2200
Ship went down in less than five minutes, with bow remaining out of water.  Bow disappeared about one hour later at 1733.
Burton J. Donnan injured - back and neck
Dale Argetsinger injured - broken leg

Report sent by Commander Atwood, Holyhead Navy Base, of the sinking of the USAT Roanoke, and the rescue of the survivors.

Board of Officers Investigation of the Sinking of the USAT Roanoke
1945
Brooklyn, N. Y.

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    Mr. John H. Crowson was called as witness and was instructed of his rights under
Article of War #24.

"Q.  What is your Name?
        A.  John H. Crowson, Assistant Ship's Transportation Clerk on the USAT "ROANOKE".

Q.  What is your residence?
        A.  1315 Burlington Avenue, Dallas, Texas.

Q.  Will you, in your own words describe just what happened on the afternoon of 11 January 1945?
        A.  At approximately 1620, Mr. Minetree and I were sitting in the office when a terrific explosion hit the ship.  All the lights went out immediately and we were in darkness and the ship shuddered from impact.  We made for the door out of the office.  I went across the deck to my cabin, got my life jacket and went out the watertight door on the port side.  The passage was in flames which was the reason I went out the port side door.  I went across the main deck to the starboard side, combing the steel ladder two decks up to the flying bridge, across the bridge, down one deck to the boat deck.  By the time I got to the boat deck the whole stern of the ship was submerged and the gun deck was completely out of sight.  By that time the starboard lifeboat was in the water.  I jumped to a man-line which led down into the lifeboat.  I should say about a minute elapsed before the boat pulled away.  We drifted past the ship and we noticed another ship bearing down on us about four or five miles away.  With the exception of the top of the bow the ship went down in approximately three and one-half minutes.

Q.  Was it possible to remove any of the money or records from the safe?
        A.  No sir.

Q.  Was Mr. Minetree with you all this time?
        A.  He was with me in the office at the time all this happened.

Q.  When you got into the lifeboat did Mr. Minetree have anything with him other than his clothing and life preserver?
        A.  No sir.

Q.  To your knowledge, were all the records of the Transportation Office remaining with the vessel?
        A.  Yes sir, it did.

Q.  Did you assist Mr. Minetree in making his last account current?
        A.  Yes sir."

SUBSCRIBED AND DULY SWORN TO:

JOHN H. CROWSON
Assistant Ship's Transportation Clerk
USAT "ROANOKE"

Subscribed and sworn to before
me this 28th day of February 1945

JAMES S. NORWOOD
Captain, T. C.
Recorder