Lieutenant Junior Grade, United States Navy. Served aboard the USS Savannah in Salerno Bay. He was killed in action as the result of a German Aerial Bomb Strike and was buried at sea off the coast of Malta during World War II.
Also memorialized at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, as well as the Arlington National Cemetery
LT(JG) Hamilton was survived by his parents; brother, Robert (1913-1968); and sister, Bobby Ruth Hamilton Crosby (1925, Dorchester, Texas-2016, Richmond, Virginia)
USS SAVANNAH
Hugh was one of 206 sailors that lost their lives on September 11, 1943. Following is what happened on that date:
"Savannah was the first American ship to open fire against the German shore defenses in Salerno Bay. She silenced a railroad artillery battery with 57 rounds, forced the retirement of enemy tanks, and completed eight more fire support missions that day. She continued her valuable support until the morning of 11 September 1943, when she was put out of action.[4] A radio-controlled Fritz X PGM gravity bomb had been released at a safe distance by a high-flying German warplane and it exploded 49 ft (15 m) distance from Philadelphia. Savannah increased her speed to 20 kn (23 mph, 37 km/h) as a KG 100 Dornier Do 217 K-2 bomber approached from out of the sun. The USAAF's P-38 Lightnings and Savannah's anti-aircraft gunners, tracking this warplane at 18,700 ft (5,700 m), failed to stop the Fritz X bomb, trailing a stream of smoke. The bomb pierced the armored turret roof of Savannah's No. 3 gun turret, passed through three decks into the lower ammunition-handling room, where it exploded, blowing a hole in her keel and tearing a seam in the cruiser's port side. For at least 30 minutes, secondary explosions in the turret and its ammunition supply rooms hampered firefighting efforts.[4]
"Savannah's crew quickly sealed off flooded and burned compartments, and corrected her list. With assistance from the salvage tugs Hopi and Moreno, Savannah got underway under her own steam by 1757 hours and steamed for Malta. Savannah lost 206 crewmen in this German counterattack. Thirteen other sailors were seriously wounded, and four more were trapped in a watertight compartment for 60 hours."
Source: Wikipedia
Also memorialized at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, as well as the Arlington National Cemetery
LT(JG) Hamilton was survived by his parents; brother, Robert (1913-1968); and sister, Bobby Ruth Hamilton Crosby (1925, Dorchester, Texas-2016, Richmond, Virginia)
USS SAVANNAH
Hugh was one of 206 sailors that lost their lives on September 11, 1943. Following is what happened on that date:
"Savannah was the first American ship to open fire against the German shore defenses in Salerno Bay. She silenced a railroad artillery battery with 57 rounds, forced the retirement of enemy tanks, and completed eight more fire support missions that day. She continued her valuable support until the morning of 11 September 1943, when she was put out of action.[4] A radio-controlled Fritz X PGM gravity bomb had been released at a safe distance by a high-flying German warplane and it exploded 49 ft (15 m) distance from Philadelphia. Savannah increased her speed to 20 kn (23 mph, 37 km/h) as a KG 100 Dornier Do 217 K-2 bomber approached from out of the sun. The USAAF's P-38 Lightnings and Savannah's anti-aircraft gunners, tracking this warplane at 18,700 ft (5,700 m), failed to stop the Fritz X bomb, trailing a stream of smoke. The bomb pierced the armored turret roof of Savannah's No. 3 gun turret, passed through three decks into the lower ammunition-handling room, where it exploded, blowing a hole in her keel and tearing a seam in the cruiser's port side. For at least 30 minutes, secondary explosions in the turret and its ammunition supply rooms hampered firefighting efforts.[4]
"Savannah's crew quickly sealed off flooded and burned compartments, and corrected her list. With assistance from the salvage tugs Hopi and Moreno, Savannah got underway under her own steam by 1757 hours and steamed for Malta. Savannah lost 206 crewmen in this German counterattack. Thirteen other sailors were seriously wounded, and four more were trapped in a watertight compartment for 60 hours."
Source: Wikipedia
Lieutenant Junior Grade, United States Navy. Served aboard the USS Savannah in Salerno Bay. He was killed in action as the result of a German Aerial Bomb Strike and was buried at sea off the coast of Malta during World War II.
Also memorialized at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, as well as the Arlington National Cemetery
LT(JG) Hamilton was survived by his parents; brother, Robert (1913-1968); and sister, Bobby Ruth Hamilton Crosby (1925, Dorchester, Texas-2016, Richmond, Virginia)
USS SAVANNAH
Hugh was one of 206 sailors that lost their lives on September 11, 1943. Following is what happened on that date:
"Savannah was the first American ship to open fire against the German shore defenses in Salerno Bay. She silenced a railroad artillery battery with 57 rounds, forced the retirement of enemy tanks, and completed eight more fire support missions that day. She continued her valuable support until the morning of 11 September 1943, when she was put out of action.[4] A radio-controlled Fritz X PGM gravity bomb had been released at a safe distance by a high-flying German warplane and it exploded 49 ft (15 m) distance from Philadelphia. Savannah increased her speed to 20 kn (23 mph, 37 km/h) as a KG 100 Dornier Do 217 K-2 bomber approached from out of the sun. The USAAF's P-38 Lightnings and Savannah's anti-aircraft gunners, tracking this warplane at 18,700 ft (5,700 m), failed to stop the Fritz X bomb, trailing a stream of smoke. The bomb pierced the armored turret roof of Savannah's No. 3 gun turret, passed through three decks into the lower ammunition-handling room, where it exploded, blowing a hole in her keel and tearing a seam in the cruiser's port side. For at least 30 minutes, secondary explosions in the turret and its ammunition supply rooms hampered firefighting efforts.[4]
"Savannah's crew quickly sealed off flooded and burned compartments, and corrected her list. With assistance from the salvage tugs Hopi and Moreno, Savannah got underway under her own steam by 1757 hours and steamed for Malta. Savannah lost 206 crewmen in this German counterattack. Thirteen other sailors were seriously wounded, and four more were trapped in a watertight compartment for 60 hours."
Source: Wikipedia
Also memorialized at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, as well as the Arlington National Cemetery
LT(JG) Hamilton was survived by his parents; brother, Robert (1913-1968); and sister, Bobby Ruth Hamilton Crosby (1925, Dorchester, Texas-2016, Richmond, Virginia)
USS SAVANNAH
Hugh was one of 206 sailors that lost their lives on September 11, 1943. Following is what happened on that date:
"Savannah was the first American ship to open fire against the German shore defenses in Salerno Bay. She silenced a railroad artillery battery with 57 rounds, forced the retirement of enemy tanks, and completed eight more fire support missions that day. She continued her valuable support until the morning of 11 September 1943, when she was put out of action.[4] A radio-controlled Fritz X PGM gravity bomb had been released at a safe distance by a high-flying German warplane and it exploded 49 ft (15 m) distance from Philadelphia. Savannah increased her speed to 20 kn (23 mph, 37 km/h) as a KG 100 Dornier Do 217 K-2 bomber approached from out of the sun. The USAAF's P-38 Lightnings and Savannah's anti-aircraft gunners, tracking this warplane at 18,700 ft (5,700 m), failed to stop the Fritz X bomb, trailing a stream of smoke. The bomb pierced the armored turret roof of Savannah's No. 3 gun turret, passed through three decks into the lower ammunition-handling room, where it exploded, blowing a hole in her keel and tearing a seam in the cruiser's port side. For at least 30 minutes, secondary explosions in the turret and its ammunition supply rooms hampered firefighting efforts.[4]
"Savannah's crew quickly sealed off flooded and burned compartments, and corrected her list. With assistance from the salvage tugs Hopi and Moreno, Savannah got underway under her own steam by 1757 hours and steamed for Malta. Savannah lost 206 crewmen in this German counterattack. Thirteen other sailors were seriously wounded, and four more were trapped in a watertight compartment for 60 hours."
Source: Wikipedia
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Killed aboard USS Savannah off Salerno Bay Buried at sea off the coast of Malta
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