Boston Globe Jan. 18, 1947
An all-day search under very favorable flying conditions by three Navy and five Coast Guard planes yesterday failed to reveal any trace of the missing trawler Belle. The same number of planes will be sent aloft today to continue the search which has now occupied a full week.
No word has been heard from the trawler since Jan. 9, when she radioed she would arrive the following day. The trawler is skippered by Peter Linehan of Houghs Neck and a crew of 16 men. She is owned by the Standard Fish Company, 146 Atlantic Ave.
Yesterday the search covered nearly 50,000 square miles and included most of the nearby fishing grounds from Georges Bank, south of Cape Cod, to the northernmost tip of Browns Bank and over 300 miles to sea.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Planes Abandon Hunt for Missing Trawler
Boston Globe Jan. 19, 1947
Five Coast Guard and Navy planes abandoned the eight dat hunt for the missing Boston trawler Belle at sundown last night without finding a trace of the vessel last heard from 10 days ago.
The area searched extended from the Grand Banks to the New Jersey Coast. Coast Guard headquarters declared the search would continue but pointed out that if the vesse; os sto;; afloat it has drifted beyond New England waters.
The fishing vessel was last heard from Jan. 9, when the captain, Peter Linehan, of Houghs Neck, radioed the owners, the Standard Fish Company, of Atlantic Ave. the he was heading for port with a cargo of 60,000 pounds of cod. The vessel carries a crew of 16 Boston and Gloucester men.
Five Coast Guard and Navy planes abandoned the eight dat hunt for the missing Boston trawler Belle at sundown last night without finding a trace of the vessel last heard from 10 days ago.
The area searched extended from the Grand Banks to the New Jersey Coast. Coast Guard headquarters declared the search would continue but pointed out that if the vesse; os sto;; afloat it has drifted beyond New England waters.
The fishing vessel was last heard from Jan. 9, when the captain, Peter Linehan, of Houghs Neck, radioed the owners, the Standard Fish Company, of Atlantic Ave. the he was heading for port with a cargo of 60,000 pounds of cod. The vessel carries a crew of 16 Boston and Gloucester men.
Trawler, 17 Men Given Up as Lost by Coast Guard
Boston Globe Jan. 21, 1947
Organized search for the Boston trawler Belle, missing for 10 days with her crew of 17 men, was abandoned yesterday by the Coast Guard.
Air-Sea-Rescue heafquarters in Boston said that a description of the 113-foot vessel would be broadcast twice a day for the next week. All ships at sea which sight the Boston fisherman or her wreckage are asked to radio immediately.
The Belle, a new, steel-hulled vessel, was last heard from Jan. 9 when her skpper, Capt. Peter Linehan of Hough's Neck, radioed he was 100 miles east of Boston and coming home with 60,000 pounds of cod from the Grand Banks.
At Boston, fellow fishermen believe the vessel became top heavy with ice and rolled over and sank in the high seas and strong windsa which have swept the North Atlantic since the Belle was last reported.
Mrs. Mildred Howlett, sister of Stephen Dunn, 36, of 47 Roxbury St., came to Boston to claim her brother's belongings. She said she remembered "only too well of the two weeks she had spent with him in July that it would be the last time she would ever see him again."
Organized search for the Boston trawler Belle, missing for 10 days with her crew of 17 men, was abandoned yesterday by the Coast Guard.
Air-Sea-Rescue heafquarters in Boston said that a description of the 113-foot vessel would be broadcast twice a day for the next week. All ships at sea which sight the Boston fisherman or her wreckage are asked to radio immediately.
The Belle, a new, steel-hulled vessel, was last heard from Jan. 9 when her skpper, Capt. Peter Linehan of Hough's Neck, radioed he was 100 miles east of Boston and coming home with 60,000 pounds of cod from the Grand Banks.
At Boston, fellow fishermen believe the vessel became top heavy with ice and rolled over and sank in the high seas and strong windsa which have swept the North Atlantic since the Belle was last reported.
Mrs. Mildred Howlett, sister of Stephen Dunn, 36, of 47 Roxbury St., came to Boston to claim her brother's belongings. She said she remembered "only too well of the two weeks she had spent with him in July that it would be the last time she would ever see him again."
Lost FIshermen's Kin to Get $200 Each
Boston Globe Jan. 22, 1947
Families of the 17 men presumed lost with the Boston trawler Belle will receive the usual $200 death benefit from the treasury of the Atlantic Fishermen's Union, it was learned today.
According to union spokesmen there is little likelihood that they will receive anything from the fund provided for in the union-company contract of last September, under which 1 percent of each fisherman's pay is witheld by his company and paid over to the union. The union has had fund matters under onsideration at the meetings, and has been investigating the possibilities of insurance plans, but no decision has been reached.
The fund has only about $17,000 accumulated at this time and it is generally felt that is should accumulate to a considerably larger sum beofre dispositions from it can be made, it was said.
Families of the 17 men presumed lost with the Boston trawler Belle will receive the usual $200 death benefit from the treasury of the Atlantic Fishermen's Union, it was learned today.
According to union spokesmen there is little likelihood that they will receive anything from the fund provided for in the union-company contract of last September, under which 1 percent of each fisherman's pay is witheld by his company and paid over to the union. The union has had fund matters under onsideration at the meetings, and has been investigating the possibilities of insurance plans, but no decision has been reached.
The fund has only about $17,000 accumulated at this time and it is generally felt that is should accumulate to a considerably larger sum beofre dispositions from it can be made, it was said.
Seen Wrecked Off Cape Cod
Boston Globe Feb 3, 1947
First clue to the fate of the Boston trawler Belle and her crew of 17, last heard from on Jan. 9, was reported yesterday when the captain of another Boston fishing vessel landed and said he had seen the Belle's staved-in lifeboat 35 miles southeast of Highland Light, Cape Cod.
Captain Walter E. Beatteay of Concord, skipper of the Pan Trades Andros, reported he sighted the white double-ended lifeboat floating on her side at 8:30 Staurday night while homeward-bound from Georges Bank.
"I had come on deck and was standing outside the galley when I saw the lifeboat float by on our starboard side. We had our floodlights on and I could make out the letters on one side."
"I first thought it was a letter and two 7's. Then I realized the 7's were L's upside down. I just froze in my tracks. Then I leaped for the wheelhouse to stop us, and I don't think I touched a rung of the ladder."
Capt. Beatteay said he searched the area for two hours, but failed ot sight the boat again. He said he immediately called the Coast Guard and got a Loran fix on the spot, where the water is 105 fathoms in depth.
"It was the Belle's lifeboat, all right," he said. "She was partly staved in on one end, but with her air tanks was floating on one side with th e gunwale facing us. She was white, and her gray canvas boat cover was adrift at one end."
May Have Struck Lifeboat
Capt. Beatteay added he feared his vessel may have struck the lifeboat and further damaged it. He said members of the watch thought they felt the bow bump something. There was no evidence of men having been in the boat, he said.
A Coast Guard plane from the Quonset Naval Air Station searched the area reported by Capt. Beatteay, but was forced to return at noon because of poor visibility. Another air search will be made today.
Capt. Beatteay said he believed the lifeboat broke loose when, the steel-hulled Belle became top-heavy with ice and "tumbled over." He added it may have broken loose after the vessel sank.
"I think the Belle went down off Cashes Ledge," he said. She was driving home for the market and icing fast. We were hove to in that gale."
On Thursday Jan. 9, Capt. Peter Linehan of Houghs Neck. skipper of the Belle, radioed he was 100 miles east of Boston and headed home with 60,000 pounds of cod. Saturday, when the vessel failed to arrive, a search by sea and air was begun. Three weeks later it was abandoned without a treace of the Belle being found.
First clue to the fate of the Boston trawler Belle and her crew of 17, last heard from on Jan. 9, was reported yesterday when the captain of another Boston fishing vessel landed and said he had seen the Belle's staved-in lifeboat 35 miles southeast of Highland Light, Cape Cod.
Captain Walter E. Beatteay of Concord, skipper of the Pan Trades Andros, reported he sighted the white double-ended lifeboat floating on her side at 8:30 Staurday night while homeward-bound from Georges Bank.
"I had come on deck and was standing outside the galley when I saw the lifeboat float by on our starboard side. We had our floodlights on and I could make out the letters on one side."
"I first thought it was a letter and two 7's. Then I realized the 7's were L's upside down. I just froze in my tracks. Then I leaped for the wheelhouse to stop us, and I don't think I touched a rung of the ladder."
Capt. Beatteay said he searched the area for two hours, but failed ot sight the boat again. He said he immediately called the Coast Guard and got a Loran fix on the spot, where the water is 105 fathoms in depth.
"It was the Belle's lifeboat, all right," he said. "She was partly staved in on one end, but with her air tanks was floating on one side with th e gunwale facing us. She was white, and her gray canvas boat cover was adrift at one end."
May Have Struck Lifeboat
Capt. Beatteay added he feared his vessel may have struck the lifeboat and further damaged it. He said members of the watch thought they felt the bow bump something. There was no evidence of men having been in the boat, he said.
A Coast Guard plane from the Quonset Naval Air Station searched the area reported by Capt. Beatteay, but was forced to return at noon because of poor visibility. Another air search will be made today.
Capt. Beatteay said he believed the lifeboat broke loose when, the steel-hulled Belle became top-heavy with ice and "tumbled over." He added it may have broken loose after the vessel sank.
"I think the Belle went down off Cashes Ledge," he said. She was driving home for the market and icing fast. We were hove to in that gale."
On Thursday Jan. 9, Capt. Peter Linehan of Houghs Neck. skipper of the Belle, radioed he was 100 miles east of Boston and headed home with 60,000 pounds of cod. Saturday, when the vessel failed to arrive, a search by sea and air was begun. Three weeks later it was abandoned without a treace of the Belle being found.
Skipper of Sister Ship of Belle Says Ballast Aided Performance
Boston Globe Feb. 14, 1947 Capt. Patrick McHugh of Dorchester, skipper of the trawler Josephine Ess, sister ship of the missing Boston trawler Belle, told the government inquiry yesterday into the disappearance that his vessel behaved very well at sea recently, especially since 14 tons of ballast had been added. He revealed that last December, in a 60-mile scale, the vessel "laid over" quite far and was slow to recover its balance. Capt. McHugh said he believed that all fishing vessels should be government inspected beofre they were allowed to sail. ALso heard yesterday, the fifth and last day of the inquiry, was Chief Engineer Norman Blaisdell, of the Maggie & Pat II. The information and opinions gathered in the five days of inquiry will be forwarded to Washington to the chief of the Merchant Marine Inspection Service. Capt. Charles M. Lyons, supervising Marine inspector of the United States Coast Guard, Com. Fred S. Walker and Lt. Com. James Brady heard the testimony. The inquiry was ordered after the Belle failed to arrive in port last Jan. 10 after radioing the previous day she was bound for home with 60,000 pounds of fish. Lost with the vessel were 17 Boston and Gloucester men.
Families Of 16 Fishermen Lost At Sea To Share $125,000
Boston Globe Mar. 6, 1950
A total of $125,000 will be paid to families of 16 fishermen who lost their lives when the trawler Belle went down, the Federal court decreed today. The trawler Belle was lost Jam/ 9th or 10th, 1947 off Boston Harbor.
C. Louis Eisenberg and that Trawler Belle Inc. , had filed a petition in court for exoneration of liability and Lawrence M. Levinson was appointed as commisioner to make awards.
Levinson reported that the petition had made an offer of $125,000 which was agreeable to the claimants and approved by the court as fair and reasonable.
It was determined that the pecuniary loss to the families of the survivors totals $431,000, but when the Federal court issues its final decree for payment the commissioner will make awards pro rate, less expenses and commissioner's fee.
Pecuniary losses were announced as follows: Family of the ship's captain, Peter Linehan, Quincy, $57,850; Mrs. Violette Jackman, widow of Patrick F. Jackman, Folsom St., Dorchester, $42,750; Mrs. Gertude Dunn of Sydney St., Dorchester, widow of chief mate Edward M. Dunn, $49,850; Mrs. Isabel Foote Gray, Medford, widow of Leonard B. Foote, $37,550; Mrs. Bridget A. Maloney, Chauncey St., Cambridge, widow of Gerald Maloney, $38,450.
Mrs. Helen Armstrong, Sea St., Quincy, widow of Martin Armstrong, $32,450; Mrs. Mary A. Pelletier, Playstead Road, Newton, sister of Patrick J. Aylward, $2550; Mrs. Alice Stanwood, widow of Edward Ernst, $17,950; Daniel McCUe, Bowdoin Ave., Dorchester, father of John McCue, $7150; Mrs. Dorothy Place, Gloucester, widow of Abbot Place, $55,850; Mrs. Esther Rossiter, Gloucester, widow of Thomas J. Rossiter, $31,750; Paul Squires, son of Wiliam S. Squires, $11,850; Mrs. Edith Trott, widow of Edward A. Trott, $23,650.
Commissioner Levinson also awarded $9150 to the estate of John Rosell, Boston; $1150 to the estate of Stephen Dunn, Boston, and $1150 to the estate of Howard Strum of New York.
CLaims were made under the Jones Act and the Death on High Seas Act.
A total of $125,000 will be paid to families of 16 fishermen who lost their lives when the trawler Belle went down, the Federal court decreed today. The trawler Belle was lost Jam/ 9th or 10th, 1947 off Boston Harbor.
C. Louis Eisenberg and that Trawler Belle Inc. , had filed a petition in court for exoneration of liability and Lawrence M. Levinson was appointed as commisioner to make awards.
Levinson reported that the petition had made an offer of $125,000 which was agreeable to the claimants and approved by the court as fair and reasonable.
It was determined that the pecuniary loss to the families of the survivors totals $431,000, but when the Federal court issues its final decree for payment the commissioner will make awards pro rate, less expenses and commissioner's fee.
Pecuniary losses were announced as follows: Family of the ship's captain, Peter Linehan, Quincy, $57,850; Mrs. Violette Jackman, widow of Patrick F. Jackman, Folsom St., Dorchester, $42,750; Mrs. Gertude Dunn of Sydney St., Dorchester, widow of chief mate Edward M. Dunn, $49,850; Mrs. Isabel Foote Gray, Medford, widow of Leonard B. Foote, $37,550; Mrs. Bridget A. Maloney, Chauncey St., Cambridge, widow of Gerald Maloney, $38,450.
Mrs. Helen Armstrong, Sea St., Quincy, widow of Martin Armstrong, $32,450; Mrs. Mary A. Pelletier, Playstead Road, Newton, sister of Patrick J. Aylward, $2550; Mrs. Alice Stanwood, widow of Edward Ernst, $17,950; Daniel McCUe, Bowdoin Ave., Dorchester, father of John McCue, $7150; Mrs. Dorothy Place, Gloucester, widow of Abbot Place, $55,850; Mrs. Esther Rossiter, Gloucester, widow of Thomas J. Rossiter, $31,750; Paul Squires, son of Wiliam S. Squires, $11,850; Mrs. Edith Trott, widow of Edward A. Trott, $23,650.
Commissioner Levinson also awarded $9150 to the estate of John Rosell, Boston; $1150 to the estate of Stephen Dunn, Boston, and $1150 to the estate of Howard Strum of New York.
CLaims were made under the Jones Act and the Death on High Seas Act.
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