![<p>NMUSN: WWII: Battle of the Atlantic: Loss of USS Block Island</p>
<p>NMUSN: WWII: Battle of the Atlantic: Loss of USS Block Island</p>](/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/wwii/wwii-atlantic/battle-of-the-atlantic/usn-warships-loss-damage/1944-may-29-block-island-cve-21/_jcr_content/textheader.img.jpg/1676391288632.jpg)
USS Block Island (CVE-21)
1944: May 29: Loss of USS Block Island (CVE-21)
On May 29, 1944, German U-boat, U-549, torpedoed and sank USS Block Island (CVE-21) west-northwest of the Canary Islands. USS Barr (DE-576) was also damaged in this attack. Block Island was the only U.S. carrier lost in the Atlantic during World War II. Later that night, USS Eugene E. Elmore (DE-686) and USS Ahrens (DE-575) revenged the attack and sank the German submarine south-west of Madiera, Portugal. The only success U-549 had during her war patrols was with the two Navy warships on May 29.
Image: 80-G-49302: Loss of USS Block Island (CVE-21), May 29, 1944. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.