February 3, 1943: The SS Dorchester and the Four Chaplains

February 3, 1943: The SS Dorchester, a former passenger cruiseliner repurposed as a troop transport, is sunk by the Nazis off the southern tip of Greenland. Of the 904 people on board, 675 died.
 
Among those were the men who became known as "the Four Chaplains," or "the Immortal Chaplains," who gave away their own lifejackets to save others. Each of them held the rank of 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army:

* The Rev. George Fox, 43, a Methodist from Lewistown, Pennsylvania.
* Father John P. Washington, 34, a Catholic from Newark, New Jersey.
* The Rev. Clark Poling, 32, a Baptist from Columbus, Ohio. And...
* Rabbi Alexander Goode, 31, a Jew from Brooklyn.

The Dorchester was torpedoed by German submarine U-223. Boiler power was lost, and there was inadequate steam to sound the full 6-whistle signal to abandon ship. It sank by the bow in about 20 minutes. Loss of power prevented the crew from sending a radio distress signal, and no rockets or flares were launched to alert the escorts.

The crew of the USS Escanaba employed a new "retriever" rescue technique whereby swimmers clad in wet suits swam to victims in the water and secured a line to them so they could be hauled onto the ship. By this method, Escanaba saved 133 men (one of whom died later), and the USS Comanche saved 97 men. The sinking of Dorchester was the worst single loss of American personnel of any American convoy during World War II.

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February 3, 1943 was a Wednesday. Temptations singer Dennis Edwards and actress Blythe Danner were born.

Baseball and football were out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And no NHL games were scheduled. So there were no scores on this historic day.