[2] On January 29, 1942, the Alexander Hamilton was torpedoed on the starboard side by the German submarine U-132, which had been patrolling the Icelandic coast near Reykjavík.

After she capsized on January 30, salvage attempts were abandoned and the American destroyer USS Ericsson fired upon the wreck three times to send her to the bottom of the sea, 28 miles (45 km) from the coast.

[4] After she was positively identified using the technology of a Gavia AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle),[5] Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen flew to Iceland in August 2010 with an entourage to visit the wreck in a mini-submarine.

The sea at the surface was pretty rough and most (including Icelandic Coast Guard) warned not to take the boat out, saying the dive was impossible to conduct under current conditions.

On the assignment from the families related to the men that served on the cutter during World War II the team dived down and attached a memorial plaque on the ship.