fleet.wikisort.org - Ship

USS Reuben James (DD-245) was a four-funnel Clemson-class destroyer made after World War I that was the first US Navy ship named for Boatswain's Mate Reuben James (circa 1776–1838), who distinguished himself fighting in the First Barbary War, and was the first sunk by hostile action in the European Theater of World War II. Reuben James was laid down on 2 April 1919 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey, launched on 4 October 1919, and commissioned on 24 September 1920. The destroyer was sunk by a torpedo attack from German submarine U-552 near Iceland on 31 October 1941,[1] before the United States had officially joined the war.

USS Reuben James on 29 April 1939
History
United States
Name	Reuben James
Namesake	Reuben James
Builder	New York Shipbuilding
Laid down	2 April 1919
Launched	4 October 1919
Commissioned	24 September 1920
In service	24 September 1920
Out of service	31 October 1941
Stricken	25 March 1942
Fate	Sunk by U-552 in the North Atlantic Ocean, 31 October 1941[1]
General characteristics
Class and type	Clemson-class destroyer
Displacement	1,215 long tons (1,234 t)
Length	314 ft 5 in (95.83 m)
Beam	31 ft 8 in (9.65 m)
Draft	9 ft 4 in (2.84 m)
Installed power	26,500 shp (19,800 kW)
Propulsion	2 × geared steam turbines 2 × shafts
Speed	35 kn (40 mph; 65 km/h)
Range	4,900 nmi (5,600 mi; 9,100 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Complement	159 officers and enlisted
Armament	4 × 4 in (100 mm) guns 1 × 3 in (76 mm) antiaircraft gun 12 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

Service history

Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, Reuben James was used in the Mediterranean Sea during 1921–1922. Reuben James went from Newport, Rhode Island, on 30 November 1920, to Zelenika, Yugoslavia, arriving on 18 December. During the spring and summer of 1921, she operated in the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean out of Zelenika and Gruz (Dubrovnik), Yugoslavia, assisting refugees and participating in postwar investigations. In October 1921 at Le Havre, she joined the protected cruiser Olympia at ceremonies marking the return of the Unknown Soldier to the U.S. At Danzig, from 29 October 1921 to 3 February 1922, ad assisted the American Relief Administration in its efforts to relieve hunger and misery. After duty in the Mediterranean, Reuben James departed Gibraltar on 17 July.[1]

Based then at New York City, the ship patrolled the Nicaraguan coast to prevent the delivery of weapons to revolutionaries in early 1926. During the spring of 1929, she participated in fleet maneuvers that helped develop naval airpower, and was decommissioned at Philadelphia on 20 January 1931. Recommissioned on 9 March 1932, the ship again operated in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, patrolling Cuban waters during the coup by Fulgencio Batista. She transferred to San Diego during 1934. After maneuvers that evaluated aircraft carriers, Reuben James returned to the Atlantic Fleet in January 1939.[1]

World War II

Upon the beginning of war in Europe in September 1939, it was assigned to the Neutrality Patrol, guarding the Atlantic and Caribbean approaches to the American coast. During March 1941, Reuben James joined the force established to escort convoys sailing to Great Britain. This force escorted convoys as far as Iceland, after which the convoys became the responsibility of British escorts. It was based at Hvalfjordur, Iceland, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Heywood Lane Edwards.[1]

On 23 October, it sailed from Naval Station Argentia, Newfoundland, with four other destroyers, escorting eastbound Convoy HX 156. At dawn on 31 October, it was torpedoed near Iceland[2] by German submarine U-552 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Erich Topp. Reuben James had positioned itself between an ammunition ship in the convoy and the known position of a German "wolfpack", a group of submarines poised to attack the convoy. The destroyer was not flying the Ensign of the United States, and was in the process of dropping depth charges on another U-boat when it was engaged.[3] Reuben James was hit forward by a torpedo meant for a merchant ship and her entire bow was blown off when a magazine exploded. The bow sank immediately. The aft section floated for five minutes before going down. Of a crew of seven officers and 136 enlisted men plus one enlisted passenger, 100 were killed, leaving only 44 enlisted men and no officers who survived the attack.[1][2]

Convoys escorted

Convoy	Escort Group	Dates	Notes
ON 20		30 Sep – 9 October 1941[4]	from Iceland to Newfoundland prior to US declaration of war
HX 156		24–31 Oct 1941[5]	from Newfoundland to Iceland prior to US declaration of war; sunk by U-552

Awards

• Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal
• American Defense Service Medal with "FLEET" clasp and "A" device

In popular culture

In music

• Woody Guthrie wrote the song, "The Sinking of the Reuben James"[6] and performed it with Pete Seeger and the other Almanac Singers. The Guthrie song has an original tune for its chorus, but its verses are set to the tune of the song "Wildwood Flower". Seeger later also performed the song with The Weavers.
• Johnny Horton performed Guthrie's song on his album Johnny Horton Makes History.[7]
• The Kingston Trio have released their version of Guthrie's song on numerous albums.[8]
• The Chad Mitchell Trio released their version of Guthrie's song on the album Reflecting.[9]

Television

• In Foyle's War, series four episode one, "Invasion", Captain John Kieffer confides in Christopher Foyle that he never understood the American isolationists who opposed the war. John enlisted in the U.S. military the day after his 25-year-old kid brother Brian was killed while serving on a Navy destroyer, on convoy duty, a month before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Brian and 114 other people lost their lives when a German U-boat torpedoed and sank Reuben James in the Atlantic Ocean, a tragedy that nobody talked about.

In philately

• The United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in 1991 as part of the set WWII, 1941: A World at War.[10]

Movies

• In The Hunt for Red October the namesake of the ship from which a 3" round was fired at Red October in an effort to convince the abandoning crew.

See also

• First American shots fired in World War II
• USS Greer (DD-145)
• USS Kearny (DD-432)
• USS Panay incident

Notes

References

• Wright, Christopher C. (1986). "The U.S. Fleet at the New York World's Fair, 1939: Some Photographs from the Collection of the Late William H. Davis". Warship International. XXIII (3): 273–285. ISSN 0043-0374.
• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Survivor Tells of Reuben James Sinking at Sea. St. Petersburg Times: St Petersburg, Florida. 25 November 1941.
• 44 Members of Crew Saved off of Sunken U.S. Destroyer. The Evening Citizen: Ottawa, Ontario. 1 November 1941.
• Reuben James Hit in Atlantic Convoy Battle^{[permanent dead link]}. The Milwaukee Journal: Milwaukee. 31 October 1941.

External links

• National Archives site with photo
• http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/245.htm
• Location of the sinking of the Reuben James on uboat.net

На других языках

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- [en] USS Reuben James (DD-245)

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[ru] USS Reuben James (DD-245)

USS Reuben James (DD-245) — американский эскадренный миноносец типа «Клемсон». Назван в честь Рубена Джеймса — героя Первой берберийской войны. Спущен на воду в 1919 году. Служил в Северной Атлантике, охраняя морские коммуникации с Европой. Потоплен 31 октября 1941 года у побережья Исландии немецкой подводной лодкой U-552. Первый американский корабль, погибший во Второй мировой войне[1][2].

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