USS Reuben James (DD-245)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS Reuben James.

USS Reuben James (DD-245) on 29 April 1939.jpg
USS Reuben James on 29 April 1939
History
United States
NameReuben James
NamesakeReuben James
BuilderNew York Shipbuilding
Laid down2 April 1919
Launched4 October 1919
Commissioned24 September 1920
In service24 September 1920
Out of service31 October 1941
Stricken25 March 1942
FateSunk by U-552 in the North Atlantic Ocean, 31 October 1941[1]
General characteristics
Class and type Clemson-class destroyer
Displacement1,215 long tons (1,234 t)
Length314 ft 5 in (95.83 m)
Beam31 ft 8 in (9.65 m)
Draft9 ft 4 in (2.84 m)
Installed power26,500 shp (19,800 kW)
Propulsion
Speed35 kn (40 mph; 65 km/h)
Range4,900 nmi (5,600 mi; 9,100 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Complement159 officers and enlisted
Armament

Coordinates: 51°59′N 27°05′W / 51.983°N 27.083°W / 51.983; -27.083

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 (c. 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, with Commander Gordon W. Hines in command. 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.

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, it 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, it 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, it assisted the American Relief Administration in its efforts to relieve hunger and misery. After duty in the Mediterranean, it 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, it participated in fleet maneuvers that helped develop naval airpower. It 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. It 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[]

Main article: Battle of the Atlantic

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[]

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 1, "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 5" round was fired at the Red October in an effort to convince the abandoning crew.

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Reuben James". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 25 September 2005. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Larrabee, Eric (1987). Commander In Chief: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, His Lieutenants, and Their War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-1-59114-455-7.
  3. ^ Mitcham, Samuel; Mitcham, Carl (2012). Hitler's Commanders: Officers of the Wehrmacht, the Luftwaffe, the Kriegsmarine and the Waffen SS. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 258. ISBN 978-1-4422-1153-7.
  4. ^ "ON convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  5. ^ "HX convoys". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  6. ^ Klein, Joe (1980). Woody Guthrie: A Life. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-394-50152-9.
  7. ^ "Johnny Horton Makes History Original Recording Remastered". Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Kingston Trio Greatest Hits". Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  9. ^ "Chad Mitchell - Singin' Our Mind/Reflecting CD". 7 October 2003. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  10. ^ Sinking of Reuben James U.S. Stamp Gallery.

References[]

External links[]

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