USS Reuben James (DD-245), a post-
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
four-stack
Clemson-classThe Clemson class was a series of 156 destroyers which served with the United States Navy from after World War I through World War II.The Clemson class ships were commissioned by the United States Navy from 1919 to 1922, built by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, New York Shipbuilding...
destroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range but powerful attackers .Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels without the endurance...
, was the first
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
ship sunk by hostile action in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the first named for Boatswain's Mate
Reuben JamesReuben James was a Boatswain's Mate of the United States Navy, famous for his heroism in the Barbary Wars.-Career:...
(
c.1776–1838), who distinguished himself fighting in the
Barbary WarsThe Barbary Wars were two wars between the United States of America and the Barbary States of North Africa in the early 19th century. At issue was the Barbary pirates' demand of tribute from American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Reuben James was laid down on April 2, 1919 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of
Camden, New JerseyThe City of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
,
launchedThe ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on October 4, 1919, and
commissionedShip commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on September 24, 1920 with
CommanderCommander is a military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service...
Gordon W.
USS Reuben James (DD-245), a post-
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
four-stack
Clemson-classThe Clemson class was a series of 156 destroyers which served with the United States Navy from after World War I through World War II.The Clemson class ships were commissioned by the United States Navy from 1919 to 1922, built by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, New York Shipbuilding...
destroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range but powerful attackers .Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels without the endurance...
, was the first
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
ship sunk by hostile action in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the first named for Boatswain's Mate
Reuben JamesReuben James was a Boatswain's Mate of the United States Navy, famous for his heroism in the Barbary Wars.-Career:...
(
c.1776–1838), who distinguished himself fighting in the
Barbary WarsThe Barbary Wars were two wars between the United States of America and the Barbary States of North Africa in the early 19th century. At issue was the Barbary pirates' demand of tribute from American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Reuben James was laid down on April 2, 1919 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of
Camden, New JerseyThe City of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
,
launchedThe ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on October 4, 1919, and
commissionedShip commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on September 24, 1920 with
CommanderCommander is a military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service...
Gordon W. Hines in command.
Service History
Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet,
Reuben James saw duty in the
Mediterranean SeaThe Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is technically a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it...
from 1921 to 1922. Reuben James sailed from Newport, R.I., November 30, 1920 to Zelenika, Yugoslavia, arriving December 18. During the spring and summer of 1921, she operated in the Adriatic and the Mediterranean out of Zelenika and Gruz, Yugoslavia, assisting refugees and participating in postwar investigations. In October 1921 at Le Havre, she joined Olympia (C-6) at ceremonies marking the return of the Unknown Soldier to the United States. At Danzig, Poland, from October 29, 1921 to February 3, 1922, she assisted the American Relief Administration in its efforts to relieve hunger and misery. After duty in the Mediterranean, she departed Gibraltar July 17, 1922.
Based then at
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, she patrolled the
NicaraguaNicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest country in Central America with an area of 130,373 km
2. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of...
n coast to prevent the delivery of weapons to revolutionaries in early 1926. In the spring of 1929, she participated in fleet maneuvers that foreshadowed naval airpower. She was decommissioned at
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth-most-populous city in the United States.In 2008, the population of the city proper was estimated to be over 1.4 million, while the metropolitan area's population of 5.8 million made it the country's fifth-largest...
, on January 20, 1931. Recommissioned on March 9, 1932, the ship again operated in the Atlantic and the Caribbean, patrolling Cuban waters during the coup by
Fulgencio BatistaFulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was a Cuban general, President, and U.S.-backed dictator. He served as the leader of Cuba from 1933-1944, and 1952-1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution.-Early life:...
. She transferred to
San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego , named after Saint Didacus , is the second-largest city in California and the ninth largest city in the United States, located along the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of the United States. The US Census Bureau estimates the city's population at 1,279,329 as of 2008...
in 1934. Following maneuvers that evaluated
aircraft carrierAn aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power great distances without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s,
Reuben James returned to the Atlantic Fleet in January 1939.
World War II
Upon the outbreak of war in Europe in September 1939, she joined the
Neutrality PatrolAt the beginning of World War II, when the Nazi Germany invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 started the hostilities in Europe, President Franklin D...
, and guarded the
AtlanticThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
and
Caribbean SeaThe Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the tropics of the Western hemisphere, bounded to the south and west by the American landmass, with the North Atlantic Ocean proper to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest...
approaches the American coast. In March 1941,
Reuben James joined the
convoyA convoy is a group of vehicles traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval convoys have been used for hundreds...
escort force established to promote the safe arrival of war material to the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. This escort force guarded convoys as far as
IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
, where they became responsibility of British escorts.
Based at Hvalfjordur, Iceland, she sailed from
Naval Station ArgentiaNaval Station Argentia is a former base of the United States Navy that operated from 1941-1994. It was established in the community of Argentia in what was then the Dominion of Newfoundland, which would later become the tenth Canadian province .-Construction:Established under the British-U.S...
,
NewfoundlandThe Dominion of Newfoundland was a British dominion from 1907 to 1949. The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
on October 23, 1941, with four other destroyers to escort eastbound convoy HX-156. While escorting that convoy at about 0525, October 31, 1941,
Reuben James was torpedoed by "The Running Devils" (Erich Topp used two Red Devils on all of his commands, signifying creation and destruction) of commanded by
Kapitänleutnant Erich ToppRear Admiral Erich Topp was the third most successful German U-Boot Experten commander of World War II. He sank 35 ships for a total of .-Biography:...
near
IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
.
Reuben James had positioned herself between an ammunition ship in the convoy and the known position of a "
wolf packThe term wolf pack refers to the mass-attack tactics against convoys used by German U-boats of the Kriegsmarine during the Battle of the Atlantic and submarines of the United States Navy against Japanese shipping in the Pacific Ocean in World War II.
...
" (groups of submarines that preyed on Allied shipping).
Reuben James was hit forward by a torpedo 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 the 159-man crew, only 44 survived.
Woody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
wrote "
The Sinking of the Reuben James“Reuben James” is a song by Woody Guthrie about the sinking of the U.S. convoy escort, the Reuben James, which was the first U.S. ship lost in World War II. Woody Guthrie had started to write a song including each name on the casualty list of the sinking. This was later replaced by the chorus...
" which he performed with
Pete SeegerPeter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and a key figure in the mid-20th century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early '50s as a member of The Weavers, most notably the 1950 recording of Leadbelly's...
and the other
Almanac SingersThe Almanac Singers were a group of folk musicians who, as their name indicates, specialized in topical songs, especially songs connected with union organizing. Members Millard Lampell, Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie began playing together informally in 1940 or 1941...
. The Guthrie song has an original tune for its chorus, but its verses are set to the tune of the song "
Wildwood FlowerFor the Jim Stafford song that uses the term "Wildwood flower" go here."Wildwood Flower" is an American song, best known through performances and recordings by the Carter Family. However, the song predates them. The original title was "I'll Twine 'Mid the Ringlets"...
".
See also
- The ship is mentioned in the British World War II television series Foyle's War
Foyle's War is a British detective drama created by screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz, and commissioned by ITV after the long-running series Inspector Morse came to an end in 2000...
. The American captain commanding a division of US engineers constructing an air base near Hastings, tells Detective Superintendent Foyle his brother was a member of the crew killed when it was torpedoed by a U-boat and this prompted his enlisting the next day. Appropriately, the captain is said to be from Massachusetts, which is where Reuben James himself was born.
- First American shots fired in World War II
While debate over the First American shots fired in World War II existed for some time, specifically concerning the Attack on Pearl Harbor, it is now generally accepted that the first American casualties actually occurred on December 7, 1941 when the USS Ward attacked and sank a Japanese midget...
External links