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American transport vessel
History
United States
Ordered as SS Exeter
Laid down 1931
Launched 4 April 1931
Acquired 7 January 1942
Commissioned
USS Edward Rutledge (AP-52),
18 April 1942
Stricken 7 December 1942
Fate Sunk, 12 November 1942
General characteristics
Displacement 14,330 t
Length 475 ft (145 m)
Beam 62 ft (19 m)
Draught 26 ft (7.9 m)
Propulsion
steam turbine
Speed 16 knots (30 km/h)
Complement unknown
Armament one single
5 in (127 mm) /38 dual-purpose
gun mount ; four single
3 in (76 mm) dual-purpose gun mounts; eight single
20 mm guns AA gun mounts
USS Edward Rutledge (AP-52/APA-24) was an
Edward Rutledge -class troop transport (AP), later re-designated as an
attack transport (APA). She was acquired by the
U.S. Navy for use in
World War II , and was assigned the task of transporting troops to and from battle areas. Operating in dangerous
Mediterranean waters on 12 November 1942, she was sunk after being struck by a
German
submarine ’s
torpedo at
Fedala Bay,
Morocco .
Construction history
Edward Rutledge (AP-52) was built in 1931 by
New York Shipbuilding Corp.,
Camden, New Jersey , for the American Export Lines as the SS Exeter ; transferred to the Navy from the
Maritime Commission 7 January 1942; converted by
Tampa Shipbuilding Co.,
Tampa, Florida ; and commissioned 18 April 1942.
North Africa operations
Edward Rutledge sailed from
Tampa, Florida , in convoy 13 May 1942 to
Norfolk, Virginia . She operated in
Chesapeake Bay training soldiers for the invasion of
North Africa . Departing
Hampton Roads 24 October, she landed troops at
Fedhala ,
French Morocco , on 8 November, and lay off the beach unloading her cargo with two lifeboats, the only boats remaining after the
Naval Battle of Casablanca .
Sinking
On 12 November she was torpedoed by
U-130 commanded by
Ernst Kals , who slipped past the escort screen to sink three transports. Edward Rutledge ' s crew attempted to beach her but all power had been lost; she settled rapidly by the stern and sank with the loss of 15 men.
Military honors and awards
Edward Rutledge received one
battle star for
World War II service:
North African occupation (
Algeria -
Morocco landings, 8 November to 11 November 1942).
References
This article incorporates text from the
public domain
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . The entry can be found
here .
External links
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in November 1942
Shipwrecks
2 Nov:
Empire Antelope ,
Empire Leopard ,
Gifu Maru
3 Nov:
East Indian
Ro-65
4 Nov:
Hobbema ,
U-132
5 Nov:
U-408
6 Nov:
Chulmleigh ,
City of Cairo ,
Dekabrist
7 Nov:
Donbass ,
Eveleen ,
Ha-11 ,
USS Majaba
8 Nov:
Actéon ,
Albatros ,
Amphitrite ,
Argonaute ,
Brestois ,
Boulonnais ,
Fougueux ,
Frondeur ,
HMS Hartland ,
La Psyché ,
La Surprise ,
Milan ,
Oréade ,
Primauguet ,
Tornade ,
Tramontane ,
HMS Walney ,
West Humhaw
9 Nov:
Ariane ,
HMS Cromer ,
Danaé ,
Diane ,
USS Leedstown ,
Typhon
10 Nov:
HMS Broke ,
I-15 ,
HMS Ibis ,
Jean Bart ,
HMS Martin ,
Méduse
11 Nov:
Hōkoku Maru ,
USS Joseph Hewes ,
Sidi Ferruch ,
HMS Unbeaten ,
Viceroy of India
12 Nov:
USS Edward Rutledge ,
USS Erie ,
Hokkai Maru ,
USS Hugh L. Scott ,
USS Tasker H. Bliss , HMS
Tynwald ,
U-272 ,
U-660
13 Nov:
Akatsuki ,
USS Atlanta ,
USS Barton ,
USS Cushing ,
Isaac Sweers ,
USS Juneau ,
Kinugasa ,
USS Laffey ,
Le Conquérant ,
USS Monssen ,
U-411 ,
Yūdachi
14 Nov:
Hiei ,
Scillin ,
Narkunda ,
U-595 ,
U-605
15 Nov:
HMS Algerine ,
HMS Avenger ,
Ayanami ,
USS Benham ,
Kirishima ,
Le Tonnant ,
USS Preston ,
U-98 ,
U-259 ,
USS Walke
16 Nov:
Irish Pine ,
U-173
17 Nov:
U-331
18 Nov:
Krasnoye Znamya ,
Tower Grange
19 Nov:
USS YP-26
20 Nov:
Prins Harald ,
Pierce Butler
21 Nov:
U-517
22 Nov:
Sokrushitelny
23 Nov:
Benlomond
24 Nov:
Hayashio
25 Nov:
HMS Utmost
27 Nov:
Achéron ,
Aigle ,
Algérie ,
Aurore ,
Bordelais ,
Caïman ,
Casque ,
Cassard ,
Colbert ,
Commandant Teste ,
Diamant ,
D'Iberville ,
Dunkerque ,
Dupleix ,
Eurydice ,
Foch ,
Foudroyant ,
Fresnel ,
Galatée ,
Gerfaut ,
Guépard ,
Henri Poincaré ,
Jean de Vienne ,
Kersaint ,
L'Adroit ,
La Galissonnière ,
Lansquenet ,
L'Espoir ,
L'Indomptable ,
Lion ,
Lynx ,
Mameluk ,
Marseillaise ,
Mogador ,
Naïade ,
Panthère ,
Pascal ,
Provence ,
Sirène ,
Siroco ,
Strasbourg ,
Tartu ,
Thétis ,
Tigre ,
Trombe ,
Valmy ,
Vauban ,
Vauquelin ,
Vautour ,
Vengeur ,
Vénus ,
Verdun
28 Nov:
Empire Cromwell ,
HMS Ithuriel ,
Nova Scotia ,
Thomas T. Tucker
29 Nov:
Dunedin Star
30 Nov:
USS Northampton ,
HMCS Quinte ,
Takanami ,
Thor ,
Uckermark
Unknown date:
Sibylle ,
Saint Edmond ,
U-184
Other incidents