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SS James Russel Lowell

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SS James Russel Lowell
SS James Russell Lowell.jpg
History
Name SS James Russel Lowell
Owner McCormick SS Co
Builder Oregon Shipbuilding Co, Portland
Completed May 1942
Fate Torpedoed by U-371 15 Oct 1943
General characteristics
Type Liberty cargo ship
Tonnage 7,176 tons
Length 441 ft 6 in (134.57 m)
Beam 56 ft 10.75 in (17.3 m)
Depth 27 ft 9.25 in (8.5 m)
Propulsion single screw
Speed 11 knots (20.4 kmh)
Capacity 32 crew and 28 gun crew


armament:

  • 1 x 4in gun
  • 1 x 3in gun
  • 8 x 20mm guns.

Remarks

On October 15th, 1943, U.S. freighter James Russell Lowell, in convoy GUS 18, was torpedoed by German submarine U-371 and abandoned. {At 12.39 hours on 15 Oct 1943, U-371 fired a spread of four torpedoes at convoy GUS-18 off Cape de Fer, Algeria The James Russell Lowell in station #85 was hit by three torpedoes. The first struck on the rudder, carrying it and the rudder post away. The second struck on the port side at the #3 hold and blew off the hatch cover, created cracks in the hull on both sides and flooded the hold and engine room. The third torpedo struck at the #1 hold, blew the hatch cover off and flooded the hold.} British whaler HMS Southern Sea rescued the 41-man merchant complement and the 28-man Armed Guard. With hopes high for saving the ship, the merchant crew reboarded the ship and Southern Sea took James Russell Lowell in tow. As weather conditions worsened, all but the master and two men abandon ship. The next day James Russell Lowell is beached off Colla, Algeria, by a British tug. The ship broke in two and sank two weeks later, a total loss.

Soldiers carried

Port Melbourne to Darwin 31 Dec 1942 - 12 Jan 1943