SS James Longstreet

The SS James Longstreet before her last and final voyage
History
Name: SS James Longstreet
Builder: Todd Houston Shipbuilding Corporation, Houston, Texas
Laid down: 3 December 1941
Launched: 2 April 1942
Out of service: Damaged by grounding in 1943 and written off
Fate:
  • Acquired by the Navy in 1944
  • Sunk and used as a target until 1971
General characteristics
Class and type:
  • Liberty ship
  • type EC2-S-C1, standard
Tonnage: 7,000 tons deadweight
Length: 441 ft 6 in (135 m)
Beam: 56 ft 10.75 in (17.3419 m)
Draft: 27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m)
Propulsion:
Speed: 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h)
Capacity: 10,800 long tons deadweight (DWT)
Complement: 41
Armament:
  • Stern-mounted 4"/50 caliber (102 mm) gun for use against surfaced submarines
  • variety of anti-aircraft guns

SS James Longstreet (Hull Number 112) was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II at a cost of $1,833,400. She was named after the Confederate general James Longstreet.

She was laid down on 3 December 1941, then launched on 2 April 1942. On 26 October 1943,[1] she ran aground in a gale in 1943 and was declared a total loss. Instead of being scrapped, she was acquired by the US Navy in June 1944 and used as a target ship for early air to surface guided missiles. Whilst under tow to and from the target areas, she once ran aground and on another occasion broke her anchor chain and drifted for ten days before being recovered. She was then sunk and used for further experiments using missiles, before then being used for live ammunition target practice by Naval jets from nearby South Weymouth Naval Air Station and the Air Force from nearby Otis Air Force Base until 1971. The ship is also referred to as the "target ship".

The remains of the James Longstreet lie approximately three and a half miles off Eastham, Massachusetts in 20 to 25 feet (6.1 to 7.6 m) of water. The site is off limits to divers due to unexploded ordnance.

References

  1. ↑ "Violent Storm Off U.S. Coast". The Times (49688). London. 38 October 1943. col D, p. 3. Check date values in: |date= (help)

Coordinates: 41°49′53.27″N 70°02′39.28″W / 41.8314639°N 70.0442444°W / 41.8314639; -70.0442444


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