1941 — Oct 31, USN destroyer Reuben James sunk (before Pearl Har.), U-boat, ~Iceland–115

— 115 Naval Historical Center. “FAQs…Casualties: US Navy and Marine Corps Personnel…”
— 115 uboat.net. “Ships hit by U-boats. USS Reuben James (DD 245).” Accessed 3-8-2021.

Narrative Information

Naval Historical Center: “USS Reuben James sunk by German submarine, Atlantic Ocean, 31 Oct. 1941. 115 [killed in action]…8 [wounded in action].”

uboat.net. “Ships hit by U-boats. USS Reuben James (DD 245) American Destroyer.”

“Name USS Reuben James (DD 245)
Type Destroyer (Clemson)
Tonnage 1,190 tons
Completed 1919 – New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, NJ
Owner United States Navy
Date of attack 31 Oct 1941
Nationality American
Fate Sunk by U-552 (Erich Topp)
Position 51° 59’N, 27° 05’W – Grid AK 9922
Complement 160 officers and men (115 dead and 45 survivors).
Convoy HX-156
Route Argentia, Newfoundland (23 Oct) – Iceland
History …. In March 1941, USS Reuben James (DD 245) joined the convoy escort force
that was established at Hvalfjordur, Iceland to escort British convoys from
Canadian ports as far as Iceland, where the convoys were taken over by British
escorts.

Notes on event At 08.34 hours on 31 Oct 1941, U-552 fired a spread of two torpedoes at a
destroyer and hit it with both torpedoes. The ship hit was USS Reuben James (DD
245) (LtCdr H.L. Edwards, USN) which was escorting convoy HX-156 in the US
Escort Group 4.1.3 together with USS Benson (DD 421), USS Hilary P. Jones (DD
427), USS Niblack (DD 424) and USS Tarbell (DD 142). The explosions broke the
ship in two, the forward section sank immediately with all hands while the stern
remained afloat for five minutes. When the stern sank the unsecured depth charges
exploded killing some survivors in the water. USS Niblack (DD 424) picked up 36
men (one of them died of wounds on 2 November) and USS Hilary P. Jones (DD
427) picked up ten more, but all officers were lost.

USS Reuben James (DD 245) was the first warship of the US Navy lost in the Second World War (two months before Pearl Harbor).”

Details of 145 of those on board were assessable as of 3-8-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship1189.html

Sources

Naval Historical Center. “Frequently Asked Questions, Casualties: U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Wounded in Wars, Conflicts, Terrorist Acts, and Other Hostile Incidents.” Washington DC: United States Department of the Navy. Accessed 3-8-2021 at: http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq56-1.htm
Also at: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AMH/AMH-USNchron.htm

uboat.net. “Ships hit by U-boats. USS Reuben James (DD 245).” Accessed 3-8-2021 at: https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1189.html