SS ''Empire Javelin'' was an Infantry Landing Ship or "LSI (Large)" in service with the UK in the latter part of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Launched on 25 October 1943, she was a

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

C1-S-AY1 subtype, one of thirteen similar ships built by

Consolidated Steel Corporation Consolidated Steel Corporation (formed 18 December 1928) was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Consolidated built ships during World War II in two locations: Wilmington, California and Orange, Texas. It was created in 1929 by the mer ...

. SS ''Empire Javelin'' served as a

troop ship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

in Operation Overlord, including " D-Day" on 6 June 1944. She was lost on 28 December 1944 while en convoy to France with 1,483 troops aboard somewhere around the midpoint between

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, England, and

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

, France. It is unknown whether she was sunk by , active in the area on the same day, or struck a mine.

History

Construction and operation

SS ''Empire Javelin'' was built by

, Wilmington,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

as the ''Cape Lobos'', and transferred under the terms of

lend lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

on completion in January 1944. She was bareboat chartered by the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...

to the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transport ...

and managed by

Blue Star Line The Blue Star Line was a British passenger and cargo shipping company formed in 1911, being in operation until 1998. Formation Blue Star Line was formed as an initiative by the Vestey Brothers, a Liverpool-based butchers company, who had f ...

D-Day

The ship sailed from Portland Harbour anchorage on 5 June 1944, destined for Dog Green Omaha Beach,

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, after embarking troops of the 1st Battalion 116th Infantry regiment of US 29th Division by landing craft from

Weymouth, Dorset Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, on the English Channel coast of England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, south of the county town of Dorchester, Weymouth had a population of 53,427 in 2021. It is the third ...

. Most notably, the ship carried members of Company A, 116th Infantry, who were from

Bedford, Virginia Bedford is an incorporated town and former independent city located within Bedford County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It serves as the county seat of Bedford County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,657. It is part of the Lynchbur ...

. Bedford is the home of the United States' National D-Day Memorial. 551st

Landing Craft Assault Landing Craft Assault (LCA) was a landing craft used extensively in World War II. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by John I. Thornycroft Ltd. ...

(LCA) Flotilla crewed by

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original R ...

(RNVR) of Combined Operations was based aboard ''Empire Javelin'' on D-Day. Six of the eighteen LCAs of 551st LCA Flotilla were lost on D-Day, with the remainder being severely damaged.

Loss

SS ''Empire Javelin'' embarked 1,483 US servicemen at Southampton for

, France on 28 December 1944. She was in convoy with USS LST-325 and escorted by the

Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

frigate '' L'Escarmouche''. In the English Channel on the afternoon of the 28th there was an explosion without warning at ; at least 20 people died and 20 more injured.''The Daily Mirror'', 11 July 1945 The ''L'Escarmouche'' was called alongside once the extent of the damage had been assessed, and for approximately an hour the men on board the Empire Javelin jumped from the ship. HMS Hargood (K582) arrived to assist, standing off nearby on submarine watch. Two minutes after the last man jumped off, there was a large explosion and the ship began settling by the stern. About 10 minutes later she was completely submerged. Initially it was thought that the ship had been torpedoed by , but it was later revealed that ''U-772'' was sunk earlier that month. Another U-boat, , was active in the area on the same day, and was sunk on the next day south of Weymouth. There is no definitive proof of what sank the ''Empire Javelin''; it has also been proposed it struck a mine.

History

Construction and operation

D-Day

Loss

Notes

References

Further reading