SS ''Robert E. Lee'' was a steam

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

built for the

Eastern Steamship Lines Eastern Steamship Lines was a shipping company in the United States that operated from 1901 to 1955. It was created through successive mergers by Wall Street financier and speculator Charles W. Morse.Robert F. Bruner and Sean D. Carr, ''The Panic ...

in 1924. It was sunk on 30 July 1942 after being torpedoed by the German submarine on its return to New Orleans.

Construction

SS ''Robert E. Lee'' was built in

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

, and finished construction in 1924. The ship had a keel length of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

length of , and a depth of . The ship was constructed to primarily transport passengers between Virginia and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

History

In February 1942, ''Robert E. Lee'' was chartered by the

Alcoa Steamship Company Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...

to transport goods and personnel from New York to ports located in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. One month later, she was contracted by the War Shipping Administration as a

freight carrier Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including transp ...

and was subsequently armed with a stern gun and degaussed to prevent

magnetic mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ve ...

attacks.

Sinking

On 30 July 1942, ''Robert E. Lee'' left Trinidad with around 270 passengers bound for Tampa, Florida. She initially traveled with convoy TAW-7, but was soon diverted to New Orleans along with the

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

. At 22:37, a single torpedo was fired at the ship by . The torpedo was spotted by lookouts away, but no evasive action was able to be taken. The torpedo struck just aft of the engine room and destroyed the #3 hold. Further damage was also done to the radio compartment and the steering gear. The ship began to list to port, and then starboard, before finally sinking by the stern about 15 minutes after the torpedo hit. Of the 407 crewmen and passengers, 15 passengers and 10 crewmen died in the sinking. The survivors were rescued by the patrol boats and , and the

tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

''Underwriter'', and they were transported without incident to

Venice, Louisiana Venice is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 162. It is south of New Orleans on the west bank of the Mississippi River at . It is th ...

Wreckage

In 1986, an oil and gas survey conducted by Shell Offshore discovered the shipwreck of ''Robert E. Lee'' in the

Mississippi Canyon The Mississippi Canyon is an undersea canyon, part of the Mississippi Submarine Valley in the North-central Gulf of Mexico, south of Louisiana. According to the U.S. Geological Survey GLORIA Mapping Program, it is the dominant feature of the nor ...

. It was located at a depth of . In January 2001, the wreckage was once again spotted, but this time it was located by C & C Technologies. Located away was the wreckage of German submarine ''U-166'' after it had been sunk with

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

s by ''PC-566''.

References

External links

SS Robert E. Lee information at NOAA.

SS Robert E. Lee information at Nautilus Live.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robert E. Lee (1924) 1924 ships Passenger ships of the United States Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II Maritime incidents in July 1942 1986 archaeological discoveries Ships built in Newport News, Virginia World War II shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico World War II on the National Register of Historic Places Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana Transportation in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana