''R.P. Resor'' was a tanker ship built in 1936 by the

Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard in New Jersey active from 1917 to 1948. It was founded during World War I to build ships for the United States Shipping Board. Unlike many shipyards, it remained active duri ...

Kearny, New Jersey Kearny ( ) is a town in the western part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 41,999, an increase of 1,315 (+3.2%) from the 2010 census cou ...

for the

Standard Oil Company Standard Oil Company was a corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller. The ...

. She was torpedoed by the German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

on 28 February 1942 and later sank.

Attack

Leaving

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

on February 19, 1942, ''R.P. Resor'' was carrying 78,729 barrels () of

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...

to be carried to

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, tenth-largest city in the state, and the second- ...

. She had a crew of 41 commanded by Captain Frederick Marcus, and carried an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

and eight

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

gunners. These men were needed to man a /50 caliber gun mounted on the

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...

. German U-boat activity compelled ''R.P. Resor'' to steer a zigzag course with no navigation lights. Extra lookouts were posted. According to the account of John Forsdal, seaman on the vessel during the attack, an unidentified object was spotted in the water. It flickered its lights, and subsequently, Forsdal reported by voice to the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

. Soon after, a

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

hit the port side. Debris flew into the air, and the deck erupted with flames. The crew, including Forsdal, were knocked down by the explosion. As he released the life raft and slid down the safety line into the water, three more torpedoes destroyed the port side hull. Oil poured out, coating the sea. Soon, the life raft had floated off. Forsdal swam for approximately 20 minutes before reaching the raft, which was half a mile from the burning ''R.P. Resor''. On it, he joined radio operator Clarence Armstrong. John Forsdal released the following statement after being rescued:

Rescue

Flames were spotted by a lookout at the Shark River Lifeboat station, which was 20 miles (40 km) away. A picket boat was dispatched. In attempt to find survivors, they shone a searchlight, combing the surrounding areas. They saw Forsdal, and after much difficulty, manually pulled him over the

gunwale The gunwale () is the top edge of the hull of a ship or boat. Originally the structure was the "gun wale" on a sailing warship, a horizontal reinforcing band added at and above the level of a gun deck to offset the stresses created by firing ...

. Radio Operator Armstrong was never seen again. Now, many

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

boats were on scene. Coxswain Daniel Hey was found, but due to congealed oil, they resorted to extreme measures, namely removing the oil-soaked, weighted clothes. Mr. Hey was one of the eight navy gunners on the ship. According to his testimony, he was sleeping in his bunk when the torpedo struck, and subsequently jumped off the boat, along with three other gunners. The port lifeboat had been effectively immobilized by the flames. Mr. Hey was the only one of the three to survive the burning sea. He also said that "he saw the starboard lifeboat shove off into the gunnel". When the flames on the water's surface died out, Navy vessels and aircraft searched the surrounding area for survivors. One body was recovered, but no other survivors, nor was the starboard lifeboat ever found.

Sinking and wreck

Since trapped air prevented the immediate sinking of ''R.P. Resor'', it was partially afloat for 46 hours. took the drifting wreck in tow. The tow ended about east of

Barnegat Lighthouse Barnegat Lighthouse (or Barnegat Light, locally nicknamed Old Barney) is a historic lighthouse located in Barnegat Lighthouse State Park on the northern tip of Long Beach Island, in the borough of Barnegat Light, Ocean County, New Jersey, Uni ...

, where the hulk grounded. The American Marine Insurance Syndicate paid $1,716,416 to the Standard Oil Company: the total hull value in its insurance agreement. A buoy floats over the wreck, placed by the Hydrographic Office of the United States. The wreck was demolished and moved with wire to a safe depth of . The wreck is partially destroyed, due to its relocation. The bridge and after tanks are unrecognizable. There is a large hole near the engine room, which allows easy access to inside rooms. The

is still intact. Most of the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

has been destroyed. ''R.P. Resor'' was investigated by the Coast Guard's Sunken Tanker Project to determine if the tanker posed an ecological hazard. No further action was deemed necessary.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:R.P. Resor Shipwrecks of the New Jersey coast World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Maritime incidents in February 1942 1936 ships Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II Oil tankers World War II tankers of the United States