SS Robert E. Lee
{{short description|Steam passenger ship built for the Eastern Steamship Lines.}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
}}{{Infobox ship image | image = }} {{Infobox ship career | Ship completed = 1924 | Ship country = United States |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States}} | Ship fate = Torpedoed by U-166 on 30 July 1942 | Ship name = Robert E. Lee | Ship operator = Eastern Steamship Lines | Ship builder = Newport News Shipbuilding }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Ship beam = {{convert|54|ft|m|abbr=on}} | Ship length = {{convert|373|ft|m|abbr=on}} | Ship type = Passenger ship | Ship tonnage = 5,184 | Ship depth = {{convert|29|ft|m|abbr=on}} }} {{Infobox NRHP |embed=yes |name = S.S. Robert E. Lee and U-166 (shipwrecks and remains) |image = |caption = |map_caption = |coordinates = |location = |nearest_city = |built = |architect = |architecture = | added = 7 December 2018 | area = Adjacent to the U-166 submarine remains | refnum = 100002558{{NRISref |refnum=100002558|version=2010a}}}} |
SS Robert E. Lee was a steam passenger ship built for the Eastern Steamship Lines in 1924.{{Cite web|url=https://hamdanlab.com/shipwreck-sites/robert-e-lee-1942/|title=Robert E. Lee (1942)|date=2016-01-08|website=HamdanLab|language=en|access-date=2019-11-19}} It was sunk on 30 July 1942 after being torpedoed by the German submarine {{GS|U-166|1941|2}} on its return to New Orleans.{{Cite web|url=https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/1981.html|title=Robert E. Lee (American Steam passenger ship) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net|website=uboat.net|access-date=2019-11-19}}
Design and construction
SS Robert E. Lee was built in Newport News, Virginia, and finished construction in 1924. The ship had a keel length of {{convert|375|ft|m}}, a beam length of {{convert|54|ft|m}}, and a depth of {{convert|29|ft|m}}. The ship was constructed to primarily transport passengers between Virginia and New York.
Service history
=== Prewar ===
Following completion, Robert E. Lee was placed in passenger-cargo service between Norfolk, Virginia, and New York City. In the winter months, she was employed in service between New York and Boston, Massachusetts. She would continue working these routes until after the outbreak of World War II in 1939.
=== World War II ===
File:German submarine U-505 (6030424859).jpg
In February 1942, Robert E. Lee was chartered by the Alcoa Steamship Company to transport goods and personnel from New York to ports located in the Caribbean. One month later, she was contracted by the War Shipping Administration as a freight carrier and was subsequently armed with a stern gun and degaussed to prevent magnetic mine 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 {{USS|PC-566}}.{{Cite web|url=http://www.shipwreckworld.com/maps/ss-robert-e-lee|title=SS Robert E. Lee|date=2016-12-01|website=Shipwreck World|access-date=2019-11-19}}
At 22:37, a single torpedo was fired at the ship by {{GS|U-166|1941|2}}. The torpedo was spotted by lookouts {{convert|200|yd}} away, but no evasive action was able to be taken.{{Cite web|url=https://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Amazing-photos-detail-spectacular-WWII-wreck-in-5616006.php|title=Gulf camera reveals site of WWII sinking of SS Robert E. Lee, German U-boat|last1=Alex|first1=Heather|last2=er|date=2014-07-14|website=Houston Chronicle|access-date=2019-11-19}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://tripsintohistory.com/2012/09/29/the-boat-that-sank-the-robert-e-lee-and-world-war-two/,%20https://tripsintohistory.com/2012/09/29/the-boat-that-sank-the-robert-e-lee-and-world-war-two/|title=The Boat That Sank / The Robert E Lee and World War Two {{!}} TRIPS INTO HISTORY|last=|first=|date=29 September 2012|website=|language=en-US|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-11-19}} Of the 407 crewmen and passengers, 15 passengers and 10 crewmen died in the sinking.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/07/16/us/gulf-of-mexico-shipwrecks-world-war-ii/index.html|title=World War II wreckage haunts Gulf of Mexico|author=Carter Maguire, Special to|website=CNN|date=16 July 2014|access-date=2019-11-19}} The survivors were rescued by the patrol boats {{USS|PC-566}} and {{USS|SC-19}}, and the tug Underwriter, and they were transported without incident to Venice, Louisiana.
Wreckage
In 1986, an oil and gas survey conducted by Shell Offshore discovered the shipwreck of Robert E. Lee in the Mississippi Canyon. It was located at a depth of {{convert|4700|ft}}. In January 2001, the wreckage was once again spotted, but this time it was located by C & C Technologies.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bsee.gov/site-page/world-war-ii-shipwrecks|title=World War II Shipwrecks {{!}} Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement|website=www.bsee.gov|access-date=2019-11-19}} Located {{convert|1|mi|spell=in}} away was the wreckage of German submarine U-166 after it had been sunk with depth charges by PC-566.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?14925|title=SS Robert E. Lee (+1942)|last=Lattens|first=Jan|date=2014-08-01|website=WreckSite|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://nmssanctuaries.blob.core.windows.net/sanctuaries-prod/media/archive/protect/ppw/pdfs/robert_e_lee.pdf SS Robert E. Lee information at NOAA.]
- [https://nautiluslive.org/album/2014/07/07/tale-two-wrecks-u-166-and-ss-robert-e-lee SS Robert E. Lee information at Nautilus Live.]
{{July 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{NRHP}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robert E. Lee (1924)}}
Category:Passenger ships of the United States
Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II
Category:Maritime incidents in July 1942
Category:1986 archaeological discoveries
Category:Ships built in Newport News, Virginia
Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea
Category:Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico
Category:World War II on the National Register of Historic Places
Category:Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana
Category:Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana
Category:Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana