USS Henry R. Mallory
USS Henry R. Mallory in port, c. 1919
| |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | SS Henry R. Mallory |
Namesake | Henry R. Mallory |
Owner | Mallory Lines |
Launched | 1916 |
Fate | Expropriated by U.S. Army, 24 May 1917 |
United States | |
Name | USAT Henry R. Mallory |
Acquired | 24 May 1917 |
Out of service | 13 April 1918 |
Fate | transferred to U.S. Navy |
United States | |
Name | USS Henry R. Mallory |
Acquired | 13 April 1918 |
Commissioned | 17 April 1918 |
Decommissioned | 30 August 1919 |
Fate | Returned to civilian owners |
United States | |
Name | SS Henry R. Mallory |
Acquired | 1920 |
Fate | Sunk 7 February 1943 by U-402 |
General characteristics | |
Displacement | 10,910 t[1] |
Length | 440 ft 2 in (134.16 m)[1] |
Beam | 54 ft 6 in (16.61 m)[1] |
Draft | 24 ft (7.3 m)[1] |
Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h)[1] |
Troops | 2,200[1] |
Armament |
USS Henry R. Mallory (ID-1280) was a transport for the
World War I
SS Henry R. Mallory was built by the
U.S. Army service
After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, the United States Army, needing transports to get its men and materiel to France, had a select committee of shipping executives pore over registries of American shipping. The committee selected Henry R. Mallory and thirteen other American-flagged ships that were sufficiently fast, could carry enough fuel in their bunkers for transatlantic crossings, and, most importantly, were in port or not far at sea.[5][6] After Henry R. Mallory discharged her last load of passengers and cargo, she was officially handed over to the Army on 24 May, one of the first three ships acquired.[4]
Before any troop transportation could be undertaken, all of the ships were hastily refitted. Of the fourteen ships, ten, including Henry R. Mallory, were designated to carry human passengers; the other four were designated as animal ships. The ten ships designated to carry troops had all of their second- and third-class accommodations ripped out and replaced with berths for troops. Cooking and toilet facilities were greatly expanded to handle the large numbers of men aboard. Gun platforms were installed on each ship before docking at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to have the guns themselves installed.[7][Note 1] All the ships were manned by merchant officers and crews but carried two U.S. Navy officers, Navy gun crews, quartermasters, signalmen, and wireless operators. The senior Navy officer on board would take control if a ship came under attack.[8]
The American convoy carrying the first units of the
After her return from France, Henry R. Mallory sailed again in the 5th convoy on 31 July,[14] the 7th convoy on 8 September,[14] and the 12th convoy on 26 November,[15] all of which sailed from the New York embarkation point in Hoboken, New Jersey.[14] In January 1918, Henry R. Mallory became the first transport to sail from the Newport News embarkation port, when—loaded with eight aero squadrons—she sailed on 17 January.[16][Note 2] Departing again from Hoboken on 14 March in the 24th convoy, Henry R. Mallory began her last journey under Army charter. After arriving in France on 26 March and landing her troops, Henry R. Mallory began her return to the United States with Army transport Tenadores and Navy transport Mercury. At 11:45 on 4 April, a German submarine fired torpedoes at the group. Through evasive maneuvers, none of the ships were hit, and with timely gunfire targeting the sub, no more was seen of the threat.[17] Arriving back in the United States on 13 April,[18] Henry R. Mallory was handed over to the U.S. Navy.[1]
After problems with crew discipline aboard Army transports Antilles and Finland when they were torpedoed,[Note 3] the U.S. Navy, led by the recommendations of Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves, insisted that all troop transports be manned entirely by Navy personnel. This was accomplished soon after so as to avoid the need for what Gleaves called "ignorant and unreliable men" who were "the sweepings of the docks".[19] Accordingly, Henry R. Mallory was handed over to the Navy on 13 April 1918 and commissioned on 17 April.[1]
Other than the official change command of the vessel, little else change for Henry R. Mallory. She sailed in her first convoy under Navy command on 23 April, and continued carrying troops to France, making five additional trips before the
With the fighting at an end, the task of bringing home American soldiers began almost immediately.[22] Henry R. Mallory did her part by carrying home 14,514 healthy and wounded men in seven roundtrips. Henry R. Mallory returned from her last Navy voyage on 29 August 1919, and was returned to the Mallory Lines the following day.[21]
World War II
In the early stages of World War II for the United States, the
After first sailing to Boston and
It was at 06:59 on 7 February 1943 when, traveling in station 33 of the convoy, Henry R. Mallory was hit by one torpedo launched from
None of the other ships in the convoy were aware of the Mallory's predicament. American destroyer Schenck—searching for survivors from the convoy's sunken rescue ship, SS Toward, sunk three hours earlier, also by U-402—saw lights but was denied permission to investigate. Only when survivors were found by U.S. Coast Guard cutter Bibb some four hours later was the fate of Henry R. Mallory made clear. Bibb rescued 205 men, 3 of whom later died. Another Coast Guard cutter, Ingham, rescued a further 22, of whom 2 later died. Among the 272 dead were the ship's master, 48 crewmen, 15 armed guards, and 208 passengers.[2]
Notes
- ^ The only exception was for SS Finland, an American Line steamer in transatlantic service to Liverpool. Finland had already been outfitted for guns in early 1917.
- ^ Crowell and Wilson show Henry R. Mallory sailing from Newport News on 24 January 1918 as part of the 18th convoy. See: Crowell and Wilson, p. 605.
- ^ Antilles was sunk. Finland, carrying some of Antilles' survivors on board, was torpedoed but made it safely back to port for repairs.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Henry R. Mallory". DANFS.
- ^ a b c d e Helgason, "Allied Ships".
- ^ Colton, Tim. "Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News VA". Colton Company. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
- ^ a b Crowell and Wilson, p. 315–16.
- ^ Sharpe, p. 359.
- ^ Crowell and Wilson, p. 313–14.
- ^ Crowell and Wilson, p. 316.
- ^ Gleaves, p. 102
- ^ The individual groups of the first convoy were typically counted as separate convoys in post-war sources. See, for example, Crowell and Wilson, Appendix G, p. 603.
- ^ Gleaves, p. 38.
- ^ Gleaves, p. 42.
- ^ Gleaves, pp. 42–43.
- ^ Gleaves, p. 45.
- ^ a b c Crowell and Wilson, p. 603.
- ^ Crowell and Wilson, p. 604.
- ^ Crowell and Wilson, p. 297.
- ^ Gleaves, p. 168.
- ^ Crowell and Wilson, p. 606.
- ^ Gleaves, p. 108–10.
- ^ First Navy convoy: Crowell and Wilson, p. 608. Number of Navy trips: Gleaves, p. 248.
- ^ a b Gleaves, pp. 248–49.
- ^ Gleaves, p. 31.
- ^ Wiberg, Eric (30 November 2014). "USS Gannet sunk by U-653/Feiler N of Bermuda, escort HMS Sumar abandoned her, 62 men rescued by 2 planes and USS Hamilton, taken Bermuda". ericwiberg.com. Eric Wiberg. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ a b Charles, p. 193.
- ^ a b "Convoy SC.118". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
- ^ a b Helgason, "U-boat Operations".
Bibliography
- Charles, Roland W. (April 1947). Troopships of World War II. Washington, D.C.: Army Transportation Association. OCLC 1871625.
- OCLC 18696066.
- OCLC 976757.
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "Allied Ships hit by U-boats: Henry R. Mallory". The U-boat War 1939–1945. uboat.net. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "U-boat Operations: Convoy Battles: SC-118". The U-boat War 1939–1945. uboat.net. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
- Naval Historical Center. "Henry R. Mallory". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
- OCLC 7980339.
External links
- Photo gallery of Henry R. Mallory at NavSource Naval History
- USS Henry R. Mallory personal stories
56°18′55″N 35°34′00″W / 56.3152°N 35.5666°W