USS James
 W.T. James (American Steam Trawler, 1912) Halftone reproduction, printed on a postal card, of a photograph probably taken when this "Menhadden fisherman" type steam trawler was completed in 1912.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS James |
| Namesake | Former name retained, in part |
| Owner | Taft Fish Co., of Tappahannock, Virginia |
| Builder | Harlan and Hollingsworth, of Wilmington, Delaware |
| Laid down | date unknown |
| Launched | date unknown |
| Completed | 1912 at Wilmington, Delaware as the trawler W. T. James |
| Acquired | leased in July 1917 as the trawler James |
| Commissioned | on 10 August 1917 in the 5th Naval District |
| Decommissioned | Sunk 28 April 1919 |
| Stricken | circa 28 April 1919 |
| Fate | Sank in a storm, 28 April 1919 |
| Notes | Also known as USS W. T. James |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Trawler |
| Displacement | 267 long tons (271 t) |
| Length | 150 ft (46 m) |
| Beam | 22 ft (6.7 m) |
| Draft | 8 ft 5 in (2.57 m) (mean) |
| Propulsion | Steam engine |
| Speed | 13 kn (15 mph; 24 km/h) |
| Complement | 38 officers and enlisted |
| Armament | 1 × 3 in (76 mm) gun, 2 × .30 in (7.6 mm) machine guns |
USS James (SP-429) — also known as USS W. T. James (SP-429) — was a steam
A Menhaden fisherman
W. T. James — a "Menhaden fisherman" built in 1912 at Wilmington, Delaware by Harlan and Hollingsworth — operated out of the Virginia waterways over the next five years of her service as a trawler before becoming required for the World War I war effort. She was acquired by the Navy in the spring of 1917 from the Taft Fish Company, of Tappahannock, Virginia; ordered delivered on 1 April; and accepted on 28 May for service as a minesweeper.
Under the terms of General Order #314, issued in late July 1917, her name was officially shortened to James, but her original name, W. T. James, also continued in use, at least informally. The erstwhile fishing craft was commissioned in the
World War I service
Outfitted as a minesweeper
Later in 1917, James was refitted for
Assigned to the European coast
Accordingly, after shifting from Boston to
Disbanded as a mine squadron almost immediately after arriving at Brest, France on 18 September, the vessels of the group soon were busy escorting convoys into and out of port. Between these missions, they spent long weeks awaiting delivery of winches and French minesweeping gear. In November, the mine squadron was reconstituted under the command of Captain Thomas P. Magruder. James, among the second group to be fitted out for minesweeping service, soon shifted to Lorient, France, where she would base for the remainder of the war.
From Lorient, James not only conducted minesweeping operations but covered coastal
Damaged in a storm at sea
James remained in European waters through the winter of 1918-1919. She departed Brest on 27 April 1919, bound for the U.S., but soon began encountering "boisterous weather" with increasing north westerly winds and a choppy sea. At 14:22, the escort commander, Captain (and future
When it became evident that James was taking on more water than usual, she was directed to proceed to Brest without delay. Unfortunately, the "Menhaden fisherman" worked so much that her seams opened, allowing water to flood the engine rooms and affect the boiler fires — an occurrence that severely limited the ship's capacity to deal with the rising flood waters.
James — her predicament grave — signaled the nearby Macdonough and Rambler for aid. The former closed swiftly and unsuccessfully attempted to take the foundering minecraft in tow. The tug Penobscot managed to get a towline across to James the following morning and towed the ship for about 20 minutes before the line parted.
James sinks
By that point, the heavy seas were nearly swamping the ship.
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
