SS Santa Elisa

History
Name: SS Santa Elisa
Owner: United States Maritime Commission[1]
Operator: Grace Line[1]
Port of registry: United States Wilmington, Delaware[2]
Builder:
Yard number: 179
Launched: 29 May 1941
Completed: July 1941
Fate: sunk by Italian MAS torpedo boat, 13 August 1942[4][5]
General characteristics
Type: Type C2-G ship
Tonnage: 8,379 GRT
Length: 439 ft 0 in (133.81 m)[2]
Beam: 63 ft 2 in (19.25 m)[2]
Draft: 27 ft 5 in (8.36 m)[2]
Decks: three decks
Propulsion: 2 General Electric steam turbines, geared to a single screw propeller[2]
Speed: 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h)[3]
Crew: 11 officers, 45 sailors, 10 Naval Armed Guardsmen (83 total)[1]
Armament: unknown, but included 20 mm (0.79 in) guns

SS Santa Elisa was a refrigerated cargo ship built for the United States Maritime Commission by Federal Shipbuilding of Kearny, New Jersey in 1941. Operated by the Grace Line, Santa Elisa was a member of Convoy WS 21S from Newport, England, for Malta as a part of Operation Pedestal. After she straggled from the convoy, she was attacked and torpedoed by the Italian motor boats MAS 557 and 564 25 nautical miles (46 km) southeast of Cape Bon, Tunisia on the night of 12/13 August 1942. MAS 557 strafed the vessel with her .51 Breda machine gun, killing four British army gunners, while the second motorboat launched a 450 mm torpedo that struck Santa Elisa on the starboard side near the No. 1 cargo hatch at about 05:17. The ship's cargo of aviation gasoline burst into flames. Santa Elisa eventually sank at approximately 07:17 on 13 August near position 36°20′N 11°28′E / 36.333°N 11.467°E / 36.333; 11.467Coordinates: 36°20′N 11°28′E / 36.333°N 11.467°E / 36.333; 11.467, and 28 survivors, including Francis A. Dales who was awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his involvement in the convoy, were rescued by HMS Penn and landed at Malta.[4][5]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Browning, p. 199.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Lloyd's Register of Shipping. Register of Ships (1940–41 ed.). London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. Scan of page "S" (pdf) hosted at Plimsoll Ship Data. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Santa Elisa (2240800)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 4 July 2009. (subscription required (help)).
  4. 1 2 Greene & Massignani, page 254
  5. 1 2 Woodman, page 430-431

References



This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/7/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.