| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Richard Bland |
| Namesake | Richard Bland |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
| Operator | American South African Lines, Inc. |
| Ordered | as type (EC2-S-C1) hull,MCE hull 28 |
| Awarded | 14 March 1941 |
| Builder | Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard,Baltimore, Maryland[1] |
| Cost | $1,204,048[2] |
| Yard number | 2015 |
| Way number | 2 |
| Laid down | 29 October 1941 |
| Launched | 28 February 1942 |
| Completed | 17 April 1942 |
| Identification | |
| Fate | Sunk, 10 March 1943 |
| General characteristics[3] | |
| Class & type |
|
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | |
| Length | |
| Beam | 57 feet (17 m) |
| Draft | 27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 11.5knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
| Capacity |
|
| Complement | |
| Armament |
|
SSRichard Bland was aLiberty ship built in theUnited States duringWorld War II. She was named afterRichard Bland, anAmericanplanter and statesman fromVirginia. He served for many terms in theHouse of Burgesses, was a delegate to theContinental Congress in 1774 and 1775, and is considered aFounding Father of the United States.
Richard Bland was laid down on 29 October 1941, under aMaritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 28, by theBethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard,Baltimore, Maryland; and was launched on 28 February 1942.[1][2]
She was allocated toAmerican South African Lines, Inc., on 17 April 1942.[4]
Richard Bland had set out fromMurmansk, on 1 March 1943, forLoch Ewe, with 4,000 LT (4,100 t) of lumber, inConvoy RA 53. At 09:26, on the morning of 5 March 1943,Richard Bland was struck by a torpedo from a spread of three fired from theGerman submarine U-255, at72°44′N11°27′E / 72.733°N 11.450°E /72.733; 11.450. The merchant shipSS Executive was sunk while one of the torpedo struckRichard Bland on the starboard side at hold #1, passing through without exploding. This created two eight ft (2.4 m) holes on either side of the ship causing the deck to crack and the collision bulkhead to rupture. The forepeak tank flooded and the ship to begin to list to starboard, but she remained in the convoy at only a slightly reduced speed. On the night of 6 March, she was forced from the convoy because of gale-force winds and rough seas. She then proceeded by herself toIceland. At 16:36, on 10 March,U-255 fired a spread of three torpedoes atRichard Bland with only one sticking her on her port side at the fireroom. This caused the #4 and #5 holds to flood and the ship soon broke in two just forward of thebridge. The captain, Lawrence Dodd, ordered four crewmen into each of twolifeboats to be launched, but they were not released, until the abandon ship order was given. When attempting to pass the boats to the other side ofRichard Bland the ropes broke and they drifted astern.U-255 fired another spread at 16:56, but missed. At 21:07,U-255 struck the stern section at66°53′N14°10′W / 66.883°N 14.167°W /66.883; -14.167 which sank at 22:03. The rest of the crew of nine officers, 32 crewmen and 28Armed guards were forced to abandon ship in the two remaining lifeboats. Due to the boats being overcrowded and rough seas, men that had to cling to the sides of the boats lost strength and drowned, while the boat that the captain was on was believed to have been swamped and not seen again.[5]
HMS Impulsive (D11) was able to pick up 27 survivors in the remaining lifeboat on 11 March, with the two lifeboats, containing 4 crewmen each, being picked up later in the morning. The captain, along with five officers, 13 crewmen, and 15 Armed guards were lost. The forward section was later taken in tow and brought toAkureyri, Iceland, where she was declared aConstructive Total Loss.[5]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in March 1943 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
|
| Other incidents |
|
