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 Quarter view of the SS R. P. Resor shortly after her launching | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | R. P. Resor |
| Namesake | Reuben Perry Resor |
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | Wilmington, Delaware, United States |
| Builder | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey |
| Yard number | Hull No. 136 |
| Laid down | January 1935 |
| Launched | 30 November 1935 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Resor |
| Completed | February 1936[1] |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Sank under tow following attack |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Bulk oil tanker |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | |
| Beam | 66 ft 6 in (20.27 m) |
| Draft | 34 ft 7 in (10.54 m) |
| Depth | 34 ft 2 in (10.41 m) |
| Installed power | 3,300 ihp |
| Propulsion | 1 x Allis Chalmers Cross Compound steam turbine engine fed by 2 x Type D Foster Wheeler boilers and 4 x Todd burners |
| Speed |
|
| Range | 9,760 miles (15,710 km) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 4 davit-launched lifeboats |
| Capacity |
|
| Crew |
|
| Armament |
|
| SS R. P. Resor | |
|---|---|
| Location |   Current Wreck Current Wreck (USA Mid-Atlantic) |
| Nearest land | Barnegat Inlet, New Jersey |
| Depth range | ~60 feet (18 m) |
| Average visibility | Official: Poor Reported: ~30 feet (9.1 m) |
| Nearby sites | |
SS R. P. Resor[a] was a steam bulk oil tanker built on speculation by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company and primarily operated by the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. For brief periods of time, the Standard Shipping Company and Largo Oil and Transport Company also oversaw the vessel. The ship was named after Reuben Resor, Jersey Standard's treasurer. The shipyard laid down the vessel in January 1935, launched her in November, and completed her in February of the following year. She transported oil between ports along the Eastern US seaboard and the Caribbean.
The launch of the Resor occurred when demand for petroleum was on the rise, which resurrected demand for new oil tankers and shipbuilders following a slump. The ship's construction is viewed as a turning point in the shipbuilding industry, as she was the first ship of the post-decline era. This allowed the vessel to incorporate new methods of naval architecture. Importantly, she helped to expedite the rebounding of the shipbuilding industry immediately before the Second World War. The ship's construction gained attention through its advertising and modern design, including new methods in shipbuilding, engineering, and construction. She was the first American ship to incorporate new hull shape, rudder form, and boiler design techniques. These design aspects made the Resor one of the most modern oil tankers when she was launched, as several technologies demonstrated onboard were later adopted by the greater shipbuilding and shipping industries.
The purchase of the Resor was the first ship in the enlargement of the company's merchant fleet, meant to counter European competition in the shipping industry. During the Second World War, the Resor was torpedoed and exploded off the coast of New Jersey by a German submarine. The resulting catastrophic explosion and fire attracted onlookers from shore, which brought the ship into the media spotlight. Only two of the 50 crew members were rescued as burning oil consumed the others. Following the attack, the ship remained afloat before the ship capsized off the coast of New Jersey while under tow. A large amount of oil was spilled during the sinking, however later investigations found that it had a negligible environmental impact. The wreck's accessible location has turned it into a popular diving and fishing spot after it was relocated.
The vessel had a lasting influence on the shipbuilding industry, as it stimulated a new wave of construction following the Great Depression and preceding World War II. Designs in the Resor were immediately incorporated or copied in nearly a dozen vessels, as shipping lines saw the successful service of the Resor as a prime time to order new ships. The ship has been referred to as jumpstarting the idle shipbuilders which allowed production to ramp up immediately before the start of World War II, when the importance of merchant oil tankers skyrocketed during the Battle of the Atlantic.
Development
During the 1930s, global markets experienced an increased demand for petroleum as it rebounded from the Great Depression. To cope with this development, major shipping lines needed new oil tankers to transport the material to various ports. The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, predicted these companies would need large and fast bulk tanker ships for their operations. Based on this prediction, Federal examined and experimented with designs for various hulls in early 1934. After several tests with models in tow tanks, the design that emerged was a longitudinally framed Arcform single-screw hull with a deadweight tonnage of 12,500 tons and a carrying capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil. The design also had a draft of 28 feet (8.5 m) and 3000 shaft horsepower, which produced 11.75 knots. These models and designs would serve as the foundation for a two-ship series that the company would launch the following year.[3][4]
Concurrently, European shipbuilding capabilities rebounded following World War I. The resulting European merchant fleet rose to become a major competitor of American shipping companies, such as the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (often shortened to Jersey Standard). To compete, the company added 39 new vessels to itself and its subsidiaries between 1936 and 1939. Thirteen of these vessels were added to the Jersey Standard fleet proper, starting with the Resor. The drive for new ships was also supported by the need to replace aging, uneconomic tankers which were in service for decades with the company.[5] The corrosive qualities of gasoline and other petrol derivatives wear down the hulls of ships, and the most economic solution to the problem was the routine procurement of new vessels.[6]
Construction
Originally known as Hull No. 136, the vessel was laid down in January 1935 on speculation. This was done in the hopes that a shipping line would buy the tankers as they were being built, which was a gamble on the part of Federal Shipbuilding. The risk would pay off several months later, as the Standard Shipping Company bought Hull 136 and sister ship Hull 137 at the early stages of construction.[7] The Standard Shipping Company was a Jersey Standard subsidiary tasked with operating the parent company’s marine duties.[8]
After being purchased, Hull 136 was named R. P. Resor, after the treasurer of Jersey Standard. Hull 137 was named T. C. McCobb, after a member of the board of directors.[4] R. P. Resor, full name Reuben Perry Resor, was an employee of Standard Oil after he joined the company as an office boy in 1889. Over the next few decades, he rose through the company's ranks and became the treasurer of Jersey Standard before his retirement in 1938.[9]
To increase interest in the speculative construction, new designs, equipment, and methods of construction were used to increase efficiency and financial savings for the ship's operator. This effort was joined by an aggressive marketing campaign, bringing the ship to fame and possibly making her the most advertised tanker in the world.[10] The two ships were described as major points in the shipping industry's history as their development was state of the art for the years immediately before the start of World War II. The editorial Marine Age described the construction as,[7]
The break in the wall of indolence by Standard [Jersey]'s purchase of the Federal [Shipbuilding] tankers lets in a stream of possibilities and hope for 1938 and has pepped up the marine and allied industries...
As the Resor was built on speculation, the shipbuilder put major emphasis on advertising the vessel to potential buyers. To achieve this, advertisements in the form of editorial articles were published in magazines, which discussed the new innovations, design, and features of the two vessels.[b][11] In addition to the advertisements to market the ship itself, various corporations highlighted their product's use in the Resor and McCobb. One ad, placed by the Worthington Corporation in the 1935 edition of the marine engineering periodical The Log reads,[12]
The selection of Worthington equipment for the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey's new tankers R.P. Resor and T.C. McCobb [are] built...to the highest standards of the American Bureau of Shipping, and is representative of the best in modern tanker design [and] is significant recognition of Worthington preformance and service.
Accompanying the advertisement was a breakdown of Worthington equipment used in the vessels. Such ads were not unique. Other corporations used the Resor to advertise their own works, such as boilers, fireproofing, and smoke detection equipment in engineering editorials. In addition to the quality of construction, another major selling point of the ship where the new innovative technologies found throughout, which was highlighted by other manufacturers in similar advertisements.[13][14] The respect the Resor received was capitalized on by Federal Shipbuilding, who made her center place in some of the company's advertisements due to the relatively quick time it took the ship to be in service after being purchased.[15]
Design
A squared mid-ship superstructure housed the bridge, radio room, gyroscope, captain's suite, officer's quarters, two spare bedrooms for guests, and two davit-mounted lifeboats, which were connected to the quarterdeck and boat deck through an elevated catwalk. The quarterdeck contained two additional davit lifeboats, the hospital, galley, engineer's quarters, stores and the 'fidley top'. The fidly top consisted of the engine skylight, upper parts of the machinery room, funnel and air intakes. An aft mast was situated in front of the quarterdeck, and a forward mast was located slightly behind the raised forecastle. The machinery was located aft, directly behind the ship's fuel tanks [source]. This arrangement allows the propeller shaft to be as short as possible, freeing up more space for the tanks. In addition, the farther the machinery space is from the oil tanks reduces the chance of a fire from the engine room igniting the cargo.[6]
Most parts of the vessel that could be welded were so, compared to the standard riveting practice of the day. This included most of the bulkheads, hull appendages[c], superstructure, and large pipes. This method allowed for only 340,000 rivets to be drilled in the hull, significantly less compared to more than a million if no parts were welded. Welding two pieces of steel together is generally viewed as superior to riveting, as welding saves weight and time, along with the conjuncture being stronger, more resilient, more practical to create, and is more efficient compared to one that was riveted.[16][17] Although not necessarily groundbreaking, this was an important step in the development of welded ships, eventually culminating with the 1939 launching of the world’s first all-welded oil tanker.[18]
Hull
In addition, the design was the first ever American-built ship that incorporated an Arcform hull design after it was effectively used in the design of several European vessels. An Arcform hull was favored as it provides fuel efficiency at most speeds and saves about 13–15% of power compared to standard tankers of the time. The theory behind Arcform was that the design's rounded shape would be more hydrodynamic than the box-shaped hulls that were common during the era. Another element in the ship's hull design was the flare of the bow, which became wider the further forward it goes. Such a feature is advantageous, as it breaks incoming waves and thus reduces resistance on the hull.[4][19]
Rudder
In addition to the novel hull form, the rudder and boiler designs were also new for American-flagged vessels. The Resor was the first ship built in the United States with a Contra-Guide Rudder, which is a rudder mounted on a rudder frame meant for two counter-rotating propellers. Compared to a conventional rudder design, this design contains two slightly curved individual plates which are offset vertically on its upper and lower halves. The rudder resembles the character, " ґ " when looking head-on. This type of rudder was preferred because it deflects water displaced by the propeller directly rearward, instead of at an angle like other designs. In comparison with other rudders, a Contra-Guide design increased the speed of a ship with the same horsepower and decreased the horsepower and fuel required to maintain an original speed.[4] Thanks to the onboard demonstration, the Contra-Guide design quickly spread beyond the Resor. On the mass-produced American Liberty ships, a common variation of the design was the substitution [right] of a balanced rudder with that of a Contra-Guide design.[20]
Boilers
A new water-tube boiler type was developed to generate steam power for the ship. The two boilers were located above the engine room, which removed the need for uptakes.[21] The new design was built by Foster Wheeler and is known as the "D Type". This boiler design was composed of a larger steam drum located over a smaller water drum, connected by tubes. Water from the lower drum would pass through a superheater, which would turn it to steam and cause it to rise into the higher steam drum. After reaching this point, the steam would leave the boiler and go into baffles to turn the ship's turbine. The heat of the boiler was provided by a furnace located to one side, enclosed by a casing and a series of pipes which used the furnace to heat gas for use in the superheater. The boiler gets its name from the shape it forms, which resembles an uppercase "D". The horizontal drums was located on one side, next to a semi-circular-shaped furnace. Like several other technologies, the Type-D's demonstration onboard saw its quick adaption to other American ships.[22][23] The design is still in use today, such as onboard Wasp-class amphibious assault ships of the United Sates Navy.[24]
Crew
The ship was built to be manned by 41 crewmembers. Onboard were four officers, consisting of the captain and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd officers. In addition, the Chief Engineer was accompanied by three assistant engineers. The general crew was made up of 12 seamen, 4 firemen, 4 boys, 3 oilers, 3 wipers, 2 cooks (including the steward), and one pumpman, Boatswain, radio operator, electrician, and a machinist.[25] The crew composition shifted noticeably by 1942. Her officers that year consisted of a master joined by a Chief, 2nd and 3rd Mate along with a Chief Engineer and a 1st and 2nd assistant engineer. The ratings onboard consisted of six Able Semen, four messmen, three Ordinary Seamen, three fireman-wipers (sailors who works as both a fireman and a wiper), three oilers, two stewards, two wipers, and one chief cook, 2nd cook, bosun, utilityman, machinist, electrician, galleryman, radio operator, and storekeeper.[26]
General characteristics
As built, the ship was 445 feet (136 m) long overall and 435 feet (133 m) long between perpendiculars. Abeam, she was 66.5 feet (20.3 m), had a loaded draft of 28 feet (8.5 m), and displaced 16,750 tons. A single propeller with a maximum rotation speed of 90 revolutions per minute propelled the ship. An Allis Chalmers Cross Compound turbine engine was fed steam by two Type D Foster Wheeler boilers and 4 Todd burners, which provided a maximum of 3300 shaft horsepower to the propeller. This arrangement produced a designed speed of 12.5 knots at trial; even though the ship was designed for 11 knots.[27]
A total of 13 bulkheads separated the hull into 14 watertight compartments, and two cofferdams separated the seven tanks from the aft and forward portions of the vessel. Each tank was further separated by two longitudinal bulkheads, which created three inner compartments. A bunker capacity of 173,461 gallons allowed for a cruising radius of 9,760 miles (15,710 km).[4]
Impact on industry
In the early 1930's, demand for oil was low, which lead to low demand for oil tankers. This was a major problem to ship operators, which had a relatively inflexible amount of ships. These vessels became surplus, resulting in the companies letting them idle or laying them up to decrease operating costs.[28] As these organizations had too many ships, they had no need to purchase new ones from the shipyard. This in turn lead to a slowdown of tanker production and design. The launch of the Resor marked the year in which conditions improved, and helped jumpstart the American industry as it imbodied many new innovations due to the rebounded petroleum demand and need for cost saving. The ship has been referred to as cracking the ice of the idle shipbuilders, allowing production to ramp up immediately before the start of World War II, where their importance skyrocketed.[29] In 1933, the United States was producing no oil tankers. By 1934, it was building tankers with a gross tonnage of 18,600 tons. In 1935, 28,200 tons of oil tankers, including the Resor and McCobb, were under construction. The next year saw 79,840 tons.[30]
The successful demonstration of the Arcform hull by the ship led to a spur of American tankers of the same design being constructed, and the further rejuvenation of the American shipbuilding industry. This new style of design was incorporated into ships such as the Gulfbelle of the Gulf Refining Company and a six-ship, $6,000,000 shipbuilding program with the Pan-American Petroleum and Export Company the year following Resor's launch. [31] In addition to the shipbuilding program, Pan-American Petroleum contracted Federal Shipbuilding for the construction of the sisterships Pan-Maine and Pan-Florida identical to the Resor.[32][33] The design employed in the R. P. Resor would later be expanded upon by another shipbuilding program by Federal Shipbuilding for Jersey Standard. This project would result in the sister ships: Esso Bayonne, Esso Bayway, Esso Houston, Esso Montpelier, Esso Boston, and Esso Concord.[34][35][36]
Standard operations
The R. P. Resor was launched on 30 November 1935 by Mrs. Reuben Resor, wife of the ship's namesake at the shipbuilder's yard in Kearny, New Jersey.[37] The next day, Standard Shipping was dissolved and transferred back into Jersey Standard, who then operated the ship.[38] The Resor and McCobb were quickly accepted into the company, as one official remarked that the two ships exceeded all expectations and were superior to any other vessel in the fleet.[5] In January 1936, the Resor became the first application of boiler combustion control in the shipping industry. Boiler combustion control is the process in which the resources a boiler uses to operate, namely air and fuel, is remotely regulated and overseen. The installation of the controls on the ship proved to be successful and saw the later adoption of the equipment across the industry.[39][40]
Between 1939 and 1942, the vessel completed a total of 56 voyages, carrying five million barrels of fuel oil mainly between cities along the Eastern US shore and the occasional international ports in the Gulf of Mexico.[7] This was a major route for Jersey Standard, in which both crude and refined oil from Texas and Louisiana were transported to refineries in Maryland, New Jersey and Massachusetts. This pattern was interrupted in 1940, when the ship was briefly chartered to the Largo Oil and Transport Company to carry crude product between oil fields in Columbia and refineries in Aruba as a Lake Tanker.[41][42] The ship's career during the next few years were relatively uneventful, aside from an incident where the Resor grounded itself when passing SS Charles Kurz in a shallow channel near Corpus Christi on 14 December 1940. The incident was not severe, as it only took an hour to free the ship. The grounding of the Resor, and 58 similar incidents in the same area, saw the US Army Corps of Engineers expand the waterway in 1950.[43]
Armament
On 17 November 1941, the United States Senate repealed Section 6 of the Neutrality Act. of 1939. The law was originally passed to maintain American neutrality during the Spanish Civil War and Second World War, and was removed once the United States began the Cash-and-Cary scheme to involve itself. In addition, several attacks on American flagged ships proved the need for neutral vessels to have the ability to defend itself.[44]
With Section 6 repealed, the US Navy was given power to arm civilian merchant ships. As a result, the Resor was fitted with a single 4-inch deck gun located aft, crewed by a nine man Armed Guard detail that received training from the Navy. Aside from operating the gun, the Armed Guard was also tasked with maintaining the watch in conjunction with the civilian crew.[45][7]
Attack by U-578
February 1942 was a hazardous period for American merchant ships due to the outbreak of the Battle of the Atlantic and American entry into World War II. Due to the lack of the US Navy's maritime patrol aircraft and only 20 escort ships to cover 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of coastline, German U-boats conducted numerous attacks along the eastern US coast unabated. Tankers were especially at risk as the oil onboard would ignite and explode in the event the ship was torpedoed. Following a sinking, a ship's crew would also have to navigate the frigid Atlantic waters in their soaked lifeboats.[46]
On 19 February 1942, the unescorted R. P. Resor left Houston, Texas for Fall River, Massachusetts with 78,729 barrels of Bunker C fuel oil onboard. By nightfall on 26 February, the tanker was off the coast of New Jersey on a cool, calm, and bright night.[46] After a brief transit through Baytown, the Resor adopted her anti-submarine zig-zag pattern to one leg every 15 minutes and blacked out along the coast, making her trial speed of 12.5 knots.[47]
During this time, the Kreigsmarine strategy was to send a force of 18 submarines to the American and Caribbean coasts to harass shipping, and to continue the momentum from a submarine offensive the previous month. However, a combination of factors[d] saw the force of 18 boats reduced to 13. Only 11 of these boats were destined for the eastern US shore. Of this smaller force, U-578, under the command of Ernst-August Rehwinkel, was first to reach the Americas. At midnight of 27 February, the submarine was patrolling 30 miles (48 km) off the coast of New Jersey in shallow water. It then noticed the blacked out R. P. Resor, and maneuvered to engage.[49]
At just past 11:30 PM on the Resor, deckhand John Forsdal spotted a small vessel off the port bow 200-300 meters away. According to him, a flash of the unknown boat's navigation lights caused him to incorrectly identify it as a fishing boat, due to the craft's small size, obscured outline, and the belief submarines would not be so close to the shoreline. To his account, that vessel was U-578, which quickly disappeared from sight as the ship's bridge was alerted. The submarine used the opportunity to maneuver a few hundred meters back as it fired two bow torpedoes at its newly acquired target.[50][7] One torpedo detonated on the port side of the ship with enough force to rear it up from the water and violently drop it into the water, throwing men and oil across the decking. The oil was blasted across the ship and into the surrounding water, which soon ignited and burned. Forsdal was slammed against the bow decking, and he crawled under an un-used bow gun platform to cover him from the falling burning oil and debris. After some time passed, the seaman looked for help, only to find himself cut off from the rest of the crew by fire. With no one to come to his aid, he looked out from the ship's railing and clearly saw the U-578 still surfaced. Noticing the fire advance his way, he threw a liferaft[e] into the water and swam to follow it. Described as being molasses-thick, the oil made it difficult to swim through. Despite this, he was able to swim for about 20 minutes, putting 50 yards between himself and the wreck. He heard another survivor call his name and noticed the ship's radio operator on a raft. He swam to rendezvous with the man, still drenched in oil.[51] John Forsdal released the following statement after being rescued:[52]
Hooking my arms around the lifelines I rested for ten minutes or so in state of exhaustion. Sparks [Clarence Armstrong, ship's radio operator] was hanging to a lifeline on the other side of the raft. I was heavily weighted down with cold and clinging oil; the exertion of climbing up on the raft taxed my strength so seriously that I was unable to do anything but lie down. The cold and heavy oil seemed to be paralyzing my body.
Aside from Forsdal and Armstrong, coxswain Daniel Hey of the Armed Guard detachment joined them on the lifeboat.[53][54] Behind the trio, the Resor began to split in two as a fire onboard burned, before another explosion ripped through the air. According to Forsdal, a lifeboat carrying about 30 men was successfully launched but was consumed by flames from the burning oil.[47] The story was later supported by the discovery of the other three lifeboats from the ship, two of which were capsized.[55] Others who attempted to jump from the ship and swim through the water would also die in the thick oil.[47]
Rescue
Alerted by the flames seen from shore, the nearby US Coast Guard Shark River Lifeboat Station dispatched a picket boat and a motorboat to assist survivors. Guided in by the fire, the two boats arrived at 0200 and found the vessel's entire deck alight and heavily hemorrhaging oil out of several holes in the hull. The oil spill quickly reached 500 feet (150 m) in length as it drifted south.[56][57]
Less than one thousand yards away was the submarine chaser USS SC-507, who immediately responded, initially focusing on finding the submarine with its sonar. It was adjacent to the tanker when the boat's crew heard cries for help. Blinding smoke and extreme heat nearly overwhelmed the rescue team as they approached the burning oil. They quickly found the three men hanging from the lifeboat. Forsdal was so badly covered in oil that his weight increased several fold. SC-507 first launched the boat's wherry, but the oil was so thick it could not achieve headway, and the plan was eventually abandoned. Eventually, Forsdal was brough onboard when a four-man rescue team ran a line under his armpits and lifted him up after his soaked and slippery clothes made it impossible to drag him on. The extreme heat from the surrounding fire began to turn the boat's sides white and melted the paint off as the crew searched for more victims. Hey was rescued with Forsdal, requiring two rescue swimmers to jump in and pull him aboard. By this time, Armstrong had died and his body was recovered. The two survivors were then stripped, issued blankets and coffee, and given a cabin to rest in.[58][57] Along with the body of Armstrong, they were transferred to a Coast Guard picket boat and brought ashore.[59]
Aside from SC-507, US Coast Guard cutters USCGC Icarus (WSC-110) and Antietam (WSC-128), along with the yacht Zircon (PY-16), coastal minesweeper AMc-200, and patrol boat USS Eagle 55 convened on the scene for support. Some time later, the Eagle-class patrol boat attacked a sonar contact without result.[60]
Attracted by the still burning flames so close to the shore, about half a dozen newsreel men and photographers gathered at U.S. Coast Guard Station Manasquan Inlet at Point Pleasant Beach, where they chartered a small fishing boat and sailed to the Resor in the late morning. The wreck had maintained its position for the most part, but it did drift southeast overnight. The newsmen spotted the first body after about two hours of sailing. The crew attempted to throw a line around the oil-covered corpse, but the extreme weight from both the oil and the life raft caused the body to repeatedly slip from the gunwale back into the water. After several fruitless attempts, the recovery was abandoned as more oil covered and burnt corpses floated by. The fishing boat eventually reached the smoking and abandoned tanker, sailing through thick spots of oil, bodies, and wreckage. Although heavy waves made it difficult, the photographers took several images for publication. The chartered vessel later left the area when a Coast Guard cutter ordered them to back off.[61]
Although there were two survivors, the US Navy intentionally refused to identify Hey, as he was attached to the Resor as part of the Armed Guard. This was due to the US attempted to hide its arming of merchant ships, which would potentially be exposed if his name was released. These efforts would be undermined by anyone who noticed the 4-inch gun on the stern.[61] Forsdal gave his account to the Associated Press, which was widely circulated by newspapers nationwide.[59][62]
In addition to the governmental response, the US Red Cross and first-aid workers from half a dozen towns on the Barrier Islands reported for duty, creating hospital stations at Point Pleasant Beach and Belmar, New Jersey. This was done in preparation for a large influx of survivors who never arrived.[63]
Sinking
Trapped air prevented the immediate foundering of the R. P. Resor, allowing her to partially stay afloat for 46 hours. It has also been proposed that the ship's cofferdams contributed to the delay in sinking. In an attempt to rescue the wreck, USS Sagamore (AT-20) took her under in tow until the hulk grounded itself and capsized 30 miles (48 km) east of Barnegat Lighthouse, New Jersey. [citation needed]
Once her loss was covered by insurance, the payout for the vessel was one part of the 53.7 million dollar payment Jersey Standard and its subsidiaries received for the 41 oil tankers the companies lost during the war.[64] The attack and sinking of the Resor made her the 24th ship and the 15th tanker attack to be officially recognized by the US government to have occurred in coastal American waters during World War II.[65] A later diving expedition reported that the wreck was about 127 feet (39 m) deep.[66]
On 5 March, 1942, the headquarters of the United States Coast Guard's Third District announced five bodies from the Resor had been recovered and were transported to Manasquan, New Jersey.[67]
The ferocity of the explosions brought the impact of the war home to New Jerseyites, thousands of whom witnessed the blast and 200-foot tall flames from Ashbury Park and other ocean-side resort towns.[68] At the time of sinking, the disaster was one of the deadliest shipwrecks in New Jersey history and the deadliest since the SS Morro Castle's 1934 burning in the same waters. Later during the war, the sinkings of the USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) and U-869 surpassed the Resor in lethality, leaving her loss as the 11th most deadliest wreck in state history.[69]
On 27 February, destroyer USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) departed New York Harbor instructed to maintain an anti-submarine patrol between Barnegate Light and Five Fathom Bank. Shortly after getting underway, she was rerouted to the region off Cape May and the Delaware Capes. At 1530, the destroyer spotted the R. P. Resor's wreck and circled it for two hours in an unsuccessful attempt to search for survivors. Afterwards, she continued on her way south. U-578 was still in the greater area, and torpedoed the Jacob Jones six times in the early morning of 28 February. Several of the torpedoes found their mark and caused catastrophic damage. One torpedo blast detonated the ship's magazine, which blew off the bow and destroyed the bridge and quarters. Another torpedo sheered off the fantail and enlisted quarters, making the ship unable to move or send out a distress message. The Jacob Jones would only stay afloat for 45 minutes as the crew attempted to abandon ship. Of the 113 crew members, only 11 survived the sinking.[70]
One of the casualties from the Resor was Purple Heart recipient[71] US Naval Reserve Ensign Charles Major, who was honored by the Navy with the naming of the Buckley-class destroyer escort USS Major (DE-796). Margaret Roper Major, Ensign Major's widow, sponsored the destroyer escort. Major was the commander of the Armed Guard onboard.[72][73][54] To honor the death of the Resor's captain, his widow, Mrs. Fred Marcus, sponsored the Standard Oil tanker SS Esso New Haven.[74]
An image depicting the broken and burning Resor was published by Life Magazine on 9 March 1942.[75] In August of the same year, the United States Office of Price Administration used the image on a poster [right] which was distributed to gas stations and garages to encourage civilian fuel rationing.[76]
The rapid loss of oil tankers in the Atlantic to foreign attacks during the war illustrated the need for over-land pipelines to transport oil coast-to-coast in place of ships, as pipelines were less vulnerable. This need would eventually be met by the Colonial Pipeline, which currently fulfills the role the Resor had in transporting petroleum between the Gulf to Atlantic Coasts of the United States.[77][78]
General description
The wreck has intack gun mounts and plating; a plate sample was removed from the bow for analysis in New York.[79] She lies roughly 32 miles (51 km) east of Barnegat Inlet and is almost directly east of Barnegat, New Jersey. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes visibility as "poor" and the location accurate within 1 mile. Conflicting reports of the wreck's location make it difficult to pin-point a specific spot. A lighted bell buoy placed by the United States Hydrographic Office floated over the wreck until it was removed at a later date.[66]
The ship's shallow depth, convenient location, and low levels of deterioration have made her a popular spot for recreational diving and lobster fishing.[80][81] Besides the plate sample, divers had also removed the ship's telegraph[82] and various portholes. Independent diving expeditions report that the visibility is around 30 feet (9.1 m).[83] At some point following the sinking, the wreck was demolished and moved by wire to a depth of around 50 feet (15 m). As a result of the relocation, the bridge and aft tanks are demolished. There is a large hole near the engine room which allows easy access to the spaces inside. Additional reports state that the stern is still intact and most of the superstructure is destroyed.[52]
Environmental impact
The United States Bureau of Land Management estimates that 3,911,775 gallons of fuel oil were released by the sinking of the Resor.[84]
Following the SS Torrey Canyon oil spill in 1967, President Lyndon Johnson requested US federal agencies to undergo studies and make plans to prevent similar oil spills from occurring. As a result, the US Department of Transportation ordered the inspection of World War II tanker wrecks over concerns that natural degradation of the hulks would release oil onboard, which would create an environmental threat to beaches. Certain wrecks, such as those of the Resor, were of concern as they were: intact, located in shallow water, and were located in major sea-lanes. As a result, the ship was inspected by Coast Guard divers on 17 August 1967 and found to contain no oil that posed any threat. The storage tanks were described as being severely corroded, buckled, and ruptured in certain segments of the hull, meaning they could not hold any oil. The official report of the wreck theorized that any material in the ship's holds rose through the ventilation system, and was harmlessly diluted by surrounding oceanwater. The dive was launched from USCGC Sweetgum (WAGL-309), which also inspected the nearby wrecks of SS Gulftrade and SS Veranger for the same purpose.[85][86]
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In addition to the study by the Department of Transportation, another was undertaken by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The investigation was concerned with any oil which came ashore following the attack. It was found that any spilled oil drifted in two groups; one oil patch going north and another west. The lack of media coverage and testimony lead the investigators to conclude the study by stating that any oil that came ashore was in negligible amounts, if any did so in the first place. It was also found that the oil had a minimal effect on the ecosystem and on the health of animals.[87]
Navylog.org (Archived here)- Accurate list of the men who was lost on the Resor
New-York Historical Society (Archived here) - The association hosts images of the shipbuilder's model of the Resor, which was created by J. J. Wenner and the Boucher Manufacturing Company in New York City. Several images show the bow's flair prominently, along with accurate rigging and a detailed superstructure
Llyod's Register Foundation (Archived here) - The site hosts original documents regarding the ship, including inspection reports, memos, and records. Other hosted documents include the profile, midship section, and plans for the propeller shafts, along with the upper and lower drums of the boilers.
Auke Visser's International Esso Tankers Site - The site hosts reproduced general and detail drawings of the Resor originally from the 1935 Edition of the Pacific Marine Review
Auke Visser's International Esso Tankers Site - The site also hosts a photo gallery of the Resor and its sister ship, SS T. C. McCobb
NJscuba.net (Archived here)- The website displays a collection of photographs of the Resor's wreck
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