SS James Eagan Layne
 The James Eagan Layne is launched | |
| Career | 100x35px |
|---|---|
| Name: | SS James Eagan Layne |
| Operator: | US Navigation Company, New York |
| Builder: | Delta Shipbuilding Corporation, New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Completed: | December 1944 |
| Fate: | sunk on 21 March 1945 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 7,176 tons |
| Length: | 422.8 ft |
| Beam: | 57 ft |
| Draught: | 27 ft 9.25 in |
| Propulsion: |
Two oil fired boilers, triple expansion steam engine, single screw, 2500 horsepower (1.9 MW) |
| Speed: | 11 to 11.5 knots (20 to 21 km/h) |
| Crew: | 69 |
The SS James Eagan Layne was a liberty ship sunk during the Second World War just off the coast of Plymouth in the UK.
She was built by the Delta Shipbuilding Corporation, New Orleans, Louisiana in 1944 and was operated by the US Navigation Company, of New York. She was named after the second engineer of the Esso Baton Rouge, who was killed when the Esso Baton Rouge was sunk by Reinhard Hardegen's U-123 on 8 April 1942.
The James Eagan Layne’s final voyage was to carry 4,500 tons of US Army Engineers equipment from Barry, Wales, to Ghent, in Belgium. She also carried motorboats and lumber as deck cargo. She was sighted on 21 March 1945, sailing 12 miles off Plymouth by U-1195, and torpedoed. [1][2][3] She was badly damaged, but was taken in tow. She was beached in Whitsand Bay Cornwall, but subsequently settled on the bottom and was declared a total loss. There were no casualties amongst her crew of 69.
The wreck of the has been a popular dive site for many years. [4] It is situated next to the wreck of HMS Scylla - in 22m of water at 50°19.540′N 4°14.723′W / 50.32567°N 4.245383°WCoordinates: 50°19.540′N 4°14.723′W / 50.32567°N 4.245383°W.
References
- ↑ Dive South Cornwall, wreck of JEL, p43, Richard Larn, ISBN0946020256
- ↑ Dive Wight and Hampshire, wreck of U-1195, p122, Martine Pritchard and Kendal McDonald, ISBN0946020159
- ↑ [1] DiverNet Wreck Tour: 62, The James Eagan Layne
- ↑ Dive South Cornwall, p43, Richard Larn, ISBN0946020256
External links
See also
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