S.S. Robert C. Tuttle: American ESSO Tanker

The Robert C. Tuttle was an American steam tanker of 11,615 tons completed in July 1940 at Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Tuttle was owned by the Atlantic Refining Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where it was also homeported.

On April 9, 1942, the Robert C. Tuttle sustained minor damage in a collision with the Norwegian steam merchant Benwood (3931 grt) northeast of Molasses Reef, Florida. The Norwegian ship was grounded on the Alligator Reef but slid off and sank in shallow waters on April 14th.

On June 15, 1942 Convoy KN-109 came into a minefield laid on June 11th by U-701 (commanded by Horst Degen) off Virginia Beach. The anti-submarine trawler HMS Kingston Ceylonite (FY 214) sank and the tankers Robert C. Tuttle and Esso Augusta, along with the destroyer USS Bainbridge (DD 246) were damaged.

The Robert C. Tuttle (Master Martin Johansen), carrying 152,000 barrels of crude oil, traveled in the last position of the port column of the two-column convoy when at 2304 hours a mine struck at the Number 2 tank on the starboard side about 100 feet from the stem. The explosion blew oil over the whole length and the second assistant engineer overboard, who drowned. As the engines were stopped, she swung out of the line because all forward compartments were flooded. The tanker settled by the bow, but rested on the bottom in 54 feet of water after ten minutes. The ship was awash to midships with the after section out of water. The eight officers, 33 crewmen, five armed guards and a Navy signalman abandoned ship in three lifeboats. After rowing six miles, they were taken in tow at 2350 hours by USS PC-474 and brought to Little Creek, Virginia.

The back of the Robert C. Tuttle was broken, but the tanker was salvaged and brought into drydock in Baltimore, where she was repaired and returned to service.

Norwegian ship S.S. Benwood after collision with the S.S. Robert C. Tuttle near Molasses Reef, off the Florida coast, on April 9, 1942.

Another view of the S.S. Benwood after colliding with the S.S. Robert C. Tuttle.

S.S. Benwood, loaded with phosphate, collided with the tanker, Robert C. Tuttle, off of Key Largo during the night of April 9, 1942. One crew member of the Benwood was killed and the ship ultimately went aground in what is now John Pennekamp State Park. Early reports suggested that the Benwood was sunk by a German U-boat, but official records indicated that no U-boats were in the area.

S.S. Robert C. Tuttle.

S.S. Robert C. Tuttle.

S.S. Robert C. Tuttle after striking a mine on her starboard side.

S.S. Robert C. Tuttle after striking a mine on her starboard side.

S.S. Robert S. Tuttle (ESSO tanker) afire off Cape Henry, Virginia, after striking a mine, 15 June 1942. She was salvaged. [US National Archives 80-G-14047]

Fighting the fie on the S.S. Robert C. Tuttle.

Salvaging operation underway on the S.S. Robert C. Tuttle.

S.S. Robert C. Tuttle (ESSO tanker). In drydock at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, circa July 1942, showing mine damage to her bow. After preliminary repairs at the Navy Yard, she was towed to Newport News for completion.

USS Savannah (CL-42): American Light Cruiser

USS Savannah (CL-42) was a light cruiser of the Brooklyn-class that served in World War II in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theatres of operation. Savannah conducted Neutrality Patrols (1941) and wartime patrols in the Atlantic and Caribbean (1942), and supported the invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch (November 1942). She sought German-supporting blockade runners off the east coast of South America (1943), and supported the Allied landings on Sicily and at Salerno (1943). Off Salerno on 11 September 1943, a German radio-controlled Fritz X glide-bomb caused extensive casualties aboard and serious damage to Savannah, requiring emergency repairs in Malta and permanent repairs at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. After repairs and upgrades, she served in the task force that carried President Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in early 1945.

USS Savannah (CL-42) photographed from a blimp of squadron ZP-11, while underway off the New England coast on 30 October 1944.

Two "Liberty" ships are afire in Algiers harbor, Algeria, following a German air attack, 16 July 1943. The U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Savannah (CL-42) is in the foreground.

The USS Savannah (CL-42) is hit by a German Fritz-X radio-controlled bomb while supporting Allied forces ashore during the Salerno operation, 11 September 1943. The bomb hit the top of the ship’s number three gun turret and penetrated deep into her hull before exploding. This photograph shows the explosion venting through the top of the turret and also through Savannah’s hull below the waterline. A PT boat is passing by in the foreground.

USS Savannah (CL-42) afire immediately after she was hit by a German guided bomb during the Salerno operation, 11 September 1943. Smoke is pouring from the bomb impact hole atop the ship's number three 6"/47 gun turret.

USS Savannah (CL-42) afire and beginning to settle by the bow, very soon after she was hit by a German guided bomb during the Salerno operation, 11 September 1943. The bomb penetrated the top of the ship's number three 6"/47 gun turret, which is in the center of this photograph with smoke over it.

USS Savannah (CL-42): Crewmen fighting fires in the ship's #3 six-inch gun turret, after it was hit by a German guided bomb during the Salerno operation, 11 September 1943. Note fully-equipped life rafts stowed atop the turret, and casualties laid out on deck alongside the # 2 turret.

USS Savannah (CL-42): Bomb penetration hole atop her number three 6"/47 gun turret, while the ship was undergoing initial repairs off Salerno, Italy. She was hit by a German radio-controlled bomb on 11 September 1943, during the Salerno operation. Note life rafts atop the turret, one of which has been cut in two by the bomb. Also note the turret's armored faceplate. View looks forward, with number two 6"/47 gun turret in the immediate background. The original photo caption, released on 2 November 1943, reads (in part): "A round, clean hole marks the point of entry of a Nazi bomb on the cruiser Savannah. Inside, all was chaos, smoke, blood, and death."

Struck by a German bomb on 11 September 1943, the cruiser USS Savannah rescued casualties, brought a fire under control, and continued to bring fire upon the enemy's shore installation during the battle for Salerno. Wounded brought through small hatch. The door of a small hatch swings down to permit the wounded to be brought out of a turret by their shipmates.

USS Savannah (CL-42): Corpsmen attend casualties on the ship's forecastle, after a German radio-controlled bomb hit her # 3 six-inch gun turret during the Salerno operation, 11 September 1943.

USS Savannah (CL-42): Blankets cover crewmen killed when a German radio-controlled bomb hit the ship's # 3 six-inch gun turret, during the Salerno operation, 11 September 1943.

Navy Department Bureau of Ships War Damage Report No. 44: USS Savannah (CL-42), Bomb Damage Diagram from 11 September 1943 off Salerno.

The U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Savannah (CL-42) off the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, 5 September 1944, following battle damage repairs and modernization.

USS Savannah (CL-42): 5 September 1944 photo as rebuilt after FX-1400 guided bomb damage off Salerno. Hull is blistered up to the main deck and her former single 5"/25 guns have been replaced with twin 5"/38s. She is also fitted with a new bridge and new light weight antiaircraft guns and arrangement of those guns. The entire Brooklyn class was planned to be so modified but this was canceled at the end of the war.

USS Savannah (CL-42): 5 September 1944 photo as rebuilt after FX-1400 guided bomb damage off Salerno. Hull is blistered up to the main deck and her former single 5"/25 guns have been replaced with twin 5"/38s. She is also fitted with a new bridge and new light weight antiaircraft guns and arrangement of those guns. The entire Brooklyn class was planned to be so modified but this was canceled at the end of the war.

USS Savannah (CL-42): 5 September 1944 photo as rebuilt after FX-1400 guided bomb damage off Salerno. Hull is blistered up to the main deck and her former single 5"/25 guns have been replaced with twin 5"/38s. She is also fitted with a new bridge and new light weight antiaircraft guns and arrangement of those guns. The entire Brooklyn class was planned to be so modified but this was canceled at the end of the war.

USS Savannah (CL-42): Starboard bow view while steaming in the Savannah River, Savannah, Georgia while attending Navy Day celebrations on or about 27 October 1945.

Composite photo of "builders model" of USS Savannah (CL-42), a World War II American light cruiser. Photo is composite of three photos taken by iPhone and merged on Photoshop, where photo enhancement was done to compensate for low light conditions, reflections from display case, and undesirable background objects. Photo taken at the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum in Savannah, Georgia, U.S. on November 1, 2018.