7026 US NAVY DESTROYER REUBEN JAMES 1941

The USS Reuben James (DD-245) was an American destroyer, the keel of which was laid in April 1919, launched in October 1919, and was completely completed in September 1920. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 95.8 m, width 9.65 m, with a displacement of about 1,200 tons. The maximum speed was up to 35 knots. At the time of launching, the unit was armed with: 4 100 mm guns, a single 76 mm anti-aircraft gun and 12 533 mm torpedo tubes. USS Reuben James (DD-245) was one of over 150 Clemson-class destroyers built between 1919 and 1922 for the needs of the US Navy. Based on the Wickes-class destroyer design, they were the last smooth-deck destroyers in the U.S. Navy. They were also the most numerous class of destroyers in the US Navy in the interwar period. Due to the characteristic silhouette with four chimneys, they were called "four pipes". USS Reuben James (DD-245) was built at the New York Shipbuilding shipyard, and in the interwar period it served primarily in the Atlantic, also making cruises to the Mediterranean Sea. From the beginning of World War II, the unit performed patrol tasks in the Atlantic, and in September and October 1941 it protected two convoys on their way to Great Britain. On October 30, 1941, the USS Reuben James (DD-245) was sunk in a torpedo attack by the German U-boat U-552. Thus, she became the first American ship lost in combat during World War II.