Wreck of USS Susan B. Anthony (AP-72)

France / Basse-Normandie / Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer /
 Second World War 1939-1945, military, shipwreck, United States Navy
Laid down in 1929 as the commercial passenger/cargo steamship SS Santa Clara for Grace Lines and plying the commercial trades between South America and the US East Coast for twelve years after her 1930 delivery, the Santa Clara was acquired by the US Navy in August 1942 and underwent conversion into a troopship. With the conversion work completed in little over a month, the former Santa Clara was commissioned into US Navy service in September 1942 as the USS Susan B. Anthony (AP-72).

Following intensive training in the Chesapeake Bay aimed at familiarizing her crew with the complexities of launching, operating and recovering landing craft, the Susan B. Anthony loaded American Troops and cargo in Norfolk and stood out for North Africa on October 23rd. Arriving off French Morocco twelve days later, the Anthony and her crew began their part in the Second World War by offloading their cargo of men and material during 'Operation Torch'. With the Allied landings a success, the Anthony returned stateside and began making regular trips between the US and North Africa delivering fresh troops and supplies for the next seven months.

The Susan B. Anthony was again called upon to participate in an invasion in July 1943, this time at Sicily. After again loading troops and equipment stateside, she and her crew called at Oran to muster with the rest of the Invasion Force. Arriving off the coast of Scoglitti on July 9th, the Anthony again put her human cargo ashore, coming under concentrated air and shore battery attack several times during the process. Remaining on station for three days emptying her holds, the Anthony sailed for the US once again and resumed her duty shuttling men and material from the US to Europe through the North Atlantic for ten more months.

Receiving orders to report to Portsmouth to load US Troops and stores in mid-1944, the Susan B. Anthony and her crew were briefed on their next assignment, codenamed "Operation Overlord', the Allied Invasion of France. Standing out of Portsmouth in convoy with fellow troopships, the Anthony crossed the English Channel on June 5th and arrived off the Normandy Coast at dawn on June 6th, 1944. Sending her landing craft ashore at H-Hour (0630hrs), the crew aboard ship kept a wary eye out for German U-Boats, E-Boats or Luftwaffe aircraft as the Invasion Forces battled onshore. By nightfall, the Susan B. Anthony still had over 2000 soldiers still aboard which were scheduled to be put ashore at first light on June 7th, but just before dawn changing winds prompted the ship to shift Southward to facilitate the launching of her remaining troops.

Moving through a mine-swept channel towards her new discharge location, the Susan B. Anthony struck a free-floating mine under her #4 cargo hold, causing the ships rudder to lock hard to Port and allowing enormous amounts of seawater to enter the ship. Within minutes all power had been lost onboard and the ship had taken an 8-degree list to Starboard, prompting her Captain to order all the men onboard to the Port side, which brought her back to an even keel. Damage control teams reported that in addition to the #4 hold rapidly flooding the #5 hold was also beginning to ship massive amounts of water through damaged bulkheads, bringing the ship down by the bow. Assisted by the Fleet Tug USS Pinto (AT-90), an effort was made to tow the wounded troopship to shallower waters, but when reports of fire in the engine room reached the Captain, the decision was made to abandon the ship at 0830hrs. In what still stands as the largest maritime rescue of people without loss of life, all 2,689 soldiers and crew aboard the ship were removed without incident onto waiting Tugs, Destroyers, Minesweepers and landing craft, a process which took over half an hour. Her Captain stepped off his foundering vessel at exactly 1000hrs and by 1010hrs the Susan B. Anthony had sunk bow-first at this location on June 7th, 1944.

For her actions during the Second World War, the USS Susan B. Anthony received four Battle Stars.

www.navsource.org/archives/09/22/22072.htm
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Susan_B._Anthony_(AP-72)
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   49°32'59"N   -0°48'59"E

Comments

  • CJ I think we are both right Uss Susan B as described was in it on June 6 ,then retreated off the coast and waited until dawn June 7 when it hit the mines.All got off that day
  • i'd be interested on your source for the Anthony's actions on D-Day, June 6th. Examining the photos of the sip and the records from reading, The ships landing crafts were removed as a result of stabilization issues. Her designation changed from attack transport to troop transport, thus she was played to bring up troops on D-day plus one and use landing craft from other ships to send her contingent of troops in as reinforcements on the second day of the invasion, according to my research, Some of the survivors told men that she was on station on June 6th and that the course of battle caused her to deploy her troops the second day. I also have not seen anything I also have not seen anything about the winds affecting her course.This would be critical in determining the cause of her sinking sash was supposed to have been in a swept channel. Changing to a southern location may have taken her out of that safe pathway, Thanks for the article. Tim Spoonster, son of a survivor of the Uss Susan B. Anthony.
  • My father was on the Susan B. (from what I can find out.) He was Cpt. Pascal McCoy 90th Division 315th Combat Engineers Company A. He never spoke of being on the ship but deducing from military records it places his company (315th Combat Engineers) on the ship when she was struck. One or two of the companies from the 315th did land D-Day but I can not find out exactly what ones and many companies were split apart for special ops. My father went on to fight right up the the Saars River crossing. He received the Silver Star and Purple Heart. Wish he spoke more about his experiences but as a learn more about what the 315th (and Company A) went through I think I understand! Thanks for posting this info on the Susan B.
  • Navy site for ship info.... 90th Recon Group Army for some but not all daily troop orders/citations/ reports... You can sometimes get battle descriptions here but personal accounts are better for those. Good luck!
  • Thank you Sharon!
  • my dad was one of the soldiers onboard when it hit the mine he has told me that he was coming out on main deck when it happen as a result he went to war with no gun or supplies just him when on shore his unit was all spit up rescue ships landed in areas so no units on same beach
  • My dad, CPT. Orwin C. Talbott, was commander of G Co., 359th Infantry, 90th Division. His battalion, the second, was in reserve to the rest of the division, most of which had landed unopposed on Utah Beach on June 6. They were prepared to disembark about 7:30 the morning of June 7 when they hit the mine (my dad remembered two explosions). It went down in a little over two hoursula. G Co. was on the top deck, so they waited for those below decks to get off onto a pair of British destroyer escorts that were side by side. About half of G Co. got into the first ship then kept on going to the second. But when the first destroyer went to find some landing craft, the second peeled off and returned to England. It took as long as two weeks for G Co. to get up to full strength, leading to much ribbing between the troops that landed on the 7th and those that were "vacationing" back in England.
  • My dad saw the Susan B Anthony hit a mine and his british ship rescued just under 3000 men from susan B. He can still recall that day. He's 95 well and could tell you what happened.
  • My dad has a picture of the Pinto, Susan B Anthony on fire in middle and his ship HMS Narborough the other side. Picture taken from HMS Rupert before they came alongside my dad"s ship to take men. My dad aged 19 supervised the transfer. Once Rupert full, HMS Narborough went more in shore to transfer men to landing craft.
  • It was on D Day plus one at about 6am in the morning. Dad was just coming off his watch and was standing looking out and saw Susan B hit the mine.
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This article was last modified 14 years ago