Daily Event for November 7, 2010

Heading for the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch) in convoy KMF-1 the troop transport USS Thomas Stone AP-59 was torpedoed by an unknown U-boat (possibly U-205) on November 7, 1942. She was hit on the port side in the stern. The hole in her side was not as bad as the damage done to her steering and propulsion gear. The rudder was all but destroyed and her propeller shaft was broken, she was dead in the water filled with American soldiers with an unseen enemy lurking somewhere nearby.

The convoy was not about to stop and it sailed on leaving the stricken ship with one escort, HMS Spey K-246. They were about 150 miles from Algiers, and out of the action, but this did not stop them. The landing craft were lowered and filled and headed for Algiers. However bad weather and heavy seas began to swamp the boats so Spey removed all the men and took them to Algiers.

Thomas Stone was towed to Algiers where on Nov. 24-25 she was hit by bombs during a German air raid, one exploding deep inside her. On the evening of the 25th heavy seas drove her hard aground causing more damage to the hull. Over the next year the ship was salvaged and finally the hulk was sold for scrap.

The attack could have been a major disaster, as the ship was filled with troops, but because of where the ship was struck and the efforts of the men on board a major tragedy was avoided. However for the nine crewmen who were killed and their families it was still a tragedy all the same.
© 2010 Michael W. Pocock
MaritimeQuest.com



Roll of Honor
In memory of those who lost their lives in
USS Thomas Stone AP-59
"As long as we embrace them in our memory, their spirit will always be with us"

Name
Rate
Farris, Raymond D.
Seaman 2nd Class
Hill, Branch C.
Mess Attendant 2nd Class
Jeanes, John O.
Seaman 2nd Class
Jeffress, Robert V.
Seaman 1st Class
Johnson, Alphonzo J.
Mess Attendant 3rd Class
Overberg, Robert J.
Seaman 2nd Class
Pollard, Horace F.
Mess Attendant 3rd Class
Williams, Malcolm
Mess Attendant 3rd Class
Woods, James W.
Mess Attendant 3rd Class


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