USS Reuben James (DD-245)

USS Reuben James on 29 April 1939
History
United States
Name	Reuben James
Namesake	Reuben James
Builder	New York Shipbuilding
Laid down	2 April 1919
Launched	4 October 1919
Commissioned	24 September 1920
In service	24 September 1920
Out of service	31 October 1941
Stricken	25 March 1942
Fate	Sunk by U-552 in the North Atlantic Ocean, 31 October 1941[1] 51°59′N 27°05′W / 51.983°N 27.083°W / 51.983; -27.083
General characteristics
Class and type	Clemson-class destroyer
Displacement	1,215 long tons (1,234 t)
Length	314 ft 5 in (95.83 m)
Beam	31 ft 8 in (9.65 m)
Draft	9 ft 4 in (2.84 m)
Installed power	26,500 shp (19,800 kW)
Propulsion	2 × geared steam turbines 2 × shafts
Speed	35 kn (40 mph; 65 km/h)
Range	4,900 nmi (5,600 mi; 9,100 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Complement	159 officers and enlisted
Armament	4 × 4 in (100 mm) guns 1 × 3 in (76 mm) antiaircraft gun 12 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

USS Reuben James (DD-245) was a four-funnel Clemson-class destroyer that was constructed after World War I. She was the first United States Navy ship to be named after Boatswain's Mate Reuben James (c. 1776–1838), who had distinguished himself fighting in the First Barbary War, and was the first US Naval ship to be sunk by hostile action in the European Theater of World War II. Four US flagged merchant ships were also sunk by hostile action before Pearl Harbor.

Reuben James was laid down on 2 April 1919 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey, launched on 4 October 1919, and commissioned on 24 September 1920. The destroyer was sunk by a torpedo attack from German submarine U-552 near Iceland on 31 October 1941,^[1] resulting in the deaths of 100 crewmembers, before the United States had joined the war.