SS Lawton B. Evans

The SS Lawton B. Evans was an American military ship, constructed in Alabama[1] during World War II it was named after the author Lawton Bryan Evans (1862-1934).

Army band aboard SS Lawton B. Evans in 1943

Construction

SS Lawton B. Evans was a Liberty ship, with hull number 'MCE 746'. She launched at ADDSCO on January 1, 1943, sponsored by Betty Jane Hard, Winner of Scrap Metal Drive, Milledgeville, Georgia. The cosponsor was Mrs. E. D. Veal, Principal of Midway School, Milledgeville, Georgia.[2]

World War II

U-boat encounter

During the Convoy HX 228[3] she was slightly damaged at 21.31 hours on March 10th, 1943 when hit by a dud torpedo from German U-boat U-221 commanded by Hans-Hartwig Trojer.[4] Out of the 22 ships hit by this German submarine SS Lawton B. Evans was the only one to survive.[5]

Battle of Anzio
Amateur boxer Calvin "Jiggs" O'Rourke aboard SS Lawton B. Evans in 1943

Liberty ships were cargo ships, fitted with guns for defensive purposes.[6] In one notable incident they were used for support from 22 to 30 January 1944 when the Lawton B. Evans was involved in the Battle of Anzio in Italy. First class seaman Calvin Stoddard O'Rourke received commendations for his performance on June 24, 1944 when this ship was under repeated bombardment from hostile shore batteries and aircraft throughout an eight-day period. Despite the prolonged danger of shrapnel, machine-gun fire and bombs, the gun crew fought back, setting up a deadly barrage of shellfire. They shot down five German planes and contributed to the success of the landing operations.[7]

Gunner Calvin "Jiggs" O'Rourke aboard Lawton B. Evans in 1943
Launching of the S.S. Lawton B. Evans

Incident at the end of WWII

Merchant mariner Lex Fanjoy from North Woburn, MA was a boatswain aboard SS Lawton B. Evans on August 10, 1945, when the vessel was anchored off the Anzio beachhead during a violent gale and electrical storm. The barrage balloon floated from the stern of the ship at the end of a 1,000 foot cable. This wire was anchored to a winch and it became heavily charged with static electricity that discharged near an open hatch containing gasoline in cans. Fanjoy volunteered to cut the balloon adrift. Disregarding the possibility of electrocution, a shock that might knock him down, or dismemberment from the whip of the released wire, boatswain Fanjoy went aloft and cut the line adrift. He received minor shocks and when he cut the wire he was stunned by an electrical discharge that knocked him into the crosstrees below, narrowly escaping death.[8]

Scrapped

The ship was scrapped in Baltimore Harbor in Maryland in 1960.[9]

References
  1. "Liberty Ships built by Alabama Drydock & Shipbuilding Company, Mobile, Alabama EC2-S-C1 Type American Merchant Marine at War, www.usmm.org". Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  2. "Ships Launched at ADDSCO during WWII" (PDF). South Alabama Education. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  3. "Convoy HX 228". Gudmundur Helgason uboat.net. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  4. "Lawton B. Evans (American Steam merchant) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII". Gudmundur Helgason uboat.net. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  5. "Ships hit by U-221". Gudmundur Helgason uboat.net. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  6. "Liberty ship design". globalsecurity.org Retrieved 03 December 2016.
  7. "Pers-68-MH MM/822 62 83" (PDF). Bureau Of Naval Personnel Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  8. "Lawton B. Evans Merchant Marine Heroes: Meritorious Service Medals Awarded during World War II". American Merchant Marine at War, www.usmm.org. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  9. "Liberty Ships History". Mariners-l.Co.UK Liberty Ships. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
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