SS James Longstreet (Hull Number 112) was a Liberty ship

Liberty ship

Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...

 built in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 at a cost of $1,833,400. She was named after the Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 general James Longstreet

James Longstreet

James Longstreet was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse." He served under Lee as a corps commander for many of the famous battles fought by the Army of Northern Virginia in the...

.

She was laid down on 3 December 1941, then launched on 2 April 1942. On 26 October 1943, she ran aground in a gale in 1943 and was declared a total loss. Instead of being scrapped, she was acquired by the US Navy in June 1944 and used as a target ship for early air to surface guided missile

Air-to-surface missile

An air-to-surface missile is a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft and strike ground targets on land, at sea, or both...

s. Whilst under tow to and from the target areas, she once ran aground and on another occasion broke her anchor chain and drifted for ten days before being recovered. She was then sunk and used for further experiments using missiles, before then being used for live ammunition target practice by Naval jets from nearby South Weymouth Naval Air Station and the Air Force from nearby Otis Air Force Base until 1971. The ship is also referred to as the "target ship".

The remains of the James Longstreet lie approximately three and a half miles off Eastham, Massachusetts

Eastham, Massachusetts

Eastham is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 5,453 at the 2000 census....

in 20 to 25 ft (6.1 to 7.6 m) of water. The site is off limits to divers due to unexploded ordinance.

External links

• http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/liberty-ships-survivors.htm
• http://www.newenglandexplorations.com/historoflongstreet.html