View source for SS James Iredell

{{short description|World War II Liberty ship of the United States}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2012}}
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1945}}
|Ship name=''James Iredell''
|Ship namesake=[[James Iredell]]
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|Ship operator=[[Agwilines Inc]]
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|Ship ordered=*as SS ''James Iredell''
*EC2-S-C1 hull
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|Ship yard number=45
|Ship way number=9
|Ship laid down=October 25, 1942
|Ship launched=November 29, 1942
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|Ship acquired=1943
|Ship commissioned=1943
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|Ship decommissioned=1944
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|Ship struck=October 23, 1943 in [[Naples]]
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|Ship fate=Scuttled on June 8, 1944 to protect [[Omaha Beach]]
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|Ship class={{sclass|Crater|cargo ship}}
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|Ship displacement=4,023 t.(lt) 11,565 t.(fl)
|Ship length={{convert|441|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|56|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|28|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship propulsion=reciprocating [[steam engine]], single shaft
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|Ship speed=12 kts.
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|Ship complement=206
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[[File:SS_James_Iredell_circa_1941.png|thumb|right|alt=Black and white photograph of the ship|SS James Iredell circa 1941]]
'''SS ''James Iredell''''' ([[Maritime Commission|MC]] contract 867) was a [[Liberty ship]] in [[World War II]] that was attacked in [[Naples]] and scuttled on June 8, 1944 to protect [[Omaha Beach]].

==History==
SS ''James Iredell'' had its keel laid down on 25 October 1942 by the [[North Carolina Shipbuilding Company]] of [[Wilmington, North Carolina]]. She was launched on 29 November 1942. She suffered minor damage while in a convoy in 1943. <!--She took part in the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]] of July 9–10, 1943.-->

She was quickly repaired, and bombed in [[Naples]] on 23 October 1943, with three direct hits.<ref>{{cite book |title=Liberty ships: the ugly ducklings of World War II |year=1972 |quote=The SS James Iredell, a veteran of the Mediterranean campaign, was one of the first ... | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BW58AAAAIAAJ |isbn= 9780870213403|last1=Bunker |first1=John |publisher=Naval Institute Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Justin F. Gleichauf |author-link=Justin F. Gleichauf |title=Unsung sailors: the Naval Armed Guard in World War II |year=2002 |page=290 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |quote=The SS James Iredell seemed to have a charmed life. She made it back after sustaining a torpedo attack, three direct bomb hits, concussion damage from an ... | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TgFx3m0ySd8C&q=%22SS+James+Iredell%22&pg=PA290 |isbn= 9781557504203}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibiblio.net/hyperwar///USN/Admin-Hist/173-ArmedGuards/173-AG-9.html |title=The Landings at Salerno |access-date=2010-07-23 |quote= On October 23 bombs fell within 200 yards of the ship and on October 23 she was present when the Joseph T. Robinson and the James Iredell were hit by enemy bombers. |publisher=[[United States Navy]] }}</ref> The gasoline the ship was transporting caught on fire and the ship was abandoned. The fire burned for 64 hours, but there were no casualties among the 44-man merchant crew, the 28-man [[United States Navy]] contingent, or the 28 passengers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.warshipsww2.eu/givetbl.php?language=E&hist=USN_1943_10E |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720174508/http://www.warshipsww2.eu/givetbl.php?language=E&hist=USN_1943_10E |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 20, 2011 |title=SS James Iredell |access-date=2010-07-23 |quote=German planes raid shipping off Naples, Italy; U.S. freighter James Iredell is hit by three bombs that set alight the ship's gasoline cargo. Although the ship is abandoned and the fire burns for 64 hours until it is ultimately put out, there are no casualties among the 44-man merchant crew, the 28-man Armed Guard or the 28 passengers. }}</ref>

She was repaired, and was sunk as a [[blockship]] off [[Omaha Beach]] on 8 June 1944.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?37279 |title=SS James Iredell |access-date=2010-07-23 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{MARCOM ships North Carolina SB Co.}}
{{October 1943 shipwrecks}}
{{June 1944 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:James Iredell, SS}}
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Liberty ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Wilmington, North Carolina]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in October 1943]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in June 1944]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as breakwaters]]