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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Lost to enemy torpedo attack, 12 November 1942, at Fedala Roads, Morocco

USS Edward Rutledge (AP-52)


1942 International Radio Call Sign:
Nan - Able - Charlie - Uncle
 NACU
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, 12 November 1942)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
Edward Rutledge Class Transport
  • Built in 1931 as SS Exeter at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.
  • Acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission, 7 January 1942
  • Converted to a Naval Transport at Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Tampa, FL.
  • Commissioned USS Edward Rutledge (AP-52), 18 April 1942. CAPT. Myron Wells Hutchinson, Jr., in command
  • Designated APA-24, never in active serivce
  • During World War II USS Edward Rutledge was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and participated in the following campaign;

    Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates
    North African occupation
    Algerian-Morocco landings, 8 to 11 November 1942

  • Final Disposition, sunk by the German Submarine U-130 torpedo attack, 12 November 1942, at Fedala Roads, Morocco
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 7 December 1942
  • USS Edward Rutledge earned one battle star for World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 14,330 t.
    Length 475'
    Beam 62'
    Draft 26'
    Speed 16 kts.
    Complement unknown
    Troop Accommodations unknown
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    four single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts
    eight single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Propulsion steam turbine
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Merchant Service
    Edward Rutledge 25k SS Exeter underway, date and location unknown. Courtesy
    A Tribute to A Place Called Yorkship web site
    USS Edward Rutledge (AP-52)
    Edward Rutledge 177k
    Namesake

    Edward Rutledge born 23 November 1749 in Charleston, S.C., was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a statesman. At the time of his death 23 January 1800, he was Governor of South Carolina.
    Photo: images.virtualology.com/ac/5/i/ency0167.jpg    		 Bill Gonyo
    Edward Rutledge 65k USS Edward Rutledge (AP-52) underway, circa September 1942. She appears to have retained her merchant ship davits for handling her landing craft. Her two forward 3"/50 guns are in elevated tubs forward, and she has a lattice radar mast over the bridge.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 54349, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Edward Rutledge
    092205205    		 90k USS Edward Rutledge (AP-52) just as she was hit amidships by a torpedo fired from German Submarine U-130, 12 November 1942 at Fedala Roads, Morocco.
    Photo from flickr.com via National Museum of the U.S. Navy    		 John Spivey
    Tasker H. Bliss
    092204206    		 1648k Torpedoes from U-130 striking USS Tasker H. Bliss (AP-42) and another transport, either USS Edward Rutledge (AP-52) or USS Hugh L. Scott (AP-43) at 1758 hours 12 November 1942. Thirty four men were lost aboard Bliss. U-130 escaped undetected close inshore.
    USNational Archives and Records Administration Identifier NAID: 221951375, Local ID: 80-G-71714    		 US National Archives
    Edward Rutledge 35k Diagram of USS Edward Rutledge (AP-52) showing probable flooding directly from damage sustained on 12 November 1942. Note the diagram identifies the ship as APA-24.
    US Navy Department Library; War Damage Report No. 32, Transports torpedoed off Fedala, 11-15 November 1942.    		 Mike Green
    USS Edward Rutledge (AP-52)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Transports Torpedoed Off Fedala, 11 - 15 November 1942
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 4 January 2025