U.S. Army ''FS-255'' was one of the
U.S. Coast Guard-manned
U.S. Army Freight and Supply (FS) ships of
World War II.
Construction
The ship was a Design 381 coastal ship built at Wheeler Shipbuilding, Whitestone, New York and commissioned at the shipyard on 6 June 1944 with Lieutenant Ludwig Ehlers, USCG as commanding officer. On 3 August 1944 he was succeeded by Lt. Robert F. Maloney,
USCGR.
Service history
''FS-255'' with the Davao Gulf First Re-Supply Echelon was loaded with a cargo of 155-mm ammunition destined for the U.S. Army
24th Infantry Division. She was anchored on the night of 10–11 May 1945 in of water, , 140 degrees from the pier at the head of Talomo Bay,
Davao Gulf,
Mindanao, Philippines with hatches open and about 80 tons of ammunition remaining to be unloaded. At 0030 on 11 May 1945 in rainy weather she was hit on her port quarter in the after crew's compartment by a
torpedo.
Lt. George A. Tardif, USCG, the commanding officer, went on deck and ordered all hands checked and a search for injured. The search determined three were injured and two were missing from the crew's quarters and two who had been sleeping in hammocks on the fantail were also missing with large masses of blood found on deck.
The aft
bulkhead of the engine rooms was ruptured and the main engines were nearly flooded. The wardroom,
galley
A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
and mess hall aft were torn apart and impassable. The
lifeboat and
gig were heavily damaged with sterns blown off and out of their cradles. The ship had buckled between the #2 hatch and
bridge with foot-high ridges in deck plating and extending down the ship's side to the water. Ammunition from a gun aft had been blown forward to the
forecastle head near the anchor winch. The gun was missing.
''FS-255'' was settling rapidly and two life rafts were launched as ''LCI-21'' was signaled that the ship had been hit. Three minutes after the life rafts had cleared ''FS-255'' rolled over to port and sank at 0050. ''LCI-21'' picked up all survivors ten minutes later. Sixteen of twenty enlisted crew and all four officers survived.
See also
*
Battle of Mindanao
References
Paraphrased from: World War II Coast Guard-Manned U.S. Army Freight and Supply Ship Histories: ''FS-255''
Further reading
*
External links
World War II Wrecks of the Philippines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fs-255
Ships of the United States Army
Design 381 coastal freighters