The USS Reuben James torpedoed in the early morning hours of October 31, 1941. 115 of her 160 crew perished, including all officers. She was escorting convoy HX-156 when the incident occurred. Mistakenly identified as a British destroyer, she was attacked by KL Erich Topp of U-552. Although not the first US ship to be torpedoed before the war, the Reuben James was the first one sunk.

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