AH-WR-0045

R.P. Resor

Tanker · United States · Lost 1942 · The New Jersey Coast

A Standard Oil tanker torpedoed off the Jersey Shore in early 1942, burning for days within sight of the coast and killing nearly all aboard.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

R.P. Resor was a Standard Oil tanker built in 1936 to carry petroleum along the East Coast. On 28 February 1942, while running without escort from Texas to Massachusetts, she was torpedoed by U-578 off the New Jersey coast. The ship burst into flames and burned visibly from shore for days before sinking. Only two of her crew survived, making it one of the deadliest of the early wartime sinkings along the Atlantic seaboard.

Vessel

Built: 1936
Builder: Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Yard: Kearny, New Jersey
Material: Steel
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 7451
Propulsion: Steam, single screw
Owners: Standard Oil Company of New Jersey

Loss

Date: February 28, 1942
Cause: Enemy action
Location: About 26 miles off the New Jersey coast, near Manasquan/Asbury Park
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Baytown, Texas → Fall River, Massachusetts
Cargo: Crude oil
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Nearly the entire crew was lost; only two men survived.
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 39.78° N 73.42° W
Accuracy: Reported, unconfirmed
Nearest: Off Manasquan/Asbury Park, New Jersey
Region: The New Jersey Coast

Position about 32 miles east of Barnegat Inlet, given consistently by a fishing-site GPS listing (39°46'44"N 73°25'17"W) and a wiki-mapping site; not an official survey position.