SS Richard Bland
SS Richard Bland was a Liberty ship built in Baltimore during World War II. It was named after Richard Bland, a Virginia planter and Founding Father. The ship was laid down in October 1941, launched in February 1942, and assigned to the American South African Lines for wartime service.
In March 1943, Richard Bland sailed from Murmansk in Convoy RA 53 to Loch Ewe, carrying lumber. On March 5 a torpedo from German submarine U-255 struck the ship on the starboard side, causing holes and flooding but the vessel stayed with the convoy at reduced speed. On March 6 rough seas forced her to leave the convoy and head to Iceland.
On March 10, U-255 fired again, hitting the ship on the port side near the fireroom. This caused holds to flood and the ship began to break apart just forward of the bridge. Lifeboats were launched, but not all crew could reach safety. The Richard Bland broke in two, and the stern sank that evening.
The U-boat fired at the stern again later that night, and the ship finally went down. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats; many were lost to the rough seas. Twenty-seven survivors were rescued by HMS Impulsive the next day, and others were rescued later as the forward section was towed to Akureyri, Iceland. The Richard Bland was declared a constructive total loss.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:55 (CET).