History and mysteries · Off Barnegat Light and Manasquan
R. P. Resor: two survivors in an oil-covered sea (1942)
Documented history · Source reviewed
The burning tanker off Barnegat became a visible reminder that the war had reached New Jersey’s coast.
Oil bound for Massachusetts
The tanker R. P. Resor was carrying fuel oil from Texas to Fall River when U-578 torpedoed her off New Jersey in February 1942. Historian Joseph Bilby and journalist Harry Ziegler recount lookout John Forsdal’s escape into the water with a raft. Rescuers pulled him aboard a Coast Guard boat, but a companion slipped beneath the surface.
Navy gun-crew member Daniel Hey also escaped after an unsuccessful attempt to launch a lifeboat. Forsdal and Hey were the ship’s two survivors. Photographs preserved by the National Guard Militia Museum show them after their rescue and cleanup at Manasquan.
A wreck visible from shore
The authors describe crowds watching the smoke and flames from shore and journalists going out to the still-floating wreck. An attempted tow failed. The account links a distant cargo route with local rescue stations, waterfront spectators and the families of merchant seamen and Navy guards.
Sources and research limits
Joseph G. Bilby and Harry Ziegler, R. P. Resor account reproduced by Monmouth Timeline, with museum photograph captions and bibliography. The original survivor statements and newspaper articles were not separately inspected.