The cruiser USS Omaha and the destroyer USS Jouett sink the Nazi blockade runner Rio Grande in the South Atlantic in January 1944
432. Photograph. 'File No: OOR-44853 February 22, 1944 U. S. gunfire sinks scuttled Nazi blockade runner-- Towering geysers of water mark near-hits fired by the six-inch guns of the light cruiser USS Omaha and the five-inch guns of the destroyer USS Jouett as they joined in sinking the Nazi blockade runner Rio Grande in the South Atlantic after removing the crew some of whom had scuttled the doomed vessel before abandoning it. Second of three Nazi blockade runners sunk within 48 hours early in January in the same sector by alert U. S. warships, the Rio Grande was, like the other two, laden with valuable war materials destined for Germany, including tin, fats, strategic ores, oil and rubber. Some rubber was recovered after the sinkings.' 22 February 1944