 While sailing to France to begin her first troop-carrying duties in late March, "Scranton" suffered damage to her rudder and was disabled east of New York.Navy transport responded to "Scranton"s distress call, and attempted to take "Scranton" under tow.During the day on 28 March, "Scranton" attempted to run a towline to "El Sol" by sending a launch in the rolling seas, but it capsized, drowning three men.