United States Navy operations during World War I
Encyclopedia
United States Navy operations during World War I began on April 6, 1917 after the formal declaration of war
on Germany
. The American
navy focused on countering enemy U-boat
s in the Atlantic Ocean
and the Mediterranean Sea
while convoying men and supplies to frontlines in France
and Italy
. Because of United States' late entry into the war her capital ship
s never engaged the Germans and few decisive submarine actions occurred.
was the Western Front
and in order to relieve the British
and Europe
an allies already on the frontline, the United States Navy was tasked with transporting millions of American soldiers and supplies across the Atlantic to France as soon as possible. The United States Navy
was ill prepared for war though, the only solution was to begin deploying whatever was available on convoy duty and arming merchantmen with small naval guns and armed guard
detachments. The United States Coast Guard
was also officially organized as part of the navy. Destroyer
s and other similar warships of the escort type were thought to be the most effective means of sinking German submarines and protecting merchantmen so destroyer squadrons were based in the British Isles
at ports such as Queenston
, Ireland
. The capital ships took up positions with the British Royal Navy
in the North Sea
for an uneventful blockade
of the German High Seas Fleet
that would last into 1919.
The first victory
for the United States Navy during the war occurred on October 15 of 1917 in the Atlantic. That day the destroyer USS Cassin
, under Lieutenant Commander
W. N. Vernon, encountered the U-61 off Mind Head, Ireland in the Celtic Sea
. After chasing the U-boat for about an hour it turned around and released a single torpedo
which hit the Cassin aft on portside. Just before the explosion Gunner's Mate
First Class
Osmond Ingram
noticed the torpedo and he alarmed the K-gun crew who began launching depth charge
s at the Germans. A large portion of the ship was blown off but the Americans were able to keep her watertight while returning fire. Ingram was the only man killed in the battle and he received the Medal of Honor
for his exceptional conduct. Nine others were wounded and the Americans won the day after striking U-61s conning tower and forcing her to disengage.
On November 17 of 1917 two destroyers became the first ships to sink an enemy submarine in United States history. USS Fanning
and USS Nicholson
were escorting convoy OQ-20 eastbound when a lookout sighted the periscope of U-58
. In the subsequent action
, the U-boat was forced to surface by depth charges and then defeated in a surface engagement. At least one shot from the Nicholson hit the German vessel, killing two men and causing heavy damage. Thirty eight survivors escaped the sinking U-58 and they surrendered to the young American commanders; Lieutenant
s Frank Berrien
and Arthur S. Carpender
, both of whom received the Navy Cross
.
Four United States Navy ships were lost during America's involvement in the conflict, only two by enemy action though six merchant ships with armed guards aboard were also destroyed. The first combat sinking was that of USS Jacob Jones
, a destroyer, which was sailing in a zig-zag pattern with five other warships back to Ireland from Brest
. On December 17, Kapitänleutnant Hans Rose
of U-53
sighted the Jacob Jones and attacked her with a spread of torpedoes, one of which was spotted by the Americans. Despite the ship taking evasive measures it was fatally damaged. Commander
David W. Bagley
ordered his crew to abandon ship and while the vessel was sinking the armed depth charges aboard began to detonate, adding to the already heavy casualties. Sixty-six American servicemen were killed and dozens more were wounded, only thirty-eight men survived. The Jacob Jones was the first American destroyer sunk in combat and she went down within eight minutes of being struck.
Three United States Army
and navy transports, USAT Henry R. Mallory, USAT Tenadores and USS Mercury
received credit for defeating
a U-boat on the morning of April 4, 1918. While sailing back to the United States from France at 11:45, a German U-boat of unknown designation surfaced and fired torpedoes at Mallory. Lookouts aboard the transport spotted the tracks and the ship successfully evaded them. The submarine then came in sight and all three ships opened fire with their main guns, and hit the submarine as it submerged. The Americans then maneuvered in close and began dropping depth charges but that was the last they heard of the Germans.
The auxiliary yacht
USS Christabel
engaged
on May 21 the UC-56
twice off the coast of Spain
while escorting a British merchantman. That afternoon an oil slick was spotted by the Christabels crew and later on the wake of the submarine. Depth charges were dropped but the Germans escaped, only to return and harass the convoy later that night. At about 11:00 pm lookouts on the Cristabel sighted the German's periscope and they immediately maneuvered to fire some more depth charges. Several successive hits damaged the U-boat but it escaped though it had to cruise on the surface to Santander
in order to prevent sinking. In Spain the crew of UC-56 were interned and the boat scuttled before it could be handed over. During the action a few depth charges went loose aboard the Christabel and at great personal risk, Ensign
Daniel Augustus Joseph Sullivan
secured the explosives, an act which later earned him the Medal of Honor.
The British ocean liner
SS Dwinsk
was attacked
on June 18 by U-151 approximately 400 miles off the Bermudas. Twenty-two men went down with the ship and the rest made it into lifeboat
s. The Germans remained in the area though for her commander decided to use the British as bait for any allies vessels coming to the rescue. A few hours later the auxiliary cruiser USS Von Steuben
arrived in the area and she found the lifeboats. But before reaching them a torpedo was spotted in the water. Two guns were then opened up, one fired on the incoming torpedo and the other on U-151s periscope. The ship also began evasive maneuvers and the missile passed harmlessly by.
U-156, under Richard Feldt, raided the port of Orleans, Massachusetts
on the morning of July 18. The Germans surfaced while it was still dark and positioned their ship off Nauset Beach to begin bombarding the civilian tugboat
SS Perth Amboyand four wooden barge
s. In a short time all five craft were on fire and sinking. A few shells missed their targets and landed, becoming the first enemy shells to fall on continental United States territory since the 1846 Siege of Fort Texas
during the Mexican War
. Just as Commander Feldt was planning to submerge and leave the area, nine Coast Guard Curtiss HS
seaplane
s counter attacked by dropping bombs but they failed to detonate and the Germans left unharmed.
On the following day, July 19, USS San Diego
suffered an explosion while heading from Portsmouth Naval Yard to New York
. The armored cruiser
was northeast of Fire Island when a suspected torpedo hit portside at the engine room below the waterline. Damage prevented a water tight hatch from sealing properly and both the engine room and fire room No. 9 flooded in minutes. Captain
Harley H. Christy
believed he was under attack by a submarine so he ordered his men to battle stations and they began shooting at anything that resembled a periscope. When it became apparent that the ship could not be saved, the captain and the survivors abandoned ship. Twenty-eight minutes after the explosion the San Diego was underwater, taking down six men with her. There was some controversy as to what actually caused the sinking though eventually sea mines from U-156 were attributed to the incident. USS San Diego was the only American capital ship lost in the war.
The only lightvessel
of the United States destroyed in combat was the Diamond Shoal Lightship No. 71
. On August 6, LV-71 was patrolling off North Carolina's Diamond Shoals when she came across the sinking American cargo ship
SS Merak, a victim of the submarine U-140
. Survivors were taken on board and LV-71s commander, Master Walter Barnett, sent out a warning to friendly ships in the area that a U-boat was near. The Germans intercepted the signal so they raced back to the wreck of the Merak. Upon arrival, U-140 surfaced and Commander Waldemar Kophamel
demanded that the Americans evacuate the lightship. LV-71 was unarmed so Master Barnett had no choice but to row ashore in a dinghy while the Germans sank his ship with deck gunfire. There were no casualties in the incident on either side.
USS Mount Vernon
was a former German ocean liner which was taken over by the United States Navy and armed. On the morning of September 5, 1918 the Mount Vernon was off the coast of France with four destroyers when the periscope of U-82
was sighted. Mount Vernon then engaged
with her main guns and hit the submarine which in turn fired a torpedo. The Americans tried to avoid the incoming threat but it could not be done and the torpedo hit. Thirty-six men were killed and thirteen wounded out of almost 1,500 on board but the ship was saved. USS Winslow
, USS Conner
, USS Wainwright
and USS Nicholson dropped depth charges for several minutes but the U-boat got away.
forces in northern Italy and the Ottoman Empire
were two major threats though by 1917 their navies were mostly defeated or blockaded by ships of the Otranto Barrage
. Other than the land Battle of Vittorio Veneto
, the Americans engaged in only two memorable battles in the Mediterranean theater.
The first was when USS Lydonia together with HMS Basilisk
sank
a U-boat off Algiers
on May 8 of 1918. Lydonia and Basilisk were steaming with a convoy from Bizerte
to Gibraltar
when they came across the German submarine UB-70. A coordinated depth charge attack ensued but the Germans were able to torpedo the British merchant ship SS Ingleside, which sank. After a fifteen minute running battle, the depth charging was stopped and survivors of the Ingleside were rescued. Heavy seas prevented an immediate assessment of possible damage to the submarine but later evaluations credited USS Lydonia and HMS Basilisk with sinking UB-70 when she failed to show up at any port.
_sinking_on_9_november_1918.jpg)
Twelve American submarine chaser
s under Captain Charles P. Nelson
were part of attack
on the Austro-Hungarian held naval base at Durazzo, Albania
. The battle began on October 11 with Italian and British aircraft bombarding Austro-Hungarian concentrations within the city while the allied fleet was still crossing the Adriatic Sea
. When they arrived, the larger ships engaged shore batteries while the Americans plotted a path through a sea mine field and engaged two Austro-Hungarian submarines, U-29 and U-31. Two destroyers and a torpedo boat
were also damaged by American and British ships with help from some Italian MAS boats
and one merchant vessel was sunk. In the end no Americans were hurt in the battle and the naval base was left in ruins. For his leadership and courage at Durrazo Captain Nelson received the Distinguished Service Medal
as well as other foreign decorations.
Coast Guard Captain Leroy Reinburg of the USS Druid engaged enemy submarines near the Strait of Gibraltar
in November of 1918. The Druid was operating as part of the Gibraltar Barrage, a squadron of American and British ships assigned to keeping enemy U-boats from passing from the Mediterranean into the Atlantic. On November 8, 1918, men on board USS Druid sighted three surfaced submarines going through the strait. The weather was foul and the seas rough but the barrage squadron attacked anyway, first with gunfire and then with depth charges. HMS Privet
reported that she shot a hole through one of the submarines' conning towers with a 4 inches (101.6 mm) gun but other than that no other damage was thought to have occurred. USS Druid and her compatriots were successful in defending the strait and on the following day the Americans helped rescue the British crew of the battleship
HMS Britannia
which had been torpedoed by UB-50
while passing through Gibraltar into the Mediterranean. The war ended three days later on November 11.
of World War I were far removed from the conflict with Germany and the other Central Powers
. Though the Germans had possessed colonies at the beginning of the war, by 1917 virtually all of them had been conquered by the allies. The only significant United States naval presence in the Pacific was a cruiser
squadron under Admiral
Austin M. Knight
.
There was only one engagement in the theater involving the United States and it began the day after war was declared. In December of 1914 the German auxiliary cruiser SMS Cormoran
was commerce raiding
in the South Pacific when her commander decided he needed provisions so he put in for the neutral island of Guam
, a United States territory. Captain Adalbert Zuckschwerdt
asked the Americans for coal but there was little on the island and without enough to leave the Germans were interned for three years. When the war finally did break out on April 6 of 1917, the old schooner
USS Supply
was ordered to demand the Cormorans surrender or sink her if the crew failed to cooperate. Captain Zuckschwerdt had no intention of handing his vessel over to the Americans so he ordered his men to scuttle
the ship. This was unacceptable to the men of USS Supply so the marines on board fired America's first war time shots with rifles. Nine Germans were killed that day either by the rifle fire or by the large explosion which sank the Cormoran.
American entry into World War I
American entry into World War I came in April 1917, after 2½ years of efforts by President Woodrow Wilson to keep the United States neutral. Americans had no idea that a war was approaching in 1914...
on Germany
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
. The American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
navy focused on countering enemy U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
while convoying men and supplies to frontlines in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Because of United States' late entry into the war her capital ship
Capital ship
The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they generally possess the heaviest firepower and armor and are traditionally much larger than other naval vessels...
s never engaged the Germans and few decisive submarine actions occurred.
Atlantic Ocean
The main theater of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
was the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
and in order to relieve the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an allies already on the frontline, the United States Navy was tasked with transporting millions of American soldiers and supplies across the Atlantic to France as soon as possible. The United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
was ill prepared for war though, the only solution was to begin deploying whatever was available on convoy duty and arming merchantmen with small naval guns and armed guard
United States Navy Armed Guard
United States Navy Armed Guard units were established during World War I in an attempt to provide defensive firepower to merchant ships in convoy or merchant ships traveling alone...
detachments. The United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
was also officially organized as part of the navy. Destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s and other similar warships of the escort type were thought to be the most effective means of sinking German submarines and protecting merchantmen so destroyer squadrons were based in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
at ports such as Queenston
Cobh
Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The capital ships took up positions with the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
for an uneventful blockade
Blockade of Germany
The Blockade of Germany, or the Blockade of Europe, occurred from 1914-1919 and was a prolonged naval operation conducted by the Allied Powers during and after World War I in an effort to restrict the maritime supply of raw materials and foodstuffs to the Central Powers, which included Germany,...
of the German High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
that would last into 1919.
The first victory
Action of 15 October 1917
The Action of 15 October 1917 was a naval engagement of World War I between Imperial Germany and the United States off the coast of Mind Head, Ireland.-Action:...
for the United States Navy during the war occurred on October 15 of 1917 in the Atlantic. That day the destroyer USS Cassin
USS Cassin (DD-43)
The first USS Cassin was the lead ship of her class of destroyers in the United States Navy during World War I. She was later transferred to the United States Coast Guard, where she was designated CG-1...
, under Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
W. N. Vernon, encountered the U-61 off Mind Head, Ireland in the Celtic Sea
Celtic Sea
The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portions of Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and Brittany...
. After chasing the U-boat for about an hour it turned around and released a single torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
which hit the Cassin aft on portside. Just before the explosion Gunner's Mate
Gunner's Mate
The United States Navy occupational rating of gunner's mate also known as gunsmens mate is a designation given by the Bureau of Naval Personnel to enlisted sailors who either satisfactorily complete initial Gunner's Mate "A" school training, or who "strike" for the rating as a deck seaman by...
First Class
Petty Officer First Class
Good conductvariation,12 years or moreof good conductPetty officerfirst classinsigniaU.S. Navy &U.S. Coast GuardPetty officer, first class is the sixth enlisted rank in the U.S. Navy and U.S...
Osmond Ingram
Osmond Ingram
Osmond Kelly Ingram was a sailor in the United States Navy during World War I who received the Medal of Honor posthumously.-Biography:...
noticed the torpedo and he alarmed the K-gun crew who began launching depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s at the Germans. A large portion of the ship was blown off but the Americans were able to keep her watertight while returning fire. Ingram was the only man killed in the battle and he received the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for his exceptional conduct. Nine others were wounded and the Americans won the day after striking U-61s conning tower and forcing her to disengage.
On November 17 of 1917 two destroyers became the first ships to sink an enemy submarine in United States history. USS Fanning
USS Fanning (DD-37)
The first USS Fanning was a modified in the United States Navy during World War I and later in the United States Coast Guard, designated as CG-11. She was named for Nathaniel Fanning....
and USS Nicholson
USS Nicholson (DD-52)
USS Nicholson was an built for the United States Navy before the American entry into World War I. The ship was the second U.S...
were escorting convoy OQ-20 eastbound when a lookout sighted the periscope of U-58
SM U-58
|SM U-58 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I.U-58 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic. The boat was sunk with the loss of two men and the capture of the rest of the crew in the Action of 17 November...
. In the subsequent action
Action of 17 November 1917
The Action of 17 November 1917 was a naval battle of the First World War. The action was fought between a German U-boat and two United States Navy destroyers in the North Atlantic Ocean.-Action:...
, the U-boat was forced to surface by depth charges and then defeated in a surface engagement. At least one shot from the Nicholson hit the German vessel, killing two men and causing heavy damage. Thirty eight survivors escaped the sinking U-58 and they surrendered to the young American commanders; Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
s Frank Berrien
Frank Berrien
Lieutenant Frank D. Berrien was the 13th head college football coach for the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen located in Annapolis, Maryland and he held that position for three seasons, from 1908 until 1910. His coaching record at United States Naval Academy was 21 wins, 5 losses, and 3 ties...
and Arthur S. Carpender
Arthur S. Carpender
Arthur Schuyler Carpender , nicknamed "Chips", was an American vice admiral during World War II commanding US naval forces in the Southwest Pacific.-Family:...
, both of whom received the Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
.
Four United States Navy ships were lost during America's involvement in the conflict, only two by enemy action though six merchant ships with armed guards aboard were also destroyed. The first combat sinking was that of USS Jacob Jones
USS Jacob Jones (DD-61)
USS Jacob Jones The United States Navy's hull classification system—in which Jacob Jones would have been designated DD-61—was not implemented until July 1920...
, a destroyer, which was sailing in a zig-zag pattern with five other warships back to Ireland from Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
. On December 17, Kapitänleutnant Hans Rose
Hans Rose
Lieutenant Commander Hans Rose was one of the most successful and highly decorated German U-boat commander in the Kaiserliche Marine during .Rose was one of the most respected and brave U-boat commanders and famous for his humanity and fairness in battle...
of U-53
SM U-53
SM U-53 was a German Type Mittel U U-boat of the Kaiserliche Marine during the First World War, one of the six forming the sub type 51.-Construction and commissioning:U-53 was ordered from Germaniawerft, Kiel in 1914 and launched in 1916...
sighted the Jacob Jones and attacked her with a spread of torpedoes, one of which was spotted by the Americans. Despite the ship taking evasive measures it was fatally damaged. Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
David W. Bagley
David W. Bagley
David Worth Bagley was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. He was also the brother of Ensign Worth Bagley, who was the only United States Navy officer killed in action during the Spanish-American War....
ordered his crew to abandon ship and while the vessel was sinking the armed depth charges aboard began to detonate, adding to the already heavy casualties. Sixty-six American servicemen were killed and dozens more were wounded, only thirty-eight men survived. The Jacob Jones was the first American destroyer sunk in combat and she went down within eight minutes of being struck.
Three United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and navy transports, USAT Henry R. Mallory, USAT Tenadores and USS Mercury
USS Mercury (ID-3012)
USS Mercury was a United States Navy transport ship during World War I. She was formerly the Norddeutscher Lloyd liner SS Barbarossa built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, Germany, in 1897, and operated by the North German Lloyd Line....
received credit for defeating
Action of 4 April 1918
The Action of 4 April 1918 was a naval action fought in the Atlantic Ocean during World War I. An unknown Kaiserliche Marine U-boat attacked three armed transports of the United States Army and Navy, but failed to damage the American ships before she was sunk.-Action:On April 4, 1918, three armed...
a U-boat on the morning of April 4, 1918. While sailing back to the United States from France at 11:45, a German U-boat of unknown designation surfaced and fired torpedoes at Mallory. Lookouts aboard the transport spotted the tracks and the ship successfully evaded them. The submarine then came in sight and all three ships opened fire with their main guns, and hit the submarine as it submerged. The Americans then maneuvered in close and began dropping depth charges but that was the last they heard of the Germans.
The auxiliary yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
USS Christabel
USS Christabel (SP-162)
USS Christabel was a civilian yacht purchased by the U.S. Navy during the start of World War I. She was outfitted with military equipment, including heavy 3” guns, and was then assigned to patrol duty in the North Atlantic Ocean. She served as a patrol craft with honor during the war, surviving an...
engaged
Action of 21 May 1918
The Action of 21 May 1918 was a naval engagement of World War I fought between an American armed yacht and a German submarine in the Atlantic Ocean off Spain.-Background:...
on May 21 the UC-56
SM UC-56
SM UC-56 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 12 January 1916, laid down on 4 March 1916, and was launched on 26 August 1916...
twice off the coast of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
while escorting a British merchantman. That afternoon an oil slick was spotted by the Christabels crew and later on the wake of the submarine. Depth charges were dropped but the Germans escaped, only to return and harass the convoy later that night. At about 11:00 pm lookouts on the Cristabel sighted the German's periscope and they immediately maneuvered to fire some more depth charges. Several successive hits damaged the U-boat but it escaped though it had to cruise on the surface to Santander
Santander, Cantabria
The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 .-History:...
in order to prevent sinking. In Spain the crew of UC-56 were interned and the boat scuttled before it could be handed over. During the action a few depth charges went loose aboard the Christabel and at great personal risk, Ensign
Ensign
An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
Daniel Augustus Joseph Sullivan
Daniel Augustus Joseph Sullivan
Daniel Augustus Joseph Sullivan was a United States Navy officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War I.-Biography:...
secured the explosives, an act which later earned him the Medal of Honor.
The British ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
SS Dwinsk
SS Dwinsk
SS Dwinsk was a British-flagged ocean liner sunk by U-151 in World War I. The ship was previously the third Rotterdam for the Holland America Line, C.F. Tietgen for the Scandinavian America Line, and, as Dwinsk, for the Russian American Line...
was attacked
Action of 18 June 1918
The Action of 18 June 1918 was a German Navy attack on two allied ships near Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean during World War I. A German U-boat sank an allied merchant vessel but failed to destroy an American warship which came to the merchantman's aid.-Action:...
on June 18 by U-151 approximately 400 miles off the Bermudas. Twenty-two men went down with the ship and the rest made it into lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
s. The Germans remained in the area though for her commander decided to use the British as bait for any allies vessels coming to the rescue. A few hours later the auxiliary cruiser USS Von Steuben
USS Von Steuben
USS Von Steuben has been the name of two ships in the United States Navy., originally SS Kronprinz Wilhelm, a twin-screw, steam passenger ship built and operated by Germany, which was later commandeered by the United States government and renamed as USS Von Steuben during World War I, and sailed...
arrived in the area and she found the lifeboats. But before reaching them a torpedo was spotted in the water. Two guns were then opened up, one fired on the incoming torpedo and the other on U-151s periscope. The ship also began evasive maneuvers and the missile passed harmlessly by.
U-156, under Richard Feldt, raided the port of Orleans, Massachusetts
Orleans, Massachusetts
Orleans is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. Barnstable County is coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 5,890 at the 2010 census....
on the morning of July 18. The Germans surfaced while it was still dark and positioned their ship off Nauset Beach to begin bombarding the civilian tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
SS Perth Amboyand four wooden barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s. In a short time all five craft were on fire and sinking. A few shells missed their targets and landed, becoming the first enemy shells to fall on continental United States territory since the 1846 Siege of Fort Texas
Siege of Fort Texas
The Siege of Fort Texas marked the beginning of active campaigning by the armies of the United States and Mexico during the Mexican-American War. The battle is sometimes called The Siege of Fort Brown, but this is not entirely accurate — the name Fort Brown was taken from Major Jacob Brown,...
during the Mexican War
Mexican War
Mexican War may refer to:*Mexican War of Independence *Mexican–American War *French intervention in Mexico *Mexican Revolution *Mexican Civil War *Cristero War *Mexican Drug War...
. Just as Commander Feldt was planning to submerge and leave the area, nine Coast Guard Curtiss HS
Curtiss HS
The Curtiss HS was a single-engined patrol flying boat built for the United States Navy during World War I. Large numbers were built from 1917 to 1919, with the type being used to carry out anti-submarine patrols from bases in France from June 1918...
seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
s counter attacked by dropping bombs but they failed to detonate and the Germans left unharmed.
On the following day, July 19, USS San Diego
USS California (ACR-6)
The second USS California , also referred to as "Armored Cruiser 6", and later renamed San Diego, was a United States Navy Pennsylvania-class armored cruiser....
suffered an explosion while heading from Portsmouth Naval Yard to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
was northeast of Fire Island when a suspected torpedo hit portside at the engine room below the waterline. Damage prevented a water tight hatch from sealing properly and both the engine room and fire room No. 9 flooded in minutes. Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Harley H. Christy
Harley H. Christy
Vice Admiral Harley Hannibal Christy served in the United States Navy during the Spanish-American War and World War I.-Biography:Christy was born in Circleville, Ohio. He graduated from the U.S...
believed he was under attack by a submarine so he ordered his men to battle stations and they began shooting at anything that resembled a periscope. When it became apparent that the ship could not be saved, the captain and the survivors abandoned ship. Twenty-eight minutes after the explosion the San Diego was underwater, taking down six men with her. There was some controversy as to what actually caused the sinking though eventually sea mines from U-156 were attributed to the incident. USS San Diego was the only American capital ship lost in the war.
The only lightvessel
Lightvessel
A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship which acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction...
of the United States destroyed in combat was the Diamond Shoal Lightship No. 71
Diamond Shoal Lightship No. 71 (LV-71)
Diamond Shoal Lightship No. 71 was a lightship of the United States Lighthouse Service. She is most remembered for her sinking in 1918 during World War I when a German U-boat attacked her off North Carolina.-Design:...
. On August 6, LV-71 was patrolling off North Carolina's Diamond Shoals when she came across the sinking American cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
SS Merak, a victim of the submarine U-140
SM U-140
SM U-140 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I.U-140 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.-References:...
. Survivors were taken on board and LV-71s commander, Master Walter Barnett, sent out a warning to friendly ships in the area that a U-boat was near. The Germans intercepted the signal so they raced back to the wreck of the Merak. Upon arrival, U-140 surfaced and Commander Waldemar Kophamel
Waldemar Kophamel
Commander Waldemar Kophamel was a successful and highly decorated German U-boat commander in the Kaiserliche Marine during World War I....
demanded that the Americans evacuate the lightship. LV-71 was unarmed so Master Barnett had no choice but to row ashore in a dinghy while the Germans sank his ship with deck gunfire. There were no casualties in the incident on either side.
USS Mount Vernon
SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie
SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie was an ocean liner built in Stettin, Germany in 1906 for North German Lloyd that had the largest steam reciprocating machinery ever fitted to a ship. The last of four ships part of the kaiser class, she was also the last German ship to have been built with four funnels....
was a former German ocean liner which was taken over by the United States Navy and armed. On the morning of September 5, 1918 the Mount Vernon was off the coast of France with four destroyers when the periscope of U-82
SM U-82
SM U-82 was a Type Mittel U U-boat of the German Imperial Navy during the First World War.She was launched on 1 July 1916 and commissioned on 16 September 1916 under Hans Adam. She was assigned to IV Flotilla on 21 November 1916, serving with them throughout the war. She carried out 11 patrols...
was sighted. Mount Vernon then engaged
Action of 5 September 1918
The Action of 5 September 1918 was a naval battle off the coast of France in the North Atlantic during World War I. The action was fought between a German U-boat and American warships.-Background:...
with her main guns and hit the submarine which in turn fired a torpedo. The Americans tried to avoid the incoming threat but it could not be done and the torpedo hit. Thirty-six men were killed and thirteen wounded out of almost 1,500 on board but the ship was saved. USS Winslow
USS Winslow (DD-53)
USS Winslow was an built for the United States Navy prior to the American entry into World War I. The ship was the second US Navy vessel named in honor of John Ancrum Winslow, a US Navy officer notable for sinking the Confederate commerce raider during the American Civil War.Winslow was laid...
, USS Conner
USS Conner (DD-72)
USS Conner , a Caldwell-class destroyer, served in the United States Navy, and later in the Royal Navy as HMS Leeds.-Construction:...
, USS Wainwright
USS Wainwright (DD-62)
USS Wainwright was a built for the United States Navy prior to the American entry into World War I. The ship was the first U.S. Navy vessel named in honor of U.S...
and USS Nicholson dropped depth charges for several minutes but the U-boat got away.
Mediterranean Sea
American naval operations in the Mediterranean took the form of escorting convoys and delivering supplies. The Mediterranean was not without enemies, Austro-HungarianAustria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
forces in northern Italy and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
were two major threats though by 1917 their navies were mostly defeated or blockaded by ships of the Otranto Barrage
Otranto Barrage
The Otranto Barrage was an Allied naval blockade of the Otranto Straits between Brindisi in Italy and Corfu on the Albanian side of the Adriatic Sea in World War I. The blockade was intended to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Navy from escaping into the Mediterranean and threatening Allied operations...
. Other than the land Battle of Vittorio Veneto
Battle of Vittorio Veneto
The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought between 24 October and 3 November 1918, near Vittorio Veneto, during the Italian Campaign of World War I...
, the Americans engaged in only two memorable battles in the Mediterranean theater.
The first was when USS Lydonia together with HMS Basilisk
HMS Basilisk
Ten ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Basilisk, after the Basilisk, a mythical lizard: was a 4-gun bomb vessel launched in 1695 and broken up in 1729. was a 4-gun bomb vessel launched in 1740 and sold in 1750...
sank
Action of 8 May 1918
The Action of 8 May 1918 was a small naval engagement which occurred off Algiers, North Africa during World War I. In the action, an American armed yacht and a British destroyer encountered the German U-boat...
a U-boat off Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
on May 8 of 1918. Lydonia and Basilisk were steaming with a convoy from Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
when they came across the German submarine UB-70. A coordinated depth charge attack ensued but the Germans were able to torpedo the British merchant ship SS Ingleside, which sank. After a fifteen minute running battle, the depth charging was stopped and survivors of the Ingleside were rescued. Heavy seas prevented an immediate assessment of possible damage to the submarine but later evaluations credited USS Lydonia and HMS Basilisk with sinking UB-70 when she failed to show up at any port.
Submarine chaser
A submarine chaser is a small and fast naval vessel specially intended for anti-submarine warfare. Although similar vessels were designed and used by many nations, this designation was most famously used by ships built by the United States of America...
s under Captain Charles P. Nelson
Charles P. Nelson
For the U.S. representative from Maine, see Charles P. Nelson Charles Preston Nelson was an officer of the United States Navy. He would attain the rank of Rear Admiral by the end of his career...
were part of attack
Battle of Durazzo (1918)
The Second Battle of Durazzo, or the Bombardment of Durazzo was a naval battle fought in the Adriatic Sea during World War I. A large Allied fleet led by the Regia Marina attacked the enemy held naval base at Durazzo, Albania. The fleet destroyed the Austro-Hungarian shore defenses and skirmished...
on the Austro-Hungarian held naval base at Durazzo, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
. The battle began on October 11 with Italian and British aircraft bombarding Austro-Hungarian concentrations within the city while the allied fleet was still crossing the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
. When they arrived, the larger ships engaged shore batteries while the Americans plotted a path through a sea mine field and engaged two Austro-Hungarian submarines, U-29 and U-31. Two destroyers and a torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
were also damaged by American and British ships with help from some Italian MAS boats
Mas
Mas or Más may refer to:* Mas , a surnameIn arts:* Más , an album by Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz* "Más", a song by Kinky from their 2002 album Kinky...
and one merchant vessel was sunk. In the end no Americans were hurt in the battle and the naval base was left in ruins. For his leadership and courage at Durrazo Captain Nelson received the Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...
as well as other foreign decorations.
Coast Guard Captain Leroy Reinburg of the USS Druid engaged enemy submarines near the Strait of Gibraltar
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
in November of 1918. The Druid was operating as part of the Gibraltar Barrage, a squadron of American and British ships assigned to keeping enemy U-boats from passing from the Mediterranean into the Atlantic. On November 8, 1918, men on board USS Druid sighted three surfaced submarines going through the strait. The weather was foul and the seas rough but the barrage squadron attacked anyway, first with gunfire and then with depth charges. HMS Privet
HMS Privet
There have been at least two ships of the Royal Navy named HMS Privet:, built as the merchantman Island Queen in 1916 and taken up a Q-ship during World War I., a which was intended for the Royal Navy but was delivered to the U.S. Navy as in 1942....
reported that she shot a hole through one of the submarines' conning towers with a 4 inches (101.6 mm) gun but other than that no other damage was thought to have occurred. USS Druid and her compatriots were successful in defending the strait and on the following day the Americans helped rescue the British crew of the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
HMS Britannia
HMS Britannia (1904)
The sixth HMS Britannia of the British Royal Navy was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the King Edward VII class. She was named after Britannia, the Latin name of Great Britain under Roman rule.-Technical characteristics:...
which had been torpedoed by UB-50
SM UB-50
SM UB-50 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 20 May 1916. She was commissioned into the Pola Flotilla of the German Imperial Navy on 12 July 1917 as SM UB-50....
while passing through Gibraltar into the Mediterranean. The war ended three days later on November 11.
Pacific Ocean
American naval forces in the Pacific TheaterAsian and Pacific theatre of World War I
The Asian and Pacific Theatre of World War I was a largely bloodless conquest of German colonial possession in the Pacific Ocean and China. The most significant military action was the careful and well-executed Siege of Tsingtao in what is now China, but smaller actions were also fought at Bita...
of World War I were far removed from the conflict with Germany and the other Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
. Though the Germans had possessed colonies at the beginning of the war, by 1917 virtually all of them had been conquered by the allies. The only significant United States naval presence in the Pacific was a cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
squadron under Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Austin M. Knight
Austin M. Knight
Austin Melvin Knight was an admiral in the United States Navy. He was commander in chief of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet from 1917 to 1918...
.
There was only one engagement in the theater involving the United States and it began the day after war was declared. In December of 1914 the German auxiliary cruiser SMS Cormoran
SMS Cormoran
SMS Cormoran or SMS Cormoran II was built at Danzig, Germany in 1909 for the Russian merchant fleet and named SS Ryazan...
was commerce raiding
Commerce raiding
Commerce raiding or guerre de course is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt the logistics of an enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than engaging the combatants themselves or enforcing a blockade against them.Commerce raiding was heavily criticised by...
in the South Pacific when her commander decided he needed provisions so he put in for the neutral island of Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, a United States territory. Captain Adalbert Zuckschwerdt
Adalbert Zuckschwerdt
Adalbert Zuckschwerdt was captain of the German raider, the SMS Cormoran, that sailed from the German colony of Tsingtao , China, until she was stranded and finally interned at Guam by the Americans...
asked the Americans for coal but there was little on the island and without enough to leave the Germans were interned for three years. When the war finally did break out on April 6 of 1917, the old schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
USS Supply
USS Supply
Four ships in the United States Navy have been named USS Supply., a sailing ship purchased in 1846 for service in the Mexican-American War which later served in the American Civil War., an iron steamer purchased by the Navy in 1898 which served in the Spanish-American War and the First World War.,...
was ordered to demand the Cormorans surrender or sink her if the crew failed to cooperate. Captain Zuckschwerdt had no intention of handing his vessel over to the Americans so he ordered his men to scuttle
Scuttling of SMS Cormoran
The Scuttling of SMS Cormoran off Guam on April 7, 1917 was the result of the United States entry into World War I and the internment of the Germanmerchant raider SMS Cormoran...
the ship. This was unacceptable to the men of USS Supply so the marines on board fired America's first war time shots with rifles. Nine Germans were killed that day either by the rifle fire or by the large explosion which sank the Cormoran.