The twentieth anniversary of the entrance of the United States into the World War has just passed. The deeds of our armies are being many times retold and glorified—and rightly so. However, the “silent work” of the Navy during the war, as has so often been the case, still remains comparatively silent and although our losses could not compare with those of several other nations, few persons realize their considerable extent. The following paragraphs are not to be taken as a glorification of defeats. A collection of our war losses will, however, give a good indication of the scope and hazard of the naval operations undertaken by this country.
These pages will, of course, deal almost entirely with losses and serious damage incurred at the hands of the enemy or resulting from some other cause connected in an equally direct manner with war service. The casualties included will comprise only those occurring between April 6, 1917, and November 11, 1918. First, then, will be considered the ships lost in war operations; next those perilously damaged, and lastly those naval vessels will be listed which were lost during the war but from causes which cannot necessarily be connected directly with the war.
Taking up the disasters in chronological order we have first the converted yacht Alcedo of 983 tons gross, torpedoed and sunk by an enemy submarine of the UC-type on November 5, 1917. She met her end 75 miles off the French coast, taking down with her 1 officer and 20 men.
The Jacob Jones, torpedo boat destroyer #61, was the next to go, being torpedoed and sunk December 6, 1917, just 31 days after the Alcedo. She was hit by the U-53, 20 miles east of Start Point, England, and lost 2 officers and 62 men. The name of Jacob Jones remains with us on destroyer #130, one of the flushdeckers.
Vessels operating in the Naval Overseas Transportation Service were very actively engaged with the enemy after operations got into full swing. This country had been in the war for over a year before the first of these ships was lost; but thereafter they were torpedoed or mined with great regularity at the rate of one a month. The smallest of those destroyed was the first to go—April 11, 1918, the U.S.S. Lakemoor, a cargo vessel of 1,985 gross tons, was torpedoed and sunk by the UB-73 within 3 miles of Corsewall Point Light. Five officers and 41 men was the toll in lives.
On May 18, 1918, the U.S.S. William Rockefeller, a tanker of 7,175 tons gross, was torpedoed and sunk. She was the largest of the N.O.T.S. ships to be lost from war causes. An unidentified enemy submarine dispatched her in the North Sea with a loss of 1 officer and 2 men.
Two United States troop transports were torpedoed and sunk by German submarines. Both were lost on the return trip, thus keeping unblemished the Navy’s record for the transport of troops. The escort work was carried on less intensively on the westbound trips. The big 6-master President Lincoln, 18,167 tons gross, was sent to the bottom 600 miles from the French coast on May 31, 1918, a salvo of 3 torpedoes from the U-90 causing her destruction. Three officers and 23 men were lost and a lieutenant was taken prisoner for evidence of the sinking. The President Lincoln was formerly the Hamburg-American liner of the same name.
The first naval vessel to be sunk without loss of life was the N.O.T.S. cargo vessel Californian of 5,658 gross tons. She was sunk in the Bay of Biscay on June 22, 1918. The disaster is recorded as a mine explosion. Other ships, however, were steaming directly ahead of her in column ; besides, she was hit well aft. A torpedo would seem a good deal more likely cause.
The transport Covington, 16,339 tons gross, was torpedoed just 31 days after the Lincoln. The U-86 accounted for her shortly after she left Brest. It first appeared that she was not going to sink, so a skeleton crew was sent back aboard after the first abandonment and she was taken in tow. Five or 6 knots speed toward port was made for several hours, but at noon on July 2 she began to settle further. All hands were again taken off and she went down vertically by the stern, for a moment the forward part of the ship standing out of the water as far aft as the after stack. Only 6 lives were lost, all on the preceding day. The Covington was formerly the Cincinnati, another one of the Hamburg-American liners taken over when the United States entered the war. The change in her name, however, was not made on account of the national origin of such a large part of Cincinnati’s population! The Covington was the first of four U. S. Navy vessels lost during the month of July, 1918.
The U. S. Motor Launch 3429 was sunk by German shore batteries near Nieuport, Belgium, on July 10, 1918. This is the only case on record in the World War where an American naval vessel was sunk by land batteries. One life was lost.
The N.O.T.S. victim for July was another cargo vessel—the U.S.S. Westover of 5,769 tons gross. She was torpedoed and sunk July 11, 1918, by the U-92 about 40 miles off the French coast. Three officers and 8 men lost their lives.
On July 19, 1918, the armored cruiser San Diego was mined and sunk 10 miles from Fire Island lightship. The mine had probably been laid by the U-156. The sea was calm, the ship settled slowly, and as a result only 6 lives were lost. The San Diego, of 13,680 tons displacement, is by far the largest combatant ship that the United States has ever lost in war. She was but slightly exceeded in size by the U.S.S. Memphis, the largest American war vessel ever lost from any cause, which was wrecked in the harbor of Santo Domingo in 1916, only 3 months after her name was changed from Tennessee.
On August 27, 1918, the 110-foot Subchaser 209 was mistaken for an enemy submarine by the SS. Felix Taussig and sunk with a loss of 2 officers and 16 men. This unfortunate occurrence took place not far south of Long Island.
The N.O.T.S. cargo vessel Buena Ventura, 4,881 tons gross, was torpedoed and sunk September 16, 1918, by the U-46 off the northwest coast of Spain. On this occasion 3 officers and 16 men were lost.
The last war loss of a fighting ship fell on September 26, 1918, when the U. S. Coast Guard cutter Tampa was sunk without trace while engaged in escort duty. Her convoy, while standing up the Bristol Channel, noticed a flash far astern during the night. It was probably the destruction of the Tampa by the U-53, the same submarine to account for the Jacob Jones. There were 118 lives lost, including 12 officers. There were no survivors and no word was ever received about her from any source. Her name is being perpetuated in a new cutter Tampa.
September 30, 1918, was marked by the epic battle between the U.S.S. Ticonderoga and the U-152. Attacked with shell and torpedo the American ship fought back desperately and succumbed only after a 2-hour struggle. As a result of the splendid effort to save the ship the loss of life was very heavy: 10 naval officers, 2 army officers, 102 sailors, and 99 soldiers. Two were taken prisoner. As a result of this mid-Atlantic encounter the N.O.T.S. lost another cargo vessel, this one of 5,130 tons gross. She was formerly the Camilla Rickmers of the Rickmers Reismühlen, Reederei und Schiffbau Aktien Gesellschaft.
Although mines are usually no respecters of armistices it was nevertheless only two days before November 11, 1918, that the Navy met with its last loss from war causes. The N.O.T.S. cargo vessel Saetia, 2,873 tons gross, was mined and sunk within 10 miles of Fenwick Island lightship. The mine had probably been laid by the U-117. No lives were lost.
Thus a total of 15 naval vessels were destroyed during the war from war causes. At this point it might be of interest to complete the record of American war losses at sea by noting that, during the war period, 69 self-propelled vessels of the American Merchant Marine were destroyed at the hands of the enemy and a similar fate was encountered by 56 which depended for their movements entirely upon sails or upon towboats.
In addition to the ships recorded in the foregoing paragraphs a half dozen other naval vessels were very severely damaged in operations directly connected with the war. One of our first major casualties of the struggle occurred on October 15, 1917, when the U-105 blew off the stern of the U.S.S. Cassin, torpedo boat destroyer #43. The action took place 20 miles south of Mine Head, Ireland. It was on this occasion that Osmond Kelly Ingram, G. M. 1c, U. S. Navy, performed his heroic act. Observing the torpedo approaching the stem of his ship and fearing that the explosion of the depth charges would destroy the vessel, he ran aft to release them. He arrived too late to fulfill his task; furthermore his life was sacrificed needlessly. The depth charges did not explode after all; the ship was saved; and his was the only life lost. The Cassin was rebuilt and, after the war, was turned over to the Coast Guard.
The next misfortune occurred December 27, 1917, when our ill-fated decoy ship the U.S.S. Santee was torpedoed. She was hit almost immediately upon her first sally from Queenstown Harbor, without obtaining the slightest opportunity of bagging her attacker. This latter was probably the same submarine that damaged the Cassin—the U-105. The Germans had evidently been tipped off about this newest “Q-boat.” Her too smart appearance (see photograph page 641) may well have aroused the suspicions which caused her downfall. She made port, however, and suffered no loss of life. She was a converted merchantman of 2,794 tons gross, fitted out with the most complete “mystery ship” layout of any vessel up to that time.
The U.S.S. Westbridge, an N.O.T.S. cargo vessel of 5,818 gross tons, was torpedoed off the coast of France on August 15, 1918, by the U-90. She lost 1 officer and 3 men but was towed to port.
The U.S.S. Mount Vernon, a troop transport of 18,372 tons gross, met with a similar experience on September 5, 1918. She had a large hole blown in her side by a torpedo from the U-57 when about 200 miles off Ushant. The single hit flooded 4 of her 8 firerooms and caused the death of 36 men. She made port at good speed under her own steam, however, and was soon back in service. The Mount Vernon was formerly the Kronprinzessin Cecilie of the North German Lloyd, the ship which turned back into Bar Harbor upon hearing of the declaration of war in 1914. By that act she postponed for 3 years her employment by her enemies.
The largest American combatant ship to suffer a major casualty was the battleship Minnesota which was mined September 29, 1918, 20 miles from Fenwick Island lightship. The mine layer was probably the U-117 which “got” the Saetia also. The Minnesota was salvaged and lost none of her crew.
The last severe casualty to be recorded was the collision of the Aquitania with the U.S.S. Shaw, torpedo boat destroyer #68, on October 9,1918. While zigzagging on escort duty about 40 miles southwest of Portmand, England, the Shaw suffered a jammed rudder and was carried across the course of the swift Cunarder, one of the convoy. In the crisis, the only choice open to the Shaw’s commanding officer was to slow down and ram the big transport loaded with troops, or maintain speed and allow his ship to be cut down by the Aquitania. He wisely and nobly chose the latter alternative. The Shaw’s entire bow was severed cleanly; fortunately the remainder of the vessel was able to back into port where a new bow was built on. Moreover, in spite of the grave possibilities of such an accident, only 2 officers and 10 men lost their lives.
The loss of the U.S.S. Manley’s stern is often recorded as a convoy crash also thus deserving a place in these compilations. Such was not the case, however, H.M.S. Montague was coming alongside in somewhat of a seaway to make possible the tossing from one ship to the other of some important papers. A sudden lurch carried the cruiser over the Manley’s quarter and the Y-gun on the after deckhouse was knocked over. It crashed to the fantail where it detonated all the depth charges and the after magazine, blowing off the entire stern of the ship and killing everyone in the after crew space. However, the after bulkhead of the after engine-room held, though barely, and the ship was towed into Queenstown. She was soon rebuilt and back in service.
In connection with naval vessels salvaged after being damaged in war operations another notation will be made here. Eleven steamships and 4 schooners of the American merchant service were attacked and damaged by enemy torpedo, mine, bomb, or shell, yet survived the ordeal. The SS. Armenia was torpedoed, beached, and salvaged twice in 66 days. In every case, of course, the hostile ordnance was of German submarine origin.
The United States Navy lost no less than 38 other vessels from causes not necessarily connected directly with the war; mostly fire, shipwreck, and collision. In some of these cases there was probably a certain amount of direct connection with the war and there is no doubt but that a number of these ships would never have been lost but for the fact that they were operating under war conditions. They will, therefore, at least be listed here, with the cause of each loss indicated by letters: (C) = collision; (F)=fire; (W) = wrecked or foundered.
(C) U.S.S. Chauncey, torpedo boat destroyer #3; 592 tons displacement.
(C) U.S. Submarine F-l, 325-400 tons.
(C) U.S.S. Schurs, gunboat, 1,657 tons gross formerly the German Geier, captured in Hawaii.
(C) U.S.S. McCulloch, Coast Guard cutter, 1,432 tons displacement; with Dewey at Manila in 1898.
(C) U.S.S. Mohawk, Coast Guard cutter, 1,148 tons displacement.
(C) U.S.S. Wakiva II, converted yacht, 853 tons gross.
(C) U.S. Subchaser 60, 77 tons displacement.
(F) U.S. Subchaser 117, 77 tons displacement.
(C) U.S. Subchaser 132, 77 tons displacement.
(C) U.S. Subchaser 187, 77 tons displacement.
(F) U.S. Subchaser 219, 77 tons displacement.
(W) U.S.S. Annie E. Gallup, S.P. #694, 141 tons gross
(F) U.S.S. Cero, S.P. #1189, motor boat.
(W) U.S.S. Cherokee, S.P. #458, 272 tons gross.
(C) U.S.S. Elizabeth, S.P. #972, 17 tons gross.
(W) U.S.S. Empress, S.P. #569
(W) U.S.S. Guinevere, S.P. #512, 499 tons gross
(F) U.S.S. Gypsy, S.P. #55, 22 tons gross.
(W) U.S.S. Jolly Roger, S.P. #1031, 14 tons gross.
(W) U.S.S. Mariner, S.P. #1136, 220 tons gross.
(C) U.S.S. Mary Alice, S.P. #397, 180 tons gross.
(W) U.S.S. Mary B. Garner, S.P. #682, 252 tons gross.
(W) U.S.S. Montauk, S.P. #392,161 tons gross.
(F) U.S.S. Nemes, S.P. #424, 18 tons gross.
(W) U.S.S. Rehoboth, S.P. #384.
(C) U.S.S. Simplicity, S.P. #96, 21 tons gross.
(C) U.S.S. Tarantula, S.P. #124, 159 tons gross.
(W) U.S.S. Washington, S.P. #1224, 1,724 tons gross.
(W) U.S.S. P. K. Bauman, section patrol boat, 304 tons gross.
(W) U.S.S. C. F. Sargent, barge, 1,689 tons gross.
(F) SS. Fenimore, chartered vessel, 1,634 tons gross.
(C) U.S.S. Herman Frasch, N.O.T.S. ship, 3,803 tons gross.
(W) U.S.S. Lake Borgne, N.O.T.S. ship, 2,100 tons gross.
(W) U.S.S. Lake Damila, N.O.T.S. ship, 2,371 tons gross.
(C) U.S.S. West Gate, N.O.T.S. ship, 5,800 tons gross.
(C) U.S.S. Oosterdijk, N.O.T.S. ship, 8,251 tons gross.
(C) U.S.S. Zaanland, N.O.T.S. ship, 5,417 tons gross.
The last two named were taken over from the Dutch, as may already have been guessed.
Last, and far from least, was the U.S.S. Cyclops, gross tonnage 19,360. This collier disappeared with most puzzling completeness in March, 1918, while carrying a cargo of ore from South America, and not the slightest real clue from any source has ever come to light. No enemy or storm was near her. It is now quite likely that the mystery will never be solved but the presence of an infernal machine in the cargo is one possible answer. Conjectures will no doubt continue indefinitely. Twenty-one officers, 287 men, and a United States consul were aboard, constituting 72 per cent of all the lives lost in the last 38 ships combined.
Our record will be completed by mention of the fact that our merchant marine lost 15 steamships and a 1,224-ton barge during the war from causes not necessarily connected therewith.
The following summary will suffice to show that the United States Navy was actively and intimately engaged in the World War to a much greater extent than is realized by many people:
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|
Naval Vessels |
Merchantmen |
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|
Battleships |
Armored cruisers |
Destroyers |
Submarines |
Gunboats |
Coast Guard cutters |
Converted yachts |
S.P. boats |
110-ft. subchasers |
Motor launches |
Decoy ships |
Transport |
N.O.T.S. ships |
Barges |
Chartered vessels |
Colliers |
Self-propelled |
Not self-propelled |
|
|
Sunk in war operations |
|
1 |
1 |
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
|
2 |
7 |
|
|
|
69 |
56 |
|
Perilously damaged in war operations |
1 |
|
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
11 |
4 |
|
Sunk in collision |
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
7 |
1 |
|
Lost by fire |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
4 |
|
|
Wrecked or foundered |
|
|
|
|
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
1 |
|
|
4 |
|
|
Disappeared at sea |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
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