"WE ARE READY NOW, SIR"
DESTROYERS, AFTER 3,000-MILE VOYAGE, PREPARED FOR IMMEDIATE
SERVICE--FIRST OF AMERICAN FORCES SENT TO EUROPE--DEADLIEST FOE OF
U-BOATS, THEY SAILED VAST AREAS, PROTECTING TROOPS AND CARGOES--256
ATTACKS ON SUBMARINES--"FANNING" SANK U-58 AND CAPTURED CREW--NO
RANK IN SACRIFICE OR HONORS.
"Fit out for long and distant service!" was the order the Eighth
Destroyer Division received from the flagship of the Atlantic Fleet the
night of April 14, 1917. It was then 9:30 p. m., and they were directed
to sail at daylight. At five o'clock next morning they started for
their home navy yards.
Speeding to New York and Boston, the ships went into drydock, made
repairs, tuned up machinery, and took aboard three months' stores and
provisions--all in ten days.
Sailing from Boston April 24th, under sealed orders, it was not until
midnight, when they were fifty miles at sea, that the officers of the
flotilla knew its destination. Breaking the seal, the commander read
the following, the first operating order issued to any American force:
NAVY DEPARTMENT
OFFICE OF NAVAL OPERATIONS
Washington, D. C., April 14.
SECRET AND CONFIDENTIAL.
To: Commander, Eighth Division, Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet; U.
S. S. _Wadsworth_, flagship.
Subject: Protection of commerce near the coasts of Great Britain
and Ireland.
1. The British Admiralty have requested the coöperation of a
division of American destroyers in the protection of commerce near
the coasts of Great Britain and France.
2. Your mission is to assist naval operations of Entente Powers in
every way possible.
3. Proceed to Queenstown, Ireland. Report to senior British naval
officer present, and thereafter coöperate fully with the British
Navy. Should it be decided that your force act in coöperation with
French naval forces, your mission and method of coöperation under
French Admiralty authority remain unchanged.
Route to Queenstown: Boston to latitude 50 N., Long. 20 W., to
arrive at daybreak, then to latitude 50 N., Long. 12 W., thence to
Queenstown.
When within radio communication of the British naval forces off
Ireland, call GCK and inform the Vice Admiral at Queenstown in
British general code of your position, course, and speed. You will
be met outside of Queenstown.
4. Base facilities will be provided by the British Admiralty.
5. Communicate your orders and operations to Rear Admiral Sims at
London and be guided by such instructions as he may give you. Make
no report of arrival to Navy Department direct.
JOSEPHUS DANIELS.
Signed only three days after the conference with British and French
admirals in Washington, this put into effect the verbal orders given
the moment they requested that one or two destroyers be sent. Six were
on the way--the _Wadsworth_, _Conyngham_, _Porter_, _McDougal_, _Davis_
and _Wainwright_. They were the first of the United States forces
despatched to Europe, the pioneers of the large fleet we sent across
the Atlantic.
It was no smooth voyage they had in that long trip. Caught in a
southeast gale which lasted for seven days, they were so tossed about
by the heavy seas that they could not even set the mess-tables. "We ate
off our laps," one officer remarked. But the welcome received when they
reached port more than made up for these hardships. Nearing the coast,
the ninth day out, a British destroyer, the _Mary Rose_, was sighted,
flying the international signal, "Welcome to the American colors!"
"Thank you, we are glad of your company," the Americans replied.
Next morning, Friday, May 4th, they reached Queenstown. Though efforts
had been made to keep secret their coming, the American flag floated
from public buildings, business houses and residences, and from vessels
in the harbor. Crowds assembled on the hills and along the shore,
cheering as the ships from over the sea hove in sight.
It was a brilliant scene, flooded with sunshine--a historic day,
marking the arrival of the first American forces to take part with the
Allies in the struggle against the Central Powers. Through cheering
crowds the Navy boys proceeded to the American Consulate, where the
lord mayors of Queenstown and Cork extended a formal welcome. Sir
John Jellicoe, First Sea Lord of the British Admiralty, in a letter
to Commander J. K. Taussig, in command of the flotilla, offered the
"warmest welcome possible in the name of the British nation and the
British Admiralty," concluding: "May every good fortune attend you, and
speedy victory be with us."
Vice Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, Commander-in-Chief of the Coasts of
Ireland, invited the destroyer commanders to dine with him that
evening, closing his invitation with the characteristic note: "Dine
in undress; no speeches." Able and energetic, he was known as a "hard
driver"; a man of few words who hated talk and demanded results.
"When will you be ready to go to sea?" was about the first question he
asked. He naturally supposed that, after a long and stormy voyage, they
would ask some time for rest and repairs.
"We are ready now, sir," Commander Taussig replied; "that is, as soon
as we finish refueling."
"I will give you four days from the time of arrival," the Admiral said.
"Will that be sufficient?"
"Yes," was the answer, "that will be more than ample time."
Four days later they were all at sea, hunting submarines. Before the
month was out they were swearing by Admiral Bayly, and he was calling
them "my boys."
"Things were looking black," Commander Taussig said. "In the three
previous weeks the submarines had sunk 152 British merchant ships.
The night before we entered the harbor a German submarine had planted
twelve mines right in the channel. Fortunately for us they were swept
up by the ever vigilant British mine-sweepers before we arrived.
The day following our arrival, one of the British gunboats from our
station was torpedoed and her captain and forty of her crew were lost.
Patrol vessels were continually bringing in survivors from the various
ships as they were sunk."
The convoy system had not then been instituted, the British depending
on patrol. This was trying duty, searching for the U-boat that might be
anywhere within four or five hundred square miles, for the ocean was
strewn with wreckage for three hundred miles from shore.
The Queenstown "area" comprised twenty-five thousand square miles,
and yet this wide zone of trans-Atlantic shipping, west and south of
Ireland, had been left almost unprotected. "Sometimes only four or five
British destroyers were operating in this great stretch of waters,"
said Admiral Sims, "and I do not think the number ever exceeded
fifteen."
Soon after the Americans arrived, the few British destroyers at
Queenstown were withdrawn. Urging the sending of all floating craft
available, Sims had informed us in his cablegram of April 28th:
Yesterday the War Council and Admiralty decided that coöperation
of twenty-odd American destroyers with base at Queenstown would no
doubt put down the present submarine activity which is dangerous
and keep it down. The crisis will be passed if the enemy can be
forced to disperse his forces from this critical area.
Within a month twenty-eight destroyers and two tenders were either in
Queenstown or on the way there. On May 17th a second division arrived,
followed by two other divisions, and two additional destroyers and the
tenders _Melville_ and _Dixie_. The _Melville_, which arrived May 22nd,
was the "mother ship" and became the flagship of the United States
forces stationed there. On June 1st, Sims wrote to the Navy Department:
It is gratifying to be able to report that the operations of our
forces in these waters have proved not only very satisfactory, but
also of marked value to the Allies in overcoming the submarine
menace. The equipment and construction of our ships have proved
adequate and sufficient and the personnel has shown an unusually
high degree of enthusiasm and ability to cope with the situation
presented.
As a special compliment to the American Navy, Admiral Sims had been
invited, a few days before, to assume command at Queenstown in the
absence of Admiral Bayly on a brief vacation, and for several days
the American flag floated from Admiralty House. "So far as exercising
any control over sea operations was concerned, this invitation was
not particularly important," said Admiral Sims. "Matters were running
smoothly at the Queenstown station; Admiral Bayly's second in command
could have kept the machine in working order; it was hardly likely in
the few days that I was to command that any changes in policy would
be initiated. The British Admiralty merely took this way of showing a
great courtesy to the American Navy, and of emphasizing to the world
the excellent relations that existed between the two services."
In his book, "The Victory at Sea," Admiral Sims said:
One day Admiral Bayly, Captain Pringle of the _U. S. S. Melville_,
Captain Campbell, the Englishman whose exploits with mystery ships
had given him world-wide fame, and myself, went out on the _Active_
to watch certain experiments with depth-charges. It was a highly
imprudent thing to do, but that only added to the zest of the
occasion from Admiral Bayly's point of view.
"What a bag this would be for the Hun," he chuckled. "The American
Commander-in-Chief, the British admiral commanding in Irish waters,
a British and an American captain."
In our mind's eye we could see our picture in the Berlin papers,
four distinguished prisoners standing in a row.
The destroyers which escorted the first troop convoys were, after
they reached St. Nazaire, sent to the base in Ireland. By July 5th
we had thirty-four destroyers at Queenstown. Thirty-seven vessels of
the Force--35 destroyers and two tenders--had been sent to Europe, as
follows:
Destroyers and Date of Sailing Commanding Officer
_Wadsworth_--April 24 Lt. Comdr. J. K. Taussig
_Conyngham_--April 24 Lt. Comdr. A. W. Johnson
_Porter_--April 24 Lt. Comdr. W. K. Wortman
_McDougal_--April 24 Lt. Comdr. A. P. Fairfield
_Davis_--April 24 Lt. Comdr. R. F. Zogbaum
_Wainwright_--April 24 Lt. Comdr. F. H. Poteet
_Rowan_--May 7 Lt. Comdr. C. E. Courtney
_Tucker_--May 7 Lt. Comdr. B. B. Wygant
_Cassin_--May 7 Lt. Comdr. W. N. Vernou
_Ericsson_--May 7 Lt. Comdr. C. T. Hutchins
_Winslow_--May 7 Lt. Comdr. N. E. Nichols
_Jacob Jones_--May 7 Lt. Comdr. D. W. Bagley
_Melville_ (tender)--May 11 Commander H. B. Price
_Cushing_--May 15 Lt. Comdr. D. C. Hanrahan
_Nicholson_--May 15 Lt. Comdr. B. A. Long
_Sampson_--May 15 Lt. Comdr. B. C. Allen
_Cummings_--May 15 Lt. Comdr. G. F. Neal
_Benham_--May 15 Lt. Comdr. J. B. Gay
_O'Brien_--May 15 Lt. Comdr. C. A. Blakely
_Patterson_--May 21 Lieut. J. H. Newton
_Warrington_--May 21 Lieut. I. F. Dortch
_Drayton_--May 21 Lieut. D. L. Howard
_Jenkins_--May 21 Lieut. W. H. Lee
_Paulding_--May 21 Lieut. J. S. Barleon
_Trippe_--May 21 Lieut. R. C. Giffen
_Sterrett_--May 23 Lieut. G. W. Simpson
_Walke_--May 23 Lieut. C. F. Russell
_Jarvis_--May 25 Lieut. L. P. Davis
_Perkins_--May 25 Lieut. F. M. Knox
_Dixie_ (tender)--May 31 Commander J. R. P. Pringle
_Burrows_--June 14 Lieut. H. V. McKittrick
_Fanning_--June 14 Lieut. A. S. Carpender
_Allen_--June 14 Commander S. W. Bryant
_Wilkes_--June 14 Lt. Comdr. J. C. Fremont
_Ammen_--June 17 Lieut. G. C. Logan
_Shaw_--June 17 Lt. Comdr. M. S. Davis
_Parker_--June 17 Lt. Comdr. H. Powell
Others were sent as they became available, and new destroyers, in
course of construction when war began, were dispatched to Europe upon
completion. All but two of the destroyers we had in April, 1917, served
in foreign waters. We also sent to Europe nine of the old type later
designated as "coast torpedo vessels"--the _Bainbridge_, _Barry_,
_Chauncey_, _Dale_, _Decatur_, _McDonough_, _Stewart_, _Truxtun_ and
_Worden_--and, old and small as they were, they did excellent service.
Eighty-five destroyers, in all, saw service in the "war zone."
Hunting U-boats, going to the relief of vessels attacked, rescuing
survivors, and later, when the convoy system was put into effect,
escorting vessels--troop and supply ships, passenger steamers and
merchantmen--through the danger zones to and from port, the destroyers
had plenty to do.
[Illustration: THE SURRENDER OF THE U-58
The crew of this submarine surrendered to the Fanning, after the
destroyer's depth charges had disabled the undersea boat. Inset, the
first officer of the U-boat, who traded his Iron Cross for a clean
undershirt.]
Finding a "sub" was the hardest part of the game, for the mere glimpse
of a destroyer through a periscope was sufficient for the submarine
to submerge and scurry away. Yet our vessels in European waters were
credited with 256 attacks on U-boats, and there were not a few exciting
encounters.
[Illustration: CREW OF THE FANNING, WHICH SANK THE U-58
The star on the funnel indicates a submarine victim.]
No more striking example of prompt action and quick results occurred
during the entire war than that of the _Fanning_ and the _Nicholson_
when they "got" a German submarine, the U-58, on November 17, 1917.
Sailing along with a convoy, at 4:10 p. m. Coxswain David D. Loomis,
lookout on the _Fanning_, caught a glimpse of a periscope. It was a
finger periscope, a tiny thing an inch and a half in diameter, no
larger than a walking stick. It was lifted for only a few seconds,
but the keen eyes of Loomis spied it, and he estimated its distance
and location--three points on the port bow, 400 yards distant, moving
across the bow at two knots' speed. The _Fanning_ headed for the spot,
full speed, and as it crossed the course dropped a depth-bomb. Changing
course, the _Nicholson_ was dashing across to drop another charge when
the conning tower appeared. The _Nicholson_ headed for the submarine,
and the _Fanning_ turned in her wake to attack. Dropping a depth-charge
alongside the U-boat, the _Nicholson_ turned, firing from her stern
gun. The sub's bow came up rapidly. She seemed to be down by the
stern and was evidently badly damaged, but tried to right herself and
increased her speed. As the _Nicholson_ cleared, the _Fanning_ opened
fire with her bow gun. At the third shot the German crew came on deck,
and held up their hands shouting, "Kamerad!" At 4:28 the submarine
surrendered. It had been only 18 minutes since Loomis had sighted her
periscope.
Getting a line to the crippled craft, the destroyers prepared to take
it in tow. But two of her crew disappeared for a moment. They scuttled
the boat. As it sank, the Germans jumped into the water and swam for
the _Fanning_. Heaving lines were thrown to them, and all but one,
Franz Glinder, managed to get aboard. When it was seen that he was
sinking, two of the _Fanning's_ crew, Chief Pharmacist's Mate Elzer
Harwell and Coxswain Francis G. Connor, jumped overboard to rescue
him. They got him aboard the ship, but in spite of all efforts to
resuscitate him, he died.
The commander, Kapitän-Leutnant Gustav Amberger, his three other
officers and thirty-five men were prisoners. They were given hot
coffee, sandwiches and cigarettes, and men of the _Fanning_ loaned
their warm clothing. No prisoners were ever better treated. As they
entered the boats that were to take them ashore, they cheered the
_Fanning_ and its crew.
A larger volume than this would be required to detail all the exploits
of our destroyers in European waters, or even to give the reports of
their contacts with submarines. But a few examples will give some idea
of the work they did.
Not long after her arrival in Queenstown, the _O'Brien_ (Lieutenant
Commander C. A. Blakely) defeated a U-boat which was trying to attack
the British steamer _Elysia_, twelve miles south of Ballycotton Light,
off the Irish coast. This encounter occurred at 4:21, June 16, 1917,
and the London Headquarters' report of June 20th, said:
It is reasonably certain now that the _O'Brien_ destroyed the
submarine mentioned. She was escorting a valuable ship when the
two periscopes of a submarine were observed about 800 yards on her
bow. She altered course immediately, headed for it, and increased
to full speed. The periscopes were again seen about a minute
later about 100 yards dead ahead, the submarine having apparently
attempted to avoid the _O'Brien_ and torpedo her escort astern
of her. From the last position sighted, the submarine apparently
started to dive, and must have barely escaped being rammed.
The lookout on the top observed her hull distinctly alongside the
_O'Brien_ and gradually disappearing as she proceeded downward, on
almost exactly the opposite course to the _O'Brien_. A depth-charge
was dropped when the submarine was under the after deck-house, and
although the _O'Brien_ was making 20 knots by this time, less than
three minutes after the submarine had been sighted, the explosion
of the depth-charge gave the ship a very severe shaking. The
_O'Brien_ circled over the spot, but saw no evidence of damage. A
British destroyer passing over the same spot, nearly three hours
later found and reported large patches of strong-smelling oil. The
_Cushing_, on the following morning, passed the same area and also
reported a large amount of oil. This incident occurred just off
Queenstown entrance and was unfortunately one of those cases the
exact results of which cannot be determined.
The _Trippe_, _Warrington_, _Jenkins_, _Wadsworth_, _Cummings_,
_Wilkes_ and _Benham_ all had encounters in July which were not only
successful but showed evidence that the U-boats were damaged, if not
disabled. The _Parker_ (Lieutenant Commander Halsey Powell) on August
3rd had a long U-boat encounter. With the _Fanning_ and _Nicholson_,
she had been escorting steamers and had just returned to patrol when a
submarine was reported about 30 miles away. Speeding to the locality,
at 2:15 she found the steamship _Newby Hall_ had been attacked, and
was told that the U-boat had submerged probably six miles distant.
Escorting the steamer toward port, the _Parker_, at 4:10 p. m. turned
her over to the _Burrows_, and returned to look for the "sub." The
steamship _Rio Verde_, which was in the vicinity, was escorted out of
the dangerous locality, and the destroyer resumed the hunt for the
enemy.
At 6:50 the _Parker_ sighted the submarine, which submerged when the
destroyer came within 8,000 yards. But the U-boat left a long oil
slick which the _Parker_ followed down. "On reaching the end of the
slick, saw submarine underneath the end of the bridge," the commander
reported. "Dropped two depth-charges on the submarine and from all
evidence she was very probably sunk. There was practically simultaneous
explosion of the depth-charges, followed by another explosion. There
was discovered on the surface of the water air bubbles, and a heavy
scum of oil, and particles of what appeared to be cork." As no wreckage
or prisoners were obtained, the Admiralty gave the credit "probably
seriously damaged"; but the men aboard the _Parker_ were convinced that
the submarine had been destroyed.
The _Jacob Jones_, _Davis_ and _McDougal_ were credited with successful
encounters in September, the _McDougal_ being credited in Admiral Sims'
Headquarters' report of Sept. 15th, with "protection of two meeting
convoys against enemy submarine," and "possible destruction" of the
U-boat.
While escorting a New York convoy the _McDougal_ (Commander A. P.
Fairfield) at 1:21 a. m. sighted the submarine on the surface, and gave
chase. The "sub" submerged 500 yards ahead. Dropping two depth-charges,
the _McDougal_ circled around the spot, and soon noticed oil rising,
apparently from the U-boat. A northbound convoy from France to Wales
was sighted only a half mile away. "One or more ships of convoy were
undoubtedly saved by the fact that the submarine was forced to submerge
hastily," said the Headquarters' report. "Submarine believed to be
damaged or sunk."
When the large British steamship _Orama_ was torpedoed October 19,
1917, the _U. S. S. Conyngham_ attacked and drove off the submarine,
saving other ships of the convoy. Her commanding officer, Commander A.
W. Johnson, made this report:
During the afternoon _Conyngham_ hailed _H. M. S. Orama_ and
suggested that, due to submarine reported ahead, convoy change
course. This was not thought advisable by the commanding officer of
_H. M. S. Orama_ and convoy proceeded on original course.
At 5:30 p. m. _Parker_, in position 48 degrees N. 09-20 W., escort
about two miles ahead of convoy, reported sighting discolored water
(brownish).
At 5:50 p. m., while _Conyngham_ was alongside starboard side of
_Orama_ passing her recognition signals, a torpedo crossing _Clan
Lindsay's_ bow struck _H. M. S. Orama_ in port side, about No. 3
hold. A distinct report was heard, followed immediately by cloud of
smoke arising from _Orama_ forward of her bridge. _Orama_ listed
to port and began to sink by the bow. _Conyngham_ by radio ordered
convoy to disperse. _Conyngham_ sounded general quarters and went
full speed ahead and crossed _Orama's_ bow by going full left
rudder, then proceeded to make circle between VA and VR columns.
When circling, a wake was sighted on starboard quarter. A periscope
about one foot emerged visible for few seconds only was seen in
this wake. A short time afterwards a periscope was sighted sharp
on our starboard bow. This periscope submerged almost immediately,
but wake was plainly visible. _Conyngham_, then a few yards from
the periscope, headed for same and dropped depth-charge over
the wake. An explosion resulted. Large quantities of discolored
water was seen to rise in the air and a number of crew and
officers distinctly made out a quantity of wreckage, one piece of
which might have been the wireless mast of the submarine, when
_Conyngham_ circled near the spot of the explosion.
The _Jacob Jones_ and the _Conyngham_ remained by the _Orama_ to save
life. It was night when the vessel began to settle and was abandoned by
her crew. But the destroyers rescued all the 478 persons who were on
board the _Orama_.
American destroyers had been operating in European waters six months
with no damage from enemy action, when, on October 15th, the _Cassin_
(Lieutenant Commander W. N. Vernou) was torpedoed. Her rudder was blown
off, a gun blown overboard, and the after part of the ship wrecked; yet
by expert seamanship she was kept afloat and taken to port, repaired
and put back into service. Nine men of the crew were wounded, but only
one was killed--Gunner's Mate Osmond K. Ingram, who gave his life to
save the ship.
Patrolling off the Irish coast, 20 miles south of Mine Head, at 1:30
p. m. the _Cassin_ sighted a submarine, but it vanished before the
destroyer could get close to it. Half an hour later Commander Vernou
sighted a torpedo running at high speed toward the ship. Double
emergency full speed was rung, the rudder put hard left, and for a
moment it looked as if the torpedo might pass astern. When only fifteen
or twenty feet away, it porpoised, leaving the water and sheering to
the left; and struck the vessel well aft, on the port side.
When the torpedo was sighted, Ingram, who was at his gun, realized that
if it struck among the depth-bombs astern, the explosion might sink
the ship. Instantly, he ran aft to strip these charges and throw them
overboard. He was blown to pieces when the torpedo struck. The memory
of this heroic gunner's mate, who made the supreme sacrifice to save
his shipmates, is preserved in the name of one of our new destroyers,
the _Ingram_, the first naval vessel ever named for an enlisted man.
There is no rank in sacrifice or honors.
The officers and men worked heroically to save the _Cassin_. Her
rudder gone, she was moving in circles. Efforts were made to steer by
use of the engines, but something carried away and put the starboard
engine out of commission. The ship seemed absolutely unmanageable. All
was dark below, the electric generator having been disabled. Radio
apparatus broken, a temporary auxiliary antenna had to be rigged up
before assistance could be summoned by wireless. But the crew were
undismayed, the gunners were at their stations, and when, at 2:30
o'clock, a conning tower was sighted, the _Cassin_ opened fire. Two
shots struck close to the U-boat, which submerged and did not again
attempt to attack the crippled ship.
Just before 4 o'clock the _U. S. S. Porter_ arrived. At 9 the British
ships _Jessamine_ and _Tamarisk_ appeared on the scene. But the sea was
rough, the wind high, and it was not until 2:30 a. m. that a hawser
was made fast and the _Tamarisk_ started towing the _Cassin_. An hour
later the hawser parted. The _Tamarisk_, two trawlers and a tug worked
until morning, attempting to get the vessel in tow again. But it was
not until 10:37 a. m. that a towing line from the _Snowdrop_ was made
fast, and the _Cassin_ taken to port.
Thirty-five feet of the stern was blown off. Living compartments and
store-rooms in the after part of the ship were wrecked or gone. The
equivalent of 850 pounds of TNT, in torpedo and depth-charges, had
exploded on the _Cassin's_ fantail. Twenty-odd men were in the wrecked
living compartments when the torpedo exploded. Their escape was almost
miraculous. Dazed by the shock, they automatically closed water-tight
doors and performed other emergency duties, but could never tell just
how they did it or got away. All declared that from the instant of the
explosion they were absolutely blinded. Forty-five members of the crew,
including the chief petty officers, lost all their belongings except
the clothes they had on. But that did not bother them. The ship was
saved, they were still alive, and that was happiness enough.
The _Chauncey_, one of our small, old-type destroyers, was rammed and
sunk by the steamship _Rose_ near Gibraltar at 1:46 a. m., November
19th. Three of the officers--Lieutenant Commander Walter E. Reno,
commanding, Lieutenant (junior grade) C. F. Wedderburn, and Ensign H.
G. Skinner--and 18 men were lost.
On December 6th, the _Jacob Jones_ was sunk, with the loss of two
officers--Lieutenant (junior grade) Stanton F. Kalk, of Washington, D.
C., and Gunner Harry R. Hood, of Atlanta, Ga.--and 62 men of the crew.
The _Jones_ was proceeding alone from off Brest to Queenstown when, at
4:21 p. m., a torpedo was sighted rushing toward the ship. The rudder
was put hard left, the destroyer put on all its speed, but could not
maneuver in time to escape.
Broaching and jumping clear of the water, the torpedo submerged again
50 or 60 feet from the ship, striking in the fuel-oil tank, three feet
below the water-line. The deck was blown clear for twenty feet, a
number of men were killed; the auxiliary room wrecked, a torpedo-tube
thrown into the air, the mainmast and radio apparatus were carried
away. The vessel settled aft immediately, and the after deck was awash.
The gunnery officer, Lieutenant J. K. Richards, ran aft to set the
depth-charges "safe"; but they were already under water. Rafts and
lifeboats were launched, circular lifebelts and splinter masts set
adrift to provide floatage for the crew.
The ship went down in eight minutes. Most of the men were on rafts
or wreckage, but some were swimming astern of the vessel. Lieutenant
Commander David W. Bagley and other officers jumped overboard as the
destroyer began to sink. Officers and men bore themselves with great
coolness. "Bagley's handling of the situation after his ship was
torpedoed," wrote Admiral Sims, "was everything I expected in the way
of efficiency, good judgment, courage, and chivalrous action."
Going down stern-first the destroyer twisted through 180 degrees, as
she swung upright. As she turned, her depth-charges exploded, killing
or stunning the men near by.
Twenty minutes later the submarine appeared, two or three miles
distant, then gradually approached and picked up two men from the
water, Albert De Mello and John F. Murphy, whom she carried to Germany
as prisoners. All the survivors in sight were collected, and rafts and
boats gotten together. The ship's radio had been wrecked, preventing
the sending out of distress signals. Two shots had been fired from
her guns in the hope of attracting some nearby ship, but none was in
hearing. There seemed no prospect of assistance except from shore,
and leaving Lieutenant Richards in charge of the rafts, Lieutenant
Commander Bagley, the ship's commander, and Lieutenant Norman Scott,
the navigating officer, with four men, started to row to the nearest
land to secure assistance.
Night soon came on, and the men on the rafts prepared for a long vigil.
When help would arrive, none could tell. Shivering from cold, shaken
by the experience through which they had passed, the survivors kept up
their courage with the amazing cheerfulness of the sailor in stress
and disaster. Their very lives depending on keeping warm, men who had
thick clothing divided it with those more thinly clad. Officers and men
shared their belongings and worked together for the common safety.
One small raft, which had been separated from the others, was picked up
at 8 p. m. by the steamship _Catalina_. The other survivors remained in
their perilous position all night, and it was not until 8:30 o'clock
next morning when they were discovered and rescued by the British
steamship _Camellia_.
One brave young officer died before relief arrived. Though still
suffering from the effects of the explosion, which had stunned him,
and weakened by his efforts after the ship sank, Lieutenant Kalk swam
from one raft to another to equalize the weight on them. Striving for
the safety of his men, he overtaxed his own strength, and died of
exhaustion and exposure. Men who were on the raft with him said, "He
was game to the last." His courage and self-sacrifice are commemorated
in a destroyer that bears his name.
There was no other serious damage to destroyers until March 19, 1918,
when a British vessel collided with the _Manley_. The collision
exploded the depth-charges on her decks, killing Lieutenant Commander
Richard McC. Elliot, of New York, and 33 enlisted men, and injuring
22 others. The _Manley_, though badly damaged, was gotten to port and
repaired.
The destroyers never halted in their warfare on the submarines, and
many encounters were reported in the early part of 1918, probably the
most notable being those of the _Allen_, Feb. 2d; the _Reid_, March
18th; the _Isabel_; the _Stewart_, April 23; the _Porter_, April 28;
the joint attack of the _Patterson_, _Beale_, _Burrows_ and _Allen_ on
May 19th, and that of the _Sterrett_ on June 1st. All these were given
official credits by the British Admiralty, which also gave the _Tucker_
(Lieutenant Commander W. H. Lassing), which bombed and sent down a
U-boat on August 8th, the credit "possibly sunk."
The armed yachts, the sub-chasers and all the rest played well their
parts. But after all it was the gallant destroyers which did most
to combat the submarine menace. At sea two-thirds of the time, they
escorted thousands of vessels in and out of European ports. Some of
them made astounding records. The first year after we entered the war
at least three, the _Porter_, _Davis_ and _Conyngham_, steamed nearly
65,000 miles each, over twice the distance around the globe, while the
_Caldwell_ for some time averaged 8,500 miles a month, over 280 miles a
day. No class of ship, big or little, ever excelled these records.
Commander Byron McCandless, who commanded the _Caldwell_, went to Mare
Island Navy Yard not long after her keel was laid, and banged away
so persistently to get his ship finished that the workmen called him
"Captain Bing-Bang." It was completed in quick time, and for its trial
trip made a record run from San Francisco through the Panama Canal to
Hampton Roads, going thence across the Atlantic and into service in the
war zone.
There were many stories of the destroyers' efficiency, and one told me
by a gentleman on his return from Europe impressed me particularly.
Making its way across the North Atlantic, a convoy of troop-ships was
still some three hundred miles from land when a voyager, who was making
his first trip across, remarked: "All you can hear about nowadays is
the Navy. It is the Navy this, the Navy that; but as far as I can see,
the Navy is not doing much in this war."
One of the civilians in the party who had a son in the Navy, rose to
his feet, pulled out his watch and said: "In ten minutes six United
States destroyers will meet this convoy."
"What are you talking about?" asked the voyager. "How do you know?"
"Well," was the confident answer, "it is now 4:05 o'clock. The
destroyers are ordered to meet this convoy at 4:15, and they will be on
time."
The party went out on deck to watch, and on the minute, at 4:15,
destroyers hove in sight. Swinging into line, on each side of the
convoy, the saucy little vessels, heaving foam and spray from bow to
stern, spanked along through the heavy seas.
"Good heavens!" exclaimed the doubting Thomas, "if these little
destroyers can come three hundred miles to sea in any kind of weather,
keep their schedule, and locate a convoy on the dot, I will believe
anything I hear regarding the Navy." That's just an example of the way
our destroyer boys went at the job, and they kept it up until the last
horn blew.
Their skill in navigation, in locating convoys or vessels in distress
or boats containing survivors was positively uncanny. When the
_President Lincoln_ was sunk five hundred miles at sea, the _Smith_
and the _Warrington_, two hundred and fifty miles away, hurried to
the rescue. A wireless message stating the locality was all they had
to steer by. It was 11 p. m. when they arrived. Boats and rafts had
drifted fifteen miles. But so accurately had the destroyer officers
estimated the drift that in the darkness they almost ran into the
rafts!
American destroyers at Brest operated under direct command of Admiral
Wilson and those at Gibraltar under command of Admiral Niblack. Though
operating under Admiral Bayly and subject to his orders, our Destroyer
Force at Queenstown had its own organization. The chief-of-staff was
Captain J. R. P. Pringle, whose ability and untiring energy won the
respect and regard of British and Americans alike. The senior commander
was Commander David C. Hanrahan, of the _Cushing_, whose enterprise and
energy were a fine example to his juniors.
The splendid work done by our vessels, the excellent condition in which
they were maintained, the superb morale of the entire force, called
for the highest praise. A year after the arrival of the first group,
Admiral Bayly issued the following order:
On the anniversary of the arrival of the first United States
men-of-war at Queenstown, I wish to express my deep gratitude to
the United States officers and ratings for the skill, energy and
unfailing good nature which they have all consistently shown and
which qualities have so materially assisted in the war by enabling
ships of the Allied Powers to cross the ocean in comparative
freedom.
To command you is an honor, to work with you is a pleasure, to know
you is to know the best traits of the Anglo-Saxon race.
A thrilling example of the courage, quick decision and prompt action
that characterized the Destroyer Force was that of the _Shaw_ October
9, 1918. Escorting the British transport _Aquitania_, the _Shaw_ was
just completing the right leg of a zigzag that brought her close to
the convoy, when her rudder jammed. As the huge transport turned,
the destroyer was aimed straight toward her side. Commander William
Glassford, captain of the _Shaw_, saw that a collision was inevitable.
Either destroyer or transport would be sacrificed. If the sharp-prowed
_Shaw_ struck the _Aquitania_, the big troop-ship, with eight thousand
men aboard, might be ripped and sunk, with heavy loss of life.
[Illustration: THEY, TOO, WERE READY
Above, a view through the stem of the Cassin after she had been hit
by a torpedo; although crippled, she continued the search for the
submarine. Inset, Gunner's Mate Osmond K. Ingram, who gave his life
to save the Cassin. Below, the U. S. S. Shaw alongside deck after her
collision with the Aquitania.]
Glassford decided instantly to sacrifice his own ship. Unable to turn
it aside, he gave the order, "Full speed astern!" A moment later, the
_Aquitania_ struck the destroyer and sliced her almost in two, passing
through her without even slowing speed. Striking just forward of the
bridge, the _Aquitania_ cut off ninety feet of the _Shaw's_ bow
and raked the whole length of her side, stripping open the forward
boiler room, and tearing out the mainmast, which, in falling, jammed
the starboard engine. Sparks ignited the oil in the forward tank,
setting fire to the vessel. The _Duncan_ and the _Kimberly_ went to her
assistance, the _Kimberly_ rescuing the survivors in the bow, which was
floating two hundred yards from the remainder of the ship.
[Illustration: THE SEATTLE AND REAR ADMIRAL ALBERT GLEAVES
The Commander and Flagship of the Cruiser and Transport Force.]
[Illustration:
From the painting by Burnett Poole
A DASH THROUGH THE DANGER ZONE
The Leviathan, largest of the transports, escorted by the Kimberly.]
That the vessel kept afloat at all seemed remarkable; to get her to
port appeared almost impossible. But those brave men of the _Shaw_ put
out the fire, in the face of bursting ammunition. They rigged up her
engines and got them working again, and repaired the steering gear.
And they navigated that remnant of a ship to port, reaching Portland
at 1:30 in the afternoon. Two of her officers and ten men of her crew
were dead, killed in the collision. Three officers and twelve men were
injured. Her bow and most of the forward part of the ship was gone. But
what was left of her was taken to a shipyard, and a new forward part
was built. Some months afterwards, on a visit to Portsmouth, England,
where she was repaired, I saw her again in commission, doing splendid
service in the Navy.
Could there be a better tribute than that to the staunchness of our
destroyers and the undying spirit and superb efficiency of their
officers and men?