"DO NOT SURRENDER"--"NEVER!"
SHIP SHELLED, MEN WOUNDED, NAVY GUNNERS ON "J. L. LUCKENBACH"
FOUGHT SUBMARINE FOUR HOURS--ARMED GUARDS SAILING WAR ZONE BEFORE
WAR WAS DECLARED--HAD 227 ENCOUNTERS WITH SUBMARINES--FIRST IN
SERVICE, THEY WERE FIRST IN SACRIFICE--"HAND IT TO 'EM, JOE!"
Navy gunners, manning Navy guns on American merchant ships, were
sailing the war zone before the United States declared war. First
to get into action, these armed guards had more than two hundred
encounters with submarines, many of them long-fought gunfire battles.
First in service, they were first in sacrifice.
The night President Wilson delivered his war message to Congress, when
I returned from the Capitol to my office in the Navy Department, I was
greeted by this dispatch from the American Ambassador to France:
Paris, April 2.
Secretary of State,
Washington.
Urgent: Foreign Office has just informed me that the American
steamer _Aztec_ was torpedoed at nine p. m. last night far out at
sea off Island of Ushant; that one boat from the steamer has been
found with nineteen survivors who were landed this afternoon at
Brest. Twenty-eight persons are still missing and although two
patrol vessels are searching for them, the stormy condition of
sea and weather renders their rescue doubtful. Foreign Office not
informed of names of survivors. Will cable further details as soon
as obtainable.
SHARP.
A later dispatch stated that only eleven were missing and that
Lieutenant William F. Gresham and the boys from the _Dolphin_ were
safe. This possessed a personal interest for me, for the _Dolphin_ was
the vessel assigned to the Secretary of the Navy, and had furnished
this first crew for an armed ship. The news that night was reassuring,
but we were saddened to learn, next day, that one of our seamen had
gone down--John I. Eopolucci, of Washington, the first man of the
American armed forces to lose his life in service against Germany.
The first officer lost was Lieutenant Clarence C. Thomas, of Grass
Valley, California, commander of the armed guard on the _Vacuum_, who,
with four of his men, perished after the sinking of that steamer on
April 28th.
The _Mongolia_ was first to report a "hit" against a submarine, April
19th, Lieutenant Bruce Ware stating that a shell from his guns struck
the U-boat's conning-tower, knocking off part of the shell-plating, a
cloud of smoke covering the spot where the "sub" disappeared.
Not long afterward a cablegram was received from Paris announcing that
an American armed vessel had sunk a submarine in the Mediterranean. The
ship was the _Silver Shell_, and the encounter, which occurred off the
Balearic Islands, was thus reported by Chief Turret Captain William J.
Clark:
May 30, at 5:35 p. m., a submarine was sighted off starboard beam,
flying no flag or marks of identification. Manned and loaded both
guns. Hoisted colors and waited about 10 minutes. Fired after-gun
with sights set at 4,000 yards, scale 49, and fired purposely short
to see what the submarine would do, as she was closing in on the
_Silver Shell_. At the same instant of our flash, the submarine
fired a shot, the shell dropping 100 yards short amidships. The
ship was swung to port to bring the submarine astern.
Twenty-five rounds were fired at the submarine, the last two of
which appeared to be hits. As the last shot landed the submarine's
bow raised up and went down suddenly. The crew of the submarine,
who were on deck, did not have time to get inside, so it is
believed there is not much doubt about her being hit. The submarine
fired in all 32 rounds, the last four of which were shrapnel and
exploded overhead.
The master of the _Silver Shell_, John Charlton, was convinced that the
submarine was destroyed, and in his report said: "One shot struck the
submarine flush, hitting the ammunition on the deck. There was a flash
of flame, and within a minute she had disappeared." Captain John R.
Edie, U. S. N. (retired), the naval representative who investigated the
matter and heard all the evidence, made a report, dated Toulon, June 3,
in which he said: "There is no doubt in my mind but that the submarine
was sunk."
The combats of the _Campana_, _Luckenbach_, _Nyanza_, _Chincha_,
_Borinquen_, _Norlina_, _Moreni_ and a score of others are among the
thrilling incidents of the war. These armed guards of 16 to 32 men,
usually under command of a chief petty officer, served on practically
every American merchant vessel that plied the war zone, and made a
record for bravery and efficiency which would be difficult to excel.
One of the longest fights on record was that of the _J. L. Luckenbach_,
which began at 7:30 o'clock, the morning of October 19, 1917, and
continued four hours. The submarine, which was disguised as a steamer,
opened fire at long range. The _Luckenbach_ instantly replied with
both her guns. Closing in to 2,000 yards, the U-boat, which was of
large type, with heavy ordnance, began to pour forth a rain of shells.
One shot exploded on the deck, partially destroying the gun-crew's
quarters, bursting the fire-main, and setting afire that part of the
ship. Another shot landed near the stern, putting the after-gun out of
commission.
Pieces of shell were falling all around the deck. Two shots landed on
the port side forward, striking the oilers' room and blowing a large
hole in the ship's side. One struck on the port side at the water-line,
hitting the fresh-water tank, the water supply pouring out. Another
burst in the petty officers' mess-room, wounding two men. One shot
passed through the weather screen on the bridge, and exploded in the
cargo. Pieces of shell hit V. Louther, of the armed guard, wounding him
in three places. While carrying ammunition forward, a sailor was hit
and severely injured, and a gunner was blinded by fumes. Then a shell
exploded in the engine-room, wounding the first and third engineers,
and putting the engine out of business.
Struck a dozen times, with exploding shells overhead sending down
a hail of steel, nine men wounded and its engine disabled, the
_Luckenbach_ fought on. Its armed guard was under command of J. B.
Trautner, chief master-at-arms.
Distress signals had been sent out soon after the firing began, hours
before, and had been answered by the _Nicholson_, 82 miles away. The
destroyer was hurrying to the steamer's assistance at high speed; but
it hardly seemed possible for her to arrive in time. There was a
constant exchange of messages between steamship and destroyer:
"S. O. S.--_J. L. Luckenbach_ being gunned by submarine."
"We are coming," signaled the _Nicholson_.
"Our steam is cut off. How soon can you get here?"
"Stick to it; will be with you in three hours."
"Shell burst in engine-room. Engineer crippled."
"Fire in our forehold. They are now shooting at our antennae."
"How far are you away?" asked the _Luckenbach_. "Code books thrown
overboard. How soon will you arrive?"
"In two hours," answered the _Nicholson_.
"Too late," replied the _Luckenbach_. "Look out for boats. They are
shelling us."
"Do not surrender!" radioed the _Nicholson_.
"Never!" answered the _Luckenbach_.
It was after eleven o'clock when smoke was seen and the ship headed
towards the destroyer to lessen the distance. Then that shell
exploded in the engine-room, and put the engine out of business.
As the _Nicholson_ approached, her guns were loaded and pointed,
the torpedo-tubes made ready, and the crew prepared for action. The
watch-officer in the foretop reported that he could see the ship, smoke
coming out of her hull and shells splashing around her.
Then he sighted the U-boat far away, but almost dead ahead. "Train
and fire!" ordered the captain. "Boom!" went the gun. The U-boat
risked another shell or two at the steamer. But when the destroyer's
third shot landed close by, the "sub" quickly submerged, and hurried
away. The U-boat had fired 225 rounds, the _Luckenbach_ 202. When the
destroyer reached the scene, the enemy was gone, hidden under water,
leaving hardly a trace.
The _Nicholson_ sent her surgeon and senior watch-officer to the
damaged steamer. They dressed the wounds of the injured nine. Two armed
guardsmen were found lying under a gun, seriously hurt. The third, hit
in three places by shell fragments, was walking around the deck, his
cap cocked over his ear, proud as a game rooster. Not stopping after he
was first hit, he was carrying ammunition to the gun when he was struck
again in the shoulder. As he laid his projectile on the deck, another
fragment of flying shell hit him. Then he really got mad. Shaking his
fist toward the "sub," he shouted, "No damned German's going to hit me
three times and get away with it." Grabbing his shell off the deck, he
slammed it into the breech, and yelled to the gun-pointer, "Hand it to
'em, Joe!"
The ship's engineer had two ribs smashed, a piece of shrapnel in his
neck, and part of his foot shot away. He was lying down, "cussing" the
Germans. "Put me on my feet, men," he asked, and two oilers set him
up. For ten minutes more he poured out a steady stream of denunciation
of the "blankety-blank" U-boats. After he had expressed, in all the
languages he could command, his full and free opinion of the whole
German nation, he went to work, repaired the engine, got up steam and
the _Luckenbach_ began to move.
Some of the men were so seriously wounded that the _Nicholson's_ doctor
was left on the steamer to care for them. Soon afterward he found he
was the senior naval officer aboard, and all looked to him for orders.
He was a doctor, not a navigator. The ship was bound for Havre, going
alone through the submarine-infested zone. Running without lights in
a locality where vessels were numerous was a risky business, which
increased in danger as they neared the coast. The skipper was not sure
of his course. He had never made a port in France before, and knew
nothing of the tides. The mates were equally uncertain.
The doctor trusted to them until three o 'clock in the morning, when he
found the ship had run aground. Then he took a hand in navigation. The
captain and the mate were examining a chart on deck and wondering how
they had missed the shore light. Studying the charts, the doctor told
them they should have been twenty miles further east, and said, "Now,
I'll take charge."
Fortunately, it was low tide when the ship went on the beach, and when
the flood-tide came at daylight, the vessel, using her engines, was
backed off. By eleven o'clock they had reached the entrance to Havre.
Seeing her coming, with the marks of battle upon her, the people
crowded down to the water-front. They cheered the Navy gun-crew, the
sailors, and there were tears for the wounded and cheers for the doctor
as he came down the gang-plank with them.
Attacked by a submarine off the Spanish coast, a shell exploded in the
gasoline tank of the _Moreni_ and set the ship afire. Chief Boatswain's
Mate Andrew Copassaki and his gun-crew had begun firing as soon as
the "sub" was sighted, but the _Moreni_ was slow and the U-boat had a
decided advantage. Raining shells upon the ship, the enemy shot away
her steering gear, and the vessel, beyond control, began steaming
around in a circle, but the naval gunners kept shooting away.
Two men were wounded; one lifeboat upset as it struck the water and
two of the merchant crew were drowned. But the armed guard kept up the
fight until the entire ship was in flames. During the contest, which
lasted over two hours, the _Moreni_ fired 150 shots, the submarine 200.
The ship was hit 45 times. When the Spanish steamship _Valbanera_ came
up to rescue the survivors, both the Spaniards and the Germans aboard
the submarine cheered the _Moreni's_ naval gun-crew for the brave fight
they had made.
After his return to this country, I had the pleasure of congratulating
Copassaki, who came to my office. Tall and bronzed, with a sweeping
black moustache, he was a stalwart figure, modest as he was brave.
"That must have been a thrilling experience you had," I remarked as I
thanked him. "It must have been terrific for those men at the guns,
with the flames mounting around them." "It was pretty hot," modestly
replied Copassaki, who seemed to think that about covered the subject.
The first Americans taken prisoner by the Germans were Chief Gunner's
Mate James Delaney, four members of the armed guard and the master of
the _Campana_, which was sunk about 150 miles from the French coast on
August 6, 1917. But they were captured only after a running fight of
more than four hours, during which the _Campana_ fired 170 shots and
the U-boat twice as many. After three hours' firing, the _Campana's_
captain wanted to stop and abandon ship to avoid casualties, as
the vessel was clearly outranged by the more powerful guns of the
submarine, but Delaney protested, and kept up the fight for an hour and
ten minutes longer, firing until his ammunition was exhausted.
The submarine, the U-61, headed for the lifeboats, keeping its 6-inch
gun and revolvers pointed at the survivors. They took aboard Delaney
and four of his gunners, and Captain Oliver, the ship's master.
Believing Delaney was a lieutenant, the U-boat officers grilled him
for hours with questions, but could get nothing out of him. The German
captain congratulated him, and told him that he had put up the longest
fight any merchantman had ever made against a submarine. The U-boat had
not only shot away most of its shells, but had fired two torpedoes at
the _Campana_, and its captain told Delaney he would have to carry him
and some of his gunners to Germany, as otherwise they could hardly make
their authorities believe they had had to expend so much ammunition to
"get" a single ship.
That evening about six o 'clock, the U-61 encountered a decoy ship.
Coming up on what appeared to be an unarmed vessel, they fired three
shots, and one of the Germans sitting near Delaney remarked, "One more
ship." But she was not the easy prey they thought she was, and the
U-boat had to make a quick dive to escape. "All the sailors rushed down
through the hatch, the submarine seemed to stand on her bow end, and
everything capsized as she submerged," Delaney said. "We went down 62
meters. Everybody was scared, and they said our Allies were trying to
drown us."
After seven days' cruising the U-boat arrived at Heligoland, where
Delaney and his men were landed, and then sent to Wilhelmshaven.
After four days in barracks, they were taken to the prison camp at
Brandenburg, where there were 10,000 prisoners, British, French and
Italian. Conditions in the camp, which was built around a small lake
which served as a sewage dump, were almost intolerable, and many
prisoners died. When Delaney protested against the guards stealing
parcels sent to prisoners, he was hauled up and "strafed" by the
officers. He defied them and a sergeant drew his sword, and threatened
to run it through the American sailor. But the others held him back.
The six Americans had many trying experiences, and were not released
until after the armistice; yet all survived and, leaving Germany
December 8, 1918, returned safely home.
Dodging a torpedo, which missed her by only ten feet, facing a storm of
shells and shrapnel, the _Nyanza_ fought until the U-boat keeled over,
and went down. This engagement occurred thirty miles west of Penmarch,
France, on a Sunday morning, January 13, 1918. At 9:30 a periscope,
silver plated, was sighted 1,000 yards away, and at the same instant a
torpedo was seen, heading for the vessel. The helm was put hard aport,
and the ship swung clear in time to avoid the torpedo.
The naval gunners opened fire. Falling astern, the submarine came to
the surface and gave chase, zigzagging and firing both her guns, using
shrapnel. Chief Gunner's Mate Benjamin H. Groves, in reporting the
encounter, said:
At first her shots fell short, but eventually he got our range and
hit us five times. One shot passed through the after-gun platform,
through the wood shelter house, through the iron deck, breaking
a deck beam, exploding in the hold, and passing out through the
side of the ship. One shot exploded in the armed guard's mess
room, wrecking the place completely. Two shots exploded in a steam
locomotive on deck, doing some damage. One shot hit the stern of
the ship, but did not go through.
About 11:15 the submarine had our range good again. The ship
zigzagged a little, which caused his shots to fall a little to
the right or left of our ship. At the same time, I had his range
and fired four shells quick at 7,800 yards, causing him to come
broadside to and keel over, then suddenly disappeared just as he
had our own range good. This leads me to think he did not quit from
choice, but from necessity.
The engagement lasted two hours and 30 minutes. I fired 92 rounds,
and the submarine fired approximately 200.
Admiral Wilson highly commended the _Nyanza's_ master, her second
officer and the armed guard, while Admiral Sims wrote: "The _Nyanza_
was undoubtedly saved by the prompt work of the ship's personnel and by
the efficient work of the guns' crew."
The _Navajo_ had a lively encounter with a submarine in the English
Channel July 4, 1917, and the court at Havre, which investigated the
matter, reported to the French Ministry of Marine that "the fight
was very well conducted," the men showing "a very fine spirit, doing
honor to the American Navy," and "the conclusion may be drawn that the
submarine was hit and probably sunk." Describing the engagement, Chief
Boatswain's Mate H. L. Ham reported:
On July 4, at 9:20 a. m., heavy gunfire was heard to starboard and
shortly afterward the _Navajo_ ran out of the mist and sighted a
submarine firing on a British topsail schooner about two miles
away. The _Navajo_ changed her course, the fog shut down again and
the "sub" was lost sight of. This was about 55 miles northwest of
Cape La Hague, France.
About 2:55 p. m. the same day the fog lifted and two shots were
heard from a point 1,500 yards distant. Upon observation a
submarine was seen firing with both guns at the _Navajo_. The first
shot dropped 50 yards short on the starboard beam; the second one
went over the ship. The _Navajo_ was swung, bringing the submarine
about three points on the starboard quarter, and opened fire with
her after-gun.
The submarine fired about 40 shots during the engagement, which
lasted 40 minutes, one of which hit the _Navajo_ underneath the
port counter. This shell exploded before hitting the ship and
displaced some of the plates, causing the _Navajo_ to leak.
The _Navajo_ in return fired 27 shots, the last two of which were
hits. The twenty-seventh shot struck the submarine just forward of
the conning tower where the ammunition hoist was located, causing
an explosion on board the submarine which was plainly heard on the
_Navajo_. The men who were on deck at the guns and had not jumped
overboard ran aft. The submarine then canted forward at almost 40
degrees and the propeller could be seen lashing the air. Nobody was
seen coming up through the conning tower and jumping into the sea,
nor were any survivors seen.
The armed guard commander concluded: "It is my opinion that the
submarine was sunk."
The men of the _Borinquen_ were also convinced that they sank a U-boat
which they encountered in latitude 56°-32' north, longitude 10°-46'
west, June 4, 1917. Chief Gunner's Mate T. J. Beerman reported:
Submarine was laying to when first sighted. We think she was
receiving news from her headquarters. After-gun could not bear on
her then and while the trainer was training gun around to bear,
loader fired pistol to wake up men in the shelter house, at the
same time hoisting our colors. Pointer turned on lights and dropped
sights from 500 yards to 100 yards. As soon as after-gun could bear
she opened fire. I did not see the first shot, but petty officer
said it went just over top of submarine's conning tower. I saw the
second shot hit, exploding and carrying away the conning tower. She
was about three points abaft the port beam.
The ship putting stern to submarine, the third shot was fired about
astern. I saw it hit and explode. After second shot the submarine
seemed to be stopped and lay in trough of sea at the mercy of the
gun. The last seen of her she was going down on swell, listed to
port, with her bow sticking in air and her stern down. She was
going down in an upright position.
Struck by a torpedo, the _Norlina_, after "abandon ship" was ordered
and its men had taken to the boats, manned its guns and when the U-boat
reappeared, put the enemy out of business. This engagement, which took
place June 4, 1917, in latitude 56°-32' north, longitude 10°-46' west,
was one of the queerest of war incidents.
At 6:30 p. m., a man on the forward gun platform shouted, "Torpedo!" As
the ship turned the torpedo hit just abaft the beam, glanced off aft
around the stern, and sank. The first mate sounded the "abandon ship,"
signal and the crew made for the lifeboats. Lieutenant Commander J.
Foster, captain of the vessel, three of his mates and the armed guard
commander remained aboard. Inspecting the vessel, they found it in no
danger of sinking, and called all hands to return. Chief Boatswain's
Mate O. J. Gullickson, commanding the armed guard, reported:
As boats came alongside, a periscope was sighted off the starboard
beam. Guns were manned, commenced firing from forward gun, range
2,000 yards. In the meantime the captain had gotten the engineers
below and we got under way, heading toward periscope. Continued
firing from both guns, all shots coming very close to the
periscope, submarine changing speed.
Suddenly shot from forward gun hit just in front of periscope,
making it submerge, and a light blue smoke came up from astern of
the submarine. Periscope appeared again, range now 600 yards, when
a shot from the after-gun hit it square on the water line, making
small bits of steel fly, which may have been bursting of shell, and
causing a great commotion of bubbles, etc., in the water.
In the meanwhile the captain, seeing the submarine getting closer
all the time and expecting another torpedo any second, ordered all
engineers on deck, causing the ship to be absolutely still in the
water during most of the firing. Hoisted in all boats, laying to
from 6:30 until 9:05 p. m., seeing no more of submarine, which was
apparently either sunk or badly damaged.
"It seems certain that the submarine was either sunk or disabled,"
Lieutenant Commander Foster wrote in the ship's log, which gave every
detail of the encounter.
On June 8, 1917, when the steamship _W. H. Tilford_ was off Spezia
Bay, Italy, a periscope was sighted, 1,500 yards off the starboard
beam. Twenty rounds were fired rapidly from the ship's gun, the armed
guard commander reported; and "the submarine came to the surface and
made for the beach," where an Italian torpedo boat took charge of her.
Off the Spanish coast, two or three miles from Sabinal Point, the
_Chincha_ at 7:25, the morning of January 18, 1918, sighted an object
like an enormous whale. Chief Gunner's Mate E. E. Nordquist, commanding
the armed guard, had a good look at it and decided it was one of the
latest type submarines. In his report, he said:
I commenced firing, range 2,200 yards. After third shot all shots
fired were good. Fired 10 shots, when submarine disappeared. At
8:15 submarine again showed itself about 2,000 yards off our
starboard quarter. Commencing firing fifth shot, which caused an
explosion and a volume of black smoke was seen. Submarine now
turned around and headed away from us. As submarine did not dive,
I continued the fire. Although nearly all shots seemed to hit, but
five exploded. The fourth explosion caused another volume of black
smoke. The submarine did not try to dive, but seemed to be trying
to come up. As I thought she was trying to come up for shell fire
at us, I kept on firing.
The submarine now headed for the beach about 1-1/2 miles away;
29 shots had been fired at her the second time. One of the last
shots had hit and exploded close, or at, where her propellers
were churning. As she was heading for the beach and quite a ways
off, I ceased firing. The bow swells of the submarine could still
be seen, but the churn of the propellers had ceased. Shortly all
disappeared, about 4,000 yards away.
On March 21, the _Chincha_, whose armed guard was then commanded by E.
D. Arnold, chief boatswain's mate, encountered a large type submarine,
which was driven off. But one of its shots struck the vessel, killing
one member of the armed guard, and two of the ship's crew.
_El Occidente_ had an exciting fight on February 2, the armed guard
commander, Chief Boatswain's Mate Dow Ripley, reporting that the ship
was apparently attacked by two submarines. One discharged a torpedo,
then came toward the vessel with a rush. The Navy gunners got the
range, Ripley reported, and "as their shots were hitting on top of her,
she suddenly disappeared, acting as if in distress."
When the _Santa Maria_ was torpedoed, February 25, Chief Boatswain's
Mate John Weber and his armed guardsmen stood at the guns until the
water swept around them. Chief Gunner's Mate Joseph E. Reiter and the
gunners on the _Paulsboro_, when that vessel was attacked, held their
posts while shells burst above and shrapnel fell all around them, drove
off the U-boat and saved the ship.
Twenty-four men--eight of the armed guard, and 16 of the merchant
crew--were lost in the sinking of the _Motano_, which was torpedoed the
night of July 31, 1917, in the English Channel off Portland. The vessel
sank in less than a minute after she was struck. There was no time to
launch lifeboats, and the men on deck were washed into the sea.
Survivors of merchant vessels sunk far from land, left in open boats
to make their way to shore as best they could, underwent terrible
hardships. When the _Rochester_ was sunk November 2, 1917, 300 miles
from the Irish coast, the second engineer and an oiler were killed by
the explosion of the torpedo. One of the three lifeboats was lost. In
another four of the crew perished before reaching land, and three died
later from exposure. Five men of the armed guard were lost at sea and
one died after rescue.
After the sinking of the _Actaeon_ (the ex-German _Adamstrum_),
November 24, 1917, a boat containing 19 of the armed guard and 6 of the
merchant crew became separated from the other boats, lost its course,
and rowed, sailed and drifted for eleven days before it reached Cape
Villano, near Coruña, Spain. Four men died before reaching shore, three
of the armed guard and one of the merchant crew.
The _Armenia_ seemed to afford a special target for the U-boats. She
was torpedoed on two occasions, but, though badly damaged, was, in each
instance, safely taken to port and repaired. The night of December 5,
1917, about 20 miles from Dartmouth Light, England, a torpedo tore a
hole 31 feet long and 15 feet wide in the _Armenia's_ port side. Part
of the crew took to the boats, thinking the ship would sink almost
immediately; but the ship's captain and the head of the armed guard,
Stief Homiak, chief boatswain's mate, remained aboard. Prompt measures
were taken to keep the vessel afloat, the armed guard working with the
crew. The hole in the side was covered with collision mats and other
devices to keep out the water, and though the hold was flooded, the
vessel was successfully navigated into Dartmouth. Two months later,
after repairs were completed, the _Armenia_ left Dartmouth, February
8, 1918, for West Hartlepool. Shortly after midnight, when about
nine miles off St. Catherine's Light, Isle of Wight, she was struck
by a torpedo which opened up a hole 40 by 30 feet, carried away the
stern-post and propeller and broke the tail-shaft. Tugs came from shore
and towed the vessel to Stokes Bay, and she was again repaired.
The submarines, particularly in the early months of the war, seemed
especially anxious to get one of the American liners, _St. Louis_,
_St. Paul_, _New York_ and _Philadelphia_. Time and again, U-boats
were sighted, evidently lying in wait for these fast steamers. The
_Philadelphia_, on one occasion, sighted a periscope only a few hundred
yards distant and saw the torpedo as it left the tube. By quick
maneuvering, the steamship turned and escaped the missile. The _St.
Louis_ had several experiences with them. Sighting a periscope on the
port beam, she opened a rapid fire and drove off the U-boat. Another
time a torpedo was seen only 200 yards away, and then a periscope
popped up, but by speed and quick maneuvering the liner escaped. Again
a submarine was sighted three miles distant. The _St. Louis_ opened
fire and for nearly half an hour there was a running fight between
"sub" and liner until at last the _St. Louis_ sailed out of range.
There were many instances in which prompt and effective gunfire
repulsed submarines, and in most cases where the U-boat's guns were not
of superior range, the ship escaped. Thus on July 10, 1917, the _Gold
Shell_ drove off a "sub," as did the _Dakotan_ on Sept. 6, 1917.
The _Albert Watts_ and _Westoil_, oil tankers, had a thrilling
encounter Nov. 28, 1917, with two submarines which, when first
observed, were within 300 yards. Blazing away with all their guns,
the ships compelled the enemy to dive to escape shelling. Then ensued
a running fight that continued for four hours. Every now and then a
periscope would bob up, in an effort to get in position to launch
torpedoes. But the ships would fire again, and the periscopes
disappear. At 10:30 the _Watts_ struck a mine, and was damaged, but
remained afloat. The rest of the convoy got to port that afternoon, and
a few hours later the _Watts_ arrived, crippled but still in the game.
The _Westoil_ had another brush with the enemy March 12, 1918, when
a "sub" appeared some distance astern. After a running fight the
submarine gave up the contest, though she was of big type, and her guns
were apparently heavier than those of the _Westoil_. The vessel's fire
was too accurate for her; for the armed guard commander was a "sure
shot," a gun-pointer from one of our dreadnaughts who in five years had
never missed in short-range battle practice. They were "some gunners,"
those men of the armed guards!
I could fill a book with the exploits of these guards, for the Navy
furnished guns and gunners to 384 vessels, and this service at one time
or another employed 30,000 men. Begun March 12, 1917, in accordance
with the President's order, the arming of merchantmen proceeded until
nearly every American ship crossing the Atlantic was provided with this
protection. The Bureau of Ordnance scoured the country for all the guns
of proper calibers that were available, and some were even taken from
cruisers and older battleships, to be replaced later when more could
be manufactured. But crews were always ready and the guns were secured
and installed in record time. Statistics compiled by an officer of the
Armed Guard Section show that:
The 384 merchant ships armed made 1832 trans-Atlantic trips while
in armed guard status.
347 sightings of enemy submarines were reported.
227 attacks by submarines were classified as "actual."
Only 29 ships carrying armed guards were torpedoed and sunk.
Two ships were sunk by shell-fire, both after long engagements.
193 attacks were successfully repulsed.
34 attacks resulted in probable damage to enemy submarines.
Of the 2,738,026 tons of American merchant shipping armed, only
166,428 tons was sunk by submarines. As a result of attacks
repulsed, 1,400,000 tons of American shipping were saved.
Could there be better evidence of the success of this undertaking, or
the courage and efficiency of the gunners who protected our merchant
ships?