|
|
|
USS Mount Vernon
5th September 1918 Naval Action - 5th September 1918 The Action of 5 September 1918 was a naval battle 200 miles 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
SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie was a German ocean liner operating between the U.S. and Europe. On the outbreak of the war, she sought refuge in the then-neutral United States to avoid the British Royal Navy and was taken into Bar Harbor, Maine, where she was interned. After America entered World War I in April 1917, the ship was seized and turned over to the United States Navy, who renamed her USS Mount Vernon in honor of Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon was used to transport American troops across the Atlantic to France.
U-82, a German submarine, had several successful patrols of the Atlantic to sink any and all Allied shipping.
Action
On the morning of 5 September 1918, Mount Vernon and four destroyers were off France and steaming in convoy toward the U.S. when Mount Vernon was attacked by U-82. The German vessels' periscope was spotted 500 yd off the starboard bow, by a man of Mount Vernon's gun crew; they immediately fired a round from the gun. The shot was a hit. Apparently unaffected by the shot, which reportedly did not harm anyone, U-82 surfaced. The U-boat fired a single torpedo at Mount Vernon and then submerged. The American captain ordered "right full rudder" but the ship could not turn fast enough and was hit. The destroyers USS Winslow, Conner, Nicholson and Wainwright responded immediately and approached the battle area. Once they arrived near Mount Vernon, they observed the damage from a large explosion on Mount Vernon's side. The German commander, seeing the fast-approaching American destroyers, decided not to follow up with a second torpedo, so no further damage to the U.S. auxiliary cruiser was sustained. The four destroyers dropped depth charges for many minutes after Mount Vernon was hit, but they failed to sink the U-boat, which slipped away. Despite this, the American destroyers were credited with saving Mount Vernon from being sunk. Mount Vernon steamed safely back to Brest with the loss of 36 out of the 1,450 people on board. Thirteen others were wounded with all of the American casualties being the result of the single torpedo explosion. The ship suffered considerable damage, but after immediate improvised repairs, she was able to return to Brest under her own steam with an allied warship for additional protection.
Aftermath
Further temporary repairs were made at Brest and from there Mount Vernon proceeded to Boston, Massachusetts for a complete repair. This was Mount Vernon's last battle of the war and one of the bloodier days for the U.S. Navy during the conflict with Germany. U-82 continued to fight, as did the four U.S. destroyers.
John Doran
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
|
Want to know more about USS Mount Vernon?
 There are:1 articles tagged USS Mount Vernon available in our Library |
|
|
The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
- 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time.
|
Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the Great War? Our
Library contains many many diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text.
|
Looking for help with Family History Research?
Please see Family History FAQ's
Please note: We are unable to provide individual research.
|
|
Can you help?
The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors.
If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web.
If you enjoy this site
please consider making a donation.
Announcements
- 19th Nov 2024
Please note we currently have a massive backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than
264989 your submission is still in the queue, please do not resubmit.
Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to the Great War. If you have any unwanted
photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted.
|
World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great battalion regiment artillery
Did you know? We also have a section on World War Two. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
|
|
|
Want to know more about USS Mount Vernon? There are:0 items tagged USS Mount Vernon available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.
|
|
Recomended Reading.Available at discounted prices.
|
|
|
