In the vast, frigid waters of the North Atlantic, a cataclysm unfolded quietly before the United States’ official entry into the Second World War.On October 31, 1941, near Iceland, the USS Reuben James (DD-245), an American Naval destroyer, was tragically destroyed by a German U-boat, U-552, marking the first U.S. Navy ship sunk by enemy action in WWII. This incident claimed 115 lives and served as a somber introduction to the looming conflict the U.S. would soon enter.
The incident with the Reuben James was not an isolated one, but part of a series of aggressive encounters between the United States Navy and German U-boats that escalated tensions in the lead-up to the U.S. declaring war. These hostilities included prior engagements such as the USS Niblack’s (DD-424) depth charge attack on a U-boat on April 10, 1941, after picking up survivors from a sunk Dutch freighter near Iceland, and the USS Greer (DD-145) incident on September 4, 1941, which prompted President Franklin D. Roosevelt to declare a “shoot-on-sight” order against threats to U.S. or allied shipping.
As U-boat attacks intensified, by January 1942, German submarines had moved menacingly into American coastal waters, turning the seas off the east coast of North America, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean into graveyards for over 100 Allied ships within the first three months of the year. The situation showcased a desperate need for an effective anti-submarine strategy. The U.S. Navy, limited by lack of resources, was supported by the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) and the Civil Air Patrol. They conducted offshore patrol flights using unarmed civilian aircraft to detect hidden enemies.
In the Gulf of Mexico, the German navy launched Operation Drumbeat, or Operation Paukenschlag, resulting in the sinking of more Allied ships than were destroyed at Pearl Harbor.The U-boats, such as U-166, employed ruthless tactics. It was later discovered that U-166 was sunk by a fortunate strike from a depth charge released by the U.S. Navy patrol craft PC-566, following its attack on the passenger ship Robert E. Lee in July 1942.
As US forces gained experience and upgraded their equipment, such as acquiring long-range, radar-equipped B-24 bombers, the situation started to change. The previously daring U-boats that used to hide near the coastlines were forced to retreat to the safer mid-ocean convoy routes. This change ultimately resulted in the USAAF handing over its antisubmarine operations and gear to the US Navy by the autumn of 1943, marking a substantial improvement in the US ability to safeguard its waters and those of its Allies.
The sinking of the USS Reuben James, the scramble for anti-submarine defense, and the heroic actions of military and civilian pilots against the U-boat threat embody the shadow war fought in the depths and on the surface – a war that would soon engulf the United States entirely.
Relevant articles:
– Fighting U-Boats in American Waters, National Museum of the USAF (.mil)
– German U Boats in the Gulf, heartoflouisiana.com
– U.S. Entry Into WWII, Navy (.mil)