United States Submarine Force in Cork

1918

The United States entered World War One in April 1917. By May of that year the first US destroyers were patrolling the West coast of Ireland and the Irish Sea,  along with the ships and submarines of the  Royal Navy, in an effort to combat the u-boat menace.

The German submarines were proving difficult to destroy, and in 1917, the British Navy had instituted a flotilla of ‘hunter-killer’ subs covering  the North and West coast of Ireland.

The High Command sent a contingent of US submarines to Ireland in early 1918, to try to cover the South and Eastern parts of the Western Approaches. Seven L-Class submarines of Submarine Division 5 were towed and escorted to Ireland, via the Azores.

USS AL 11 (aka L 11, SS-51)
Bere Island in background

The weather was very poor, with continual storms and high seas. The first casualty among the submariners was that of Royal. Allen, Leese , Gunners Mate, 1st Class,  who fell overboard from USS L-10, and was drowned, on route from the Azores to Ireland.

The submarine force  arrived in Cork, Ireland,  between January and February 1918 and soon submarines were on patrol. The identities of the US subs were changed from ‘L’ to ‘AL’ to avoid confusion with the British craft.

The force was based at Berehaven, in the South West of Ireland, and had as depot ship, USS Bushnell (AS-2), as well as the support of the armed tug Genesee (AT-55)

USS Bushnell and submarine AL-9 (and others)
in Berehaven Sound, 1918.

The tactics of this submarine force were similar to those of  the British subs. To cruise on pre-determined courses, usually at periscope depth, to try to catch unaware U-boats on the surface, then attack.  The Royal Navy had more experience of these tactics, and helped to train the US submariners. Lieutenant Earl Childs, USN, was killed on  board British submarine HMS H5, in March 1918, when she was rammed by a merchant  ship in the Irish Sea. He was acting as an observer on this boat.

The patrol area was enormous, to the South and East of Ireland. It is on the edge of the Atlantic , with cold seas and frequent storms. Conditons aboard these small submarines must have been very uncomfortable,, pitching and rolling about on the Atlantic Ocean swell.  On June 8th, 1918, Gunner's Mate Horace. Elmer, Whitaker was lost overboard from the Berehaven-based boat AL-3, and drowned.

An important feature of patrols was to stay hidden from all shipping, as at that time, any submarine sighted was assumed to be a German one . This meant that there were plenty of attempted rammings and sinkings of US and British subs by friendly forces. It was best to stay out of sight.

USS AL-4 and unidentified submarine in Haulbowline Drydock

Patrols continued throughout 1918, right up to the Armistice. There were no ‘kills’ recorded, but there were a number of contacts, and attacks made. One involved the USS AL-2 and a suspected U-boat , off Cape Clear, in South West Cork.

The Commander of the AL-2 had observed an enemy periscope on the surface, but before he had a chance to attack, a massive explosion occurred. It was thought that a torpedo had prematurely exploded in the other craft, destroying it. The identity of the mystery submarine has not been solved. The coastal U-boat U-65 was always thought to be the victim, however this wreck has been found off Padstow, Cornwall)

The German High Command were aware of the US submarine patrols, and they would have served to keep the U-boats under pressure, so their contribution to the war was never in doubt.

USS Al-9 at sea

Submarine Division 5 (SUBDIV-5)
Berehaven, Ireland. 1918.

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Page Created 06th March 2011
Page updated 17th June 2011




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