U. S. Navy Ships Sunk or Damaged from Various Causes during World War I
Incidents are listed in chronological order by cause. We do not have any other information about these ships other than what is listed below.
U. S. Navy Ships Sunk or Damaged by Enemy Torpedo, Bombs, or Gunfire
U. S. Navy Ships Sunk or Seriously Damaged by Enemy Mines
U. S. Naval Vessels Sunk Or Damaged In Northern Mine Barrage
U. S. Naval Vessels Sunk Or Seriously Damaged From Miscellaneous Causes
U. S. Naval Vessels Sunk Or Seriously Damaged by Fire or Explosion
U. S. Naval Vessels Sunk or Damaged in Collision
[N. O. T. S. stands for Naval Overseas Transport Service, which used Navy-manned vessels used to transport troops and supplies.]
U. S. Navy Ships Sunk or Damaged by Enemy Torpedo, Bombs, or Gunfire
October 15, 1917: U. S. S. Cassin (destroyer), displacement 1,139 tons; torpedoed by German submarine U-105, off the coast of Ireland, 20 miles south of Mine Head; salvaged; 1 killed and 9 wounded.
November 5, 1917: U. S. S. Alcedo (converted yacht), gross 983 tons; torpedoed and sunk by enemy submarine (UC-type), 75 miles off the French coast; 21 killed.
December 6, 1917: U. S. S. Jacob Jones (destroyer), displacement 1,265 tons; torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-53, 25 miles southeast of Bishop's Rock and 20 miles east of Start Point, England; 64 killed.
December 27, 1917: U. S. S. Santee (converted yacht), decoy ship, gross 2,794 tons; torpedoed (probably by U-105) off Queenstown, Ireland; made port; no casualties.
April 11, 1918: U. S. S. Lakemoor (N. O. T. S. cargo vessel), 1,985 tons gross; torpedoed and sunk by German submarine UB-73, 3 miles off Corsewall Point Light; 46 killed.
May 18, 1918: U. S. S. William Rockefeller (N. O. T. S. tank ship), gross 7,175 tons; torpedoed and sunk by enemy submarine in North Sea; 3 killed.
May 31, 1918: U. S. S. President Lincoln (troop transport), gross 18,167 tons; torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-90, 600 miles off the French coast; 26 killed, 1 taken prisoner.
July 1, 1918: U. S. S. Covington (troop transport), gross 16,339 tons; torpedoed by German submarine U-86 off Brest, France; sank July 2; 6 killed.
July 10, 1918: U. S. motor launch No. 3429; sunk by German shore batteries near Nieuport, Belgium; 1 killed.
July 11, 1918: U. S. S. Westover (N. O. T. S. cargo vessel); gross 5,769 tons; torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-92 about 40 miles off French coast; 11 killed.
August 15, 1918: U. S. S. Westbridge (N. O. T. S. cargo vessel), gross 5,818 tons; torpedoed by German submarine U-90 off coast of France, towed to port; 4 killed.
September 5, 1918: U. S. S. Mount Vernon (troop transport), gross 18,372 tons; torpedoed by German submarine U-57 about 200 miles off Ushant, France; made port; 36 killed, 12 wounded.
September 16, 1918: U. S. S. Buena Ventura (N. O. T. S. cargo vessel), gross 4,881 tons; torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-46, off north-west coast of Spain; 19 killed.
September 26, 1918: W. S. S. Tampa (United States Coast Guard vessel), displacement 1,181 tons; probably torpedoed by German submarine U-53 in the Bristol Channel; total loss; no survivors; 118 killed: 112 Navy and 10 Royal Navy/Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve ratings, 5 dockyard workers. [Correction from the U.S. Coast Guard: 111 U.S. Coast Guardsmen lost, 8 Navy, some civilians ]
September 30, 1918: U. S. S. Ticonderoga (N. O. T. S. cargo vessel), gross 5,130 tons; torpedoed, shelled and sunk after two hours battle by German submarine U-152, in North Atlantic.; 213 killed: 112 Navy, 101 Army, 2 taken prisoners.
U. S. Navy Ships Sunk or Seriously Damaged by Enemy Mines
June 22, 1918: U. S. S. Californian (N. O. T. S. cargo vessel), gross 5,658 tons; sunk in Bay of Biscay; no casualties.
July 19, 1918: U. S. S. San Diego (armored cruiser), displacement 13,680 tons; sunk by mine, probably laid by German submarine U-156, 10 miles from Fire Island lightship; 6 killed, 6 wounded.
September 29, 1918: U. S. S. Minnesota (battleship), displacement 17,650 tons; struck mine, probably laid by German submarine U-117, 20 miles from Fenwick Island lightship, salvaged; no casualties.
November 9, 1918: U. S. S. Saetia (N. O. T. S. cargo vessel), gross 2.873 tons; sunk by mine, probably laid by German submarine (U-117, 10 miles southeast from Fenwick Island lightship; none killed, 13 wounded.
U.S. Naval Vessels Sunk Or Damaged In Northern Mine Barrage
July 12, 1919: U. S. S. Richard Buckley (trawler, British owned), displacement 550 tons; sunk by a mine near Shetland Islands; 7 killed; 2 wounded.September 4, 1919: U. S. subchaser No. 38, displacement 77 tons; damaged by mine explosion in North Sea; salvaged, no casualties.
September 25, 1919: U. S. subchaser No. 95, displacement 77 tons; struck mine; salvaged; no casualties.
U.S. Naval Vessels Sunk Or Seriously Damaged From Miscellaneous Causes
July 7, 1917: U. S. S. Saxis (S. P. No. 615), stranded at West Point, Virginia; no casualties.
October 4, 1917: U. S. S. Rehoboth (S. P. No. 384), sprung leak; sunk with gunfire by H. M. S. Castor; no casualties.
November 4, 1917: U. S. S. Empress (S. P. No. 569), open seams, broken up; no casualties.
December 8, 1917: U. S. S. Rush (S. P. No. 712), struck a submerged log at the entrance to the back channel of League Island Navy Yard, Philadelphia; salvaged; no casualties.
December 9, 1917: U. S. S. Washington (S. P. No. 1224), gross 1,724 tons; grounded and sunk at entrance to Ambrose Channel; no casualties.
January 12, 1918: U. S. S. P. K. Bauman, section patrol, gross 304 tons; struck a rock known as "Men au Treas" off French coast; sunk; no casualties.
January 25, 1918: U. S. S. Guinevere (S. P. No. 512), converted yacht, gross 499 tons; struck a rock and sank about 5 miles from Lorient, France; no casualties.
February 26, 1918: U. S. S. Cherokee (S. P. No. 458, gross 272 tons; foundered and sank 12 miles off Fenwick Island Light Vessel; 28 killed; 2 wounded.
February 26, 1918: U. S. S. Mariner (S. P. No. 1136), gross 220 tons; foundered at sea and sank; no casualties.
March, 1918: U. S. S. Cyclops (fuel ship), gross 19,360 tons; mysteriously disappeared; 309 killed, 236 Navy crew, and passengers: 70 navy, 2 marines, and 1 United States consul.
March 26, 1918: U. S. S. Admiral (S. P. No. 967), gross 123 tons; ran on the rocks and sank at Brant Rock, off Scituate, Massachusetts; salvaged; no casualties.
April 10, 1918: U. S. subchaser No. 126, displacement 77 tons; grounded and partially sank near Two Rocks Passage, Bermuda Harbor; finally sank about 100 yards south of Agar's Island; salvaged; no casualties.
April 11, 1918: U. S. S. Mary B. Garner (S. P. No. 682), gross 252 tons; ran aground and wrecked at Prime Hook Beach, Delaware; 1 killed.
April 25, 1918: U. S. S. St. Paul (troop transport), gross 10,230 tons; capsized at Pier 61, North River, New York; salvaged; two killed.
May 20, 1918: U. S. S. Annie E. Gallup (S. P. No. 694), gross 141 tons; wrecked; no casualties.
July 31, 1918: U. S. S. C. F. Sargent (barge), gross 1,689 tons; sprung leak, grounded and sank on Hen and Chicken Shoals; no casualties.
August 21, 1918: U. S. S. Montauk (S. P. No. 392), gross 161 tons; driven ashore in a gale and sunk off Cumberland Island, Georgia, about 20 miles from Fernandina, Florida; 9 killed.
August 27, 1918: U. S. subchaser No. 209, displacement 77 tons; mistaken for enemy and sunk with gunfire by Steamship Felix Taassig, south of Long Island; 18 killed; 4 wounded.
October 15, 1918: U. S. S. America (ex-German Amerika), troop transport, gross 22,622 tons; sank at dock in New York; salvaged; six killed.
October 21, 1918: U. S. S. Lake Borgne (N. O. T. S.), gross 2,100 tons; struck a rock and sank near Mathieu Point, France; no casualties.
November 6, 1918: U. S. S. Lake Damita (N. O. T. S.), gross 2,371 tons; struck an obstruction, grounded and sank in Anse de Bertheaume on the north shore of the entrance to the harbor of Brest, France; no casualties.
November 6, 1918: U. S. S. Jolly Roger (S. P. No. 1031), gross 14 tons; dropped from crane and broke in two off Tompkinsville, New York; damaged beyond repair; no casualties.
November 15, 1918: U. S. S. Elizabeth (S. P. No. 1092), gross 18 tons; wrecked at the mouth of the Brazos River near Freeport, Texas; 2 killed.
December 11, 1918: U. S. S. Lake Bloomington (N. O. T. S.), gross 2,342 tons; grounded and sunk east of Point de la Combre, France, at the mouth of the Gironde River; no casualties.
December 28, 1918: U. S. S. Lake Weston (N. O. T. S.), gross 1,948 tons; stranded on the rocks about 1 mile west of Nash Point in the Bristol Channel, Great Britain; salvaged; no casualties.
December 28, 1918. U. S. S. Tenadores (troop transport), gross 7,782 tons; grounded during a fog on the north shore of Ile d'Yeu, 3 miles from Les Cheins Perrins Light, about 10 miles from Brest, France; total loss; no casualties.
December 30, 1918: U. S. S. Katherine W. Cullen (S. P. No. 3223), gross 703 tons; sunk while in tow of U. S. S. Heron, 15 miles southeast from Boston Light Vessel, Massachusetts; no casualties.
January 29, 1919: U. S. S. Piave (N. O. T. S.), gross 6,868 tons; grounded and sunk off the English coast near Eastleigh, about 200 yards east of Gull lightship in the Dover Straits; no casualties.April 28, 1919: U. S. S. W. T. James (S. P. No. 429), gross 267 tons; sunk 6 miles southeast of Armen Light, France; no casualties.
April 28, 1919: U. S. S. Gypsum Queen (S. P. No. 430), gross 361 tons; struck a rock, blew up and sank, while rounding Armen Light, France; 16 killed.
June 14, 1919: U. S. S. Patrol No. 7 (S P. No. 31, motor boat), sunk while in tow of U. S. subchaser 241 and tied up to U. S. S. Yoho (S. P. No. 463) between Scituate, Massachusetts, and Minot's Ledge about 15 miles southeast of Boston Light Vessel, Massachusetts; later raised and sold; no casualties.
July 30, 1919: U. S. S. G-2, submarine; accidentally sank near New London, Connecticut; 3 killed.
September 10, 1919: U. S. S. Katherine K (S. P. No. 220), gross 14 tons; wrecked near Key West, Florida; later sold; no casualties.
September 10, 1919: U. S. S. Mary Pope (S. P. No. 291, motor boat), gross 13 tons; wrecked; no casualties.
October 22, 1919: U. S. S. Tecumseh (ex-Edward Luckenbach) tug, displacement, 221 tons; sank at the navy yard wharf at Washington, D. C.; raised and salvaged; none killed; 3 wounded.
March 9, 1920: U. S. submarine chaser No. 282, displacement 77 tons; sank in the Pacific; total loss; no casualties.
March 24, 1920: U. S. S. H-1, submarine; sank off Margarita Island, Baja California, Mexico during salvage operations; no casualties.
September 1, 1920: U. S. S. S-5, submarine; sank about 40 miles off the entrance to Delaware Bay; no casualties.
U. S. Naval Vessels Sunk Or Seriously Damaged by Fire or Explosion
June 20, 1917: U. S. S. Gypsy (S. P. No. 55, motor boat), gross 22 tons; totally destroyed by fire off Stony Beach, Allerton Beacon, Boston, Massachusetts; no casualties.
August 13, 1917: U. S. S. Nemes (S. P. No. 424, motor boat), gross 18 tons; destroyed by fire near Key West, Florida; none killed; 6 burned.
August 25, 1917: U. S. S. Elfreda (converted yacht), displacement, 164 tons; had an explosion while making a passage from Norfolk to Yorktown, Virginia; 1 killed, 2 seriously wounded.
December 22, 1917: U. S. submarine chaser No. 117, displacement, 77 tons; burned off Fortress Monroe Lighthouse; no casualties.
June 22, 1918: S. S. Fenimore (chartered by Navy), gross 1,634 tons; burned while at anchor, York River, Norfolk, Virginia; total loss; 2 killed, 2 wounded.
September 6, 1918: U. S. submarine chaser No. 226, displacement, 77 tons; depth charge exploded and both engines were wrecked while operating with Unit 2 off Land's End, from Plymouth, England; vessel was towed to base at Plymouth; no casualties.
September 18, 1918: U. S. S. scout patrol No. 907 (yard S. P. No. 210, motor boat) ; caught fire and burned to water line at entrance at Narragansett Bay; 4 men slightly burned.
October 5, 1918: U. S. S. Penobscot (S. P. No. 982), gross 269 tons; caught fire off Villa Franca, Italy; salvaged; one killed, 1 wounded.
October 9, 1918: U. S. subchaser No. 219, displacement 77 tons; sunk as the result of an explosion en route from Bermuda to the Azores; 4 killed; 8 wounded.
October 21, 1918: U. S. S. Cero (S. P. No. 1189, motor boat) ; totally destroyed by fire in Narragansett Bay, Rhode island, 50 feet west of Bishop's Rock and about 500 yards west of Coasters Harbor Island; no casualties.
November 11, 1918: U. S. S. Ophir (N. O. T. S., Army cargo), gross 4,726 tons; caught fire from internal explosion and burned in Gibraltar Harbor; salvaged; two killed.
November 12, 1918: U. S. S. Seven (S. P. No. 727, motor boat) ; condemned to be burned.
December 27, 1918: U. S. S. Teaser (S. P. No. 933), gross 20 tons; engine back fired and started a fire at Hampton Roads, Virginia, sunk; no casualties.
February 23, 1919: U. S. S. Sixaola (N. O. T. S.), gross 5,017 tons; caught fire and partially sank at pier at Hoboken, New Jersey; towed to shipyard; 2 killed. [SS Sixaola was used as a passenger ship in WWII and was torpedoed and sunk June 12, 1942 in the Caribbean.
May 2, 1919: U. S. subchaser No. 58, displacement 77 tons; burned by a gasoline explosion at Charleston, S. C.; total loss; commanding officer slightly burned.
May 5, 1919: U. S. subchaser No. 343, displacement 77 tons; sunk by an explosion setting the vessel afire, while moored inside the breakwater in His Majesty's dockyard at Ireland Island, Bermuda; one killed, five wounded.
November 1, 1919: U. S. subchaser No. 256, displacement 77 tons; sunk by gasoline explosion; no casualties.
U.S. Naval Vessels Sunk or Damaged in Collision
June 13, 1917: U. S. S. McCulloch (Coast Guard vessel), displacement 1,432 tons; sunk in collision with steamship Governor off San Francisco, California, near Point Conception; no casualties.
October 1, 1917: U. S. S. Mohawk (Coast Guard cutter), displacement 1,148 tons; sank while on patrol duty in vicinity of Ambrose Channel lightship off New York; no casualties.
November 19, 1917: U. S. S. Chauncey (destroyer), displacement 592 tons; sank In collision with British steamship Rose off Gibraltar, in latitude 35~ 22' N., longitude S~ 30' XV.; 21 killed-3 officers and 18 men.
December 12, 1917: U. S. S. Elizabeth (S. P. No. 972), gross 17 tons; sank In collision with American steamship Northland in harbor of Norfolk, Virginia; salvaged; two killed.
December 17, 1917: U. S. S. F-I, submarine; rammed and sunk by U. S. S. F-3 off San Pedro, California.; 19 killed.
March 19, 1918: U. S. S. Manley (destroyer), displacement 1,187 tons; in collision with H. M. S. Montague while escorting convoy; taken in tow and moored in Queenstown Harbor; 34 killed, 19 wounded.
May 12, 1918: U. S. S. Zaanland (N. O. T. S. cargo vessel), gross 5,417 to~is; In collision with U. S. S. Hisko and sank west of France; no casualties.
May 22, 1918: U. S. S. Wakiva II (converted yacht), gross 853 tons; sank in collision with U. S. S. Wabash 20 miles south of Ile d'Yeu, Bay of Biscay; 2 killed.
June 5, 1918: U. S. subchaser No. 132, displacement 77 tons; sank in collision with U. S. S. Tacoma off Barnegat Light, New Jersey; no casualties.June 21, 1918: U. S. S. Schurz, gunboat, gross 1,657 tons; in collision with American steamship Florida southwest of Cape Lookout lightship, North Carolina; drifted about 12 miles and sank; 1 killed; 12 wounded.
July 10, 1918: U. S. S. Oosterdijk (N. O. T. S.), gross 8,251 tons; in collision with steamship San Jacinto in mid Atlantic; no casualties.
August 4, 1918: U. S. subchaser No. 187, displacement 77 tons; sank after collision with Norwegian steamship Capto off the coast of Virginia, 11 miles northeast of Cape Charles Light Vessel; none killed, 2 wounded.
October 1, 1918: U. S. subchaser No. 60, displacement 77 tons; sank after collision with American tanker Fred M. Weller, 5 miles south of Ambrose Channel lightship and 2 miles north of Shrewsbury Rock gas buoy, New York harbor; 2 killed.
October 4, 1918: U. S. S. Herman Frasch (N. O. T. S.), gross 3,803 tons; sank in collision with U. S. S. George G. Henry in mid-Atlantic; 23 killed.
October 5, 1918: U. S. S. Mary Alice (S. P. No. 397), gross 180 tons; sank in collision with U. S. submarine O-13 in Long Island Sound, off Bridgeport, Connecticut, 1,800 yards south of Penfield Reef Light; no casualties.
October 7, 1918: U. S. S. West Gate (N. O. T. S.), gross 5800 tons; sank in collision with U. S. S. American southeast of Nova Scotia; 7 killed, 3 wounded.
October 9, 1918: U. S. S. Shaw (destroyer), displacement 1,224; rammed by H. M. S. Aquitania about 40 miles southwest of Portland, England; repaired; 12 killed, 15 wounded.
October 19, 1918: U. S. S. Simplicity (S. P. No. 96), gross 21 tons; sank in collision with barge No. 78 alongside Army dock at Fort Wadsworth, New York; total loss; no casualties.
October 28, 1918: U. S. S. Tarantula (S. P. No. 124), gross 159 tons; in collision with Dutch steamship Frisia and sank about 8 miles southwest from Fire Island Light Vessel, New York; no casualties.
November 26, 1918: U. S. S. Bonita (S. P. No. 540); struck in collision by American schooner Russell while moored astern to the Coast Guard Station 25, Boston Harbor, Massachusetts; sank; no casualties.
January 16, 1919: U. S. S. Lake Erie (N. O. T. S.), gross 1,948 tons; In collision with British steamship Hazel Branch and sank off Lavernock, 5 miles from Cardiff, Wales; salvaged; no casualties.
August 9, 1919: U. S. subchaser No. 184, displacement 77 tons; rammed and badly damaged by an unnamed Merchants & Miners Steamship Co. steamer in fifth naval district, Norfolk, Virginia; no casualties.
Source:
American Ship Casualties of the World War, Including Naval Vessels, Merchant Ships, Sailing Vessels, and Fishing Craft, Corrected to April 1, 1923, Compiled by Historical Section Navy Department, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1923Merchant Ships Sunk or Damaged during World War I
Lists of Ships
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