Jim- Otto Wunsche was commander of the u-boat that sank the US merchant ship Vigilancia. It was one of three sunk over the weekend March 16-18, that helped convince Wilson and the US public to support US entry into World War One. The details are provided in my recent book: Sovereignty at Sea: U.S. Merchant Ships and American Entry into World War One (University Press of Florida, 2010). You might
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Fellow forum members The book I have been working on for the last two years (or more) is out now, covering the topic of U-boat sinking of U.S. merchant ships that led to American entry into World War I. With the help of u-boat net researchers, noted in the book, the details were tracked down. The title of the book is "Sovereignty at Sea: U.s. Merchant ships and American Entry into World War
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Robert Regarding crew list of the Housatonic, freighter sunk by U-53 I checked the "Shipping and Mail" news in the NYTimes. The Philadelphia, with the survivors (except the captain, who came earlier) arrived in NYCity from Liverpool via San Juan on March 1, 1917. All the crew, I believe, of the ship were aboard the Philadelphia. Checking Ellis Island records should (I think) show you
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Daniel Did you try Foreign Relations of the United States? (FRUS) FRUS is available directly off the web now. There are lots of reports from Frost in there, although not the verbatim reports. I should also think that the consular records in NARA might have copies, at least of the dispatches summarizing Frost's interviews. Maybe you tried all these already, and forgive me if I am stating the
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Robert: The loss of the Housatonic was big news in early February 1917. The New York Times index for February 1917 will give you several news items. No one aboard the freighter was killed, as Hans Rose towed the freighter towards shore, where British patrol boat picked up the survivors. I treat this episode briefly in an article in the July 2007 issue of Northern Mariner. None of the sources I l
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Forum Members: After much research, I am publishing a book on U.S. ships sunk between Feb 1 and April 6, 1917, that resulted in the U.S. declaring war on Germany. Thanks to suggestions from Michael Lowery and Oliver Lorscher, I substantiated the fact that one of the ten ships that led the U.S. to declare war was NOT sunk by a German sub, but by a mine, laid by the British two nights before. That
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Oliver Yes, I wondered whether the Dutch O-class coastal patrol subs would venture that far out, especially at night, and in a minefield area. The trouble with a distant sighting is that Capt. Christopher of the Healdton thought he saw a sub come to the surface, near the sinking ship, observe it for a few minutes, and then submerge again. He may have been mistaken but since he was otherwise re
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Oliver: Thanks very much. Interesting that nothing unusual was reported, but the other sources seem like they might be worth checking. Seems there were a few Dutch subs that also might have been in the area, with sources regarding those in the Netherlands! I really appreciate your looking into this! Seems I have a little more digging to do! Rodney
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Oliver Thanks for the tip. I do not know which sub I am looking for, but rather, I am still looking at the North Sea, off Terschelling Light. I have the date range, but not the sub. It may have been a British sub that observed the sinking of Healdton, that probably struck a mine in a newly-laid minefield. Minefield laid on March 18/19, ship sunk on March 21, 1917. I think the secondary sources w
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All: What sources would you recommend to check the operations of British submarines in WWI, with particular reference to specific ops in March 1917? Interested to know of either in-print sources, or archival sources for log books and reports. Suggestions and ideas welcome! R.Carlisle
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All I am still trying to reconcile the fact that the captain of Healdton (a reliable witness, it seems) stated that he saw a submarine about 8:15 or 8:30 p.m. on the night of March 21, 1917, near his sinking tanker. Although it seems he probably struck a mine laid three nights before by the British some 23 miles north by east from Terschelling Light, he (and other survivors) were certain they sp
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Michael If you check OCLC (worldcat) you can find a library near you that holds Der Handleskrieg Mit U-booten. Indexes and chron arrangement make it easy to track the info, even if you are not fluent in German. I found this out thanks to help from uboat net folk. R.Carlisle
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