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USS Greer

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59-593: USS Greer (DD–145) was a Wickes -class destroyer in the United States Navy , the first ship named for Rear Admiral James A. Greer (1833–1904). In what became known as the " Greer incident," she became the first US Navy ship to fire on a German ship, three months before the United States officially entered World War II . The incident led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue what became known as his "shoot-on-sight" order. Roosevelt publicly confirmed

118-546: A British aircraft aided in repelling the attack. In response, Germany claimed "that the attack had not been initiated by the German submarine; on the contrary, ... the submarine had been attacked with depth bombs, pursued continuously in the German blockade zone, and assailed by depth bombs until midnight." The communique implied that the US destroyer had dropped the first depth bombs. Germany accused President Roosevelt of "endeavoring with all

177-500: A British plane of the presence of a submerged submarine about 10 miles [(16 km)] directly ahead. … Acting on the information from the British plane the Greer proceeded to search for the submarine and at 0920 she located the submarine directly ahead by her underwater sound equipment. The Greer proceeded then to trail the submarine and broadcast the submarine's position. This action, taken by

236-621: A Pitre , Guadeloupe , trying to keep the Vichy French government from getting Jeanne d'Arc to sea. Sailing from Guantanamo Bay 23 January 1943, Greer sailed to Boston then headed for the Atlantic convoy duty. Departing NS Argentia , Newfoundland 1 March 1943, she escorted merchantmen for Northern Ireland . During heavy North Atlantic gales , Convoy SC 121 lost seven ships to three separate U-boat attacks before reaching Londonderry Port on 13 March. Greer then escorted 40 merchantmen on

295-515: A collision in 1921. Many Wickes -class destroyers were converted to other uses, starting as early as 1920, when 14 were converted to light minelayers ( hull classification symbol DM). Six of these were scrapped in 1932, and replaced by five additional conversions. Another four were converted to auxiliaries or transports at that time. Four Wickes -class DM conversions and four Clemson -class DM conversions survived to serve in World War II. During

354-457: A larger radius of action . As a result, the size of U.S. destroyers increased steadily, starting at 450 tons and rising to over 1,000 tons between 1905 and 1916. The need for high speed, economical cruising, heavy seas performance, and a high fuel capacity saw larger hulls, the inclusion of oil fuel, reduction geared steam turbines with cruising turbines, and increased fuel capacity. With World War I then in its second year and tensions between

413-762: A negotiated purchase. A notable example of a non-belligerent in an environment of total war was the United States' military support of the Allies in World War II , prior to their entry into the war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . The military support given by the Americans was through the Destroyers-for-bases deal in which the United States provide the United Kingdom "all possible assistance short of war" in

472-689: A new order he issued as commander-in-chief that escalated America nearer to outright involvement in the European war. In Roosevelt's words: The Greer was flying the American flag . Her identity as an American ship was unmistakable. She was then and there attacked by a submarine. Germany admits that it was a German submarine. The submarine deliberately fired a torpedo at the Greer , followed by another torpedo attack. In spite of what Hitler's propaganda bureau has invented, and in spite of what any American obstructionist organisation may prefer to believe, I tell you

531-464: A person not involved in combat or aggression, especially if combat or aggression is likely. In a situation of civil unrest such as a riot , civilians may be divided into belligerents, those actually fighting or intending to fight, and non-belligerents who are merely bystanders. During World War II, Spain allowed and promoted the Spanish Blue Division of volunteers and conscripts to join

590-458: A written report. Stark's account, made public in October 1941, confirmed that the Greer dropped its charges only after the submarine fired its first torpedo at it, but revealed that the Greer had gone in search of the submarine after its presence was noted by the British aircraft. Admiral Stark's report stated: At 0840 that morning, Greer , carrying mail and passengers to Iceland, "was informed by

649-608: The British Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy , some of which were later transferred to the Soviet Navy . All were scrapped within a few years after World War II. The destroyer type was at this time a relatively new class of fighting ship for the U.S. Navy. The type arose in response to torpedo boats that had been developing from 1865, especially after the development of the self-propelled Whitehead torpedo . During

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708-604: The British West Indies 26 August to serve briefly as plane guard to Santee . She rendezvoused with a convoy in the Caribbean and headed for North Africa. Diverted to New York, she docked there 14 September. Routine training exercises turned into tragedy 15 October as Greer collided with Moonstone off the mouth of Indian River , Delaware Capes (35 miles (56 km) south-east of Cape May , New Jersey). Moonstone sank in less than 4 minutes, but Greer rescued all

767-511: The German High Command stepped up the pace of the war through the summer of 1941, Greer found herself involved in an incident which brought America's entry into the war nearer. The " Greer incident" occurred 4 September. By all accounts, a German submarine (later identified as U-652 ) fired upon the Greer, but made no contact. When news of the encounter reached the United States, public concern ran high. Initial reports reported that

826-549: The Greer started searching for the submarine and at 1512 … the Greer made underwater contact with a submarine. The Greer attacked immediately with depth charges. Stark went on to report that the result of the encounter was undetermined, although most assumed from the German response that the sub had survived. In fact, U-652 had indeed survived and promptly headed west to participate in the devastating U-boat pack attack on convoy SC 42 in early September. Historian Charles A. Beard would later write that Admiral Stark's report to

885-412: The Greer , was in accordance with her orders, that is, to give out information but not to attack." The British plane continued in the vicinity of the submarine until 1032, but prior to her departure the plane dropped four depth charges in the vicinity of the submarine. The Greer maintained [its] contact until about 1248. During this period (three hours 28 minutes), the Greer manoeuvred so as to keep

944-580: The Greer' s engagement began caused Pulitzer-prizewinning New York Times reporter Arthur Krock to address it (and the Nazi sub engagements with the Kearny , and the Reuben James ) when speaking about "who 'attacked' whom." Krock defined the term "attack" as "an onset, an aggressive initiation of combat, a move which is the antithesis of 'defense.'" "In that definition," he said, "all three of our destroyers attacked

1003-651: The Philadelphia Navy Yard . Greer decommissioned 19 July 1945. Her name was stricken from the Navy list 13 August and her hull was sold to the Boston Metal Salvage Company of Baltimore , Maryland on 30 November 1945. As of 2017, no other ship in the United States Navy has borne this name. Wickes-class destroyer The Wickes -class destroyers were a class of 111 destroyers built by

1062-732: The Royal Navy , and four to the Royal Canadian Navy , in 1940 under the Destroyers-for-bases deal . Together with ships from the Caldwell and Clemson classes they were grouped as ' Town-class destroyers '; divided into the Bath Iron Works design as "Type B" and the Bethlehem Steel as "Type C" Most of these ships were refitted much like the U.S. destroyers and used as convoy escorts, but some were used very little and were not considered worth refitting. Buchanan , renamed HMS  Campbeltown ,

1121-549: The Spanish–American War , it was realized that a torpedo boat destroyer was urgently needed to screen the larger warships, so much so that a special war plans board headed by Theodore Roosevelt issued an urgent report pleading for this type of ship. A series of destroyers had been built over the preceding years, designed for high smooth water speed, with indifferent results, especially poor performance in heavy seas and poor fuel economy. The lesson of these early destroyers

1180-666: The United States Navy in 1917–19. Together with the six preceding Caldwell -class and following 156 subsequent Clemson -class destroyers , they were grouped as the " flush-deck " or "four-stack" type. Only a few were completed in time to serve in World War I , including USS  Wickes , the lead ship of the class. While some were scrapped in the 1930s, the rest served throughout World War II . Most of these were converted to other uses; nearly all in U.S. service had half their boilers and one or more stacks removed to increase fuel and range or accommodate troops. Others were transferred to

1239-589: The Versailles Peace Conference , and escorted her to the United States. After exercises in coastal waters, Greer was assigned to Trepassey Bay , Newfoundland , for duties during a transatlantic flight by four Navy seaplanes , one of which, NC-4 , safely completed the historic undertaking. After further training exercises and a European cruise, Greer was assigned to the Pacific Fleet , reaching San Francisco 18 November 1919. Six months' duty with

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1298-517: The gunwales of the firing ship. The Mark 8 torpedo was initially equipped, and probably remained the standard torpedo for this class, as 600 Mark 8 torpedoes were issued to the British in 1940 as part of the Destroyers for Bases Agreement . Most ships carried a 3-inch (76 mm)/23 caliber anti-aircraft (AA) gun, typically just aft of the stern 4-inch gun. The original design called for two 1-pounder AA guns, but these were in short supply and

1357-628: The "flush deck" type. Greater beam and the flush deck provided greater hull strength. In addition, the Wickes class had 26,000 horsepower (19,000 kW) - 6,000 horsepower (4,500 kW) more than the Caldwell class - providing an extra 5 kn (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph). The machinery arrangement of some of the Caldwell s was used, with geared steam turbines on two shafts. The extra power required an extra 100 tons of engine and reduction gears. The design included an even keel and nearly horizontal propeller shafts to minimize weight. As construction

1416-580: The "shoot on sight" order on 11 September 1941, effectively declaring naval war against Germany and Italy in the Battle of the Atlantic . Greer was launched by William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Co., Philadelphia , 1 August 1918; sponsored by Miss Evelina Porter Gleaves, daughter of Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves ; and commissioned 31 December 1918. Greer ' s shake down took her to Azores , from which she rendezvoused with George Washington , carrying President Woodrow Wilson home from

1475-673: The 1930s, 23 more were scrapped, sold off, or sunk as targets. This was mostly due to a blanket replacement of 61 Yarrow-boilered destroyers 1930–31, as these boilers wore out quickly in service. Flush-deckers in reserve were commissioned as replacements. Starting in 1940, many of the remaining ships were also converted. Sixteen were converted to high-speed transports with the designation APD. Eight were converted to destroyer minesweepers (DMS). Most ships remaining in service during World War II were rearmed with dual-purpose 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber guns for better anti-aircraft protection. The AVD seaplane tender conversions received two guns;

1534-749: The 3-inch gun was more effective. Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) armament was added during World War I. Typically, a single depth charge track was provided aft, along with a Y-gun depth charge projector forward of the aft deckhouse. The United States Congress authorized 50 destroyers in the 1916 Act. However, the realization of the scope of the U-boat campaign resulted in 111 being built. The ships were built at Bath Iron Works, Bethlehem Steel Corporation's Fore River Shipbuilding Company , Union Iron Works, Mare Island Navy Yard , Newport News Shipbuilding , New York Shipbuilding , and William Cramp & Sons . 267 Wickes and Clemson -class destroyers were built. This program

1593-656: The APD transport, DM minelayer, and DMS minesweeper conversions received three guns, and those retaining destroyer classification received six. Half of the torpedo tubes were removed in those retained as destroyers; all torpedoes were removed from the others. Nearly all had half the boilers removed, for increased fuel and range or to accommodate troops, reducing their speed to 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph). The low-angle Mark 9 4-inch guns removed from these ships were transferred to defensively equipped merchant ships for anti-submarine protection. Ward had an eventful career. She

1652-682: The East Coast and Caribbean, Greer joined the Neutrality Patrol in February 1940. Detached from this duty 5 October, the destroyer patrolled the Caribbean that winter. She joined other American ships on operations in the North Atlantic early in 1941, out of Reykjavík , Iceland , and NS Argentia , Newfoundland. United States ships, as non-belligerents , could not attack Axis submarines ; but, as

1711-602: The German forces on the condition that they would fight against the Soviet Union only and they would do it with German equipment and uniforms. At the same time, allied aircraft made emergency landings in Spanish territories (Melilla, Mallorca) and the Spanish government returned the crews home safely. The aircraft were either scrapped due to poor condition or repaired and allocated in the Spanish Air Force if not reclaimed, or after

1770-465: The German submarines." A 2005 book concluded that Senator Walsh's "very aggressive actions in the USS Greer case prevented war from breaking out in the Atlantic." The episode did not escalate into war because both Hitler and Roosevelt were being very cautious. Hitler concentrated his resources on defeating the Soviet Union, while Roosevelt was building up a broad base of support for aggressive patrols of

1829-484: The North Atlantic. Greer remained in the North Atlantic through 1941, shepherding convoys to and from MOMP , the mid-ocean meeting point at which American ships took over escort duties from the hard-pressed Royal Navy . After overhaul at Boston , she turned south 3 March 1942 to resume patrol duty in the Caribbean . In addition to regular escort duties, Greer performed many other tasks, including rescuing 39 victims of German U-boats. In May she stood guard off Pointe

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1888-636: The Pacific Fleet terminated 25 March 1920, when Greer sailed to join the Asiatic Fleet . After standing by off Shanghai to protect American lives and property during riots there in May, Greer sailed to Port Arthur and Dairen on intelligence missions and returned to Cavite , Philippines , for fleet exercises. The destroyer returned to San Francisco 29 September 1921 via Guam , Midway , and Pearl Harbor . Greer decommissioned at San Diego 22 June 1922, and

1947-739: The Senate Committee "made the President's statement... appear in some respects inadequate, and, in others, incorrect." In his postwar summary of the Stark report, Beard emphasised that (1) the Greer had chased the sub and held contact with the sub for 3 hours and 28 minutes before the sub fired its first torpedo; (2) the Greer then lost contact with the sub, searched, and after re-establishing contact two hours later, attacked immediately with depth charges, then (3) searched for three more hours before proceeding to its destination. The Stark report's account of how

2006-452: The U.S. and Germany increasing, the U.S. needed to expand its navy. The Naval Appropriation Act of 1916 called for a navy "second to none," capable of protecting both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The Act authorized the construction of ten battleships, six Lexington -class battlecruisers , ten Omaha -class scout cruisers , and 50 Wickes -class destroyers. A subsequent General Board recommendation for further destroyers to combat

2065-402: The blunt fact that the German submarine fired first upon this American destroyer without warning, and with the deliberate design to sink her. Declaring that Germany had been guilty of "an act of piracy," President Roosevelt announced what became known as his "shoot-on-sight" order: that Nazi submarines' "very presence in any waters which America deems vital to its defense constitutes an attack. In

2124-483: The crew but one. After repairs, the destroyer escorted the Free French cruiser Gloire from New York to Norfolk. Greer sailed 26 December with another Casablanca-bound convoy and after an uneventful crossing returned to Boston 9 February 1944. This was the final transatlantic crossing for the old four-stack destroyer, as she and her sister ships were replaced by newer and faster escorts. The veteran destroyer spent

2183-521: The gun armament was typical for destroyers of this period, the torpedo armament was larger than usual, in accordance with American practice at the time. A factor in the size of the torpedo armament was the General Board's decision to use broadside rather than centerline torpedo tubes. This was due to the desire to have some torpedoes remaining after firing a broadside, and problems experienced with centerline mounts on previous classes with torpedoes striking

2242-506: The high-speed transport APD-16, she was damaged beyond repair by a kamikaze attack on 7 December 1944, and was sunk after abandoning ship by gunfire from the destroyer O'Brien , commanded at the time by Ward ' s former CO from the Pearl Harbor attack. Thirteen Wickes class were lost during World War II in U.S. service. The remainder were scrapped between 1945 and 1947. Twenty-three Wickes -class destroyers were transferred to

2301-503: The means at his disposal to provoke incidents for the purpose of baiting the American people into the war." The United States Department of the Navy replied that the German claims were inaccurate and that "the initial attack in the engagement was made by the submarine on the Greer ." Roosevelt made the Greer incident the principal focus of one of his famed " fireside chats ", where he explained

2360-458: The next 2 years. She sailed for the East Coast and duty with the Training Squadron 3 June 1936. After conducting Naval Reserve cruises throughout that summer, Greer sailed for the Philadelphia Navy Yard 28 September and decommissioned there 13 January 1937. As war swept across Europe, Greer recommissioned 4 October 1939 and joined Destroyer Division 61 as flagship . After patrolling

2419-470: The remainder of her long career performing a variety of necessary tasks in American waters. After a tour of submarine training duty at New London , Greer became plane guard for several new aircraft carriers during the summer of 1944. Operating from various New England ports, she served with Ranger , Tripoli , Mission Bay , and Wake Island . Sailing to Key West in February 1945, Greer continued plane guard duty until 11 June when she sailed to

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2478-590: The return voyage without incident, and continued on to Hampton Roads 15 April with tanker Chicopee . After exercises in Casco Bay , Greer departed New York City 11 May with a convoy of 83 ships. Reaching Casablanca , Morocco , 1 June, the destroyer patrolled off the North African port and then recrossed the Atlantic, arriving New York 27 June. After another run to Northern Ireland, Greer returned to New York 11 August. After steaming to Norfolk , she sailed for

2537-406: The submarine ahead. At 1240 the submarine changed course and closed the Greer . At 1245 an impulse bubble (indicating the discharge of a torpedo by the submarine) was sighted close aboard the Greer . At 1249 a torpedo track was sighted crossing the wake of the ship from starboard to port, distant about 100 yards [(100 m)] astern. At this time the Greer lost sound contact with the submarine. At 1300

2596-411: The submarine threat resulted in a total of 267 Wickes - and Clemson -class destroyers completed. However, the design of the ships remained optimized for operation with the battleship fleet. The requirements of the new design were high speed and mass production. The development of submarine warfare during World War I created a requirement for destroyers in numbers that had not been contemplated before

2655-512: The tapered stern, which made for a nice depth charge deployment feature, dug into the water and increased the turning radius, thus hampering anti-submarine work. The Clemson class added 100 tons of fuel tankage to improve operational range, but the issue of range was solved only with the development of underway replenishment in World War II. The main armament was the same as the Caldwell class: four 4-inch (102 mm)/50 caliber guns and twelve 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes . While

2714-613: The war ended: 21 of the Wickes class (and all but 9 of the Clemson class) were launched after the armistice on 11 November 1918 . The last of the Wickes class was launched on 24 July 1919. This program left the U.S. Navy with so many destroyers that no new destroyers were built until 1932 (the Farragut class ). 111 Wickes -class destroyers were built. Some of these ships are also referred to as Little class (52 ships), Lamberton class (11 ships), or Tattnall class (10 ships) to signify

2773-482: The war, and were scrapped between 1949 and 1952. Non-belligerent A non-belligerent is a person, a state , or other organization that does not fight in a given conflict. The term is often used to describe a country that does not take part militarily in a war . A non-belligerent state differs from a neutral one in that it may support certain belligerents in a war but is not directly involved in military operations . The term may also be used to describe

2832-467: The war. A top speed of 35 knots (65 km/h) was needed for operation with the Lexington-class battlecruisers and Omaha-class cruisers . The final design had a flush deck and four smokestacks. It was a fairly straightforward evolution of the preceding Caldwell class . General dissatisfaction with the earlier "1,000 ton" designs ( Cassin and Tucker classes) led to the fuller hull form of

2891-406: The waters which we deem necessary for our defense, American naval vessels and American planes will no longer wait until Axis submarines lurking under the water, or Axis raiders on the surface of the sea, strike their deadly blow—first." He concluded: The aggression is not ours. [Our concern] is solely defense. But let this warning be clear. From now on, if German or Italian vessels of war enter

2950-539: The waters, the protection of which is necessary for American defense, they do so at their own peril. … The sole responsibility rests upon Germany. There will be no shooting unless Germany continues to seek it. Senator David I. Walsh ( Democrat – Massachusetts ), isolationist Chair of the Senate Committee on Naval Affairs , scheduled a committee hearing to unearth the details of the incident, which prompted Admiral Harold R. Stark , Chief of Naval Operations , to issue

3009-563: The words of Winston Churchill . From September 1939 to June 1940, when it joined the war with Germany , Italy was a non-belligerent. Although officially Ireland declared itself neutral in World War II, it can be disputed whether it was a non-belligerent or not, as The Cranborne Report drew up by the Viscount Cranborne to the British War Cabinet noted regarding Irish-British collaboration. An example of such collaboration

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3068-456: The yard that built them and to note the slight design differences from the Bath Iron Works ships. Some of these non-Bath Iron Works units were actually commissioned prior to the lead ship, Wickes . A few Wickes class were completed in time for service in World War I, some with the battle fleet, some on convoy escort duty; none were lost. DeLong ran aground in 1921; Woolsey sank after

3127-422: Was built in record time: her keel was laid on 15 May 1918, launched only 17 days later on 1 June 1918, and commissioned 54 days after that on 24 July 1918. She is credited with firing the first US shots of the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, sinking a Japanese midget submarine with gunfire before the air attack started. The sinking was uncertain until the submarine's wreck was discovered in 2002. As

3186-454: Was considered a major industrial achievement. Production of these destroyers was considered so important that work on cruisers and battleships was delayed to allow completion of the program. The first Wickes -class vessel was launched on 11 November 1917, with four more by the end of the year. Production peaked in July 1918, when 17 were launched - 15 of them on 4 July. The program continued after

3245-588: Was disguised as a German vessel and expended as a blockship in the St Nazaire Raid . (A newer Buchanan that was involved in the Japanese surrender formalities was a later ship.) One further destroyer was sunk; the remainder were scrapped between 1944 and 1947. In 1944 seven were transferred by Britain to the Soviet Navy , in place of Italian ships claimed by the USSR after Italy's surrender. These vessels all survived

3304-670: Was placed in reserve. Greer recommissioned 31 March 1930. Operating with the Battle Fleet , she participated in a variety of exercises along the coast from Alaska to Panama , with an occasional voyage to Hawaii. Transferred to the Scouting Fleet 1 February 1931, she cruised off Panama, Haiti , and Cuba before being attached to the Rotating Reserve from August 1933 to February 1934. Training exercises, battle practice, and plane guard duty filled Greer ' s peacetime routine for

3363-420: Was the appreciation of the need for true seakeeping and seagoing abilities. There were few cruisers in the Navy, which was a fleet of battleships and destroyers (no cruisers had been launched since 1908) so destroyers performed scouting missions. A report in October 1915 by Captain W. S. Sims noted that the smaller destroyers used fuel far too quickly, and that wargames showed the need for fast vessels with

3422-661: Was the permission for Allied use of Irish airspace for military means . While Sweden did not officially fight in the Winter War , a new Flying regiment was formed out of volunteers to aid Finland and took charge of defending Finnish Lapland ; the aircraft for the regiment came directly from Swedish Air Force inventory. The Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan denies the right of belligerence of states, in order to accomplish " international peace based on justice and order". The United Kingdom 's government showed support for

3481-557: Was undertaken by ten different builders, there was considerable variation in the types of boilers and turbines installed to meet a guaranteed speed requirement. However, there were in essence two basic designs; one for the ships built by the Bethlehem Steel yards (including Union Iron Works ) and another used by the remaining shipyards, which was prepared by Bath Iron Works . The Wickes class proved to be short-ranged, and its bridge and gun positions were very wet. The fleet found that

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