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On the morning of 6 April 1917, a coded dispatch was sent from Washington to every cutter and shore station of the Coast Guard. Within a few hours the entire Coast Guard, officers and enlisted men, vessels and units came under the operational control of the U.S. Navy. In August and September 1917 six Coast Guard cutters, Ossipee, Seneca, Yamacraw, Algonquin, Manning, and Tampa left the United States to join our naval forces in European waters. They constituted Squadron 2 of Division 6 of the Atlantic Fleets patrol forces based at Gibraltar. Throughout World War I, they escorted hundreds of vessels between Gibraltar and the British Isles, and also performed escort and patrol duty in the Mediterranean. On the evening of 26 September 1918, Tampa having acted as ocean escort for a convoy from Gibraltar to the United Kingdom, proceeded toward the port of Milford Haven, Wales. At 8:45 p.m. a loud explosion was heard. Tampa failed to arrive at her destination and a search was made for her by U.S. destroyers and British patrol craft. A small amount of wreckage identified as belonging to the cutter and two unidentified bodies in naval uniforms were found. It was believed that Tampa was sunk by a German submarine. Every officer and enlisted man on board Tampa perished. There were 115 in all, 111 of whom were Coast Guard personnel. With the exception of U.S.S. Cyclops, whose fate has never been ascertained, this was the largest loss of life incurred by any U.S. naval unit during the war. The British Admiralty wrote to Rear Admiral William Sims, USN: Their Lordships desire me to express their deep regret at the loss of the U.S.S. Tampa. Her record since she has been employed in European waters as an escort to convoys has been remarkable. She has acted in the capacity of ocean escort to no less than 18 convoys from Gibraltar comprising 350 vessels, with a loss of only 2 ships through enemy action. The commanders of the convoys have recognized the ability with which the Tampa carried out the duties of ocean escort. Appreciation of the good work done by the U.S.S. Tampa may be some consolation to those bereft and Their Lordships would be glad if this could be conveyed to those concerned. Following the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939, the Coast Guard carried out neutrality patrols as set out by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 5 September 1939. Port security began on 22 June 1940 when President Roosevelt invoked the Espionage Act of 1917 which governed the anchorage and movement of all ships in U.S. waters and protected American ships, harbors and waters. Shortly afterwards, the Dangerous Cargo Act gave the Coast Guard jurisdiction over ships carrying high explosives and dangerous cargoes. In March 1941, the Coast Guard seized 28 Italian, two German and 35 Danish merchant ships. A few days later, 10 modern Coast Guard cutters were transferred on Lend-Lease to Great Britain. On April 9, 1941, Greenland was incorporated into a hemispheric defense system. The Coast Guard was the primary military service responsible for these cold-weather operations, which continued throughout the war. On September 12 the cutter Northland took into protective custody the Norwegian trawler Buskoe and captured three German radiomen ashore. This was the United States first naval capture of World War II. The Coast Guard was ordered to operate as part of the Navy on 1 November 1941. During the war, Coast Guard-manned ships sank 11 enemy submarines. Coast Guard personnel manned amphibious ships and craft, from the largest troop transports to the smallest attack craft. These landed Army and Marine forces in every important invasion in North Africa, Italy, France, and the Pacific. Coast Guard coastal picket vessels patrolled along the 50- fathom curve, where enemy submarines concentrated early in the war. While on shore, armed Coast Guardsmen patrolled beaches and docks, on foot, on horseback, in vehicles, with and without dogs, as a major part of the nations anti-sabotage effort. |
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