Battle off Diamond Shoals
| Battle off Diamond Shoals | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War II, Battle of the Atlantic | |||||||
 USS YP-389 in February of 1942. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States |  Nazi Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 R. J. Phillips |  | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1 naval trawler | 1 submarine | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 6 killed 1 naval trawler sunk | none 1 submarine damaged | ||||||
The Battle off Diamond Shoals was fought in Torpedo Alley, North Carolina on June 19, 1942 during World War II. A United States Navy patrol craft was attacked by a German U-boat and a long surface engagement occurred before the American ship was sunk.
Background
U-701, under Captain Lieutenant , was a very successful U-boat during the war. She was a Type VIIC submarine, displacing 1,070 tons, sent to American waters to destroy allied shipping. An American sea mine field was laid off Cape Hatteras to deter U-boat attacks but when an American merchantman hit a mine and sank the small 170-ton naval trawler USS YP-389, under Lieutenant R. J. Phillips, was ordered to patrol the area and warn friendly ships of the mines. The trawler was armed with one inoperable 3-inch naval gun, two machine guns and four depth especially charges but lacked sound and degaussing equipment which meant that she had to be careful around the mines and could only attack a submarine if one was spotted visually. U-701 first made contact with YP-389 on or about June 10, 1942 but Captain Degen decided to leave the trawler alone so as to not alert other warships in the area. For several days afterwards, it seemed as though every time the U-701 surfaced each night, the YP-389 was on patrol nearby as if it was following the submarine. However, reports indicate that the Americans had no idea of the Germans' presence until the morning of June 19 when Captain Degen decided to attack.
Battle
The battle began at about 2:45 am and occurred five miles off Diamond Shoals, the Germans used their 88-milimeter deck gun and a 20-milimeter anti-aircraft gun instead of torpedoes, because their target was so small, and when they opened fire the Americans were completely surprised. The 3-inch gun aboard the USS YP-389 had a broken firing pin and the part was unavailable at the trawler's home port of Morehead City. So when Lieutenant Phillips had to leave base to patrol the minefield, only her machine guns and depth charges could be used in the battle. For over an hour and half the engagement was a chase. U-701 fired on the Americans with both of their guns but it was difficult to hit the trawler in the darkness. It was mainly YP-389's muzzle flashes from the machine guns that gave the Germans a target. Lieutenant Phillips thought that by releasing his depth charges in front of the chasing U-boat he might be able to damage it or at least scare the Germans off so for the last few moments of the engagement, the Americans dropped charges until being overwhelmed by gunfire. When the YP-389 began to sink, Lieutenant Phillips ordered his men to abandon ship and the battle ended.
Six American sailors were killed in action and eighteen others went into the water without lifeboats because lowering them meant being exposed to accurate enemy fire and the liferafts had all been shot away. The U-701 was slightly damaged though no casualties were sustained. The fate of USS YP-389 is most remembered by how such a small vessel could resist an attack by a much larger U-boat for so long and sustain so much damage before being destroyed. The battle was also one of the more significant surface engagements to have taken place in Torpedo Alley. U-701 continued to scour the American East Coast for a few more weeks until being sunk by United States Army bombers not far from Diamond Shoals. USS YP-389 rests in 300 feet of water and is a now a popular attraction for wreck divers.
See Also
References
- Hickam, H. Homer (1996). Torpedo Junction: U-Boat War Off America's East Coast, 1942. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557503621.
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_off_Diamond_Shoals
