First Blood: The USS Greer and the Dawn of U-Boat Warfare Against the U.S.

On September 4, 1941, the USS Greer (DD-145), a destroyer of the United States Navy, became the first U.S. naval vessel to come under attack from a German U-Boat, marking a significant and contentious moment in the lead-up to the United States’ direct involvement in World War II.

The USS Greer, a Clemson-class destroyer commissioned in 1923, was engaged in escorting convoys in the North Atlantic, a mission fraught with peril due to the widespread German submarine activity in the area. By September 1941, tensions between the U.S. and Germany were escalating, despite America’s official stance of neutrality. The U.S. was increasingly involved in aiding the Allies, providing supplies and naval protection, which was viewed with growing hostility by Nazi Germany.

On that fateful day, the Greer was patrolling a convoy route in the North Atlantic when it detected a potential U-Boat threat. The destroyer had been operating under orders to maintain a vigilant watch, as German U-Boats had been aggressively targeting Allied shipping to cripple supply lines and disrupt war efforts. The Greer, with its crew on high alert, picked up a contact that was suspected to be a submarine.

The encounter began with the Greer’s sonar operators detecting what was believed to be a U-Boat in the vicinity. The crew took immediate action, implementing standard anti-submarine measures. Depth charges were readied, and the destroyer altered its course to investigate the contact further. The presence of a German submarine, later identified as U-652, was confirmed when the vessel fired torpedoes at the Greer. However, the Greer’s crew, through quick thinking and effective countermeasures, managed to avoid direct hits.

The U-Boat attack on the Greer was part of a broader pattern of aggression by German submarines against Allied shipping. The German command had been ordered to increase submarine operations against American naval and merchant vessels, even though the U.S. had not yet formally entered the war. This act of aggression was significant because it demonstrated Germany’s willingness to challenge U.S. naval power directly, reflecting the intensifying conflict between the two nations.

In response to the attack, the U.S. Navy conducted an anti-submarine operation, including depth charge attacks, which were intended to drive the U-Boat away. Although the Greer’s counterattack did not result in a confirmed kill of the U-Boat, it demonstrated the effectiveness of the destroyer’s defensive measures. The engagement highlighted the growing danger faced by U.S. naval forces as they increasingly encountered hostile German submarines.

The attack on the USS Greer was not just a localized naval incident but a harbinger of the larger conflict that was to come. It played a role in shifting public opinion and policy in the United States. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had been advocating for a stronger stance against Axis powers, used the attack as a rallying point to galvanize American support for more direct involvement in the war. The incident was instrumental in moving the U.S. closer to a formal declaration of war against Germany, which would come in December 1941 following the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan.

The significance of the Greer attack lay not only in its immediate tactical outcomes but also in its broader strategic and political implications. It marked a turning point in U.S.-German relations and underscored the precarious nature of the neutrality that the U.S. was attempting to maintain. The aggression demonstrated by the German U-Boats and the response by U.S. naval forces foreshadowed the more extensive naval battles that would characterize the Atlantic theater of World War II.

The attack on the USS Greer by German U-Boat U-652 was a pivotal moment in naval history. It was the first instance of a U.S. naval vessel being targeted by German submarines, illustrating the increasing direct conflict between the U.S. and Germany. The incident had far-reaching implications, accelerating U.S. involvement in the war and highlighting the dangers faced by naval forces operating in contested waters. It underscored the tension of the era and foreshadowed the escalation of hostilities that would soon engulf the world.