USCGC Tampa (1912) - US Navy in World War I

US Navy in World War I

On 6 April 1917, when the United States entered World War I, Tampa was transferred to Navy jurisdiction for the duration of hostilities. During the next four months, she received heavier armament by trading her three six-pounders for two three-inch (76 mm) and two four-inch (102 mm) guns, a pair of machine guns and depth charge throwers and racks. After preparations at the Boston Navy Yard, Tampa moved to the New York Navy Yard on 16 September and reported for duty to the commanding officer of Paducah. Ordered to duty overseas, the warship departed New York on 29 September in company with Paducah, Sterling, Hubbard, and five French-manned, American-made submarine chasers in tow. After stops at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Ponta Delgada in the Azores, Tampa and her sailing mates reached Gibraltar on 27 October 1917.

Her war service lasted just eleven months. During that time, she was assigned ocean escort duty protecting convoys from German submarines on the route between Gibraltar and the southern coast of England. On the average, she spent more than half of her time at sea and steamed more than 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km) per month. Between 27 October 1917 and 31 July 1918, she escorted eighteen convoys between Gibraltar and Great Britain, losing only two ships out of all those escorted. Though she brought her 4-inch (100 mm) guns into action several times against suspected U-boat positions, the only verifiable run-in with a German undersea raider proved fatal.

During the late afternoon of 26 September 1918, Tampa parted company with convoy HG-107, which she had just escorted into the Irish Sea from Gibraltar. Ordered to put into Milford Haven, Wales, she proceeded independently toward her destination. At 7:30 that evening, as she transited the Bristol Channel, the warship was spotted by UB-91. According to the submarine war diary entry, the U-boat dived and maneuvered into an attack position, firing one torpedo out of the stern tube at 8:15 from a range of about 550 meters. Minutes later, the torpedo hit Tampa and exploded portside amidships, throwing up a huge, luminous column of water. The water was shocked by a second detonation two minutes later, most likely caused by Tampa's depth charges reaching pressure fuse depth, as the cutter sank with all hands, 115 officers and men as well as 16 passengers at roughly 50° 40' N and 6° 19' W.

Alerted by the convoy flagship, whose radio operator reported having felt the shock of an underwater explosion at about 2045, search and rescue efforts over the succeeding three days turned up only some wreckage, clearly identified as coming from Tampa, and a single unidentified body. Three bodies were later recovered, two from a beach near Lamphey, Wales, and the other at sea by a British patrol boat.

Tampa was struck from the Navy list as of the date of her sinking.