Pre-U.S. Entry Into WWII
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Pre-U.S. Entry Into WWII The first action between the U.S. and German navies occured on April 10, 1941, when USS Niblack (DD-424) neared the Icelandic coast to pick-up three boatloads of survivors from the Dutch freighter Saleier, which was sunk the previous day. When a submarine was detected preparing to attack, the division commander, Commander D.L. Ryan, ordered a depth charge attack, driving off the U-boat. USS Greer (DD-145) was attacked on September 4, 1941, by German U-boat, U-652, while she was tracking the submarine southeast of Iceland. Though the destroyer was not damaged in the attack, Greer's depth charges damaged U-652. The attack led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue his "shoot-on-sight" order, directing the U.S. Navy to attack any ship threatening U.S. shipping or foreign shipping under escort. U-652 would later be scuttled by U-81 after being badly damaged by depth charges from a British "Swordfish" aircraft in the Mediterrean