The Bombardment of Orleans, Massachusetts
Until America ended its WWI neutrality and joined the Entente side in 1917, combatants from either side were free to buy American products and goods. However, as seen in an earlier entry about the Black Tom Island Explosion, the British Royal Navy’s blockade of Germany prevented German ships from transporting goods from US ports to German ones.
Large cargo shipments were thus off the table for the Germans. However, in 1916, to run the blockade while hauling high value goods, the Germans designed and built a special class of submarines capable of transporting nearly 1000 tons of cargo. Known as the Deutschland class, the specialty submarines were designated as unarmed merchants, and began plying the sea lanes. Despite British protests, the US agreed to treat them as merchants, and allowed them to transports goods from US ports.
After the US entered the war in 1917 and American markets were completely closed to Germany, the cargo submarines – WWI’s biggest subs – were converted, armed, and sent into combat. Their size allowed them to be fitted with two 5.9 inch deck guns – a powerful surface armament for a submarine of that era. Their huge cargo space also allowed them to carry prodigious amounts of fuel, making them perfect for long range cruises.
On the morning of July 21st, 1918, one of those armed and long range cruising Deutschland class submarines, the U-156, surfaced about 3 miles off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Sailors cleared its twin 5.9 inch guns for actions, and opened fire on a tugboat, the Perth Amboy, that was towing four barges. The unfortunate tugboat was sunk, causing its four barges to capsize as well. The U-156 also opened fire on the nearby town of Orleans, but the shells landed harmlessly in a marsh, and nobody was hurt. However, the shelling earned Orleans the distinction of being the only spot in the United States to receive enemy fire during WWI.