The USS Greer Incident in September 1941
On September 4 1941, USS Greer was fired upon by a German U-boat, with a torpedo, with the Americans claiming that the Germans had fired first and the Germans claiming the opposite, saying the submarine had been under a depth charge attack by the Americans. Roosevelt reported that the American destroyer was flying the US flag and was deliberately attacked while speaking to the American people through one of his fireside chats. Roosevelt ordered the US Navy hence to “shoot on sight” any German submarine operating in “…waters which we deem necessary for our defense…” This placed the Atlantic fleet on a full war footing.
Chief of Naval Operations (the highest ranking officer in the US Navy) Admiral Harold Stark prepared a written report after investigating the event, in preparation for a hearing before the Senate Committee on Naval Affairs. Stark’s report confirmed that the Germans had fired first and after the torpedo track crossed Greer’s wake the destroyer responded with a depth charge attack. But there was additional information in Stark’s report which had not been shared by the President in his fireside chat discussing the incident.
Greer had been bound for Iceland when it received information from a British antisubmarine patrol airplane which identified a submarine ahead of the destroyer’s track. The report was received by Greer at about twenty minutes to nine in the morning (0840) and Greer responded by initiating a search for the submerged U-boat. It located the submarine about 40 minutes later and began to track it, radioing its position to British aircraft and surface units while it followed the Germans. The British aircraft which had notified Greer of the submarine’s presence attacked it with depth charges before departing the area.
Greer continued to track the submarine for what Stark reported was 3 hours and 28 minutes before the submarine fired a single torpedo. It missed. Greer lost contact with the submarine at one o’clock in the afternoon and initiated another search. At twelve minutes after three the submarine was again detected and Greer attacked it with depth charges. Admiral Stark was unable to say what followed, as Greer again lost contact, but it was assumed from the reaction of the Germans that the submarine was undamaged, as was Greer.
In providing his shoot on sight order FDR at last removed any pretense of US neutrality as far as the Battle of the Atlantic was concerned. FDR was not about to let ships of his Navy be attacked by surprise. Neither the Germans nor the Americans reported any casualties from the incident, which occurred three full months prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. American warships were from then on proceeding into the Atlantic with clear intent to engage German vessels which they encountered and the fact being known to the Germans meant that they would no doubt respond in kind. Still, there was no declaration of war and the isolationists still hoped to avoid war with Hitler’s Germany.