USS Eagle 56 (PE-56)

The USS "Eagle 56" (PE-56) was a United States Navy World War I era patrol boat that remained in service until World War II. On April 23, 1945, while towing targets for US Navy bomber exercises off the coast of Maine, "Eagle 56" was sunk by the German U-boat "U-853". Only 13 of the 67 crew survived. The loss was classified as a boiler explosion until 2001 when historical evidence convinced the US Navy to reclassify the sinking as a combat loss due to enemy action.

Early Combat Service

"Eagle 56" displaced 615 tons and was 200.8 feet in length. It was one of 60 sclass|Eagle|patrol craft built by Henry Ford late in World War I as submarine chasers, none of which saw action. Unpopular due to their poor sea handling, only eight remained in service at the time of World War II.cite web
url=http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=6892
title= Navy Senior Archivist Helps Solve 57 Year Old USS Eagle 56 Mystery
author=Jack A. Green
publisher=navy.mil
accessdate=2007-10-07
date=April 25,2003] "Eagle 56" was patrolling off the Delaware Capes in January 1942.Cianflone, Frank A. "The Eagle Boats of World War I" "United States Naval Institute Proceedings" June 1973 pp.76-80] "Eagle 56" remained almost constantly at sea during the second happy time. When her depth charges were expended, a small ship from Cape May, New Jersey would bring out a new supply. "Eagle 56" rescued survivors of torpedoed USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) off Cape May in February. "Eagle 56" was damaged by collision with the submerged wreck of "Gypsum Prince" while rescuing survivors from the torpedoed British freighter in March. "Eagle 56" was repaired using parts from another Eagle boat, and then assigned to the Key West SONAR school in May 1942.

inking and investigation

"Eagle 56" was assigned to Naval Air Station Brunswick from 28 June 1944. At noon on April 23, 1945, "Eagle 56" exploded amidships, and broke into two pieces three miles off Cape Elizabeth, Maine.cite web
url=http://www.capeelizabeth.com/news/eaglememorial.html
title=Dedication of Navy warship marker set for Saturday at Portland Head Light
date=April 22, 2005
accessdate=2007-10-07
publisher=capeelizabeth.com] "USS Selfridge (DD-357)" was operating near "Eagle 56" and arrived 30 minutes after the explosion to rescue 13 survivors from the crew of 62. "Selfridge" obtained a sharp, well-defined SONAR contact during the rescue and dropped nine Mark IX Mod 2 depth charges without obvious result. According to a classified Navy report, "U-853" had been operating in the waters off Maine. At a Naval Board of Inquiry in Portland the following week, five of the thirteen survivors claimed to have seen a submarine. Several spotted a red and yellow emblem on the submarine's sail.cite web
url=http://www.hollandsentinel.com/stories/090901/fea_0909010041.shtml
title=56 years later, Navy rewrites record
publisher=hollandsentinel.com
accessdate=2007-10-07] These insignia match the markings of "U-853": a red horse on a yellow shield. "Eagle 56's" boiler was overhauled just two weeks before the sinking, and none of the boilers on the other 59 Eagle Boats had failed. [cite web
url=http://tspweb02.tsp.utexas.edu/webarchive/08-30-01/2001083003_s03_New.html
title=Navy changes ship's records
date=August 30, 2001
publisher=utexas.edu
accessdate=2007-10-07] Nevertheless, the official Navy inquiry concluded that "Eagle 56" had suffered a boiler explosion.

On May 5, 1945, twelve days after "Eagle 56" exploded, "U-853" sank the collier USS "Black Point" off the coast of Point Judith, Rhode Island causing the loss of twelve lives. During the ensuing Battle of Point Judith "U-853" was chased and sunk by Navy and Coast Guard ships.

On June 1, 1945, Rear Admiral Felix X. Gygax wrote, "at least equal evidence to support the conclusion that the explosion was that of a device outside the ship, the exact nature of which is undetermined. It might have been an enemy mine or an enemy torpedo." Ultimately though he endorsed the court's findings. Because the Allies had cracked Germany's codes, United States intelligence knew in 1945 that U-boats had been sent across the North Atlantic to disrupt shipping in hopes of obtaining better surrender terms. However, only general warnings rather than specific information about this plan were passed to commanders.

Reclassification

In 2001 the Naval Historical Center reviewed the case and reclassified the sinking as a combat loss. In June 2001, Purple Heart medals were awarded to three survivors and the next of kin of those killed. As of 2007, this is the only time that the US Navy has overruled its own Court of Inquiry.cite web
url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/04/06/the_truth_about_the_uss_eagle_56/
title=The truth about the USS Eagle 56
author=Robert Knox
date=April 6, 2006
publisher=boston.com
accessdate=2007-10-07]

References

External links

* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/patrol/eagles.htm DANFS entry: Eagle-class patrol craft (PE)]