Saturday, April 17, 2021

FROM OUR PAST: 17 April 1943

 



17 April 1943 – Lieutenant Ross P. Bullard and Boatswain’s Mate First Class C. S. “Mike” Hall boarded the U-175 (NOTED ABOVE) at sea after their Cutter, the US Coast Guard Cutter, Spencer (WPG-36, a Treasury Class Cutter), blasted the U-boat to the surface with depth charges when the U-boat attempted to attack the convoy the Spencer was escorting.

They were part of a boarding party sent to seize the U-boat before the Nazi crew could scuttle it. The damage to the U-boat was severe, however, and it sank after both had boarded it and climbed the conning tower. Both men ended up in the water as it slipped beneath the waves.

Nevertheless, they carry the distinction of being the first American servicemen to board an enemy warship underway at sea since the War of 1812. The Navy credited the Spencer with the kill. She rescued 19 of the U-boat’s crew and her sister cutter, Duane, rescued 22.

One crewmember, RM 3/C, Julius Petrella, was killed by friendly fire from a nearby armed merchant ship - Fair winds and following seas, RIP...


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