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UNITED STATES NAVY
TEMPORARY AUXILIARY SHIPS
WORLD WAR I
TEMPORARY AUXILIARY SHIPS
WORLD WAR I
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --
USS Covington (ID # 1409), 1917-1919 --
Torpedoed and Sunk, 1-2 July 1918
Shortly after sunset on 1 July 1918 a U.S. Navy convoy of eight transports, escorted by seven destroyers, was steaming westbound some 150 miles southwesterly from Brest, France, bound back to the United States after having delivered more fresh troops for the fighting on the Western Front. The sea was calm with good visibility, and all ships were zig-zagging with lookout positions and guns manned as a precaution against the always-present menace of German submarines. The threat made its presence known at 9:12 PM, when a torpedo launched from U-86 detonated against the port side of USS Covington, steaming second from the left in the convoy's first row of five transports. The explosion, below her forward smokestack, blew open the ship's forward boiler room, and she soon came to a halt as the rest of the convoy split up and continued on.
Some of the escorting destroyers, among them USS Little (DD-79) and USS Smith (DD-17), remained with Covington, which had developed a serious list to port. In the darkness, the transport's crew took to the lifeboats. Six of their number were killed in the torpedoing, but 770 others were picked up by the destroyers, which actively dropped depth charges in an effort to keep the submarine away. Covington was still afloat early the following morning, and it appeared that she might be saved. Tugs arrived from Brest and took her in tow, but water gradually penetrated her compartments. Her list increased, and the ship sank in mid-afternoon on 2 July 1918.
Note: Transports in this convoy were DeKalb, Covington, George Washington, Rijndam, Lenape, Dante Aleghieri (the only non-U.S. Navy ship present), Princess Matoika and Wilhelmina. The escorting destroyers were Little (DD-79), Conner (DD-72), Cummings, Porter (DD-59), Jarvis, Smith (DD-17) and Reid.
This page features, and provides links to, all the views that are available related to the torpedoing and sinking of USS Covington by the German submarine U-86.
For more pictures concerning this event, see:
For links to other images of this ship, see:
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
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Photo #: NH 55504 USS Covington (ID # 1409) Sinking off Brest, France, on 2 July 1918. She had been torpedoed the previous day by German submarine U-86. Note towing lines rigged from her bow. Courtesy of Captain William Baggaly, USN. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 104KB; 740 x 600 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 55509 USS Covington (ID # 1409) Sinking off Brest, France, 2 July 1918, the day after she was torpedoed by German submarine U-86. Courtesy of the Reverend W.R. Siegart, 1927. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 56KB; 740 x 460 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 61488 USS Covington (ID # 1409) Sinking off Brest, France. She had been torpedoed by German submarine U-86 on 1 July 1918 and sank the next day. The ship's flag is still flying from her stern, just above the water. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 69KB; 740 x 530 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 55506 USS Covington (ID # 1409) Sinking off Brest, France, on 2 July 1918. She had been torpedoed the previous day by German submarine U-86. A tug is visible ahead of Covington, which may have been under tow at the time of this photograph. Note lifeboat some distance away from the ship's port side. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 68KB; 740 x 480 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 55505 USS Covington (ID # 1409) Sinking off Brest, France, on 2 July 1918. She had been torpedoed the previous day by German submarine U-86. Covington may still have been under tow at the time of this photograph, as two tugs are visible ahead of her. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 85KB; 740 x 460 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 67716 USS Covington (ID # 1409) Sinking off Brest, France, 2 July 1918 after being torpedoed by the German submarine U-86. Photograph received from the U.S. Naval Library, Treasure Island, California, 1969. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 69KB; 430 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 1225 USS Covington (ID # 1409) Sinking off Brest, France, on 2 July 1918. She had been torpedoed the previous day by German submarine U-86. Note U.S. Ensign flying from her flagstaff. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 95KB; 740 x 595 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 55508 USS Covington (ID # 1409) Sinking off Brest, France, on 2 July 1918. She had been torpedoed on 1 July by German submarine U-86. Note the National Ensign flying from her flagstaff, lifeboat in the foreground, and tug at far right. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 64KB; 740 x 455 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 55507 USS Covington (ID # 1409) Sinking off Brest, France, in July 1918. She had been torpedoed on 1 July by German submarine U-86 and sank the following day. This photograph may have been taken in the late stages of abandonment, as a lifeboat is alongside by the aftermost survivor disembarkation ladder, with a few men visible above. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 81KB; 740 x 460 pixels |
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For more pictures concerning this event, see:
For links to other images of this ship, see:
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Links added 30 January 2006