The USS President Lincoln-- Part 3: Sunk By the U-90, Largest U.S. Ship Lost in WW I

Just before 9 a.m. on May 31, 1918, the U-90, which had been following the President Lincoln fired two torpedoes which hit the ship on the portside near the bridge and killed seven men below the deck.  Shortly afterwards, a third torpedo slammed into the Lincoln.

The order was given for all to abandon the ship except for the crews of the four 6-inch guns who stayed at their stations in case the German submarine surfaced to view what it had done.  They left just a short time before the President Lincoln sank in about 30 minutes.

Losses were not as high as might be expected because of the crew's training.  Three officers and sixteen crew died.

The survivors were now adrift and the U-90 did surface looking for officers.  The other three ships proceeded ahead as was standard procedure in this situation, but they did alert authorities as to what had happened.

The USS President was the largest ship the United States lost in World War I.

--Dacoot