German U-boat 1918 American Campaign-- Part 3: The Attack On Orleans, Mass.

A few of the U-cruisers also made long voyages south to the Azores and African coast, where they operated generally unmolested against shipping operating in the area.  But one exception was the U-154, which was torpedoed by British submarine HMS E35 off the coast of Portugal in May 1918.

In July 1918, there was an attack by the U-156 on Orleans, Massachusetts, off the coast of Cape Cod in which four barges and a tugboat were sunk.  The U-boat then fired on the town ineffectively for about an hour before it was driven off by two Navy planes.

It was the first attack involving a foreign power's artillery against U.S. soil since the Mexican War.

--Cooter

German U-boat American 1918 Campaign-- Part 2: A Follow Up Attack

Encouraged by the success of the U-151, the Germans sent the U-156, U-117 and a large Type 139, U-cruisers u-140 were dispatched on similar missions, but the U.S. Navy was now ready for them, and the hunting was not as good.  The U-156 was lost with all hands on the return voyage when it is thought she must have struck a mine off Bergen, Norway, on 15 September 1918.

Another trio of long range submarines, the U-155, U-152 and U-cruiser U-139 were making their way across the Atlantic Ocean in November 1918 when the war ended and they turned back.

Cooter

U-156-- Part 3: Sank 28 Fishing Boats and Presumed Sunk By a Mine On Way Home

Afterwards, the U-156 headed north to attack the U.S. fishing fleet where it sank 21 ships in the Gulf of Maine area. ranging from the 72-ton schooner Nelson A on August 4 to the 766-ton Dornfonttein on August 2.

On August 5 it sank the tanker Luz Blanca off Halifax and captured the Canadian trawler  Triumph off Nova Scotia.  The crew manned and armed this ship and used it in conjunction with the submarine to capture and sink seven other fishing boats in the Grand Banks area. after which they scuttled the Canadian ship.

After that, the U-156 returned home, but hadn't reported by September 25 and in the days that followed  It is believed that the submarine was negotiating the Northern barrage Mine Field between the United Kingdom and Norway and it is presumed that she struck a mine and sank.

The British almost sank her after they  intercepted a message from it telling its course and a British submarine was sent out to attack  but the U-156 dove and got away.  But it never made it home, nor were any of her crew seen again.

Quite A Story.  --Cooter

U-156: Its Mine Sank the USS San Diego and It Shelled a Massachusetts Town

A mine they U-156 set is credited with sinking the armored cruiser USS San Diego, the largest warship the United States lost during World War I.

On July 21, 1918, the U-156 surfaced and fired shots at the town of Orleans, Massachusetts, and several nearby merchant vessels.  She sank a tugboat, the Perth Amboy, and four barges.  HS-1L flying boats and R-9 seaplanes were dispatched from Chatham Naval Air Station and dive bomber the U-156, but the bombs failed to explode.

The attack on Orleans was the only Central Powers attack on the U.S. mainland during the war. and it was the first time a foreign power's artillery had shelled the continental U.S. since the Siege of Fort Texas in 1846.  It was also the first time American pilots had engaged an enemy vessel in the West Atlantic.

A Lot of Firsts.  --Cooter

U-156-- Part 1: Originally Built to Carry Cargo Between the U.S. and Germany

From Wikipedia.

Was commissioned 22 August 19 1917.  Responsible for sinking 44 Allied ships (including one warship) and damaging three others.  It also was the German participant in the attack on Orleans, Massachusetts.

Was built in Bremen, Germany, one of the seven submarines built in the Deutschland-class designed to carry cargo between the United States and Germany.  Five of them, including the U-156 were converted into long-range cruiser U-boats with 5.9-inch deck guns.

On 15 June 1918, the U-156  slipped through the North Sea and into the Atlantic Ocean, heading for Long Island and then to New York harbor with orders to lay mines.  Records show that she lay a field of mines off the south shore of Long island just east of the Fire Island Lightship.

On 8 July it scuttled the Norwegian-owned Manx King

A mine laid by the U-156 is credited with sinking the armored cruiser USS San Diego on July 19, 1918, about ten miles southeast of Fire Island, New York.

--DaCoot