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

Sinking of the USS President Lincoln-- Part 7: USS Warrington and Smith Rescued the Survivors

The U-90 remained around the stricken Americans for two hours, then left and then returned again.

The USS Warrington (DD-30) found them, then the destroyer USS Smith (DD-17) came to assist..

Losses were 3 officers and 23 men.

They returned to Brest, France on June 1.  Along the way another submarine was spotted by the Smith and 22 depth charges were dropped but nothing was hit.  Isaacs (Izak) later reported that it had been the U-90 and that they had narrowly escaped.

When they arrived at Brest, the President Lincoln's sister ship, the USS President Grant was there and it sailed a few days later.

--Cooter

The Sinking of the USS President Lincoln-- Part 6: Lt. Edouard Izak Medal of Honor Winner

Continued from June 21.

The U-90 surfaced and came among the survivors looking for officers and particularly the commanding officer.  They took G.A. Anderson but returned him.  Most of the officers had removed their insignia and many of the men said that the captain had gone down with the ship.

The Germans were able to identify one officer, Lt. E.V.M. Isaacs, USN, and they took him.  Edouard Isaac later received the Medal of Honor.  He escaped from a German prison camp and got back to Allied lines and reported what he had learned about German submarine operations during the time he was on the U-90.

He died in 1990, the last living recipient of the Medal of Honor from World War I.

(His actual name was Edouard Izak.  He changed the name after the war to this.)

--Cooter

Sinking of the USS President Lincoln-- Part 5: One Final Act of Defiance

The crew went about their duties in a calm way after the attack.  When it became apparent that the ship would sink the order to "Abandon Ship" was passed and everyone but the sick jumped into the water and swam out to life boats.  The discipline displayed was perfect.

The gun crews remained at their stations until the last possible moment, just in case the submarine surfaced to view its destruction.  It didn't, but right before the gun crews left, they fired shots out toward where they figured the attack came from.

From the time of the torpedo strikes to sinking was just thirty minutes.

--Cooter

Sinking of USS President Lincoln-- Part 4: Just When They Thought They Were Safe

On May 31st, the USS President Lincoln was 500 miles from France and the general feeling aboard was that she was safe.  However, at 9 a.m., there was a huge explosion.  The ship had been hit by three torpedoes.

The German submarine U-90 had been following the wakes of the ships since midnight.  The defenders aboard the President Lincoln prepared to open fire, but the submarine had only used its periscope instead of surfacing.  It had fired and then immediately dove to a lower depth.

The Ryndam had tried to ram the sub, but the submarine dived even deeper.

All four ships had been steaming in a line.  The President Lincoln was chosen to receive the torpedoes because it was the largest ship.

--Cooter

The Sinking of the USS President Lincoln in WW I-- Part 1: Former German Ship

From the June 12, 2018, Naval History Blog "The Sinking of the USS President Lincoln, 31, May 1918" by Jon Hoppe.

The chronology post I did earlier this month (June 1) placed the sinking of the ship as June 1.  It actually was sunk May 31, 1918.

This month marks the 100th anniversary of this ship's sinking.  The USS President Lincoln was a troop transport ship used during World War I.  It was formerly a German ocean liner of the Hamburg-America Line.  The Navy commissioned it as the USS President Lincoln in 1917 to carry American troops and equipment to Europe.

It was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine SM U-90 on May 31, 1918.

--Cooter