During the first world war many German submarines were seen along the coastal waters of the United States. This is an account of one such incident.

The Diamond Shoal Lightship located off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and serving as a focal point for a large volume of north and southbound coastal traffic was sunk by a German submarine on Aug. 6 1918.

An enemy German submarine had attacked an unidentified merchant vessel about one and a half miles northeast from the lightship at 2:50PM firing about 40 shots at it and setting it on fire. The lightship then sent out a wireless message warning other ships in the area about the presence of the submarine. The submarine heard the message and then started to open fire on the lightship. This was about 3:25PM when six shots were fired from a distance of about 2 miles.

Two shots passed between the smokestack and the mainmast. Two shots struck on the port side filling the spar deck with water and under the wireless antenna. At 3:30PM all hands were ordered in the starboard 23ft. motor boat which was launched and pulled away from the lightship.

The submarine ceased firing on the lightship and went alongside the merchant ship which had been set on fire and sent her to the bottom. The submarine then proceeded northward in chase of another merchant ship firing 14 shots at that ship in which none appeared to take effect and gave up the chase and returned back to the lightship and fired 7 more shots into it.

When the latest shots were fired, all of the crew of the lightship escaped without injury while the lightship sunk to the bottom. Even though the lightship was sunk, reports indicated that the wireless message that the lightship had sent out resulted in about 25 other ships in the area taking refuge in Lookout Bight and escaping possible attack.

Researched & Prepared by Hal Dean