That evening about six o 'clock, the U-61 encountered a decoy ship. Coming up on what appeared to be an unarmed vessel, they fired three shots, and one of the Germans sitting near Delaney remarked, "One more ship." But she was not the easy prey they thought she was, and the U-boat had to make a quick dive to escape. "All the sailors rushed down through the hatch, the submarine seemed to stand on her bow end, and everything capsized as she submerged," Delaney said. "We went down 62 meters. Everybody was scared, and they said our Allies were trying to drown us."
After seven days' cruising the U-boat arrived at Heligoland, where Delaney and his men were landed, and then sent to Wilhelmshaven. After four days in barracks, they were taken to the prison camp at Brandenburg, where there were 10,000 prisoners, British, French and Italian. Conditions in the camp, which was built around a small lake which served as a sewage dump, were almost intolerable, and many prisoners died. When Delaney protested against the guards stealing parcels sent to prisoners, he was hauled up and "strafed" by the officers. He defied them and a sergeant drew his sword, and threatened to run it through the American sailor. But the others held him back. The six Americans had many trying experiences, and were not released until after the armistice; yet all survived and, leaving Germany December 8, 1918, returned safely home.
Dodging a torpedo, which missed her by only ten feet, facing a storm of shells and shrapnel, the Nyanza fought until the U-boat keeled over, and went down. This engagement occurred thirty miles west of Penmarch, France, on a Sunday morning, January 13, 1918. At 9:30 a periscope, silver plated, was sighted 1,000 yards away, and at the same instant a torpedo was seen, heading for the vessel. The helm was put hard aport, and the ship swung clear in time to avoid the torpedo.
The naval gunners opened fire. Falling astern, the submarine came to the surface and gave chase, zigzagging and firing both her guns, using shrapnel. Chief Gunner's Mate Benjamin H. Groves, in reporting the encounter, said:
At first her shots fell short, but eventually he got our range and hit us five times. One shot passed through the after-gun platform, through the wood shelter house, through the iron deck, breaking a deck beam, exploding in the hold, and passing out through the side of the ship. One shot exploded in the armed guard's mess room, wrecking the place completely. Two shots exploded in a steam locomotive on deck, doing some damage. One shot hit the stern of the ship, but did not go through.
About 11:15 the submarine had our range good again. The ship zigzagged a little, which caused his shots to fall a little to the right or left of our ship. At the same time, I had his range and fired four shells quick at 7,800 yards, causing him to come broadside to and keel over, then suddenly disappeared just as he had our own range good. This leads me to think he did not quit from choice, but from necessity.
The engagement lasted two hours and 30 minutes. I fired 92 rounds, and the submarine fired approximately 200.
Admiral Wilson highly commended the Nyanza's master, her second officer and the armed guard, while Admiral Sims wrote: "The Nyanza was undoubtedly saved by the prompt work of the ship's personnel and by the efficient work of the guns' crew."
The Navajo had a lively encounter with a submarine in the English Channel July 4, 1917, and the court at Havre, which investigated the matter, reported to the French Ministry of Marine that "the fight was very well conducted," the men showing "a very fine spirit, doing honor to the American Navy," and "the conclusion may be drawn that the submarine was hit and probably sunk." Describing the engagement, Chief Boatswain's Mate H. L. Ham reported:
On July 4, at 9:20 a. m., heavy gunfire was heard to starboard and shortly afterward the Navajo ran out of the mist and sighted a submarine firing on a British topsail schooner about two miles away. The Navajo changed her course, the fog shut down again and the "sub" was lost sight of. This was about 55 miles northwest of Cape La Hague, France.