From the painting by Frederick J. Waugh
THE GUN-CREW OF THE LUCKENBACH HAS A FOUR-HOUR FIGHT WITH A SUBMARINE
From the painting by George Bellows
CHIEF GUNNER'S MATE DELANEY, OF THE CAMPANA, DEFYING HIS CAPTORS
THE MERCHANT SUBMARINE DEUTSCHLAND IN BALTIMORE HARBOR
Inset: Gun mounted on the U-155, as the Deutschland was called after its conversion into a war craft.
These speaking stations were established at various points along the coast. Manned by navy personnel, using a simple code of distance signals, they could communicate with ships not equipped with radio, call vessels into harbor if necessary, and divert them from dangerous localities. They performed a valuable function in expediting the flow of shipping from district to district, as well as, by prompt action, warning craft in danger. Ships at sea received by radio all war warnings and orders, and when it was necessary to divert convoys, orders to change course could be sent at a moment's notice. Far south were two "reporting" stations. Vessels passing out of the Gulf of Mexico coastwise-bound were required to report at Sand Key, those northbound through the Old Bahama passage, to report at Jupiter.
Thus escort was provided for vessels through all the areas in which submarines were likely to operate, and a system provided by which the Navy could keep track of and in touch with them from the time they sailed until they reached port. Though this necessitated a large fleet of escorting vessels, of which our best were at work in Europe, by utilizing all the patrol craft that could be secured and our sturdy little sub-chasers, we managed to provide sufficient escorts.