View source for USS Eagle 56

{{short description|US Navy Eagle-class patrol boat}}
{{For|ships with a similar name|USS Eagle}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Eagle boat.jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Eagle 2'', an identical sister ship of ''Eagle 56''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1945}}
|Ship name=''Eagle 56''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Ford Motor Company]]
|Ship laid down=25 March 1919
|Ship launched=15 August 1919
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=26 October 1919
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Torpedoed, 23 April 1945
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass2|Eagle|patrol craft}}
|Ship displacement={{convert|615|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|200|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|1|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|8|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed={{convert|18.32|kn|mph km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=Officers: 5, Enlisted: 56
|Ship armament=*2 × [[4"/50 caliber gun]]s
*1 × [[3"/50 caliber gun]]
*2 × [[M2 Browning machine gun|.50 BMG (12.7 mm)]] [[machine gun]]s
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Eagle 56'' (PE-56)''' was a [[United States Navy]] [[World War I]]–era [[patrol boat]] that remained in service through [[World War II]]. On 23 April 1945, while towing targets for U.S. Navy bomber exercises off the coast of [[Maine]], ''Eagle 56'' was sunk by the {{GS|U-853}}. Only 13 of the 62 crew survived.

The loss was classified as a [[boiler]] explosion until 2001, when historical evidence convinced the U.S. Navy to reclassify the sinking as a combat loss due to enemy action. ''Eagle 56'' was the second to last U.S. Navy warship to be sunk by [[Nazi Germany]] during World War Two.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/us/sunken-warship-discovered.amp.html|title=U.S. Ship Sunk in World War II by German Sub is Found off Maine Coast|newspaper=The New York Times|date=19 July 2019|last1=Vigdor|first1=Neil}}</ref>

==Service history==
''Eagle 56'' was one of 60 {{sclass2|Eagle|patrol craft}} built by [[Henry Ford]] late in World War I as [[submarine chaser]]s, none of which saw action. Unpopular due to their poor sea handling, only eight remained in service at the time of [[World War II]].<ref name="green">Green, Jack A., 25 April 2003</ref> ''Eagle 56'' was patrolling off the [[Delaware Capes]] in January 1942.<ref name=Cianflone>Cianflone, pp. 76–80</ref> ''Eagle 56'' remained almost constantly at sea during the [[Second Happy Time]]<ref name=Cianflone/> of the [[Battle of the Atlantic]], during which Axis submarines attacked merchant shipping along the east coast of North America. When her [[depth charge]]s were expended, a small ship from [[Cape May, New Jersey]], would bring out a new supply.<ref name=Cianflone/>

''Eagle 56'' rescued survivors of {{USS|Jacob Jones|DD-130|2}} off Cape May in February 1942.<ref name=Cianflone/> It was damaged by collision with the submerged wreck of ''[[List of shipwrecks in April 1942#3 April|Gypsum Prince]]'' while rescuing survivors from the British freighter that had collided with the British tanker ''Voco'' on 4 March at the entrance to Delaware Bay,<ref name=Cianflone/> and was repaired using parts from another ''Eagle'' boat, and then assigned to the [[Key West]] [[sonar]] school in May 1942.<ref name=Cianflone/>

===Sinking and investigation===
''Eagle 56'' was assigned to [[Naval Air Station Brunswick]] from 28 June 1944.<ref name=Cianflone/> At noon on 23 April 1945, ''Eagle 56'' exploded amidships, and broke into two pieces<ref name="green"/> {{convert|3|mi|km|abbr=on}} off [[Cape Elizabeth, Maine]].<ref name="elizabeth">Dedication of Navy warship marker... capeelizabeth.com.</ref> The [[destroyer]] {{USS|Selfridge|DD-357|2}} was operating near ''Eagle 56'' and arrived 30 minutes after the explosion to rescue 13 survivors from the crew of 62.<ref name=Cianflone/> ''Selfridge'' obtained a sharp, well-defined sonar contact during the rescue and dropped nine Mark IX Mod 2 [[depth charge]]s without obvious result.<ref name=Cianflone/> According to a classified Navy report, {{GS|U-853||2}} had been operating in the waters off Maine.<ref name="green"/>

At a [[Naval Board of Inquiry]] in [[Portland, Maine|Portland]] the following week, five of the 13 survivors claimed to have seen a submarine. Several spotted a red and yellow emblem on the submarine's [[Sail (submarine)|sail]].<ref name="holland">{{cite web|url=http://www.hollandsentinel.com/stories/090901/fea_0909010041.shtml |title=56 years later, Navy rewrites record |publisher=hollandsentinel.com |access-date=2007-10-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050302093022/http://www.hollandsentinel.com/stories/090901/fea_0909010041.shtml |archive-date=2 March 2005 }}</ref> These insignia match the markings of ''U-853'': a red horse on a yellow shield.<ref name="green"/> ''Eagle 56''{{'}}s boiler was overhauled just two weeks before the sinking, and none of the boilers on the other 59 ''Eagle Boats'' had failed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tspweb02.tsp.utexas.edu/webarchive/08-30-01/2001083003_s03_New.html|title=Navy changes ship's records|date=30 August 2001|publisher=utexas.edu|access-date=2007-10-07|archive-date=4 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060904140938/http://tspweb02.tsp.utexas.edu/webarchive/08-30-01/2001083003_s03_New.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nevertheless, the official Navy inquiry concluded that ''Eagle 56'' had suffered a boiler explosion.<ref name="green" />

==Later events==
On 5 May 1945, ''U-853'' sank the [[Collier (ship type)|collier]] ''Black Point'' off the coast of [[Point Judith, Rhode Island]], causing the loss of 12 lives. During the ensuing [[German submarine U-853#Battle of Point Judith|Battle of Point Judith]], ''U-853'' was chased and sunk by Navy and [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] ships on 6 May.

On 1 June 1945, [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Felix X. Gygax]] wrote, "at least equal evidence to support the conclusion that the explosion was that of a device outside the ship, the exact nature of which is undetermined. It might have been an enemy [[naval mine|mine]] or an enemy [[torpedo]]." Ultimately, though, he endorsed the court's findings.<ref name="holland"/>

Because the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] had [[Ultra (cryptography)|cracked Germany's codes]], United States intelligence knew in 1945 that U-boats had been sent across the [[Atlantic Ocean|North Atlantic]] to disrupt shipping in hopes of obtaining better surrender terms. However, only general warnings rather than specific information about this plan were passed to commanders.<ref name="boston"/>

===Reclassification===
[[file:Memorial USS Eagle-56.jpg|thumb|Plaque at Portland remembering the loss]]
In 2001, the [[Naval Historical Center]] reviewed the case and reclassified the sinking as a combat loss. In June 2001, [[Purple Heart]] medals were awarded to three survivors and the next of kin of those killed.<ref name="green"/> As of 2007, this is the only time that the U.S. Navy has overruled its own Court of Inquiry.<ref name="boston">{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/04/06/the_truth_about_the_uss_eagle_56/|title=The truth about the USS Eagle 56|author=Robert Knox|date=6 April 2006|newspaper=boston.com|access-date=2007-10-07}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=May 2022}}

A commemorative plaque was erected on the grounds of [[Fort Williams Park]] near [[Portland Head Light]].

===Wreck discovery===
The ship's wreckage was located in June 2018, and visited by a civilian dive team later the same month. It lies {{convert|5|mi|km|spell=in}} off the coast of Maine at a depth of {{convert|300|ft|m}}.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vigdor |first1=Neil |title=U.S. Navy Ship Sunk in World War II by German Sub Is Found Off Maine Coast |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/us/sunken-warship-discovered.html?action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage |access-date=19 July 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=19 July 2019}}</ref> A video taken by the divers shows that USS ''Eagle 56''{{'}}s boilers are intact.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sharp |first1=David |title=Navy vessel sunk by German sub in WWII finally found |url=https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2019/07/18/navy-vessel-sunk-by-german-sub-in-wwii-finally-found/ |access-date=19 July 2019 |work=Navy Times |date=19 July 2019}}</ref> The ship's steel plating is starting to rust away, but the site has been designated a [[war grave]], and it has all the protections associated with that designation.<ref>{{cite web|title=This Navy warship went down in World War II with 49 crew members aboard. Divers finally found it after 75 years|website=CNN|language=en|date=19 July 2019|author=Michelle Lou|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/this-navy-warship-went-down-in-world-war-ii-with-49-crew-members-aboard-divers-finally-found-it-after-75-years/ar-AAEx6Jr?ocid=spartanntp}}</ref>

==Citations==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web |title=Dedication of Navy warship marker set for Saturday at Portland Head Light |url=http://www.capeelizabeth.com/news/eaglememorial.html |website=capeelizabeth.com |publisher=Town of Cape Elizabeth, Maine |access-date=3 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061019105221/http://www.capeelizabeth.com/news/eaglememorial.html |archive-date=19 October 2006 |date=22 April 2005 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Cianflone |first1=Frank A. |title=The Eagle Boats of World War I |journal=Proceedings |date=June 1973 |pages=76–80 |publisher=United States Naval Institute}}
* {{cite web |last1=Green |first1=Jack A. |title=Navy Senior Archivist Helps Solve 57 Year Old USS ''Eagle 56'' Mystery |url=https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=6892 |website=Navy.mil |publisher=Naval Historical Center Public Affairs |access-date=3 April 2020 |date=25 April 2003 |archive-date=4 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204172200/https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=6892 |url-status=dead }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/patrol/eagles.htm DANFS entry: Eagle-class patrol craft (PE)]

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{{Eagle class patrol craft}}
{{April 1945 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eagle (Pe-56)}}
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Maine coast]]
[[Category:World War II patrol vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Patrol vessels of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:1919 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1945]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II]]
[[Category:Ford vehicles]]