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Built in the early 1930s, the 165-foot “B”-Class cutters were
often referred to as the Thetis-Class. The Thetis-class cutters
proved good sea boats becoming the backbone of the Coast Guard’s
coastal patrol and convoy force during World War II. Among these
cutters was the Argo, which escorted Nazi Germany’s last surrendered
U-boats into captivity and the Thetis, one of 11 Coast Guard cutters
credited with sinking a U-boat. However, the most honored of these
cutters was Icarus, which sank U-352 and captured its crew at the
beginning of World War II.
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U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Icarus 1942 configuration profile (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy
image)
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Icarus and its sister cutters were designed for Prohibition
enforcement, specifically tracking down rum running ships outside
U.S. territorial waters. These cutters required excellent
sea-keeping qualities, long-term accommodations for crew, and
greater fuel capacity. Icarus was built by Bath Iron Works in Maine
and commissioned on April 1, 1932. The cutter reported for duty at
Stapleton, New York, on Staten Island, and served as part of the New
York Division’s Special Patrol Force, which conducted law
enforcement patrols in support of Prohibition regulations. After
passage of the 21st Amendment repealing Prohibition, Icarus
continued sailing out of Stapleton on law enforcement and search and
rescue patrols.
After war erupted in Europe in 1939, the
Coast Guard assigned Icarus to Neutrality Patrols protecting
merchant vessels from attacks by European combatants. With the 1941
U.S. entry into World War II, Icarus joined its sister cutters in
escorting coastal convoys and anti-submarine patrols in American
waters. In the morning of Friday, May 8, 1942, Icarus departed
Staten Island for Key West, Florida. On Saturday at about 4:20 p.m.,
while off the coast of North Carolina, Icarus’s sonar operator
picked up a “mushy” contact 2,000 yards off its port bow. The
cutter’s crew went to general quarters and assumed battle stations.
Ten minutes after the first sonar contact, an explosion believed
to be a torpedo rocked the cutter about 200 yards off the port side.
Reversing course, Icarus sped toward the contact, which was heading
toward the spot where the explosion had occurred. The underwater
contact sharpened and, for the first time, propeller sounds were
heard by the sonarman. The contact was lost at 180 yards but, after
a calculated interval, Icarus dropped five depth charges in a
diamond shape with one charge in the center. The sonar operator next
determined that the contact was slowly moving west, so the cutter
altered course to intercept it. Two more charges were dropped in a
“V” pattern at a point leading the contact’s underwater track and,
as roiling water from the explosions subsided, large bubbles were
observed on the surface. Icarus reversed course again and dropped a
single charge on the spot where the air bubbles had surfaced. Six
minutes later, the cutter dropped a second charge in the same
location.
At 10 minutes past 5:00 p.m., shortly after the
last charge had been dropped, a U-boat broke the surface 1,000 yards
from Icarus. The heavily armed sub emerged bow first and down by the
stern. The cutter’s crew was ready, opening fire with all machine
guns that could bear on the sub. Meanwhile, the U-boat’s crew began
abandoning ship. Icarus’s commanding officer, Lt. Maurice Jester,
altered course to ram and the cutter’s 3-inch main battery was
brought to bear on the submarine. The first 3-inch round fell short
ricocheting off the water and through the conning tower. The second
round overshot the sub, but the next 12 rounds hit the U-boat or
came close, with seven of them hitting home. Minutes later, the
damaged U-boat began to subside into the sea.
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2017 wreck site of German U-352 submarine sunk by U.S. Coast Guard
Cutter Icarus during World War II in 1942. (Image courtesy of
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
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As the submarine sank, Icarus ceased firing, but the cutter
circled the spot where the U-boat had disappeared. Icarus
re-established sonar contact with the submerged sub and the cutter’s
sonarman heard propeller noises again. Taking no chances, Jester
ordered one last depth charge dropped over the U-boat, which brought
a large air bubble to the surface. No further noises were heard from
sub; the vessel had finally been vanquished. Meanwhile, 35 Germans
were struggling on the surface to avoid the cutter’s path and its
deadly depth charges. Expecting to be machine-gunned in the water,
many yelled, “Don’t shoot us!”
At 5:50 p.m., the Icarus crew
began rescue operations and retrieved Germans from the water. Except
for the wounded survivors, the prisoners were placed under guard in
the cutter’s forward crew compartment. The U-boat’s commanding
officer, Kapitanleutnant (Captain lieutenant) Helmut Rathke, was among the survivors. At
this point, it was learned that the submarine was U-352, carrying a
complement of 48 men. Seven of the crew went down with the U-boat
while others died in the water after abandoning ship. By 6:05, 33
survivors had been rescued and the cutter proceeded to Charleston
Navy Yard as ordered.
The German prisoners exhibited good
discipline and were surprised by the fine treatment they received on
board Icarus. Several of the U-boat’s crew spoke English and talked
freely on personal matters, but disclosed no military information.
Three of Icarus’s crew also spoke German and conversed with the
prisoners. The prisoners wished to know how much money the Coast
Guard crew would receive for sinking a submarine and if crewmembers
received promotions for doing so. The Germans related that they
received medals and bonuses for sinking ships, the amount depending
on the size and tonnage of their victims. Four of the prisoners also
mentioned they had relatives living in the U.S.
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U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Icarus disembarking U-352 crew members at
the Charleston Navy Yard in Charleston, South Carolina in 1942. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)
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On Sunday morning, Icarus arrived at the Navy Yard.
There, the cutter delivered 32 prisoners and one prisoner
who died of his wounds en route to Charleston. To keep the
enemy in doubt about the U-boat’s fate, naval authorities
did not disclose the sinking of U-352 until almost a year
later, on May 1, 1943. For the remainder of the war, Icarus
continued its convoy escort work, search and rescue duties
and anti-submarine patrols. In the fall of 1946, the ship
was placed in reserve status and stored at Staten Island.
The Coast Guard decommissioned Icarus in 1948 and sold it to
the Southeastern Terminal and Steamship Company.
Icarus was the second American warship to sink a U-boat and
the first to capture German combatants. For his command of
Icarus in the attack and sinking of U-352, Jester received
one of only six Navy Cross Medals awarded to Coast Guardsmen
during the war. Icarus was one of numerous combat cutters
that served the heroic Coast Guardsmen of the long blue line
during World War II.
By William H. Thiesen, Atlantic Area Historian, USCG
Provided
through
Coast
Guard
Copyright 2018
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