World War I
Soon after the United States declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917, McDougal departed for Europe as a part of the first U.S. destroyer division sent overseas during the war. Steaming with Wadsworth, the division's flagship, under the command of Joseph K. Taussig, McDougal, Porter, Davis, Conyngham, and Wainwright departed New York on 24 April and arrived at Queenstown, Ireland, on 4 May and began patrolling the southern approaches to the Irish Sea the next day. McDougal patrolled off the Irish coast, escorting convoys of merchant ships and troop transports, searching for German submarines, and performing rescue operations for ships sunk. When British ship Manchester Miller was torpedoed and sunk by U-66 on 5 June 1917, McDougal sped to her assistance and rescued 33 survivors.
On 8 September, as McDougal escorted a convoy off the southwest coast of England, she detected a surfaced submarine in the early morning hours and gave chase at full speed. The U-boat submerged about 500 yards (460 m) ahead of the closing destroyer, and McDougal dropped two depth charges which brought an oil slick to the surface. According to the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, McDougal's actions prevented an attack on the convoy and resulted in "probable damage" to the submarine.
On 4 February 1918, McDougal and the British cargo ship Glenmorag collided in the Irish Sea. The destroyer made her way to Liverpool and underwent repairs that lasted until mid-July. Upon reentering service, McDougal was transferred to Brest to serve as an escort for convoys approaching the French port.
Read more about this topic: USS Mc Dougal (DD-54)
Famous quotes containing the words war i, world and/or war:
“War is in truth a disease in which the juices that serve health and maintenance are used for the sole purpose of nourishing something foreign, something at odds with nature.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
“Possibly the Creator did not make the world chiefly for the purpose of providing studies for gifted novelists; but if he had done so, we can scarcely imagine that He could have offered anything much better in the way of material ...”
—Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (1844–1911)
“My topic for Army reunions ... this summer: How to prepare for war in time of peace. Not by fortifications, by navies, or by standing armies. But by policies which will add to the happiness and the comfort of all our people and which will tend to the distribution of intelligence [and] wealth equally among all. Our strength is a contented and intelligent community.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)