In order to respond to a U-boat attack and to ensure that the Whittemore and L-8 remained in contact, the Whittemore towed the L-8 astern. Officials then assigned the submarine N-5 to work in concert with the Whittemore later they assigned the L-8 to the same role. The Navy requisitioned the Whittemore and fitted her out as a Q-ship. In March 1918, the four-masted lumber schooner Charles Whittemore lost its rudder off Block Island, Rhode Island, and was forced to seek assistance from the U.S. submarine would engage the U-boat with torpedoes. If a German U-boat surfaced and attacked the merchant ship with its deck gun, the U.S.
The merchant ship would sail the Atlantic sea lanes as a potential U-boat target the U.S. The concept was to have a decoy merchant ship and a U.S. One “top-secret” strategy mirrored an approach the British had tried by deploying Q-ships. Now at war, the United States faced a significant threat from German U-boats a threat for which there were no immediate solutions.
The United States' entrance into World War I in April 1917 and Germany’s resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare in February that year were interconnected. Its operational history and eventual disposal were deeply connected to the development of underwater warfare at the end of World War I and during the early interwar years. The L-8 performed well during sea trials. She was fitted with four 18-inch torpedo tubes. The vessel was 165 feet long 14 feet, 9 inches in the beam and drew 13 feet, 3 inches draft. The Navy paid the Lake Torpedo Boat Company $52,700 for the plans. submarine to be built in a government yard. Launched in April 1917 at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, she was the first U.S. The submarine USS L-8 claims a notable place in United States and Rhode Island naval history. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Submarine L-8 in dry dock at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, in 1917. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility.
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