Shell fragment from German U-boat attack on US soil WW1

This Real Photo PostCard (RPPC) shows a shell fragment that was found after a German submarine attacked the US coast in 1918.

On the morning of 21 JUL 1918, U-156 a German submarine fired shells at civilian boats in the area of Nauset Beach or Orleans, Mass (part of Cape Cod).

The U-156 surfaced and fired deck guns and torpedoes at the tug boat Perth Amboy eventually sinking the tug and wounding the captain. Shells also hit the edge of the town of Orleans but caused no real damage. Men from the local Coast Guard station called Chatham Naval Air Station which scrambled seaplanes to respond to the attack. The seaplanes dropped ordnance that was ineffective (duds or missed target).

The U-156 escaped unscathed and continued to attack civilian ships along the far Northern Coast.

This attack, called the "Battle of Orleans", was the ONLY German attack on the US mainland during the War. While the actual damages were minimal, it created fear among those who lived along the US coastal areas.

Interestingly, the area has been in the news recently as it was under shark "attack" last week when a great white approached a man kayaking.

Reproduction of this image in any form is not authorized.

scott