Naval History Forums

17th October 1941-USS KEARNY,(DD432), part of the escort for convoy SC 38, becomes the first US casualty of WW2 when she was torpedoed by U-568, SW of Iceland, (57 00N - 27 00W). 11 members of 'Kearny's crew were killed and 22 were injured, some serious enough to warrant extra medical supplies to be air-dropped from a PBY on the 18th.

aurora

I beleive the Kearney was only damaged and not sunk in that incident. Accordling to Wikipedia she was only struck from the navy list in 1971. (I know, I know, wiki...but wiki is probabaly good enough for this purpose.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kearny_(DD-432)

This incident happened before US entered the war but the ship was not sunk.
I think the first USN warship sunk in WW2 was at Pearl Harbor on December 7th. Cant say which one.

USS Ruben James was sunk on October 31, 1941 by U-552 Commanded by Kapitanleutnant Erich Topp while escorting convoy HX-156.

USS Panay, a gun boat on the Yangtze River, was sunk by Japanese aircraft on December 12, 1937.

frontkampfer wrote:USS Ruben James was sunk on October 31, 1941 by U-552 Commanded by Kapitanleutnant Erich Topp while escorting convoy HX-156.

Wiki says this was the first United States Navy ship sunk by hostile action in World War II http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Reuben_James_(DD-245)

Abject apologies gentlemen I have incorrectly captioned this thread First USN Warship Lost whereas she was the First Casualty-as per text. Really MUST do better!! Reuben James was indeed the first USN warship sunk in WW2

aurora

Wasn't the USS Panay the first US warship sunk, during the Japanese invasion of China?

Leaving aside the debate about the actual start dates of WW2, it was the first American ship sunk during that conflict, even if it was at a time war hadn't been declared.

Hmmm, difficult one.

Either it is;

During WW2 regardless of if the US was at war or not, in which case the Panay would qualify;

or it is when the US was actively at war, which started in december 1941, in which case it would be whatever ship touched the bottom of Pearl Harbor first;

or it when war was actually declared which would make it some other ship sunk later as war was not declared until after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Seems a lot like splitting hairs.