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US Sailors Got Bounty for Capturing Nazi Ship
Crew on board the Omaha and Somers got two months of pay and allowances. That’s a prize worth as much as $34,000 today.
Prior to America’s official entry into World War II, the U.S. Navy was involved in “short of war” operations against Nazi Germany. In some cases this involved escorting merchant ships that were steaming to help supply England.
Tensions between the U.S and Germany increased after a Nazi submarine fired on the destroyer USS Greer (DD 145).
But, as Samuel Eliot Morison pointed out in the “Battle of the Atlantic,” the U.S. was still operating under neutrality legislation. So, when they did stuff to Nazi vessels, they needed to have some legal grounds outside of a war declaration.
On Nov. 6, 1941, the light cruiser USS Omaha (CL 4) and the destroyer USS Somers (DD 381) were on patrol in the South Atlantic looking for a German raider. Two months had passed since the Greer had been fired on, and since then, the destroyer Kearny (DD 432) had been torpedoed and the destroyer USS Reuben James (DD 245) had been sunk.
The Omaha and Somers then came across a ship claiming to be an American merchant vessel out of Philadelphia. The interaction with the vessel drew suspicions, and the Omaha, under the command of Capt. Theodore E. Chandler, ordered the vessel to stop. A boarding party came aboard just as scuttling charges went off. The boarding party kept the ship from sinking, and determined its true identity as the German blockade runner Odenwald.
The ship was taken to Puerto Rico, where the cargo – over 6,200 tons, including 103 truck tires and lots of rubber – and the vessel were sold off. According to Samuel Eliot Morison, the Navy justified the intercept by claiming that the Odenwald was a suspected slave trader.
In 1947, the Odenwald’s owners sued the Navy over the seizure. It didn’t pan out for them at all. The boarding party and prize crew assigned to the vessel, though, made out big-time: $3,000 each. Crew on board the Omaha and Somers got two months of pay and allowances.
That’s a prize worth as much as $34,000 today.
Chandler, though, never got that bonus. Although he was promoted to rear admiral, in January 1945, his flagship, the heavy cruiser USS Louisville (CA 28), was hit by kamikazes off Iwo Jima. While assisting in fighting fires, his lungs were badly injured, and he died of his wounds soon after.
HAROLD C. HUTCHISON
Yesterday at 8:57 AM
http://www.scout.com/military/warrior/story/1786995-us-sailors-got-bounty-for-capturing-nazi-ship
http://iagenweb.org/wwii/FeatureWWIIOdenwald.html
https://youtu.be/Ni5sJlu78Ug
@ col mikel COL Mikel J. Burroughs @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen C. @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen F. @ ltc frank LTC (Join to see) @ ltc john LTC John Mohor @ maj stephen LTC (Join to see) @ maj william Maj William W. "Bill" Price Maj Marty Hogan @ smsgt doc SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas @ tsgt joe TSgt Joe C. @ ssgt larry SSgt (Join to see) @ sra christopher SrA Christopher Wright 1SG Christian Chenard @ msg andrew MSG Andrew White @ sgt david SGT (Join to see) @ sgt david SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth @ sp5 mark SP5 Mark Kuzinski SCPO Morris Ramsey @ po3 tom PO3 Tom Howard Alan K.
Crew on board the Omaha and Somers got two months of pay and allowances. That’s a prize worth as much as $34,000 today.
Prior to America’s official entry into World War II, the U.S. Navy was involved in “short of war” operations against Nazi Germany. In some cases this involved escorting merchant ships that were steaming to help supply England.
Tensions between the U.S and Germany increased after a Nazi submarine fired on the destroyer USS Greer (DD 145).
But, as Samuel Eliot Morison pointed out in the “Battle of the Atlantic,” the U.S. was still operating under neutrality legislation. So, when they did stuff to Nazi vessels, they needed to have some legal grounds outside of a war declaration.
On Nov. 6, 1941, the light cruiser USS Omaha (CL 4) and the destroyer USS Somers (DD 381) were on patrol in the South Atlantic looking for a German raider. Two months had passed since the Greer had been fired on, and since then, the destroyer Kearny (DD 432) had been torpedoed and the destroyer USS Reuben James (DD 245) had been sunk.
The Omaha and Somers then came across a ship claiming to be an American merchant vessel out of Philadelphia. The interaction with the vessel drew suspicions, and the Omaha, under the command of Capt. Theodore E. Chandler, ordered the vessel to stop. A boarding party came aboard just as scuttling charges went off. The boarding party kept the ship from sinking, and determined its true identity as the German blockade runner Odenwald.
The ship was taken to Puerto Rico, where the cargo – over 6,200 tons, including 103 truck tires and lots of rubber – and the vessel were sold off. According to Samuel Eliot Morison, the Navy justified the intercept by claiming that the Odenwald was a suspected slave trader.
In 1947, the Odenwald’s owners sued the Navy over the seizure. It didn’t pan out for them at all. The boarding party and prize crew assigned to the vessel, though, made out big-time: $3,000 each. Crew on board the Omaha and Somers got two months of pay and allowances.
That’s a prize worth as much as $34,000 today.
Chandler, though, never got that bonus. Although he was promoted to rear admiral, in January 1945, his flagship, the heavy cruiser USS Louisville (CA 28), was hit by kamikazes off Iwo Jima. While assisting in fighting fires, his lungs were badly injured, and he died of his wounds soon after.
HAROLD C. HUTCHISON
Yesterday at 8:57 AM
http://www.scout.com/military/warrior/story/1786995-us-sailors-got-bounty-for-capturing-nazi-ship
http://iagenweb.org/wwii/FeatureWWIIOdenwald.html
https://youtu.be/Ni5sJlu78Ug
@ col mikel COL Mikel J. Burroughs @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen C. @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen F. @ ltc frank LTC (Join to see) @ ltc john LTC John Mohor @ maj stephen LTC (Join to see) @ maj william Maj William W. "Bill" Price Maj Marty Hogan @ smsgt doc SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas @ tsgt joe TSgt Joe C. @ ssgt larry SSgt (Join to see) @ sra christopher SrA Christopher Wright 1SG Christian Chenard @ msg andrew MSG Andrew White @ sgt david SGT (Join to see) @ sgt david SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth @ sp5 mark SP5 Mark Kuzinski SCPO Morris Ramsey @ po3 tom PO3 Tom Howard Alan K.
Posted in these groups: 
WWII World War Two
Naval/Maritime History
American History
World History
Money
WWII World War Two Naval/Maritime History American History World History Money
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 3
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SSgt (Join to see)
I love those old pictures. It also sounds officious. LTC Stephen C. SGT John " Mac " McConnell PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
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SGT John " Mac " McConnell
I found this quite an interesting story LTC Stephen C. . I just had to dig and dig until I found more info... Well worth the find in the tidbits of history....
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Thanks for reminding us SGT John " Mac " McConnell that before we were officially involve in WWII we were actually engaged as a belligerent and being engaged by Axis belligerents.
In this case, the light cruiser USS Omaha (CL 4) and the destroyer USS Somers (DD 381) were on patrol in the South Atlantic looking for and actually captured the German blockade runner Odenwald.
It is interesting that about six years later, after WWII was over, that after the German ship's owners sued the US Navy boarding party nd prize crew assigned to the vessel sailors were awarded $3,000 each. The Crew on board the Omaha and Somers got two months of pay and allowances.
In this case, the light cruiser USS Omaha (CL 4) and the destroyer USS Somers (DD 381) were on patrol in the South Atlantic looking for and actually captured the German blockade runner Odenwald.
It is interesting that about six years later, after WWII was over, that after the German ship's owners sued the US Navy boarding party nd prize crew assigned to the vessel sailors were awarded $3,000 each. The Crew on board the Omaha and Somers got two months of pay and allowances.
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