Augustine Lighthouse by dusk, according to Michael Gannon's book, "Operation Drumbeat." They saw the radio tower of St. The next afternoon, April 10, they ran at periscope depth toward St. But there were no vessels, and Hardegen and his crew put their sub on the bottom, to sleep and wait. Automobile lights were visible from the U-boat. They found a relaxed, almost sleepy state when they scoped out the area around, first, brightly-lit Fernandina Beach and then Mayport on the night of April 9.įinding no merchant or Navy vessels, they headed on to Jacksonville Beach, where the roller coaster, rides, houses and pier were brightly lit and easy to see. Then the sub and its crew headed for Florida - the first Germans to operate off the state's coast since February 1942. On April 8, U-boat 123 torpedoed and sank two tankers, SS Oklahoma and SS Esso Baton Rouge, off St.
It made perfect hunting conditions for U-boat 123 and its commander, Reinhard Hardegen. No one had yet given the order for a blackout anywhere in the U.S., although the country was officially at war with Germany and other members of the Axis. On that night the coast of Florida was brightly lit. oil tanker headed up the coast.Īrea residents were about to learn first-hand about Operation Drumbeat, a campaign by the German command to use U-boats against merchant shipping. On a Friday night in 1942, oil and war found their way to the beaches of North Florida when a German submarine raced under the waters off St.
Oil along Florida beaches isn't anything new.
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