Vice Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, Commander, Southern Ireland, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters
Admiralty House,
Queenstown,
16. 7. 17.
My dear Admiral,
Captain Pringle1 has shown me your letter about an organization being arranged so that destroyers should be told off to go away from here should they be required elsewhere.2 I have told him that I cannot interest myself in such a matter; that I organize them in such a way as I consider best for the work here; that should the British Admiralty order me to send ‘n’ destroyers away to another station, I should detail ‘n’ out of those that could best be spared in existing circumstances; should they say ‘n’ 1000 ton destroyers then I should detail ‘n’ 1000 ton destroyers out of those that could best be spared. Should the British Admiralty name the destroyers to be sent then they would probably not be sent so soon as the above, because they or some of them might be escorting; going out to escort; just returning etc.
And since different convoys require different numbers of destroyers in their escorts, we cannot lay down an organization that escorts are always to consist of 4, 6, 8 destroyers etc. as that would not meet the grave necessities here.
Everything is being done here to meet the exigencies of the moment; all hands are working splendidly and very hard; and the same will continue for some time until convoys are of similar sizes; punctual todates; and unhindered by weather; probably never. In a view of the closeness together with which Capt. Pringle and I must work; of the necessity of our relative positions being clearly understood; and of his knowing exactly where he stands; I strongly suggest that he be put on my staff. It will help him and help me, and will strengthen the bonds that hold us all together. Of course Capt. Pringle would remain in command of the Melville.3
Yours very sincerely
(sgd) Lewis Bayly
Source Note: LTS, DLC-MSS, William Sims Papers, Container 22. A cataloging note at the top of the page reads: “Admiral Sims/Personal File.”
Footnote 1: Cmdr. Joel R.Poinsett Pringle, Chief of Staff, Destroyer Flotillas.
Footnote 2: See: Sims to Pringle, 10 July 1917.
Footnote 3: Pringle did become Bayly’s chief of staff, retaining that position throughout the remainder of the war. He was the first American to serve in a staff position in the Royal Navy. Still, Crisis at Sea: 66.
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- List of Documents
- Vice Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, Commander, Southern Ireland, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/16/1917
- Admiral William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/1/1917
- Commodore Guy R. Gaunt, British Naval Attaché at Washington, to British Admiralty, 7/1/1917
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More Documents (135)
- Commodore Guy R. Gaunt, British Naval Attaché at Washington, to First Sea Lord Admiral Sir John R. Jellicoe, 7/1/1917
- Captain Arthur de K. L. May, Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff, to Vice Admiral Montague E. Browning, Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station, 7/1/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/1/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/1/1917
- Memorandum from Sir Colville A. R. Barclay, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Great Britain in Washington, D. C., 7/1/1917
- Draft Proposal for the Inter-Allied Munitions Council, 7/2/1917
- Diary of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/2/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Captain Richard H. Jackson, American Naval Representative to Paris, 7/2/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Officers Under His Command, 7/2/1917
- Captain William V. Pratt, Assistant Chief of Naval Operations, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/2/1917
- President Woodrow Wilson to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/2/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/2/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces in Europe, to Captain William V. Pratt, Assistant Chief of Naval Operations, 7/3/1917
- Diary of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/3/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/3/1917
- Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels to Secretary of State Robert M. Lansing, 7/3/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/3/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/3/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in Europe, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/3/1917
- Secretary of War Newton D. Baker to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/3/1917
- Commodore Guy R. Gaunt, British Naval Attaché at Washington, to Admiral William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations, 7/4/1917
- Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves, Commander, Convoy Operations in the Atlantic, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/4/1917
- First Sea Lord Admiral Sir John R. Jellicoe to Commodore Guy R. Gaunt, British Naval Attaché at Washington, 7/4/1917
- President Woodrow Wilson to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/4/1917
- Lieutenant Commander John H. Boesch, Commander, Orion, to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 7/4/1917
- Commander Joel R. Poinsett Pringle, Chief of Staff, Destroyer Flotillas, Queenstown, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/4/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Commander Powers Symington, Commander, USS Tacoma, 7/4/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Captain Richard H. Jackson, American Naval Representative to the Ministry of Marine, 7/5/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Lieutenant Commander Joseph F. Daniels, U.S.S. Melville, 7/5/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/5/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels., 7/5/1917
- Memorandum from Captain William W. Fisher, Director, Anti-Submarine Warfare, 7/5/1917
- Commodore Guy R. Gaunt, British Naval Attaché at Washington, to Secretary of the Admiralty Sir William Graham Greene, 7/5/1917
- Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves, Commander, Convoy Operations in the Atlantic, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/5/1917
- Commodore Guy R. Gaunt, British Naval Attaché at Washington, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters., 7/5/1917
- Alfred C. W. Harmsworth, First Viscount Northcliffe, to Imperial War Cabinet, 7/5/1917
- United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom Walter Hines Page to Secretary of State Robert Lansing, 7/5/1917
- First Sea Lord Admiral Sir John R. Jellicoe to Commodore Guy R. Gaunt, British Naval Attaché at Washington, 7/6/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/6/1917
- Vice Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, Commander, Southern Ireland, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/6/1917
- Lieutenant Commander Thomas A. Kittinger, Commander, Coarsair, to Captain William B. Fletcher, Force Commander, Special Patrol Squadron, 7/6/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Captain William V. Pratt, Assistant Chief of Naval Operations, 7/6/1917
- Lieutenant Kenneth Whiting, Commander, First Aeronautic Detachment, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/7/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels 7/7/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/7/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/7/1917
- Diary of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/7/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Bureau of Steam Engineering, 7/7/1917
- Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/8/1917
- Rear Admiral Roger Welles, Director of Naval Intelligence, to Captain William D. MacDougall, United States Naval Attaché at London, 7/8/1917
- Admiral William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations, to José Martí, Chief of Staff, Cuban Army, and President, Cuban Mission, 7/9/1917
- First Sea Lord Admiral Sir John R. Jellicoe to Commodore Guy R. Gaunt, British Naval Attaché at Washington, 7/9/1917
- Captain William R. Hall, Director, Intelligence Division, to Imperial War Cabinet, 7/9/1917
- Lieutenant Commander Joseph F. Daniels to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/10/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Commander Joel R. Poinsett Pringle, Chief of Staff, Destroyer Flotillas, 7/10/1917
- VIce Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, Commander, Southern Ireland to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/10/1917
- Admiral William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations, Memorandum for Ship Owners, 7/10/1917
- Lieutenant Fred M. Perkins, Destroyer Force Engineer Officer, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/10/1917
- Raymond B. Fosdick, Chairman, Commission on Training Camp Activities, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/10/1917
- Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels to General José Martí, Chief of Staff, Cuban Army, and President of Cuban Mission, 7/11/1917
- Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, Memorandum to Naval Departments, 7/11/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating In European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/11/1917
- Vice Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, Commander, Southern Ireland, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/11/1917
- Captain Edwin A. Anderson, Commander, Squadron Three, Patrol Force, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/11/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/12/1917
- Vice Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, Commander, Southern Ireland, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters., 7/12/1917
- Captain Richard H. Jackson, American Naval Representative to the Ministry of Marine, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/12/1917
- Captain William B. Fletcher, Commander, United States Patrol Squadron, Patrol Instructions, 7/12/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Anne Hitchcock Sims, 7/13/1917
- United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom Walter Hines Page to Secretary of State Robert Lansing, 7/13/1917
- Captain Benton Decker, United States Naval Attaché at Madrid, to Office of Naval Intelligence, 7/13/1917
- Captain Richard H. Jackson, American Naval Representative to the Ministry of Marine, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/13/1917
- Vice Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, Commander, Southern Ireland, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/14/1917
- British Foreign Office to British Ambassador to the United States Sir Cecil Spring Rice, 7/14/1917
- Diary of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/15/1917
- Lieutenant Arthur S. Carpender, Commander, Fanning, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/15/1917
- Commander Joel R. Poinsett Pringle, Chief of Staff, Destroyer Flotillass, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/15/1917
- Lieutenant Norman Wilkinson, to Rear Admiral Clement Greatorex, Director of Naval Equipment 7/16/1917
- Diary of Commander Joseph K. Taussig, Commander, Destroyer Division Eight, 7/16/1917
- Diary of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/16/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/16/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Captain Benton C. Decker, United States Naval Attaché at Madrid, 7/17/1917
- Commander William R. Sayles, United States Naval Attaché at Paris, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/17/1917
- Report on the Sinking of Florence Creadick, 7/17/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Vice Admiral Lewis Bayly, Commander, Southern Ireland, 7/18/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating In European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/18/1917
- Rear Admiral Ralph Earle, Chief of Bureau of Ordnance to Admiral William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations, 7/18/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Captain William B. Fletcher, Force Commander, United States Patrol Squadron, 7/18/1917
- Admiral William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/19/1917
- Vice Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, Commander, Southern Ireland, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/19/1917
- Diary of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/19/1917
- Commodore Guy R. Gaunt, British Naval Attaché at Washington, to First Sea Lord Admiral Sir John R. Jellicoe, 7/20/1917
- Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/20/1917
- Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves, Commander, Convoy Operations in the Atlantic, to Vice Admiral Henry T. Mayo, Commander, Atlantic Fleet, 7/20/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Anne Hitchcock Sims, 7/21/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/21/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/21/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/21/1917
- British Admiralty to Commodore Guy R. Gaunt, British Naval Attaché at Washington, 7/21/1917
- Diary of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/21/1917
- Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/22/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/22/1917
- Report by Commander Richard T. Down, 7/22/1917
- Admiral Henry T. Mayo, Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/23/1917
- Diary of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/23/1917
- Admiral William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/23/1917
- Diary of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/24/1917
- Admiral William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operation, to Rear Admiral Albert G. Winterhalter, Commander, Asiatic Fleet, 7/24/1917
- Third Assistant Secretary of State Breckinridge Long, “What the Navy Has Done Since the War Began”, 7/24/1917
- Memorandum from Commander Edward McCauley, Jr., Acting Director, Office of Naval Intelligence, 7/25/1917
- Ministry of Marine to Captain Richard H. Jackson, American Naval Representative to the Ministry of Marine, 7/25/1917
- Rear Admiral Samuel McGowan, Paymaster General, Intra-Bureau Order No. 201, 7/26/1917
- Secretary of War Newton D. Baker to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/26/1917
- Vice Admiral Williams S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Anne Hitchcock Sims, 7/26/1917
- Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels to Captain Samuel S. Robinson, Commander, Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet, 7/26/1917
- Lieutenant Commander Charles K. Belknap, Jr., Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/26/1917
- Commander Joel R. Poinsett Pringle, Chief of Staff, Destroyer Flotillass, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/27/1917
- Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves, Commander, Convoy Operations in the Atlantic Ocean, to Admiral William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations, 7/27/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/28/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/28/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/28/1917
- Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 7/28/1917
- Diary of Commander Joseph K. Taussig, Commander, Destroyer Division Eight, 7/29/1917
- State Department to United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom Walter Hines Page, 7/30/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Admiral William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations, 7/30/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Anne Hitchcock Sims, 7/30/1917
- Lieutenant Commander Theodore G. Ellyson to Helen Ellyson, 7/30/1917
- Commander Thomas A. Kearney, Acting Chief, Bureau of Ordnance, to Admiral William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations, 7/30/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Vice Admiral Ferdinand de Bon, Chief of Staff, Ministry of Marine, 7/30/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters to Commander Joel R. Poinsett Pringle, 7/31/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/31/1917
- Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Admiral William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations, 7/31/1917
- Acting Secretary of State Frank Polk to United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom Walter Hines Page, 7/31/1917
- Captain Richard H. Jackson, American Naval Representative to the Ministry of Marine, to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, 7/31/1917
- Captain William B. Fletcher, Commander, Special Patrol Squadrons, Patrol Instructions, 7/31/1917
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