The Mysterious Loss of the USS Cyclops

One of the mysteries of the war is the disappearance of the collier USS Cyclops.  The 540 feet long and 65 feet wide vessel was built in Philadelphia and commissioned on 1 May 1917. The ship was a Proteus-class collier—the only ship of its class—and could carry 12,500 tons of coal while making 15 knots with her twin screws. Prior to World War I, the collier supported U.S. warships in European waters, off the Atlantic seaboard and in the Caribbean as a unit of the Naval Auxiliary Force.  

The Cyclops' final mission was to transport 9,960 tons of coal from her home port in Norfolk, Virginia, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and bring back 11,000 tons of manganese ore. She departed on 9 January 1918 and arrived in Rio on 28 January, where she stayed for two weeks unloading and loading cargo. On 15 February, 309 souls departed for Bahia, Brazil, the only scheduled stop before Baltimore, Maryland. Two days later, at 1800 on 22 February, the ship embarked for Maryland; she was expected to arrive on 13 March. The last known location of the Cyclops was an unplanned stop made at Barbados on 3 March, with 1,800 nautical miles (nm) to go on a 4,844 nm journey.

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Last Voyage of USS Cyclops

Somewhere and sometime afterward, Cyclops disappeared with all hands.  Numerous ships sailed to locate the collier, as she was thought to have been sunk by a German submarine.  Her wreck has never been found and the cause of her loss remains unknown. Later records, however, indicated there were no German U-boats in the area during the timeframe:

Many other theories have arisen over the years, including:

1. Poor seamanship by Captain Worley, who was described as a very indifferent seaman and a poor, overly cautious navigator.

2.  Improper storage of the manganese ore or overloading.

3.  Catastrophic engine or hull failure which resulted in rapid sinking before lifeboats could be deployed.

4.  Cyclops had a history of trouble with extreme rolls.

5.  Storm conditions in combination with any of the above

The wreck of USS Cyclops has never been discovered and the mystery of its sinking never resolved.

Sources:  Articles from the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Naval Institute, and the U.S. Naval History Foundation