Editing German submarine U-552 (section)

===Fifth and sixth patrols===
Her next two patrols all took her further into the Atlantic, where the danger was lessened, but so were the targets, with the result that she only hit three more cargo ships. Also this time, during her final patrol of 1941, she sank the ''Reuben James'', which was torpedoed on 30 October in controversial circumstances.<ref name=Patrol5>{{cite web
 |url=http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_1273.html
 |title=Patrol info for U-552 (Fifth patrol)
 |last=Helgason
 |first=Guðmundur
 |website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net
 |access-date=16 May 2010
}}</ref><ref name=Patrol6>{{cite web
 |url=http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_1274.html
 |title=Patrol info for U-552 (Sixth patrol)
 |last=Helgason
 |first=Guðmundur
 |website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net
 |access-date=16 May 2010
}}</ref>

====Sinking of USS ''Reuben James''====
{{main|USS Reuben James (DD-245)}}
On 31 October 1941, USS ''Reuben James'' was one of five [[destroyer]]s escorting [[convoy HX-156]], close to the coast of Iceland, about {{convert|600|nmi|abbr=on}} west of the island. ''Reuben James'' had just begun turning to investigate a strong direction-finder bearing when a torpedo launched from ''U-552'' struck her port side and caused an explosion in her forward magazine.<ref name=Patrol6/> The entire bow section of the destroyer was blown off as far back as the fourth funnel and sank immediately. The stern remained afloat for around five minutes before sinking; unsecured depth charges compounded the damage, exploding as they sank and killing survivors in the water. Of her 160-man crew, 115 were killed, including all the officers.<ref>{{cite book | last=Morison | first=Samuel Eliot | title=History of United States Naval Operations in World War II | publisher=University of Illinois Press | year=2001 | pages=94 | isbn=0-252-06963-3}}</ref><ref>Gannon, Michael - ''Operation Drumbeat - the dramatic true story of Germany's first U-boat attacks along the American coast in World War II'', 1990, Harper and Row publishers, {{ISBN|0-06-016155-8}}, p. 91.</ref>

The destroyer was the first US Navy warship to be sunk in World War II.<ref name=Patrol6/>

The incident provoked a furious outburst in the United States, especially when Germany refused to apologize, instead countering that the destroyer was operating in what Germany considered to be a war zone and had suffered the consequences. The sinking of the ''Reuben James'' did not lead the US to declare war on Germany; it did, however, provide a pretext to officially transfer the [[United States Coast Guard|US Coast Guard]] from its peacetime role as an arm of the [[United States Department of the Treasury|US Treasury Department]] to a wartime function as part of the US Navy. Congress also amended the [[Neutrality Acts of 1930s|Neutrality Act]] to permit the arming of US-registered merchant ships and authorized them to enter European waters for the first time since 1939.<ref>{{cite book | last=Sweetman | first=Jack | title=American Naval History: An Illustrated Chronology of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-present | url=https://archive.org/details/americannavalhis0003swee | url-access=registration | publisher=Naval Institute Press | year=2002 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/americannavalhis0003swee/page/144 144] | isbn=1-55750-867-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Malsberger | first=John William | title=From Obstruction to Moderation: The Transformation of Senate Conservatism, 1938-1952 | publisher=Susquehanna University Press | year=2000 | pages=80 | isbn=1-57591-026-8}}</ref>