American Battle Monuments Commission

2300 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 500

Arlington, VA 22201 USA

Naval Monument at Gibraltar

GPS N36 8.599 W5 21.266

American Battle Monuments Commission

This agency of the United States government operates 

and maintains 25 American cemeteries and 26 memorials, 

monuments and markers in 16 countries. The Commission 

works to fulfill the vision of its first chairman, General of 

the Armies John J. Pershing. Pershing, commander of the 

American Expeditionary Forces during World War I, promised 

that “time will not dim the glory of their deeds.”

The Naval 

Monument 

at Gibraltar 

is on the west 

side of Line 

Wall Road. Its 

steps lead down 

to Reclamation 

Road and 

Queensway. It 

is a stop named 

“American Steps” 

for buses on 

Routes 2, 3, and 4.

For more information on this site and other 

ABMC commemorative sites, please visit:

www.abmc.gov

American Battle Monuments Commission

Naval Monument 

at Gibraltar

MA

ER

CI AN BATTLE MONUMENTS COM

M SI S OI N

UNITED STATES

OF AMERICA
Naval Monument at Gibraltar

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tampa 

at Gibraltar. Tampa escorted 

18 convoys to Britain before being 

torpedoed on September 26, 1918. 

She sank with a loss of all hands.

Scout Cruiser USS Birmingham 

(CL-2) was the flagship for 

the Atlantic Fleet Patrol Force 

operating from Gibraltar.

Source: Naval History & Heritage Command Source: Naval History & Heritage Command

The ancient galley 

sculpture highlights 

Gibraltar’s role as 

the key to maritime 

traffic between the 

Atlantic Ocean and 

Mediterranean Sea 

from earliest times. 

The inscription on the north 

side of the monument reads:

erected by the united 

states of america to 

commemorate the 

achievements and 

comradeship of the 

american and british 

navies in this vicinity 

during the world war

Steps lead downward from the south side of the Naval 

Monument to the busy harbor; thus its nickname of the 

“American Steps.”

The U.K. Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) 

maintains the North Front Cemetery near the airport, about 

1,500 yards to the northeast of the Naval Monument.

Submarine Menace

The United States entered 

World War I on April 6, 1917. 

The American Expeditionary 

Forces (AEF) bound for combat 

in Europe relied upon sea 

transport. German submarines 

posed a major threat to the 

traffic. General John J. Pershing, 

commander of the AEF, summarized the menace thus:

 In the five months ending June 30, 1917, German submarines 

had accomplished the destruction of more than three and onequarter million tons of Allied shipping.

Naval Operations

The U.S. Navy cooperated with the Royal Navy and other navies 

in fighting the submarine menace. Gibraltar was one of its major 

bases. The Navy’s Patrol Force operated there from August 1917

until after the Armistice of November 11, 1918. 

Its ships included cruisers, destroyers, Coast Guard cutters, and 

submarine chasers. The ships attacked German submarines and 

escorted convoys to and from ports in France and Great Britain. 

During July and August, 1918, the Patrol Force escorted 25 percent 

of all Mediterranean convoys to French ports, and 70 percent of 

all convoys to English ports from the vicinity of Gibraltar.

General Pershing paid tribute to the Navy’s performance in his 

1919 final report. He said:

 To our sister service we owe the safe arrival of our armies and 

their supplies. It is most gratifying to record that there has 

never been such perfect understanding between these two 

branches of the service. 

Destroyer USS Decatur (DD-5) 

undergoes repairs at the drydock 

in Gibraltar. She performed patrol 

and convoy duties from October 

20, 1917 to December 8, 1918.

Photo: ABMC

Courtesy of Gibraltar Tourism Board

Source: Naval History & 

Heritage Command