blast, with one askew at a 25° angle from its normal position. The newspaper speculated that faulty metal in the No. 1 boiler's mud drum was the cause of the explosion. Although repairs were estimated to take roughly three months, Aylwin was placed out of commission and remained inactive for more than a year at the Norfolk Navy Yard. She was recommissioned on 25 May 1915 and assigned to the 6th Division, Torpedo Flotilla, Atlantic Fleet. The ship then cruised along the east coast carrying out routine patrols. Prior to the entrance of the United States into World War I, she served on Neutrality Patrols, trying to protect American and neutral-flagged merchant ships from interference by British or German warships and U-boats. In the course of performing those duties, Aylwin was at Newport, Rhode Island in early October 1916. At 05:30 on 8 October, wireless reports came in of a German submarine stopping ships near the Lightship Nantucket, off the eastern end of Long Island. After an SOS from the British steamer was received at about 12:30, Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves ordered Aylwin and other destroyers at Newport to attend to survivors. The American destroyers arrived on the scene about 17:00 when the U-boat, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hans Rose, was in the process of stopping the Holland-America Line cargo ship . Shortly after, U-53 stopped the British passenger ship . As Rose had done with three other ships, U-53 had sunk earlier in the day, he gave passengers and crew aboard Blommersdijk and Stephano adequate time to abandon the ships before sinking the pair. At one point, Rose signaled Aylwin requesting that she move out of the way to allow Stephano to be torpedoed, much to the later chagrin of Lord Beresford, who denounced Aylwins compliance as "aiding and abetting" the Germans in a speech in the House of Lords. In total, 226 survivors from U-53s five victims were rescued by the destroyer flotilla. Aylwin picked up the crew of Stephano and a number of passengers, later transferring them to destroyer for return to Newport. During the early months of 1917, Aylwin sailed to Cuban waters for winter maneuvers and returned to the Virginia capes area upon America's entry into World War I. World War I From June 1917-January 1918, the destroyer participated in special experimental work with Reginald Fessenden while operating out of Boston, Massachusetts, and Newport,