USS Fitch (DD-462)

USS Fitch (DD-462)

USS "Fitch" (DD-462/DMS-25), a "Gleaves"-class destroyer, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for LeRoy Fitch, an officer during the American Civil War.

"Fitch" (DD-462) was launched 14 June 1941 by Boston Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. H. W. Thomas, grand-niece of Commander Fitch; and commissioned 3 February 1942, Lieutenant Commander Henry Crommelin in command. She was reclassified DMS-25 on 15 November 1944, and again classified DD-462 on 15 July 1955.

"Fitch"s first mission, between 1 July 1942 and 5 August, was to escort the aircraft carrier "Ranger" (CV-4) to a point off the Gold Coast, where the carrier flew off Army planes for the base at Accra. The destroyer returned to Norfolk on 5 August for exercises in preparation for the assault on North Africa, for which she sailed from Bermuda 25 October. Screening "Ranger" and two escort carriers, "Fitch" took part in the landings at Fedhala, French Morocco, on 8 November, and guarded the carriers as they flew Army planes off to the captured airfield at Port Lyautey. Returning to Norfolk 24 November, "Fitch" joined in exercises in Casco and Chesapeake Bays, and performed coastal escort duty, sailing as far south as the Panama Canal Zone, through the remainder of 1942.

On 8 January 1943, "Fitch" cleared Norfolk with "Ranger" on the first of two voyages to launch aircraft to North African bases. Operations with "Ranger" completed, "Fitch" served on patrol out of NS Argentia, Newfoundland, from 6 April to 12 May, then sailed to Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands, Scotland, to join the British Home Fleet for patrol duty between that base and Iceland. She served on this duty through the summer, protecting northern convoys, then returned to Norfolk 9 August.

Sailing 2 September 1943 to escort a convoy to Londonderry, Northern Ireland, "Fitch" continued to Thruso Bay, where on 20 September she embarked Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox and Admiral Harold R. Stark for transportation to Scapa Flow. Operating out of Scapa Flow for the next two months, "Fitch" screened "Ranger" as her planes attacked German forces and installations near Bodø, Norway, on 4 October, and patrolled off Spitsbergen as the men of the weather station there were relieved and resupplied.

"Fitch" returned to Boston 3 December 1943 to resume coastal and Caribbean escort duty and to take part in hunter-killer operations in the western Atlantic until 25 April 1944, when she got underway from Norfolk for Belfast, Northern Ireland. In the great buildup for the Normandy invasion, "Fitch" escorted single ships and convoys between Belfast and Plymouth, England, and took part in training exercises until 6 June, whenshe sailed from Plymouth for the assault.

Arriving off Utah Beach early in the morning of the invasion, "Fitch" followed the minesweepers through the newly swept channels to within 2,000 yards of the coast. Her mission was to draw out and silence German batteries prior to the landings. In addition to her effective gunfire, "Fitch" rescued the survivors of mined "Corry" (DD-463), keeping up her fire at the shore batteries as she did so. After two days screening the transport area, she returned to Plymouth for supplies, then continued to give fire support and to patrol off the beachheads until 19 June. Convoy escort duty around the British Isles was her assignment until 4 July, when she sailed from Belfast for Oran, and exercises in the western Mediterranean.

"Fitch" sortied from Taranto, Italy, 11 August 1944 for the invasion of Southern France on 15 August, during which she spotted the fire of battleship "Texas" (BB-35) as well as firing in the prelanding bombardment. Until 25 October, she supported the buildup in southern France by escorting convoys moving between Naples, Palermo, Oran, Gibraltar, and Marseilles. Between her return to Norfolk 10 November and 3 January 1945, when she sailed for the Pacific, "Fitch" was converted to a high-speed minesweeper.

Arriving at Pearl Harbor 10 February 1945, "Fitch" trained in minesweeping exercises there and at Ulithi, where her propellers were badly damaged when she ran afoul of a coral pinnacle. Repairs were made at Pearl Harbor between 10 April and 6 August, when she sailed to join the U.S. 3rd Fleet off Japan. "Fitch" began sweeping the entrance to Tokyo Bay 28 August, and was present for the surrender ceremonies on 2 September. She continued to sweep off Japan and in the East China Sea until returning to San Diego on 23 December.

On 9 January 1946, "Fitch" arrived at Norfolk, where she was immobilized for a month. She voyaged between Norfolk, Charleston, and New York transferring minesweeper crews for several months, and in November, from her home port at Charleston, began regular operations training Mine Force officers, exercising in the Caribbean and along the east coast, and cruising to the Mediterranean in 1949, 1951, and 1953. During 1955, she conducted tests in the Caribbean for the Operational Development Force. "Fitch" was decommissioned at Charleston 24 February 1956 and placed in reserve.

"Fitch" received five battle stars for World War II service.

References

External links

* [http://history.navy.mil/danfs/index.html history.navy.mil: USS "Fitch"]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/05idx.htm navsource.org: USS "Fitch"]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/ hazegray.org: USS "Fitch"]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • USS Fitch (DD-462) — Эскадренный миноносец «Фитч» USS Fitch (DD 462) Служба …   Википедия

  • Fitch — may refer to: Family name* Fitch (surname), a family name of Anglo Norman originPeople* Alan Fitch (1915 1985), British Labour Party politician * Albert Fitch Bellows (1829 1883), American landscape painter * Alfred Fitch, American Olympian *… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Augusta (CA-31) — (originally CL 31) was a Northampton class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy, notable for service in the Atlantic and Mediterranean during World War II, and for her occasional use as a presidential flagship carrying both Franklin D.… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Corry (DD-463) — USS Corry (DD 463), a Gleaves class destroyer, (also known as Bristol class), was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant Commander William M. Corry, Jr., an officer in the Navy during World War I and a recipient of… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Hobson (DD-464) — USS Hobson (DD 464/DMS 26), a Gleaves class destroyer, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Richmond Pearson Hobson, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during the Spanish American War. He would later in his… …   Wikipedia

  • LeRoy Fitch — Infobox Military Person name = LeRoy Fitch born = 1 October 1835 died = 13 April 1875 placeofbirth = Logansport, Indiana placeofdeath = Logansport, Indiana caption = nickname = allegiance = United States of America serviceyears = 1856–1875 rank …   Wikipedia

  • Liste der Zerstörer der United States Navy — Schiffe der United States Navy A B C D E F …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Эскадренные миноносцы типа «Бенсон» — Эскадренные миноносцы типов «Бенсон»/«Гливс» Benson/Gleaves class destroyer …   Википедия

  • List of World War II topics (U) — # U 571 (film) # U A # U boat Front Clasp # U boat War Badge # U Boote westwärts # U Man # U.S. British Staff Conference (ABC 1) # U.S. 20th Air Base Group # U.S. 5th Interceptor Command # U.S. Army Forces Far East # U.S. Army Forces in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Список эскадренных миноносцев США по типам — …   Википедия

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”