- USS Fitch (DD-462)
USS "Fitch" (DD-462/DMS-25), a "Gleaves"-class
destroyer , was the only ship of theUnited States Navy to be named forLeRoy Fitch , an officer during theAmerican Civil War ."Fitch" (DD-462) was launched
14 June 1941 byBoston Navy Yard ; sponsored by Mrs. H. W. Thomas, grand-niece ofCommander Fitch; and commissioned3 February 1942 ,Lieutenant Commander Henry Crommelin in command. She was reclassified DMS-25 on15 November 1944 , and again classified DD-462 on15 July 1955 ."Fitch"s first mission, between
1 July 1942 and5 August , was to escort theaircraft carrier "Ranger" (CV-4) to a point off the Gold Coast, where the carrier flew off Army planes for the base atAccra . The destroyer returned to Norfolk on5 August for exercises in preparation for the assault on North Africa, for which she sailed fromBermuda 25 October . Screening "Ranger" and twoescort carrier s, "Fitch" took part in the landings atFedhala ,French Morocco , on8 November , and guarded the carriers as they flew Army planes off to the captured airfield atPort Lyautey . Returning to Norfolk24 November , "Fitch" joined in exercises in Casco andChesapeake Bay s, and performed coastal escort duty, sailing as far south as thePanama 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 toNorth Africa n bases. Operations with "Ranger" completed, "Fitch" served on patrol out of NS Argentia, Newfoundland, from6 April to12 May , then sailed toScapa Flow ,Orkney Islands ,Scotland , to join theBritish Home Fleet for patrol duty between that base andIceland . She served on this duty through the summer, protecting northernconvoy s, then returned to Norfolk9 August .Sailing
2 September 1943 to escort a convoy to Londonderry,Northern Ireland , "Fitch" continued toThruso Bay , where on20 September she embarked Secretary of the NavyFrank Knox andAdmiral 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 nearBodø ,Norway , on4 October , and patrolled offSpitsbergen as the men of the weather station there were relieved and resupplied."Fitch" returned to Boston
3 December 1943 to resume coastal andCaribbean escort duty and to take part inhunter-killer operations in the western Atlantic until25 April 1944 , when she got underway from Norfolk forBelfast ,Northern Ireland . In the great buildup for theNormandy invasion , "Fitch" escorted single ships and convoys between Belfast andPlymouth, England , and took part in training exercises until6 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 until19 June . Convoy escort duty around the British Isles was her assignment until4 July , when she sailed from Belfast forOran , and exercises in the western Mediterranean."Fitch" sortied from
Taranto ,Italy ,11 August 1944 for the invasion of Southern France on15 August , during which she spotted the fire ofbattleship "Texas" (BB-35) as well as firing in the prelanding bombardment. Until25 October , she supported the buildup in southernFrance by escorting convoys moving betweenNaples ,Palermo , Oran,Gibraltar , andMarseilles . Between her return to Norfolk10 November and3 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 atUlithi , where her propellers were badly damaged when she ran afoul of acoral pinnacle. Repairs were made at Pearl Harbor between10 April and6 August , when she sailed to join theU.S. 3rd Fleet offJapan . "Fitch" began sweeping the entrance toTokyo Bay 28 August , and was present for the surrender ceremonies on2 September . She continued to sweep off Japan and in theEast China Sea until returning to San Diego on23 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 Charleston24 February 1956 and placed in reserve."Fitch" received five
battle star s 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"]
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