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USS Bostwick (DE-103)
Encyclopedia
USS Bostwick (DE-103) was a Cannon class destroyer escort
built for the United States Navy
during World War II
. She served in the Atlantic Ocean
and provided escort service against submarine
and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.
She was laid down on 6 February 1943 at Wilmington, Delaware
, by the Dravo Corp.; launched on 30 August 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Fred D. Pierce; and commissioned on 1 December 1943, Lieutenant Commander
John H. Church, Jr. in command.
training near Bermuda
in late December 1943- early January 1944, the new destroyer escort
joined the Atlantic Fleet to serve as school ship
for training prospective crews of destroyer escorts still under construction.
On 15 February, Bostwick joined , , , and in an antisubmarine patrol that took the warships involved all the way across the Atlantic to Casablanca
, Morocco
. Built around and designated Task Group 21.16 (TG 21.16), the ships operated as a hunter-killer group in the U-boat
-infested waters of the North Atlantic.
Late on 29 February, Bronstein made radar
contact with an unknown vessel. Bostwick and Thomas joined her in "boxing" the target, which was revealed by flares to be a surfaced German submarine, . Bronstein opened fire with her guns, but the submarine managed to submerge. The three destroyer escorts tracked the U-boat, raining down a barrage of depth charges on her estimated positions. At 0324, Thomas dropped a pattern of charges that produced a huge underwater explosion, the last sounds heard from U-709.
TG 21.16 pulled into Casablanca on 8 March for rest and refueling, but got underway again only three days later to resume the patrol. Bostwick returned to the United States
on 31 March to prepare for a transatlantic voyage as convoy escort. The convoy made the cruise without incident, arriving at Bizerte
, Tunisia
, on 4 May. Bostwick set out with a return convoy on 11 May and arrived safely in New York
on the 30th.
The destroyer escort spent the next few weeks at Casco Bay
, Maine
in refresher training. On 25 June, she joined on another hunter-killer patrol in the Atlantic and in the West Indies. The group's first mission was to investigate a U-boat reported to be just south of Newfoundland
. Thomas rammed on 5 July, sinking the submarine, and TG 22.10 returned to Boston, Massachusetts to land prisoners and make repairs. The hunter-killer group departed Boston again on the 10th, bound for the West Indies to search for a U-boat that had torpedoed several ships in the area. On 16 July, after a plane made a contact sixty miles from the group, Bostwick joined Bronstein in a night-long search for the supposed submarine. The effort proved futile, however, and the two destroyer escorts rejoined TG 22.10 at San Juan on 18 July. Bostwick returned to New York on 25 August for a 10 day availability.
In September, the warship sailed to Casco Bay for refresher training and then rejoined Card in TG 22.2 for three days of air and subsurface training near Bermuda. The warships returned to the hunt on the 25th. While north of the Azores
en route to Casablanca, Bostwick mounted an attack against a submarine, but observed no signs of a definite kill. TG 22.2 spent 25–26 October in port Casablanca, then returned to New York, arriving there on 5 November.
Following a much needed availability in the New York Navy Yard, Bostwick returned to sea with Card for patrol duty in waters off Bermuda. TG 22.2 spent more than a month training in anticipation of an aggressive German submarine offensive. The group returned to New York on New Year's Eve
.
Early in January 1945, Bostwick steamed to Narragansett Bay
to screen while she conducted pilot qualifications. The destroyer escort returned to New York on 22 January and received orders to join in TG 22.4 for more hunter-killer activities. Bostwick met the task group at sea 600 miles south of Iceland
on 16 February. The group, which consisted of 12 destroyer escorts and one escort carrier, formed a scouting line 90 miles long. Searching in vain for an enemy weather-reporting submarine, TG 22.4 soon found itself in winds of hurricane force. The mountainous seas died down as the wind lessened on the 22nd, but the escorts faced rising seas again before they reached port for refueling. Bostwick put into Hvalfjordür, Iceland
, late on 25 February. TG 22.4 got underway again just three days later to track several German submarines reportedly heading west toward the Flemish Cap
. While the weather had improved, but the seas remained heavy and continued to batter TG 22.4. Bostwick and her colleagues gratefully turned their duties overto TG 22.13 on 14 March.
The destroyer escort arrived in New York on 17 March for a five days of voyage repairs, after which she returned to planeguard duty for Card. On 14 April, Bostwicks escort division received orders to search for a submarine just outside the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay
. The division split into northern and southern groups to scout the sea lanes. On 29 April, the northern group made contact with a submarine when sighted the snorkel of a U-boat. Bostwick, Thomas, and joined Natchez in dropping depth charges until heavy debris, a large oil slick, and a huge underwater explosion indicated the destruction of .
activities.
Not long thereafter, the warship
received orders for inactivation, and on 15 November headed for Green Cove Springs, Florida
. Bostwick was decommissioned on 30 April 1946 and berthed in the St. Johns River
with the Green Cove Springs Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was sold to nationalist China on 14 December 1948 and renamed Tai Hu (DE-25). Her name was struck from the Navy list
on 10 February 1949.
When China
was taken over by the Communists, she escaped to Taiwan
with Nationalist forces in 1949, was struck in 1975.
service, and the following awards:
Cannon class destroyer escort
The Cannon class destroyer escorts were built primarily for ocean Anti-Submarine Warfare escort service during World War II. The lead ship, was commissioned on 26 September 1943 at Wilmington, Delaware. The class was also known as the DET type from their Diesel Electric Tandem drive. Of the 116...
built for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She served in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and provided escort service against submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.
She was laid down on 6 February 1943 at Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, by the Dravo Corp.; launched on 30 August 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Fred D. Pierce; and commissioned on 1 December 1943, Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
John H. Church, Jr. in command.
World War II
Following shakedownShakedown (testing)
A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...
training near Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
in late December 1943- early January 1944, the new destroyer escort
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
joined the Atlantic Fleet to serve as school ship
School ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is especially used for ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classrooms....
for training prospective crews of destroyer escorts still under construction.
On 15 February, Bostwick joined , , , and in an antisubmarine patrol that took the warships involved all the way across the Atlantic to Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. Built around and designated Task Group 21.16 (TG 21.16), the ships operated as a hunter-killer group in the U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
-infested waters of the North Atlantic.
Late on 29 February, Bronstein made radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
contact with an unknown vessel. Bostwick and Thomas joined her in "boxing" the target, which was revealed by flares to be a surfaced German submarine, . Bronstein opened fire with her guns, but the submarine managed to submerge. The three destroyer escorts tracked the U-boat, raining down a barrage of depth charges on her estimated positions. At 0324, Thomas dropped a pattern of charges that produced a huge underwater explosion, the last sounds heard from U-709.
TG 21.16 pulled into Casablanca on 8 March for rest and refueling, but got underway again only three days later to resume the patrol. Bostwick returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on 31 March to prepare for a transatlantic voyage as convoy escort. The convoy made the cruise without incident, arriving at Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, on 4 May. Bostwick set out with a return convoy on 11 May and arrived safely in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on the 30th.
The destroyer escort spent the next few weeks at Casco Bay
Casco Bay
Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
in refresher training. On 25 June, she joined on another hunter-killer patrol in the Atlantic and in the West Indies. The group's first mission was to investigate a U-boat reported to be just south of Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
. Thomas rammed on 5 July, sinking the submarine, and TG 22.10 returned to Boston, Massachusetts to land prisoners and make repairs. The hunter-killer group departed Boston again on the 10th, bound for the West Indies to search for a U-boat that had torpedoed several ships in the area. On 16 July, after a plane made a contact sixty miles from the group, Bostwick joined Bronstein in a night-long search for the supposed submarine. The effort proved futile, however, and the two destroyer escorts rejoined TG 22.10 at San Juan on 18 July. Bostwick returned to New York on 25 August for a 10 day availability.
In September, the warship sailed to Casco Bay for refresher training and then rejoined Card in TG 22.2 for three days of air and subsurface training near Bermuda. The warships returned to the hunt on the 25th. While north of the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
en route to Casablanca, Bostwick mounted an attack against a submarine, but observed no signs of a definite kill. TG 22.2 spent 25–26 October in port Casablanca, then returned to New York, arriving there on 5 November.
Following a much needed availability in the New York Navy Yard, Bostwick returned to sea with Card for patrol duty in waters off Bermuda. TG 22.2 spent more than a month training in anticipation of an aggressive German submarine offensive. The group returned to New York on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
.
Early in January 1945, Bostwick steamed to Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
to screen while she conducted pilot qualifications. The destroyer escort returned to New York on 22 January and received orders to join in TG 22.4 for more hunter-killer activities. Bostwick met the task group at sea 600 miles south of Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
on 16 February. The group, which consisted of 12 destroyer escorts and one escort carrier, formed a scouting line 90 miles long. Searching in vain for an enemy weather-reporting submarine, TG 22.4 soon found itself in winds of hurricane force. The mountainous seas died down as the wind lessened on the 22nd, but the escorts faced rising seas again before they reached port for refueling. Bostwick put into Hvalfjordür, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, late on 25 February. TG 22.4 got underway again just three days later to track several German submarines reportedly heading west toward the Flemish Cap
Flemish Cap
The Flemish Cap is an area of shallow waters in the north Atlantic Ocean centered roughly at 47° north, 45° west or about 350 miles east of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador....
. While the weather had improved, but the seas remained heavy and continued to batter TG 22.4. Bostwick and her colleagues gratefully turned their duties overto TG 22.13 on 14 March.
The destroyer escort arrived in New York on 17 March for a five days of voyage repairs, after which she returned to planeguard duty for Card. On 14 April, Bostwicks escort division received orders to search for a submarine just outside the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
. The division split into northern and southern groups to scout the sea lanes. On 29 April, the northern group made contact with a submarine when sighted the snorkel of a U-boat. Bostwick, Thomas, and joined Natchez in dropping depth charges until heavy debris, a large oil slick, and a huge underwater explosion indicated the destruction of .
Post-War
Bostwick celebrated V-E Day in New York and then steamed to New London, England and later to Quonset Point, Rhode Island for training and to planeguard for pilot qualifications. In mid-July, the destroyer escort returned to New York to participate in the three-day demonstration cruise for civilian observers in the Navy's Industrial Incentive Program. Bostwick returned to planeguard duty for and , but a scheduled availability in the New York Navy Yard from 24 September- 15 October ended this duty. Late in October, Bostwick was on hand in New York for Navy DayNavy Day
Several nations observe or have observed a Navy Day to recognize their navy. The term is also used in Britain to mean an open day at a dockyard such as HMNB Portsmouth, when the public can visit military ships and see air displays, roughly along the lines of an American Fleet Week .- Argentina...
activities.
Not long thereafter, the warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
received orders for inactivation, and on 15 November headed for Green Cove Springs, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Bostwick was decommissioned on 30 April 1946 and berthed in the St. Johns River
St. Johns River
The St. Johns River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant for commercial and recreational use. At long, it winds through or borders twelve counties, three of which are the state's largest. The drop in elevation from the headwaters to the mouth is less than ;...
with the Green Cove Springs Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was sold to nationalist China on 14 December 1948 and renamed Tai Hu (DE-25). Her name was struck from the Navy list
Navy List
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....
on 10 February 1949.
When China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
was taken over by the Communists, she escaped to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
with Nationalist forces in 1949, was struck in 1975.
Awards
Bostwick earned two battle stars for her World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service, and the following awards:
| American Campaign Medal American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal was a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt... |
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt... w/ 2 service star Service star A service star, also referred to as a battle star, campaign star, or engagement star, is an attachment to a United States military decoration which denotes participation in military campaigns or multiple bestowals of the same award. Service stars are typically issued for campaign medals, service... s |
World War II Victory Medal |