USS Jacob Jones (DD-130)
Encyclopedia
USS Jacob Jones (DD-130), named for Commodore
Jacob Jones
USN (1768–1850), was a .
Jacob Jones was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden, New Jersey
on 21 February 1918, launched
on 20 November 1918 by Mrs. Cazenove Doughton, great-granddaughter of Commodore Jones and commissioned
on 20 October 1919, Lieutenant Commander
P. H. Bastedo in command.
duties out of Charleston, South Carolina
on 4 April 1940.
, 22 December to continue her training and departed 3 January 1920 for the Pacific. Arriving San Diego 26 January, she operated along the California
coast on antiaircraft and firing exercises. She entered Mare Island Navy Yard 17 August for repairs and overhaul and assumed a reserve status. Returning to duty with Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet, 18 June 1921, she operated out of San Diego until decommissioning 24 June 1922.
Recommissioned 1 May 1930, Jones trained in coastal waters from Alaska
to Mexico
as a plane guard for the Navy's budding aircraft carrier
s. Following Battle Fleet
maneuvers during August, she entered Mare Island in November for repairs. The destroyer sailed 4 February 1931 for Panama
, where she resumed plane guard duty for . Jones transited the Panama Canal
22 March, and sailed for maneuvers in the Caribbean. She sailed for the United States
1 May and took part in joint Army
-Navy maneuvers in the Chesapeake Bay
26 to 29 May. During the remainder of the summer, she operated with Destroyer Division 7 along the New England
coast before retiring to the Boston Navy Yard
2 October for overhaul.
Jacob Jones steamed from Boston
1 December for maneuvers off Haiti
. On 13 February 1932 she departed the Caribbean
to begin 13 months of plane guard duty and torpedo practice along California. She returned to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
, 1 May 1933 for general drill and battle problem exercises, and on the 26th she sailed for Norfolk
to undergo self-upkeep on rotating reserve.
Following 2 months of overhaul at Charleston, Jones returned to Guantanamo 29 November for scouting and firing exercises. She interrupted her maneuvers 29 June 1934, and sailed for Port-au-Prince
, Haiti, where she served as an escort during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Good Neighbor
" visit to Haiti. She resumed Caribbean operations in July and participated in landing force exercises at Guantanamo Bay during September. She retired from the Caribbean late in November and entered Norfolk Navy Yard 3 December 1934 for several months of upkeep.
In May 1935, Jones embarked midshipmen
from the Naval Academy
for an Atlantic training cruise. She returned to Norfolk 7 June for 3 months of coastal patrols and maneuvers. She steamed to New York in September to participate in destroyer maneuvers and operated out of New York until entering Brooklyn Navy Yard
January 1936 for upkeep and inspection.
On 15 June 1936, Jones departed New York with reserve officers on board for training cruises in the Caribbean which continued through September. In October, she participated in joint Army-Navy coastal maneuvers; and, following her annual inspection at Norfolk, she participated in minesweeping training during February 1937. In March, she trained officers of the 5th Fleet Reserve and in June she resumed training cruises for midshipmen. She continued to operate as a practice ship for reserve officers until 15 January 1938, when she departed Norfolk for fleet landing exercises and battle maneuvers in waters off Puerto Rico
and the Virgin Islands
. Jones returned to Norfolk 13 March for overhaul. In June she resumed operations out of Norfolk, serving as a carrier plane guard and conducting torpedo and gunnery practice.
After attending the Presidential Regatta in September, Jones prepared to sail for Europe to join Squadron 40-T in the Mediterranean. Organized in September 1936 to protect and evacuate Americans from Spain
during the civil war
, the squadron remained in the western Mediterranean. Departing Norfolk 26 October, Jones reached Gibraltar
6 November, and arrived Villefranche
17 November. She operated out of that French
Mediterranean port on patrol until 20 March 1939. She visited Algiers
24 to 25 March 1939 and, during the next 7 months, steamed to various Atlantic European ports from Rotterdam
to Lisbon
. Departing Lisbon 4 October, she sailed for the United States and anchored at Norfolk the 14th.
Resuming her coastal operations, Jones conducted plane screening patrols from Norfolk to Newport, and in December she escorted during its Caribbean shakedown.
In September, Jones departed Norfolk for New London, Connecticut
, where her crew underwent intensive ASW sound school training. Returning briefly to Norfolk 6 December, she sailed to Key West
for further ASW training. She resumed her operations with the Neutrality Patrol in March 1941, patrolling the waters from Key West to Yucatan Channel
. In May, she joined the ships which guarded the waters of Vichy
-controlled islands, Martinique
and Guadeloupe
in the Lesser Antilles
. Jones maintained her Caribbean operations throughout the summer.
On 30 September 1941, she departed Guantanamo with Destroyer Division 54 to prepare for escort duty in the North Atlantic. Jones received 2 months of upkeep and inspection at Norfolk and on 1 December 1941, departed for convoy escort training along the New England coast. Clearing Boston Harbor
12 December, she sailed to NS Argentia
, Newfoundland
, to begin her escort duty. On 16 December she escorted and through heavy seas to Boston and returned to Argentia the 24th. Jones once again departed Argentia 4 January 1942 escorting and . While steaming to join Convoy SC 63
, bound for the British Isles
, Jones made an underwater contact and commenced a depth charge attack. Losing contact with the submarine, she escorted her ships to the convoy and returned to Argentia 5 January.
Sailing from Argentia 14 January 1942, Jones joined Convoy HX 169
, which was headed for Iceland
. The convoy encountered a violent storm; heavy seas and winds of force 9
scattered its ships' convoy. Separated from the convoy, Jones steamed independently for Hvalfjörður
, Iceland. Though hampered by a shortage of fuel, an inoperable gyro compass, an erratic magnetic compass, and the continuous pounding of the storm, Jones arrived on the 19th. Five days later, she escorted three merchant ships to Argentia. Once again heavy seas and fierce winds separated the ships, and Jones continued toward Argentia with one Norwegian
merchantman. She detected and attacked another submarine 2 February 1942, but her depth charge
s yielded no visible results.
Arriving Argentia the 3rd, she departed the following day and rejoined Convoy ON 59
, bound for Boston. Reaching Boston 8 February, Jacob Jones received a week of repairs. She sailed on the 15th for Norfolk and 3 days later steamed from Norfolk to New York.
In an effort to stem the losses to Allied merchant shipping along the Atlantic coast, Vice Admiral
Adolphus Andrews, Commander of the Eastern Sea Frontier
, established a roving ASW patrol. Jones, Lieutenant Commander Hugh Black in command, departed New York 22 February for this duty. While passing the swept channel off Ambrose Light Ship, Jones made a possible submarine contact and attacked immediately. For 5 hours, Jones ran 12 attack patterns, dropping some 57 depth charges. Oil slicks appeared during the last six attacks, but no other debris was detected. Having expended all her charges, Jones returned to New York to rearm. Subsequent investigation failed to reveal any conclusive evidence of a sunken submarine.
coast to patrol and search the area between Barnegat Light
and Five Fathom Bank. Shortly after her departure, she received orders to concentrate her patrol activity in waters off Cape May
and the Delaware Capes. At 1530 she spotted the burning wreckage of tanker R. P. Resor, torpedoed the previous day east of Barnegat Light; Jones circled the ship for two hours searching for survivors before resuming her southward course. Cruising at a steady 15 knots through calm seas, she last reported her position at 2000 and then commenced radio silence. A full moon lit the night sky and visibility was good; throughout the night the ship, completely darkened without running or navigation lights showing, kept her southward course.
At the first light of dawn 28 February 1942, undetected fired a spread of torpedo
es at the unsuspecting destroyer. The deadly "fish" sped unsighted and two "or possibly three" struck the destroyer's port side in rapid succession.
According to her survivors, the first torpedo struck just aft of the bridge and caused almost unbelievable damage. Apparently, it exploded the ship's magazine; the resulting blast sheared off everything forward of the point of impact, destroying completely the bridge, the chart room, and the officers' and petty officers' quarters. As she stopped dead in the water, unable to signal a distress message, a second torpedo struck about 40 feet forward of the fantail and carried away the after part of the ship above the keel plates and shafts and destroyed the after crew's quarters. Only the midships section was left intact.
All but 25 or 30 officers and men, including Lieutenant Commander Black, were killed by the explosions. The survivors, including a badly wounded, "practically incoherent" signal officer, went for the lifeboats. Oily decks, fouled lines and rigging, and the clutter of the ship's strewn twisted wreckage hampered their efforts to launch the boats. Jones remained afloat for about 45 minutes, allowing her survivors to clear the stricken ship in four or five rafts. Within an hour of the initial explosion Jones plunged bow first into the cold Atlantic; as her shattered stern disappeared, her depth charges exploded, killing several survivors on a nearby raft (as had happened to the in 1917).
At 0810, an Army observation plane sighted the life rafts and reported their position to of the Inshore Patrol. By 1100, when strong winds and rising seas forced her to abandon her search, she had rescued 12 survivors, one of whom died en route to Cape May. The search for the other survivors of Jones continued by plane and ship for the next two days, but none were ever found.
Commodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
Jacob Jones
Jacob Jones
Commodore Jacob Nicholas Jones was an officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France, the Barbary Wars, and the War of 1812.-Biography:...
USN (1768–1850), was a .
Jacob Jones was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden, New Jersey
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
on 21 February 1918, launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 20 November 1918 by Mrs. Cazenove Doughton, great-granddaughter of Commodore Jones and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 20 October 1919, 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...
P. H. Bastedo in command.
Service history
Jacob Jones was decommissioned on 24 June 1922 and placed in reserve until recommissioned on 1 May 1930, and was assigned to Neutrality PatrolNeutrality Patrol
At the beginning of World War II, when Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 started the hostilities in Europe, President Franklin D...
duties out of Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
on 4 April 1940.
Inter-War Period
After fitting out at Philadelphia, Jacob Jones sailed 4 December for shakedown in the Atlantic. She arrived at Pensacola, FloridaPensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
, 22 December to continue her training and departed 3 January 1920 for the Pacific. Arriving San Diego 26 January, she operated along the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
coast on antiaircraft and firing exercises. She entered Mare Island Navy Yard 17 August for repairs and overhaul and assumed a reserve status. Returning to duty with Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet, 18 June 1921, she operated out of San Diego until decommissioning 24 June 1922.
Recommissioned 1 May 1930, Jones trained in coastal waters from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
as a plane guard for the Navy's budding aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s. Following Battle Fleet
Battle Fleet
The United States Battle Fleet or Battle Force was part of the organization of the United States Navy from 1922 to 1941.The General Order of 6 December 1922 organized the United States Fleet, with the Battle Fleet as the Pacific presence. This fleet comprised the main body of ships in the Navy,...
maneuvers during August, she entered Mare Island in November for repairs. The destroyer sailed 4 February 1931 for Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, where she resumed plane guard duty for . Jones transited the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
22 March, and sailed for maneuvers in the Caribbean. She sailed for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
1 May and took part in joint Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
-Navy maneuvers in 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...
26 to 29 May. During the remainder of the summer, she operated with Destroyer Division 7 along the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
coast before retiring to the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
2 October for overhaul.
Jacob Jones steamed from Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
1 December for maneuvers off Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
. On 13 February 1932 she departed the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
to begin 13 months of plane guard duty and torpedo practice along California. She returned to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, 1 May 1933 for general drill and battle problem exercises, and on the 26th she sailed for Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
to undergo self-upkeep on rotating reserve.
Following 2 months of overhaul at Charleston, Jones returned to Guantanamo 29 November for scouting and firing exercises. She interrupted her maneuvers 29 June 1934, and sailed for Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
, Haiti, where she served as an escort during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Good Neighbor
Good Neighbor policy
The Good Neighbor policy was the foreign policy of the administration of United States President Franklin Roosevelt toward the countries of Latin America. Its main principle was that of non-intervention and non-interference in the domestic affairs of Latin America...
" visit to Haiti. She resumed Caribbean operations in July and participated in landing force exercises at Guantanamo Bay during September. She retired from the Caribbean late in November and entered Norfolk Navy Yard 3 December 1934 for several months of upkeep.
In May 1935, Jones embarked midshipmen
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
from the Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
for an Atlantic training cruise. She returned to Norfolk 7 June for 3 months of coastal patrols and maneuvers. She steamed to New York in September to participate in destroyer maneuvers and operated out of New York until entering Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brooklyn Navy Yard
The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...
January 1936 for upkeep and inspection.
On 15 June 1936, Jones departed New York with reserve officers on board for training cruises in the Caribbean which continued through September. In October, she participated in joint Army-Navy coastal maneuvers; and, following her annual inspection at Norfolk, she participated in minesweeping training during February 1937. In March, she trained officers of the 5th Fleet Reserve and in June she resumed training cruises for midshipmen. She continued to operate as a practice ship for reserve officers until 15 January 1938, when she departed Norfolk for fleet landing exercises and battle maneuvers in waters off Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and the Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
. Jones returned to Norfolk 13 March for overhaul. In June she resumed operations out of Norfolk, serving as a carrier plane guard and conducting torpedo and gunnery practice.
After attending the Presidential Regatta in September, Jones prepared to sail for Europe to join Squadron 40-T in the Mediterranean. Organized in September 1936 to protect and evacuate Americans from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
during the civil war
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, the squadron remained in the western Mediterranean. Departing Norfolk 26 October, Jones reached Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
6 November, and arrived Villefranche
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera.-Geography:...
17 November. She operated out of that French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Mediterranean port on patrol until 20 March 1939. She visited Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
24 to 25 March 1939 and, during the next 7 months, steamed to various Atlantic European ports from Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. Departing Lisbon 4 October, she sailed for the United States and anchored at Norfolk the 14th.
Resuming her coastal operations, Jones conducted plane screening patrols from Norfolk to Newport, and in December she escorted during its Caribbean shakedown.
World War II
After 2 months of upkeep and inspection at Norfolk, Jacob Jones sailed for Charleston 4 April 1940 to join the Neutrality Patrol. Organized in September 1939 as a response to the war in Europe, the Neutrality Patrol was ordered to track and report the movements of any warlike operations of belligerents in the waters of the Western Hemisphere. The basic purpose of the patrol "was to emphasize the readiness of the United States Navy to defend the Western Hemisphere." In June, after 2 months of duty with the Neutrality Patrol, Jones returned to training midshipmen.In September, Jones departed Norfolk for New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
, where her crew underwent intensive ASW sound school training. Returning briefly to Norfolk 6 December, she sailed to Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
for further ASW training. She resumed her operations with the Neutrality Patrol in March 1941, patrolling the waters from Key West to Yucatan Channel
Yucatán Channel
The Yucatán Channel is a strait between Mexico and Cuba. It connects the Yucatán Basin of the Caribbean Sea with the Gulf of Mexico. The strait is across between Cape Catoche in Mexico and Cape San Antonio, Cuba and reaches a maximum depth of .-References:...
. In May, she joined the ships which guarded the waters of Vichy
Vichy
Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...
-controlled islands, Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
and Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
in the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
. Jones maintained her Caribbean operations throughout the summer.
On 30 September 1941, she departed Guantanamo with Destroyer Division 54 to prepare for escort duty in the North Atlantic. Jones received 2 months of upkeep and inspection at Norfolk and on 1 December 1941, departed for convoy escort training along the New England coast. Clearing Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...
12 December, she sailed to NS Argentia
Naval Station Argentia
Naval Station Argentia is a former base of the United States Navy that operated from 1941-1994. It was established in the community of Argentia in what was then the Dominion of Newfoundland, which later became the tenth Canadian province .-Construction:Established under the British-U.S...
, 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...
, to begin her escort duty. On 16 December she escorted and through heavy seas to Boston and returned to Argentia the 24th. Jones once again departed Argentia 4 January 1942 escorting and . While steaming to join Convoy SC 63
SC convoys
The SC convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys that ran during the battle of the Atlantic during World War II.They were east-bound slow convoys originating in Sydney, Cape Breton ; from there they sailed to ports in the UK, mainly Liverpool.For a time after the entry of the...
, bound for the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, Jones made an underwater contact and commenced a depth charge attack. Losing contact with the submarine, she escorted her ships to the convoy and returned to Argentia 5 January.
Sailing from Argentia 14 January 1942, Jones joined Convoy HX 169
HX convoys
The HX convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were east-bound convoys and originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia from where they sailed to ports in the United Kingdom...
, which was headed for 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...
. The convoy encountered a violent storm; heavy seas and winds of force 9
Beaufort scale
The Beaufort Scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.-History:...
scattered its ships' convoy. Separated from the convoy, Jones steamed independently for Hvalfjörður
Hvalfjörður
Hvalfjörður is situated in the west of Iceland between Mosfellsbær and Akranes. The fjord is approximately 30 km long and 5 km wide....
, Iceland. Though hampered by a shortage of fuel, an inoperable gyro compass, an erratic magnetic compass, and the continuous pounding of the storm, Jones arrived on the 19th. Five days later, she escorted three merchant ships to Argentia. Once again heavy seas and fierce winds separated the ships, and Jones continued toward Argentia with one Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
merchantman. She detected and attacked another submarine 2 February 1942, but her depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s yielded no visible results.
Arriving Argentia the 3rd, she departed the following day and rejoined Convoy ON 59
ON convoys
The ON convoys were a series of North Atlantic trade convoys running Outbound from the British Isles to North America during the Battle of the Atlantic .-History:...
, bound for Boston. Reaching Boston 8 February, Jacob Jones received a week of repairs. She sailed on the 15th for Norfolk and 3 days later steamed from Norfolk to New York.
In an effort to stem the losses to Allied merchant shipping along the Atlantic coast, Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Adolphus Andrews, Commander of the Eastern Sea Frontier
Eastern Sea Frontier
The Eastern Sea Frontier was a United States Navy operational command during World War II, that was responsible for the coastal waters from Canada to Jacksonville, Florida, extending out for a nominal distance of two hundred miles....
, established a roving ASW patrol. Jones, Lieutenant Commander Hugh Black in command, departed New York 22 February for this duty. While passing the swept channel off Ambrose Light Ship, Jones made a possible submarine contact and attacked immediately. For 5 hours, Jones ran 12 attack patterns, dropping some 57 depth charges. Oil slicks appeared during the last six attacks, but no other debris was detected. Having expended all her charges, Jones returned to New York to rearm. Subsequent investigation failed to reveal any conclusive evidence of a sunken submarine.
Fate
On the morning of 27 February 1942, Jacob Jones departed New York harbor and steamed southward along the New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
coast to patrol and search the area between Barnegat Light
Barnegat Lighthouse
Barnegat Lighthouse or Barnegat Light, colloquially known as "Old Barney", is a historic lighthouse located in Barnegat Lighthouse State Park on the northern tip of Long Beach Island, in the borough of Barnegat Light, New Jersey, on the south side of Barnegat Inlet.-19th century:The development of...
and Five Fathom Bank. Shortly after her departure, she received orders to concentrate her patrol activity in waters off Cape May
Cape May
Cape May is a peninsula and island ; the southern tip of the island is the southernmost point of the state of New Jersey, United States. It runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean...
and the Delaware Capes. At 1530 she spotted the burning wreckage of tanker R. P. Resor, torpedoed the previous day east of Barnegat Light; Jones circled the ship for two hours searching for survivors before resuming her southward course. Cruising at a steady 15 knots through calm seas, she last reported her position at 2000 and then commenced radio silence. A full moon lit the night sky and visibility was good; throughout the night the ship, completely darkened without running or navigation lights showing, kept her southward course.
At the first light of dawn 28 February 1942, undetected fired a spread of torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es at the unsuspecting destroyer. The deadly "fish" sped unsighted and two "or possibly three" struck the destroyer's port side in rapid succession.
According to her survivors, the first torpedo struck just aft of the bridge and caused almost unbelievable damage. Apparently, it exploded the ship's magazine; the resulting blast sheared off everything forward of the point of impact, destroying completely the bridge, the chart room, and the officers' and petty officers' quarters. As she stopped dead in the water, unable to signal a distress message, a second torpedo struck about 40 feet forward of the fantail and carried away the after part of the ship above the keel plates and shafts and destroyed the after crew's quarters. Only the midships section was left intact.
All but 25 or 30 officers and men, including Lieutenant Commander Black, were killed by the explosions. The survivors, including a badly wounded, "practically incoherent" signal officer, went for the lifeboats. Oily decks, fouled lines and rigging, and the clutter of the ship's strewn twisted wreckage hampered their efforts to launch the boats. Jones remained afloat for about 45 minutes, allowing her survivors to clear the stricken ship in four or five rafts. Within an hour of the initial explosion Jones plunged bow first into the cold Atlantic; as her shattered stern disappeared, her depth charges exploded, killing several survivors on a nearby raft (as had happened to the in 1917).
At 0810, an Army observation plane sighted the life rafts and reported their position to of the Inshore Patrol. By 1100, when strong winds and rising seas forced her to abandon her search, she had rescued 12 survivors, one of whom died en route to Cape May. The search for the other survivors of Jones continued by plane and ship for the next two days, but none were ever found.