USS Nields (DD-616)
Encyclopedia
USS Nields (DD-616) was a Benson-class
destroyer
in the United States Navy
during World War II
. She was named for Lieutenant Commander
Henry C. Nields
.
Nields was laid down on 15 June 1942 by the Bethlehem Steel Company, Fore River, Massachusetts; launched on 1 October 1942; sponsored by Miss Ella S. Nields, daughter of Lieutenant Commander Nields; and commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard
on 15 January 1943, Lieutenant Commander Albert R. Heckey in command.
, Netherlands West Indies, and Cristobal, Panama Canal Zone
, returning to Norfolk, Virginia
, on 11 April 1943. Thence she proceeded to Boston, Massachusetts before joining DesRon 16 at New York
. Assigned to transatlantic convoy duty, the destroyer departed New York on 28 April on her first North Africa
n run, screening convoy USG-8. Arriving at Oran
, Algeria
, on 19 May, Nields refueled and commenced patrolling the approaches to that anchorage. On patrol on 21 May, awaiting the departure of the convoy on its return voyage, Nields received a submarine
contact report from a British observation plane and immediately headed for the area. At 1716, Nields established sound contact. At 1718 she dropped a pattern of 9 depth charges. At 1723, sound contact was regained and another 9-charge pattern was fired. At 1731 and at 1741, further charges were fired from her "K" guns, forward and port. Within seconds of the last attack, oil patches were observed. The Italian submarine was one of two such submarines to be sunk by American forces.
The convoy, GUS–7A, sortied on 22 May, arriving New York on 8 June. By 26 June, Nields was back at Oran. Between that date and 5 July she conducted antisubmarine patrols off Algeria. On the 5th, she sortiied with the "Cent" attack force, screening U.S. convoy NCF-1 and British convoy KMF-18. On the 10th, as Allied waves hit the beaches, the destroyer guarded Transport Area Two. There until the 13th, she guarded the transports from enemy aerial and underwater attack. On the 16th, she arrived back at Oran, whence she returned to New York, with convoy UGF-9, on 3 August. A period of refresher training out of Casco Bay, Maine, followed.
C. F. Bryant, commending Nields for her role in the rescue operations for survivors of Marnix and Santa Helena from convoy KMF-25-A, the victims of a German air attack.
In March 1944, Nields joined other units of DesDivs 31 and 32 in hunter-killer exercises out of Casco Bay, Maine. On 7 April, two destroyers of her hunter-killer group, Task Group 21.5, and , sank . Nields, displaying outstanding seamanship in heavy seas and decreasing visibility, picked up 11 survivors and transported them to New York where they were turned over to representatives of the Office of Naval Intelligence. From New York, Nields' division sailed for the Mediterranean 21 April to join the 8th Fleet
.
Assigned to coastal escort and patrol duties on her arrival at Oran, on 2 May, Nields was soon drawn into a submarine chase lasting four days. On 14 May, was detected in the southwestern Mediterranean by British observation aircraft. Nields, temporarily with Destroyer Division 21, was one of the ships to answer the call. Soon afterward, dropped the first depth charge pattern. On the morning of the 15th, oil slicks were spotted, but sound contact was lost. Another search plane sighted the submarine, now surfaced, ten miles away and running north toward southern France. The destroyers followed. At 1900 on the 16th, Nields, in a scouting line with and , left the formation to investigate a negative sound contact. At 2157, all three destroyers made contact. Macomb illuminated the elusive quarry and opened fire. U-616 returned fire and started diving. At 2214, and again at 2231, Macomb attacked with depth charges. At 2335 and again at 2342, sound contacts were regained, but lost at 800 yards. U-616 was deep and maneuvering radically. At 2346, Nields set off an 11- charge pattern; and at 2350 began “creeping attacks”. At 0043 on 17 May, Gleaves, with Nields directing, fired an 18-charge pattern, with deep settings, which surrounded the U-boat
. Contact was lost at 0044. Soon after 0100, the three destroyers, having been joined by Ellyson, , and , commenced a box patrol, with Nields taking position third from the right end of the scouting line. At 0449, Hambleton reported a sound contact, and, at 0515, commenced firing depth charges. At 0525, she made a second attack. Finally, at 0608, U–616 surfaced and was taken under fire by the surrounding destroyers. Nields, unable to fire without endangering others in the destroyer group, watched the hunted U-boat sink at 0612 and then screened the vessels detailed to pick up the 51 survivors.
Up to the amphibious assault on southern France, Nields was employed on North African-Italian escort missions in support of Allied ground forces pushing north from Salerno, conducting patrol and escort duty off Anzio
and Civitaveccia, Italy. On 15 August, in Operation Dragoon
she was off St. Raphael blocking E-boat
entry into the transport area and providing preliminary bombardment and neutralization fire of "Red Beach." During that period, incident to her covering the passageways between the islands of St. Honorat and St. Marguerite, Nields came under heavy and rapid fire from German shore batteries. She returned fire and opened the range, emerging from the encounter unscathed. Through the 30th, she patrolled along the French coast, then turned back to North Africa whence she sailed for the U.S., in the screen of Battleship Division 5, on 4 September.
. Operating with that force for 10 days, she supported a motor torpedo boat attack at Vada on the 11th and assisted in a bombardment of the Bordighera area on the 17th. Relieved by on the 19th, Nields proceeded to Oran, thence to the United States, arriving at New York on 1 May.
Undergoing availability (extended to 3 July in order to effect repairs to her high pressure steam turbines) as hostilities ended in Europe, Nields next trained at Guantanamo Bay
for duty in the Pacific. On 20 July, she got underway for Pearl Harbor, arriving on 9 August, less than a week before V-J Day. Assigned to occupation duty, Nields departed Hawaii on 21 August, shaping a course for Eniwetok, in the Marshalls, and Saipan, in the Marianas; she picked up at the latter place and escorted her to Okinawa, where Nields joined Destroyer Squadron 12 at Buckner Bay.
s (LSTs) engaged with units of the U.S. 10th Army in the uneventful disarming of Japanese positions on islands in Tokara Gunto and Amami Gunto. On 6 October, in the vicinity of Tokono Shima, Nields sent visit and search parties to , , and , finding them to be engaged in transporting former Japanese POWs back to their homeland. Three days later, while Nields and lay anchored off Koniya Hakuchi, in the narrow strait between Amami-O-Shima and Kakeroma Shima, wind velocity reached 110 knots; Nields, piloting by radar, managed to stay in the middle of the stream but her consort went aground. In attempting to pass a line to LST-553, Nields lost her anchor. Two days later, with a Japanese midget submarine in tow, the destroyer returned to Okinawa for tender availability.
Detached from the 5th Fleet, Nields sailed for the United States on 31 October 1945 in company with DesRon 12, and arrived at San Diego on 21 November. Continuing on, she steamed to Charleston, South Carolina, reporting to the 16th [Inactive] Fleet on 8 December. She was decommissioned there on 25 March 1946.
Shifted later to the Inactive Ship Facility, Orange, Texas, Nields was ultimately deemed "unfit for further Naval service" and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 15 September 1970. Sold to the Southern Scrap Material Company, Limited, of New Orleans, Louisiana, on 8 May 1972, she began her final voyage astern of the tug Betty Smith on the afternoon of 25 May 1972. She was broken up for scrap subsequently.
As of 2009, no other ship in the United States Navy has been named Nields.
Benson class destroyer
The Benson class was a class of 30 destroyers of the U.S. Navy built 1939–1943. The first ship of the class was the . The U.S. Navy customarily names a class of ships after the first ship of the class; hence the Benson class....
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
in 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 was named for 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...
Henry C. Nields
Henry C. Nields
Henry C. Nields was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.Nields was appointed Mate on 11 February 1863 and Acting Ensign on 11 July 1864. Assigned to Metacomet, he earned Admiral David G...
.
Nields was laid down on 15 June 1942 by the Bethlehem Steel Company, Fore River, Massachusetts; launched on 1 October 1942; sponsored by Miss Ella S. Nields, daughter of Lieutenant Commander Nields; and commissioned at 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...
on 15 January 1943, Lieutenant Commander Albert R. Heckey in command.
1943
Following shakedown and training off the east coast, Nields escorted two tankers to ArubaAruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
, Netherlands West Indies, and Cristobal, Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, returning to Norfolk, Virginia
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....
, on 11 April 1943. Thence she proceeded to Boston, Massachusetts before joining DesRon 16 at 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...
. Assigned to transatlantic convoy duty, the destroyer departed New York on 28 April on her first North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
n run, screening convoy USG-8. Arriving at Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, on 19 May, Nields refueled and commenced patrolling the approaches to that anchorage. On patrol on 21 May, awaiting the departure of the convoy on its return voyage, Nields received a 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...
contact report from a British observation plane and immediately headed for the area. At 1716, Nields established sound contact. At 1718 she dropped a pattern of 9 depth charges. At 1723, sound contact was regained and another 9-charge pattern was fired. At 1731 and at 1741, further charges were fired from her "K" guns, forward and port. Within seconds of the last attack, oil patches were observed. The Italian submarine was one of two such submarines to be sunk by American forces.
The convoy, GUS–7A, sortied on 22 May, arriving New York on 8 June. By 26 June, Nields was back at Oran. Between that date and 5 July she conducted antisubmarine patrols off Algeria. On the 5th, she sortiied with the "Cent" attack force, screening U.S. convoy NCF-1 and British convoy KMF-18. On the 10th, as Allied waves hit the beaches, the destroyer guarded Transport Area Two. There until the 13th, she guarded the transports from enemy aerial and underwater attack. On the 16th, she arrived back at Oran, whence she returned to New York, with convoy UGF-9, on 3 August. A period of refresher training out of Casco Bay, Maine, followed.
1944
Mediterranean and UK convoys (UGF-10, GUF-12, UTF-3, KMF-25-A, TU-03, and TU-6), occupied Nields for the remainder of 1943, and into 1944. Highlighting that period was Commander, Task Force 60, Rear AdmiralRear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
C. F. Bryant, commending Nields for her role in the rescue operations for survivors of Marnix and Santa Helena from convoy KMF-25-A, the victims of a German air attack.
In March 1944, Nields joined other units of DesDivs 31 and 32 in hunter-killer exercises out of Casco Bay, Maine. On 7 April, two destroyers of her hunter-killer group, Task Group 21.5, and , sank . Nields, displaying outstanding seamanship in heavy seas and decreasing visibility, picked up 11 survivors and transported them to New York where they were turned over to representatives of the Office of Naval Intelligence. From New York, Nields' division sailed for the Mediterranean 21 April to join the 8th Fleet
United States Eighth Fleet
The United States Eighth Fleet was a fleet of the U.S. Navy established 15 March 1943 from Northwest African Force. It operated in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II with a main mission of amphibious warfare, and then was active in 1946-47 as the heavy striking arm of the United States...
.
Assigned to coastal escort and patrol duties on her arrival at Oran, on 2 May, Nields was soon drawn into a submarine chase lasting four days. On 14 May, was detected in the southwestern Mediterranean by British observation aircraft. Nields, temporarily with Destroyer Division 21, was one of the ships to answer the call. Soon afterward, dropped the first depth charge pattern. On the morning of the 15th, oil slicks were spotted, but sound contact was lost. Another search plane sighted the submarine, now surfaced, ten miles away and running north toward southern France. The destroyers followed. At 1900 on the 16th, Nields, in a scouting line with and , left the formation to investigate a negative sound contact. At 2157, all three destroyers made contact. Macomb illuminated the elusive quarry and opened fire. U-616 returned fire and started diving. At 2214, and again at 2231, Macomb attacked with depth charges. At 2335 and again at 2342, sound contacts were regained, but lost at 800 yards. U-616 was deep and maneuvering radically. At 2346, Nields set off an 11- charge pattern; and at 2350 began “creeping attacks”. At 0043 on 17 May, Gleaves, with Nields directing, fired an 18-charge pattern, with deep settings, which surrounded 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...
. Contact was lost at 0044. Soon after 0100, the three destroyers, having been joined by Ellyson, , and , commenced a box patrol, with Nields taking position third from the right end of the scouting line. At 0449, Hambleton reported a sound contact, and, at 0515, commenced firing depth charges. At 0525, she made a second attack. Finally, at 0608, U–616 surfaced and was taken under fire by the surrounding destroyers. Nields, unable to fire without endangering others in the destroyer group, watched the hunted U-boat sink at 0612 and then screened the vessels detailed to pick up the 51 survivors.
Up to the amphibious assault on southern France, Nields was employed on North African-Italian escort missions in support of Allied ground forces pushing north from Salerno, conducting patrol and escort duty off Anzio
Anzio
Anzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene...
and Civitaveccia, Italy. On 15 August, in Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
she was off St. Raphael blocking E-boat
E-boat
E-boats was the designation for Motor Torpedo Boats of the German Navy during World War II. It is commonly held that the E stood for Enemy....
entry into the transport area and providing preliminary bombardment and neutralization fire of "Red Beach." During that period, incident to her covering the passageways between the islands of St. Honorat and St. Marguerite, Nields came under heavy and rapid fire from German shore batteries. She returned fire and opened the range, emerging from the encounter unscathed. Through the 30th, she patrolled along the French coast, then turned back to North Africa whence she sailed for the U.S., in the screen of Battleship Division 5, on 4 September.
1945
Arriving at Boston on 19 September to commence an availability, Nields conducted refresher training out of Casco Bay and escorted to Norfolk, Virginia, arriving there on 27 October. Nields completed two more North African convoy assignments, with UGS-59 and UGF-19, before she rejoined the 8th Fleet on 16 January 1945. She then resumed Mediterranean escort duties until 9 April when she reported to Senior Officer, Allied Destroyers, Flank Force, for patrol duty in the Ligurian SeaLigurian Sea
The Ligurian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Italian Riviera and the island of Corsica. The sea is probably named after the ancient Ligures people.-Geography:...
. Operating with that force for 10 days, she supported a motor torpedo boat attack at Vada on the 11th and assisted in a bombardment of the Bordighera area on the 17th. Relieved by on the 19th, Nields proceeded to Oran, thence to the United States, arriving at New York on 1 May.
Undergoing availability (extended to 3 July in order to effect repairs to her high pressure steam turbines) as hostilities ended in Europe, Nields next trained at Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
for duty in the Pacific. On 20 July, she got underway for Pearl Harbor, arriving on 9 August, less than a week before V-J Day. Assigned to occupation duty, Nields departed Hawaii on 21 August, shaping a course for Eniwetok, in the Marshalls, and Saipan, in the Marianas; she picked up at the latter place and escorted her to Okinawa, where Nields joined Destroyer Squadron 12 at Buckner Bay.
Transfer to Pacific and fate
After a round trip to Guam, escorting convoy OKG-7 to the Marianas, Nields took an active part in the occupation of the Ryukyus, as part of Task Force 53, along with tank landing shipTank landing ship
Landing Ship, Tank was the military designation for naval vessels created during World War II to support amphibious operations by carrying significant quantities of vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto an unimproved shore....
s (LSTs) engaged with units of the U.S. 10th Army in the uneventful disarming of Japanese positions on islands in Tokara Gunto and Amami Gunto. On 6 October, in the vicinity of Tokono Shima, Nields sent visit and search parties to , , and , finding them to be engaged in transporting former Japanese POWs back to their homeland. Three days later, while Nields and lay anchored off Koniya Hakuchi, in the narrow strait between Amami-O-Shima and Kakeroma Shima, wind velocity reached 110 knots; Nields, piloting by radar, managed to stay in the middle of the stream but her consort went aground. In attempting to pass a line to LST-553, Nields lost her anchor. Two days later, with a Japanese midget submarine in tow, the destroyer returned to Okinawa for tender availability.
Detached from the 5th Fleet, Nields sailed for the United States on 31 October 1945 in company with DesRon 12, and arrived at San Diego on 21 November. Continuing on, she steamed to Charleston, South Carolina, reporting to the 16th [Inactive] Fleet on 8 December. She was decommissioned there on 25 March 1946.
Shifted later to the Inactive Ship Facility, Orange, Texas, Nields was ultimately deemed "unfit for further Naval service" and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 15 September 1970. Sold to the Southern Scrap Material Company, Limited, of New Orleans, Louisiana, on 8 May 1972, she began her final voyage astern of the tug Betty Smith on the afternoon of 25 May 1972. She was broken up for scrap subsequently.
Awards
Nields earned three battle stars during World War II.As of 2009, no other ship in the United States Navy has been named Nields.