The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Battle of the Atlantic - (1939 -1945) - July 1st, 2003

http://www.iwm.org.uk/online/atlantic/dec41dec42.htm ^

[SAMWolf]

Morning Darksheare.

[Darksheare]

Morning.
I'm finding that my life is becoming entertainment for my dear sister.
How... cute.

[SAMWolf]

USS Frost (DE-144)

Frost (DE-144) was launched 21 March 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex., sponsored by Mrs. Holloway H. Frost, widow of Commander Frost and commissioned 30 August 1943, Lieutenant Conunander T. S. Lank in command.

Frost made one convoy escort voyage to Casablanca between 11 November 1943 and 25 December before taking up her primary wartime assignments, coastal escort and operations with the Croatan (CVE-25) hunter-killer group. Her first patrol with this group, from 24 March 1944 to 11 May, found her helping in the search for U-856, sunk on 7 April by other escorts of the group, and joining in sinking U-488 on 26 April when she and three other escorts attacked after the submarine had been spotted by an aircraft from Croatan.

Again patrolling across the Atlantic to guard the movement of convoys to Casablanca between 3 June 1944 and 22 July, Frost made the initial contact with U-490 on 11 June. A lengthy attack followed, at the close of which the escorts drew the oxygen- exhausted submarine to the surface by feigning their departure from the area. She was sunk by gunfire, Frost taking 13 of her crew prisoner. A 2-hour attack on 3 July during which the target submarine attempted to torpedo Frost, resulted in the sinking of U-154.

During her third hunter-killer patrol from 20 August 1944 to 2 October, Frost rescued survivors of Warrington (DD-383) who had capsized in a hurricane during the night of 13-14 September. Training at Guantanamo Bay and Bermuda preceded the next patrol, from 23 January 1945 to 7 February, during which her task group formed a part of the escort for Quincy (CA-71), carrying President Franklin D. Roosevelt toward the Yalta Conference. Additional training in Narragansett and Casco Bays prepared her for her final antisubmarine patrol, during which she won the Presidential Unit Citation, for her high achievement in joining in sinking two submarines on the night of 15-16 April. The first contact was made by Stanton (DE-247) just before midnight, and Frost joined in the attack which produced a violent underwater explosion at 0114 on 16 April. This was U-880. At 0l55, Frost picked up another target, and she and Stanton illuminated U-1235 and opened fire. They pressed home a depth charge attack when the Submarine dived, and were rewarded at 0410 with another great underwater explosion.

Frost sailed from Boston IO July 1945 for training in the Caribbean, and Pacific duty, reaching Pearl Harbor after the close of hostilities. She carried passengers back to San Diego, then sailed on to Norfolk and Green Cove Springs, Fla., where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve 18 June 1946.

In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, Frost received seven battle stars for World WarII service.

Warren Kerrigan

[SAMWolf]

Don't feel bad, I had three and a sisters job in live is to bug their brother.

[Darksheare]

Yes, but she's tried selling me off.
As well as inquired about shipping and handling.

For the longest time she had me relay her words to the Dimensional Door thread, until I conned her into finally registering.
So right now she's wrecking havoc over there.
Makes me wish for teh days in uniform where things actually made some sort of sense.,*-) NNNg?

[Fiddlstix]

Good Morning, Sam J

[SAMWolf]

The Army always did make more sense to me than my sisters. :-)

[SAMWolf]

U-Boat Under Leigh Light Attack

The Leigh Light

One early problem with ASV Mk.II was that its minimal range was too long. To make a successful attack, the crew had to see the submarine. At night, this could be achieved by dropping flares, but this warned the Germans that an attack was imminent.

The Leigh Light was a 22-million candlepower, 24-inch searchlight. It was proposed by Squadron Leader H. de V. Leigh, who sought support from the C-in-C Coastal Command, ACM Sir Frederick Bowhill.

In March 1941 it was tested under a Wellington that had previously been used for magnetic minesweeping, and therefore already had a generator on board. (Later most aircraft would carry a battery pack.) The Leigh light, manufactured by Savage & Parsons, was installed in a retractable "dustbin" under the fuselage of the aircraft. A test proved the soundness of the concept.

But only by mid-1942 were RAF aircraft equipped with the Leigh light. The reason was that the Air Ministry favoured the Turbinlite, a less effective searchlight which had been developed (and failed) as an aid for the interception of bombers. Savage & Parsons continued the work anyway, and finally the Leigh Light was adopted. There was a wide variation of installations, under the fuselage or wings of aircraft.

By June 1942, aircraft equipped with ASV radar and the Leigh light were operating over the Bay of Biscay. In the first five months of the year patrols over the Bay had not sunk a single U-boat (and six aircraft were lost), but now Coastal Command had an effective weapon. The night attacks did not give any warning to the submarine.

From August 1942 onwards the U-boats preffered surfacing at day, when they could at least see their attackers coming. But this too increased their vulnerability. Shipping losses from U-boats dropped from 600,000 per month to 200,000.

Emmanuel Gustin

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hello friends!!!

click on the graphic

[SAMWolf]

Afternoon Victoria. Good Nat King Cole song.

Is that your baby picture?

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hahaha, hey, I was cuter. I always had hair, I was born with hair, but I'm not hairy, LOL!!!

How are you, Sam. Good to see you.

[snippy_about_it]

Hello Victoria, cute baby.

[snippy_about_it]

Break Time!

[Victoria Delsoul]

Awww, thanks Snippy.

See you after break time.

[snippy_about_it]

LOL!

[Victoria Delsoul]

I'm laughing my head off!

[snippy_about_it]

*US shipyards were building merchant ships faster than U-boats could sink them.*

*'The reason that the American Navy does so well in wartime is that war is chaos, and the American Navy practices chaos on a daily basis.'

-- Attributed to Grand Admiral Erich Raeder,
Kriegsmarine*



Two statements I hope to remember from today's history.


We may have started out slow and a little behind but we caught up in know-how and victory was ours.


Good stuff SAM, great graphics today, too.

[SAMWolf]

Afternoon Victoria. Doing OK.

[SAMWolf]

Toe tapping break song.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks Snippy. Roger had the "Chaos" quote on hiis locker at work.