The USS Fiske (DE-143) was an Edsall-class

Edsall class destroyer escort

The Edsall class destroyer escorts were built primarily for ocean anti-submarine escort service during World War II. The lead ship, USS Edsall was commissioned on 10 April 1943 at Orange, Texas. The class was also known as the FMR type from their Fairbanks-Morse Reduction-geared diesel drive...

 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...

 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...

. Named for Rear Admiral Bradley Allen Fiske, she was the first of two U.S. Naval vessels to bear the name.

Fiske (DE-143) was laid down 4 January 1943 by the Consolidated Steel Corporation of Orange, Texas

Orange, Texas

Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...

; launched 14 March 1943; sponsored by Mrs. H. G. Chalkley; and commissioned 25 August 1943 with Lieutenant Commander R. P. Walker in command. Fiske began her service as a convoy escort with a voyage from Norfolk

Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

 to Coco Solo

Coco Solo

Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base established in 1918 on the Atlantic Ocean side of the Panama Canal Zone, near Colón, Panama....

, C.Z. to 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...

 between 12 and 25 November 1943. On 3 December, the escort ship cleared Norfolk on the first of three convoy assignments from Norfolk and New York 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...

. During the third of these, on 20 April 1944 her convoy came under attack by German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 torpedo bomber

Torpedo bomber

A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...

s in the western Mediterranean, but none of the enemy planes came within range of Fiske.

Completing her Casablanca runs with her return to New York 21 May 1944 Fiske joined the hunter-killer group formed around the USS Wake Island (CVE-65)

USS Wake Island (CVE-65)

USS Wake Island was an Casablanca class escort carrier of the United States Navy.She was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract on 6 February 1943 at Vancouver, Washington, by the Kaiser Shipyards; launched on 15 September 1943, sponsored by Mrs...

 at Norfolk 10 June. Five days later her group sailed to patrol across the Atlantic, putting into Casablanca to replenish 20 to 24 July. On 2 August, during a special hunt for 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...

s known to be transmitting weather information from stations in the central Atlantic, Fiske and USS Douglas L. Howard (DE-138)

USS Douglas L. Howard (DE-138)

USS Douglas L. Howard was an built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys....

 were detached from the task group to investigate a visual contact both had made. The contact (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...

), surfaced U-804, quickly dived, but the two escorts picked it up on sonar

Sonar

Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...

, and began their attack approach. Suddenly, Fiske was 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...

ed on her starboard side amidships, and within 10 minutes, she broke in two and had to be abandoned. Thirty-three of her men were killed and 50 badly wounded by the explosion, but all who survived it were rescued by the USS Farquhar (DE-139)

USS Farquhar (DE-139)

USS Farquhar was an built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys....

.

Fiske received one battle star for 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...

 service.

See also

• See List of U.S. Navy losses in World War II for other Navy ships lost in World War II.

External links

• USS Fiske DE-143 at www.desausa.org