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USS Jack W. Wilke (DE-800)
Encyclopedia
USS Jack W. Wilke (DE-800) was a Buckley-class
destroyer escort
of the United States Navy
, named in honor of Ensign Jack W. Wilke
(1919–42), a naval aviator
in Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8
) who was awarded the Navy Cross
posthumously for his heroism in the Battle of Midway
.
Jack W. Wilke was launched
by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas
, 18 December 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Joe H. Wilke, mother of Ens. Wilke; and commissioned
7 March 1944, Lieutenant Commander Robert D. Lowther in command.
After a shakedown
to the West Indies and antisubmarine warfare (ASW) training at Bermuda
, Jack W. Wilke spent six months on Atlantic convoy
escort duty. The escort covered several convoys from American ports to the Mediterranean in the summer of 1944, making stops at Oran
, Algeria
; Bizerte
, Tunis
; Palermo
, Sicily
; and Naples
, Italy
. Later in the year, the warship escorted a convoy directly to Cherbourg, France
. That last convoy escort mission was particularly nerve wracking owing to the late war German
U-boat
offensive in British
waters. Following intelligence indications that next generation U-boats were planning to return to the western Atlantic, Wilke operated with a hunter-killer group in the Newfoundland–Nova Scotia
area from December 1944 to May 1945. Upon the surrender of Germany, she moved to Norfolk
to serve as a weather reporting and air-sea rescue vessel.
Jack W. Wilke sailed 4 June 1945 for Miami
and operated as a sonar
training ship there until 18 July. The warship then shifted to Philadelphia for an overhaul (and the installation of more anti-aircraft guns and improved sonar gear) in preparation for operations in the Pacific. With that mission cancelled by the end of the war in August 1945, the escort sailed to Port Everglades, Florida for three weeks of experimental ASW exercises.
In September, she underwent a three-month overhaul at New York Navy Yard in preparation for her new role as an experimental antisubmarine ship.
Jack W. Wilke sailed back to Florida on 7 January 1946 to commence operations out of Key West
. During the years that followed, she carried out experiments in both tactics and sound equipment off Key West and during occasional cruises in the West Indies.
The ship's schedule of experimental operations was interrupted on New Year's Day 1959 by the triumph of Fidel Castro
's forces in Cuba
; and Jack W. Wilke steamed to Havana
with other ships to help stabilize the situation and to protect American lives and property. During the remainder of the year, she operated off Key West and Norfolk on training operations, and took part in a special good-will cruise to Panama
in October during a Caribbean training period.
Returning to Key West, the ship decommissioned 24 May 1960, and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia. The old escort was struck from the Navy list
on 1 August 1972 and later sold for scrap to Union Metals & Alloys Corp., New York
, on 4 March 1974.
Buckley class destroyer escort
The Buckley class destroyer escorts were 102 destroyer escorts launched in the United States in 1943 - 1944. They served in World War II as convoy escorts and anti-submarine warfare ships. The lead ship was USS Buckley which was launched on 9 January 1943. The ships had General Electric steam...
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...
of 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...
, named in honor of Ensign Jack W. Wilke
Jack W. Wilke
Jack Winton Wilke was born in Covina, California, 13 June 1919, and enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve on 13 January 1941. After undergoing flight training, he was commissioned Ensign on 1 November 1941...
(1919–42), a naval aviator
Naval Aviator
A United States Naval Aviator is a qualified pilot in the United States Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard.-Naming Conventions:Most Naval Aviators are Unrestricted Line Officers; however, a small number of Limited Duty Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are also trained as Naval Aviators.Until 1981...
in Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8
VT-8
Torpedo Squadron 8 was a United States Navy squadron of World War II torpedo bombers assigned initially to the Air Group operating from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet , until after her loss in October 1942 during the Battle of Santa Cruz Island...
) who was awarded the Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
posthumously for his heroism in the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
.
Jack W. Wilke was 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...
by Consolidated Steel Corp., 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...
, 18 December 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Joe H. Wilke, mother of Ens. Wilke; 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...
7 March 1944, Lieutenant Commander Robert D. Lowther in command.
After a shakedown
Shakedown (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...
to the West Indies and antisubmarine warfare (ASW) training at 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...
, Jack W. Wilke spent six months on Atlantic convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
escort duty. The escort covered several convoys from American ports to the Mediterranean in the summer of 1944, making stops 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...
; 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:...
, Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
; Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
; and Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Later in the year, the warship escorted a convoy directly to Cherbourg, France
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...
. That last convoy escort mission was particularly nerve wracking owing to the late war German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
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...
offensive in British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
waters. Following intelligence indications that next generation U-boats were planning to return to the western Atlantic, Wilke operated with a hunter-killer group in the Newfoundland–Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
area from December 1944 to May 1945. Upon the surrender of Germany, she moved to 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 serve as a weather reporting and air-sea rescue vessel.
Jack W. Wilke sailed 4 June 1945 for Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
and operated as a sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
training ship there until 18 July. The warship then shifted to Philadelphia for an overhaul (and the installation of more anti-aircraft guns and improved sonar gear) in preparation for operations in the Pacific. With that mission cancelled by the end of the war in August 1945, the escort sailed to Port Everglades, Florida for three weeks of experimental ASW exercises.
In September, she underwent a three-month overhaul at New York Navy Yard in preparation for her new role as an experimental antisubmarine ship.
Jack W. Wilke sailed back to Florida on 7 January 1946 to commence operations out of 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....
. During the years that followed, she carried out experiments in both tactics and sound equipment off Key West and during occasional cruises in the West Indies.
The ship's schedule of experimental operations was interrupted on New Year's Day 1959 by the triumph of Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
's forces in 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...
; and Jack W. Wilke steamed to Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
with other ships to help stabilize the situation and to protect American lives and property. During the remainder of the year, she operated off Key West and Norfolk on training operations, and took part in a special good-will cruise to 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...
in October during a Caribbean training period.
Returning to Key West, the ship decommissioned 24 May 1960, and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia. The old escort was struck from the Navy list
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 1 August 1972 and later sold for scrap to Union Metals & Alloys Corp., 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 4 March 1974.
External links
- history.navy.mil: USS Jack W. Wilke (revised 03 November 2005)
- navsource.org: USS Jack W. Wilke
- hazegray.org: USS Jack W. Wilke