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USS Lowe (DE-325)
Encyclopedia
USS Lowe (DE-325) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort
built for the U.S. Navy during World War II
. She served in the Atlantic Ocean
the Pacific Ocean
and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine
and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. Post-war she was converted and served the Navy as a weather ship and then as a radar picket ship.
She was named in honor of Gunner’s Mate Third Class Harry James Lowe, Jr., who was awarded the Navy Cross
posthumously for his brave actions in the Solomon Islands
. The ship was laid down by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas
, 24 May 1943; launched 28 July 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Harry J. Lowe, mother; and commissioned 22 November 1943, Comdr. Reginald H. French, USCG, in command.
cruise to Bermuda
, Lowe reported for convoy
duty 2 February 1944 and departed Charleston, South Carolina
, escorting convoy UGS 32 to Casablanca
, French Morocco
, and back. On her second such assignment, Lowe went into action 20 April when her convoy came under tenacious enemy air attack off the North African coast. Simultaneously, two high speed wakes made directly for the starboard side of the ship. She evaded the torpedoes by a hard right turn which enabled her to escape between the oncoming warheads.
Lowe continued convoy escort service making a total of 12 Atlantic crossings until 5 March 1945 when she joined TG 22.14, an exclusively U.S. Coast Guard “hunter-killer” group, with the specific mission of finding and destroying an enemy submarine
operating due east of Newfoundland.
, Lowe made sonar
contact and attacked with two patterns of hedgehogs
. The depth charge
attacks with those of other ships of the group brought an oil slick and large amounts of debris to the surface. The submarine was still on the bottom the following day when Lowe reestablished sound contact. Postwar investigation verified the destruction of U-866 by this group; Lowe received credit for the kill, and her commanding officer
and four other crew members received awards for their part in the action. While serving with task group
TG 22.14 3 May, Lowe rescued the crew of the foundered Newfoundland
schooner
Marion Duffitt and her guns sank the hulk, which was a menace to navigation.
Commencing 6 July, the ship assumed duties as a training vessel at Norfolk, Virginia
, departing only to participate in the Navy Day
observance at Washington, D.C.
, 24 October. Departing the Capital 1 November, she offloaded ammunition at Yorktown, Virginia
, and 30 December arrived at St. Johns River
, Florida
, headquarters of the Florida Group, 16th Fleet, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, where she decommissioned 1 May 1946 and entered the Reserve Fleet
.
.
after being converted to a radar picket
escort vessel. Lowe joined Escort Squadron 5 at Seattle, Washington
.
She saw extended duty with the North American Air Defense Command as a unit of the seaward extension of the DEW line, eventually completing 67 tours as a picket vessel. While on station 20 February 1962, she was an emergency rescue link for Lt. Col. John Glenn’s three orbit space mission.
15 August, she was assigned the task of preventing seaborne infiltration of enemy elements to the south of that country as a part of Operation Market Time
. In early September 1965, she returned to her new homeport, Guam
, for a period of rest and upkeep. She rejoined task force TF 115 off Vietnam
22 November and resumed “Market Time” surveillance. When not a unit of TF 115, Lowe served as a unit of the Taiwan
Patrol Force or as station ship Hong Kong.
. Struck 23 September, Lowe began stripping in preparation for being sold for scrapping. She was then sold for scrapping 3 September 1969.
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 U.S. Navy 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 served in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
and provided destroyer escort protection against 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...
and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. Post-war she was converted and served the Navy as a weather ship and then as a radar picket ship.
She was named in honor of Gunner’s Mate Third Class Harry James Lowe, Jr., 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 brave actions in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
. The ship was laid down 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...
, 24 May 1943; launched 28 July 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Harry J. Lowe, mother; and commissioned 22 November 1943, Comdr. Reginald H. French, USCG, in command.
World War II North Atlantic operations
After a shakedownShakedown (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...
cruise to 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...
, Lowe reported for 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...
duty 2 February 1944 and departed 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...
, escorting convoy UGS 32 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...
, French Morocco
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...
, and back. On her second such assignment, Lowe went into action 20 April when her convoy came under tenacious enemy air attack off the North African coast. Simultaneously, two high speed wakes made directly for the starboard side of the ship. She evaded the torpedoes by a hard right turn which enabled her to escape between the oncoming warheads.
Lowe continued convoy escort service making a total of 12 Atlantic crossings until 5 March 1945 when she joined TG 22.14, an exclusively U.S. Coast Guard “hunter-killer” group, with the specific mission of finding and destroying an enemy 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...
operating due east of Newfoundland.
Sinking of German Submarine U-866
While steaming in search of the enemy 18 March 100 miles east of HalifaxCity of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Lowe made sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
contact and attacked with two patterns of hedgehogs
Hedgehog (weapon)
The Hedgehog was an anti-submarine weapon developed by the Royal Navy during World War II, that was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers to supplement the depth charge. The weapon worked by firing a number of small spigot mortar bombs from spiked fittings...
. The 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...
attacks with those of other ships of the group brought an oil slick and large amounts of debris to the surface. The submarine was still on the bottom the following day when Lowe reestablished sound contact. Postwar investigation verified the destruction of U-866 by this group; Lowe received credit for the kill, and her commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
and four other crew members received awards for their part in the action. While serving with task group
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
TG 22.14 3 May, Lowe rescued the crew of the foundered Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Marion Duffitt and her guns sank the hulk, which was a menace to navigation.
Commencing 6 July, the ship assumed duties as a training vessel at 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....
, departing only to participate in the Navy Day
Navy Day
Several nations observe or have observed a Navy Day to recognize their navy. The term is also used in Britain to mean an open day at a dockyard such as HMNB Portsmouth, when the public can visit military ships and see air displays, roughly along the lines of an American Fleet Week .- Argentina...
observance at Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, 24 October. Departing the Capital 1 November, she offloaded ammunition at Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown is a census-designated place in York County, Virginia, United States. The population was 220 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1634....
, and 30 December arrived at St. Johns River
St. Johns River
The St. Johns River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant for commercial and recreational use. At long, it winds through or borders twelve counties, three of which are the state's largest. The drop in elevation from the headwaters to the mouth is less than ;...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, headquarters of the Florida Group, 16th Fleet, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, where she decommissioned 1 May 1946 and entered the Reserve Fleet
Reserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....
.
Recommissioned as a Weather Ship
Recommissioned 20 July 1951 as , she saw service as a weather ship in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. She decommissioned a second time 1 June 1954 at the Todd Shipyard, Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
.
Recommissioned as a Radar Picket Ship
With Lt. Comdr. J. R. Bohlken in command, she was recommissioned in the Navy at Long Beach Naval ShipyardLong Beach Naval Shipyard
thumb|right|300px|Long Beach Naval Shipyard in 1993The Long Beach Naval Shipyard, which closed in 1997, was located at Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles and approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International Airport.The Long Beach...
after being converted to a radar picket
Radar picket
A radar picket is a radar-equipped ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a force to protect it from surprise attack. Often several detached radar units encircle a force to provide increased cover in all directions.-World War II:Radar picket ships...
escort vessel. Lowe joined Escort Squadron 5 at Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
.
She saw extended duty with the North American Air Defense Command as a unit of the seaward extension of the DEW line, eventually completing 67 tours as a picket vessel. While on station 20 February 1962, she was an emergency rescue link for Lt. Col. John Glenn’s three orbit space mission.
Vietnam Crisis operations
At the disestablishment of the Radar Barrier 30 June 1965, Lowe sailed for the western Pacific and joined the U.S. 7th Fleet 5 August. Taking station off the coast of VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
15 August, she was assigned the task of preventing seaborne infiltration of enemy elements to the south of that country as a part of Operation Market Time
Operation Market Time
Operation Market Time was the United States Navy’s effort to stop troops and supplies from flowing by sea from North Vietnam to South Vietnam during the Vietnam War...
. In early September 1965, she returned to her new homeport, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, for a period of rest and upkeep. She rejoined task force TF 115 off Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
22 November and resumed “Market Time” surveillance. When not a unit of TF 115, Lowe served as a unit of the Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
Patrol Force or as station ship Hong Kong.
Final Decommissioning
This pattern of duty continued until 20 September 1968 when she decommissioned at GuamGuam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
. Struck 23 September, Lowe began stripping in preparation for being sold for scrapping. She was then sold for scrapping 3 September 1969.
External links
- Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
- NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive - USS Lowe (DE 325)