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Allied Warships

USS Leopold (DE 319)

Destroyer Escort of the Edsall class


The launching of USS Leopold

NavyThe US Navy
TypeDestroyer Escort
ClassEdsall 
PennantDE 319 
Built byConsolidated Steel Corp., Ltd. (Orange, Texas, U.S.A.) 
Ordered 
Laid down24 Mar, 1943 
Launched12 Jun, 1943 
Commissioned18 Oct, 1943 
Lost9 Mar, 1944 
Loss position58.44N, 25.50W (See a map)
 
HistoryOn 9 March 1944, the US Coast Guard manned USS Leopold (Cdr. Kenneth C. Phillips, USCG) was on her second voyage and escorting the convoy CU-16, when she got an acoustic contact about 400 miles south of Iceland and turned to investigate it. But before the destroyer escort reached the U-boat, she was hit at 22.00 hours by a Gnat from U-255 and was abandoned. The vessel remained afloat, but sank early the next morning in position 58º44'N, 25º50'W. Only 28 survivors were picked up by the sister ship USS Joyce (DE 317). 

Hit by U-boat
Sunk on 9 Mar, 1944 by U-255 (Harms).

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