Allied Warships

USS Cole (DD 155)

Destroyer of the Wickes class

NavyThe US Navy
TypeDestroyer
ClassWickes 
PennantDD 155 
Built byWilliam Cramp and Sons (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) 
Ordered 
Laid down25 Jun 1918 
Launched11 Jan 1919 
Commissioned19 Jun 1919 
End service1 Nov 1945 
History

Decommissioned 10 July 10 1922
Recommissioned 1 May 1930
Decommissioned 7 January 1937
Recommissioned 16 October 1939
Reclassified as auxiliary AG-116 on 30 June 1945
Decommissioned 1 November 1945
Stricken 16 November 1945
Sold 6 October 1947 and broken up for scrap.

 

Commands listed for USS Cole (DD 155)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

CommanderFromTo
1Lt.Cdr. Paul Fleming Dugan, USN16 Oct 19396 Jun 1940
2Lt. Charles William Moses, USN6 Jun 19401941
3Lt.Cdr. Walter Leo Dyer, USN194130 Jun 1942
4T/Lt.Cdr. George Goldston Palmer, USN30 Jun 194213 Jan 1943
5T/Lt.Cdr. Joseph Francis Witherow, Jr., USN13 Jan 194310 May 1943
6T/Lt.Cdr. Briscoe Chipman, USN10 May 194325 Jan 1944
7Freeman Donald Miller, USNR25 Jan 194421 Oct 1944
8Lt. John Rupert Stewart, USCG21 Oct 19441 Nov 1945

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Notable events involving Cole include:


19 Mar 1942

Convoy AS 2.

This convoy departed Charleston, South Carolina, USA on 19 March 1942.

The convoy was made up of the following (troop) transports; Agwileon (American, 6678 GRT, built 1907), Brazil (American, 20614 GRT, built 1929) and Mormactide (American, 7773 GRT, built 1941).

They were escorted by the heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire (Capt. R.D. Oliver, DSC, RN), escort carrier HMS Archer (Cdr. J.I. Robertson, RN) and the destroyers USS Upshur (Lt.Cdr. W.K. Romoser, USN), USS Du Pont (T/Lt.Cdr. F.M. Adamson, USN) and USS Cole (Lt.Cdr. W.L. Dyer, USN).

Around 0800Q/20, the destroyer USS Du Pont was detached to return to Charlestown.

Around 1200Q/22, HMS Devonshire was detached to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands where she arrived later the same day.

The convoy arrived at San Juan, Puerto Rico later the same day.

At 0900Q/23, the Agwileon departed San Juan for St. Thomas where she arrived later the same day to fuel. She was escorted by USS Cole.

Around 0630Q/24, the Brazil, Mormactide and HMS Archer departed San Juan. They were joined off the harbour entrance by USS Upshur who first had conducted an A/S sweep of the harbour prior to the departure of the convoy.

Around 1400Q/24, the Agwileon, HMS Devonshire and USS Cole joined the convoy coming from St. Thomas.

Around 0900P/25, the troopship Monterey (American, 148017 GRT, built 1932) and USS Du Pont joined the convoy. They had departed Charleston around 1900Q/21.

Around 0645P/26, USS Du Pont was detached from the convoy. She was to proceed to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

Around 0400P/27, USS Upshur was detached from the convoy. She was to proceed to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

Around 0600P/28, USS Cole was detached to proceed to Bermuda.

Around 1500N/1, the corvettes FFS Commandant Detroyat and HMS Hydrangea (A/Lt.Cdr. J.E. Woolfenden, RNR) joined.

Around 1400N/2, HMS Devonshire parted company with the convoy to proceed ahead of it to Freetown where she arrived around 0600Z/3.

The convoy arrived around 1430Z/3. (1)

4 Sep 1942
HMS H 43 (Lt. J.C.Y. Roxburgh, DSC, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with USS Nicholson, USS Ludlow and USS Cole. (2)

24 Jun 1943

Convoy KMS 18B.

This convoy departed the U.K. on 24 June 1943.

The convoy was made up of the transports; Alcinous (Dutch, 6189 GRT, built 1925), Benedict (British, 4949 GRT, built 1930), City of Venice (British, 8762 GRT, built 1924), Derwenthall (British, 4934 GRT, built 1940), Devis (British, 6054 GRT, built 1938), Empire Cato (British, 7039 GRT, built 1942), Empire Confidence (British, 5023 GRT, built 1925), Empire Elaine (British, 7513 GRT, built 1942), Fort Buckingham (British, 7122 GRT, built 1943), Fort Lajoie (British, 7134 GRT, built 1942), Fort Meductic (British, 7134 GRT, built 1943), Fort Nashwaak (British, 7134 GRT, built 1943), Fort Stager (British, 7132 GRT, built 1943), Gudrun Maersk (British, 2294 GRT, built 1937), Norman Monarch (British, 7005 GRT, built 1943), Orestes (British, 7748 GRT, built 1926), Prometheus (British, 6096 GRT, built 1925), St. Essylt (British, 5634 GRT, built 1941) and Stanhill (British, 5969 GRT, built 1942).

The landing ship Derwentdale (Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), 8390 GRT, built 1941) was also part of the convoy.

Also with the convoy were the rescue vessel Rathlin (British, 1600 GRT, built 1936) and the rescue tug HMRT Allegiance.

The convoy was escorted by and the frigate HMS Teviot (Lt.Cdr. T. Taylor, DSC, RN), cutter HMS Banff (Lt. P. Brett, RNR) and the corvettes HMS Bergamot (Lt. R.T. Horan, RNR), HMS Bryony (T/Lt. T. Hand, RNR), HMS Honeysuckle (Lt. H.H.D. MacKillican, DSC and Bar, RNR), HMS Hyderabad (T/Lt. T. Cooper, RNR), HMS Oxlip (Lt. C.W. Leadbetter, RNR) and HMS Rhododendron (T/Lt. O.B. Medley, RNVR).

On 26 June 1943, the sloop HMS Erne (Lt.Cdr. E.D.J. Abbot, DSC, RN) departed Londonderry to join the convoy which she did later the same day.

On 3 July 1943, the Rathlin and HMRT Allegiance arrived at Gibraltar after having been detached from the convoy.

Around 2052B/4, in position 36°44'N, 01°25'E, the transport City of Venice was torpedoed by the German submarine U-409. The ship eventually sank the following morning.

Around 2145B/4, in position 36°44'N, 01°31'E, the transport St. Essylt was torpedoed by the German submarine U-375 which had fired a salvo of four torpedoes at the convoy. The ship eventually sank the following morning.

The escort destroyers HMS Lamerton (Lt.Cdr. C.R. Purse, DSC and Bar, RN), HMS Wheatland (Lt.Cdr. R.deL. Brooke, DSO, DSC and Bar, RN), HMS Wilton (Lt. A.P. Northey, DSC and Bar, RN) and HMS Brocklesby (Lt. K.R.S. Leadlay, RN), which were en-route from Algiers to Oran were diverted to hunt these submarines as was HMS Quantock (Lt.Cdr. R.G.L. Pennell, DSC, RN) which was en-route from Gibraltar to Algiers.

On 5 July 1943, the original escort arrived at Algiers after having been relieved by a new escort made up the escort destroyers HMS Farndale (Cdr. D.P. Trentham, RN), HMS Tynedale (Lt. J.J.S. Yorke, DSC, RN), HMS Cleveland (Lt. J.K. Hamilton, RN), HMS Calpe (Lt.Cdr. H. Kirkwood, DSC, RN), HMS Haydon (Lt. R.C. Watkin, RN), ORP Krakowiak (Kpt.mar. (Lt.Cdr.) Wszechwlad Maracewicz, ORP) and HMS Viceroy (Lt. T.F. Hallifax, RN).

Around 1541B/5, in position 37°01'N, 04°10'E, the transport Devis was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-593 which had fired two speads of two torpedoes at the convoy. THe destroyers HMS Anthony (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Wallace, DSC, RN), USS Cole (T/Lt.Cdr. B. Chipman, USN), sloop HMS Erne and frigate HMS Teviot were sailed from Algiers to hunt this sumbarine.

With them the monitor HMS Roberts (A/Capt.(Retd.) R.E.C. Dunbar, RN) and the LST's HMS LST 301 (A/Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) R.F. Hoyle, RNR), HMS LST 305 (A/Lt.Cdr. R.M. Naylor, RNR), HMS LST 319 (Cdr.(Retd.) J.G. Sutton, RN), HMS LST 321 (T/A/Lt.Cdr. C.H. Metcalfe, RNR), HMS LST 365 (T/A/Lt.Cdr. C.F. Halliday, RNR), HMS LST 366 (A/Lt.Cdr. N. Hall, RNR) and HMS LST 424 (Lt.Cdr. G.R. Grandage, RNR) also joined the convoy.

Around 1500B/6, the light cruisers HMS Aurora (Commodore W.G. Agnew, CB, RN) and HMS Penelope (Capt. G.D. Belben, DSC, AM, RN) joined the convoy. They parted company with the convoy around 2200B/7.

On 7 July, the minesweepers HMS Fly (Capt. J.W. Boutwood, RN), HMS Espiegle (Lt.Cdr. G. Dibley, RD, RNR), HMS Circe (Lt.Cdr. J.H.M. Malcolm, RN) and HMS Cadmus (Lt.Cdr. (Retd.) J.S. Landers, RNR) joined the convoy.

Around 0515B/8, the AA cruiser HMS Colombo (Capt. D.H. Hall-Thompson, RN) joined the convoy.

Around 1300B/9, the following transports parted company and joined convoy KMF 1B; Alcinous, Empire Confidence, Orestes, Prometeus, Derwentdale, HMS LST 301, HMS LST 305, HMS LST 319, HMS LST 321, HMS LST 365, HMS LST 366 and HMS LST 424. HMS Roberts Also joined convoy KMF 18.

Convoy KMS 18B arrived off Sicily in the afternoon of 10 July 1943.

Media links


Destroyers of World War Two

Whitley, M. J.


U.S. Destroyers

Friedman, Norman


United States Destroyer Operations In World War II.

Roscoe, Theodore

Sources

  1. ADM 53/115779
  2. ADM 173/17253

ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.


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