USS ''Bristol'' (DD 453) was a of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, named for Rear Admiral

Mark Lambert Bristol Mark Lambert Bristol (April 17, 1868 – May 13, 1939) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. Biography He was born on April 17, 1868, in Glassboro, New Jersey. Bristol graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1887. During the Spa ...

. She was launched 25 July 1941 by Federal Shipbuilding,

Kearny, New Jersey Kearny ( ) is a town in the western part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 40,684,Powell Clayton Powell Foulk Clayton (August 7, 1833August 25, 1914) was an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served as the 9th governor of Arkansas from 1868 to 1871, as a Republican member of the U.S. Senate for Arkansas from 1871 to 1877 ...

.The destroyer was commissioned on 22 October 1941.

Service history

During her first year of service ''Bristol'' operated as a patrol and

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 and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

escort in the North Atlantic, making several trans-Atlantic voyages to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. On 22 September 1942, Cmdr John Albert Glick took over command of the ship. On 24 October 1942, she made her first voyage to

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, as part of the Operation Torch landings at Fedala, French Morocco (8–17 November). Returning to the United States in late November, she operated out of Norfolk, Virginia until 14 January 1943, when she again steamed to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

where, with the exception of one trip to the Panama Canal Zone in April 1943, she served exclusively until 13 October 1943. Treno armato Licata

While on duty in that area, she took part in

Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

(9 July – 17 August 1943) and the Salerno landings (9–21 September). On 11 September 1943, ''Bristol'' rescued 70 survivors from the torpedoed destroyer . While performing shore bombardment during the same operation, she destroyed the Italian Navy armed train ("treno armato") '' T.A. 76/2/T'' around the port of

Licata Licata (, ; grc, Φιντίας, whence la, Phintias or ''Plintis''), formerly also Alicata (), is a city and ''comune'' located on the south coast of Sicily, at the mouth of the Salso River (the ancient ''Himera''), about midway between Ag ...

. At 04:30 on 13 October 1943, while escorting a convoy to Oran, Algeria, ''Bristol'' was struck on the port side at the forward engine room by a single

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

from

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

commanded by Waldemar Mehl.Lenton, H.T., ''American Fleet and Escort Destroyers of World War Two'' (Doubleday, 1971), Volume 1, p. 90. ''Bristol'' was broken in half by the single explosion. No fires resulted, but steam, electrical power, and communications were lost and the ship had to be abandoned. Eight minutes after the explosion the aft section sank, followed four minutes later by the foreparts. ''Bristol'' suffered the loss of 52 of her crew; the survivors were rescued by the destroyers and .

Convoys escorted

Awards

''Bristol'' received three

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

s for her World War II service.

References

External links

navsource.org: USS ''Bristol'' hazegray.org: USS ''Bristol''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bristol (DD-453) World War II destroyers of the United States World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey 1941 ships Gleaves-class destroyers of the United States Navy Maritime incidents in October 1943 Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II