USS ''Frederick C. Davis'' (DE-136) was an built for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was the last US Naval vessel lost in the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allies of World War II, ...

Namesake

Frederick Curtice Davis was born on 21 October 1915 in

Rock County, Wisconsin Rock County is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 163,687. Its county seat is Janesville, Wisconsin, Janesville. Rock County comprises the Janes ...

. He graduated from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

in early 1939. He enlisted in the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

on 7 July, and began his primary flight training at

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

. He received his pilot's wings and was commissioned an

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

on 4 September 1940, after successfully completing instruction at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He was assigned to the battleship , operating out of

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. Reporting to Observation Squadron One (VO-1), Battleship Division One he was board ''Nevada'' during the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

. With no aircraft on board at the time of attack, Davis ran forward to help load and command an anti-aircraft machine gun battery, until machine gun fire from strafing Japanese aircraft killed him. He was posthumously awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

History

''Frederick C. Davis'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 9 November 1942 by the Consolidated Steel Company of

Orange, Texas Orange is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. The population was 19,324 at the 2020 census. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houston. ...

that was launched on 24 January 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy H. Robins. The ship was commissioned on 14 July 1943. ''Frederick C. Davis'' sailed from

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

on 7 October 1943 to escort a convoy to

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. She was assigned to escort duty between

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

n ports and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, and on 6 November first came under enemy air attack. A wave of

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

and medium

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

s damaged three ships in her convoy but were driven off by the escort's

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

fire before further damage could be done. Again under air attack on 26 November, ''Frederick C. Davis'' splashed at least two of the enemy aircraft. Continuing her escort duty in the western

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, ''Frederick C. Davis'' took part in an attack on 16 December 1943 which resulted in the sinking of by two of her group. On 21 January 1944 the escort sortied from Naples for the

Anzio Anzio (, also ; ) is a town and ''comune'' on region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside resorts, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola, and Ve ...

landings, during which her superlative and courageous performance was to win her a Navy Unit Commendation. After providing protection from

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s and aircraft to ships giving fire support to the assault on 22 January, ''Frederick C. Davis'' maintained a patrol off the besieged beachhead for the next six months, leaving only for brief periods of replenishment at Naples. Equipped with special equipment to jam the control frequency of the enemy's rocket-propelled, radio-directed

glider bomb A glide bomb or stand-off bomb is a standoff weapon with flight control surfaces to give it a flatter, gliding flight path than that of a conventional bomb without such surfaces. This allows it to be released at a distance from the target rather ...

s, ''Frederick C. Davis'' fought off enemy air attacks, protecting shipping in the anchorage and the men enduring the fighting ashore. Particularly during the earlier stages of this bitter operation, ''Frederick C. Davis'' came under shellfire from

shore batteries In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to facil ...

. Shrapnel caused slight damage to the ship, but only one man was wounded during this service. After a return to escort duty in the Mediterranean in June and July 1944, ''Frederick C. Davis'' cleared Naples on 9 August for

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

, her staging point for the assault on

southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

. Here again she provided her special jamming services to protect the headquarters ship for the operation, . She remained off the assault area on

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapon ...

patrol and controlling shipping until 19 September, then returned to

New York Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a semicircular bend ...

for

overhaul Overhaul may refer to: * The process of overhauling, see ** Maintenance, repair, and overhaul ** Refueling and overhaul (eg. nuclear-powered ships) ** Time between overhauls Time between overhauls (abbreviated as TBO or TBOH) is the manufactu ...

Loss

Returning to duty in the western

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

early in 1945, ''Frederick C. Davis'' served on coastal

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 and anti-submarine patrol service and in mid-April joined a special surface barrier force, formed to protect the Atlantic coast from the threat of close penetration by snorkel-equipped German submarines during

Operation Teardrop Operation Teardrop was a United States Navy operation during World War II, conducted between April and May 1945, to sink German U-boats approaching the Eastern Seaboard that were believed to be armed with V-1 flying bombs. Germany had threatened ...

. It was one of these, , which was contacted 24 April by ''Frederick C. Davis''. Within minutes, as the destroyer escort prepared to attack, the submarine torpedoed her, hitting on the port side, forward. Five minutes later, ''Frederick C. Davis'' broke in two, and efforts to preserve the buoyancy of the stern, where the damage was less and the majority of survivors were located, failed. Her survivors abandoned the ship and were taken from the water within three hours, while 115 men were lost. The attacking submarine ''U-546'' was sunk by the other US Navy escorts later that day with the surviving German crew being captured.

Awards

Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy A navy, naval force, military m ...

* European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three

battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star 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 service period. T ...

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had per ...

with one

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star 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 service period. T ...

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal was a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. Histo ...

References

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External links