The second USS ''Bancroft'' (DD-256) was a in 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 ...

, which briefly served in 1919. Placed in reserve, the ship lay idle before being reactivated for

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 ...

. She was transferred to the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

in 1940, where she served as HMCS ''St. Francis'' (I93) 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, ...

escorting convoys. The ship was declared surplus in April 1945, sold for

scrap Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...

and sank on the way to the breakers after a collision in July.

Construction and career

United States Navy service

Named for

George Bancroft George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts ...

, an American historian and diplomat, the destroyer was launched on 21 March 1919 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's

Fore River Shipyard Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree, Massachusetts, Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on ...

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...

, sponsored by Miss Mary W. Bancroft, great granddaughter of George Bancroft. The ship was commissioned on 30 June 1919. ''Bancroft'' joined the Atlantic Fleet and took part in fleet training activities until 26 November 1919 when the ship went into reserve commission. The destroyer was placed out of commission at

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

on 11 July 1922. ''Bancroft'' was recommissioned 18 December 1939 and served with the Atlantic Squadron on the east coast until decommissioned at

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

. She was then transferred to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in the destroyer-land bases exchange on 24 September 1940.

Royal Canadian Navy service

''Bancroft'' was allocated to the Royal Canadian Navy and was taken over by the Canadians on 24 September 1940. Following the Canadian practice of naming destroyers after Canadian rivers (but with deference to the U.S. origin), the destroyer was renamed HMCS ''St. Francis'' after the

St. Francis River The St. Francis River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, about long, in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas in the United States. The river drains a mostly rural area and forms part of the Missouri-Arkansas state line along th ...

forming the border between northern

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

and

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. ''St. Francis'' left Halifax 15 January 1941 and arrived in the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

, Scotland, 26 January. She joined the 4th Escort Group and on 20 May she rescued all the survivors of the steamship ''Starcrose'' which had to be sunk after being torpedoed by a

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 ...

. At the end of June she escorted a troop convoy to the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and in July she joined the newly formed Newfoundland Escort Force. Between 1941 and 1943 ''St. Francis'' made several attacks on enemy submarines while escorting convoys ON 95, SC 85, ON 105, HX 197, and ON 116 with Mid-Ocean Escort Force group C-4. ''St. Francis'' subsequently escorted convoy ON 121 with Escort Group C-3, convoy SC 99 with Escort Group C-1, and convoy ON 147 with Escort Group C-4. After refitting at Halifax, ''St. Francis'' joined Escort Group C2 in the Western Approaches Command in June 1943 but in August was transferred to the 9th Escort Group (RCN), working from

Londonderry Port Londonderry Port, now operating as Foyle Port, is a port located on Lough Foyle in Northern Ireland. It is the United Kingdom’s most westerly port and an important northerly port on the island of Ireland. The current port is at Lisahally, Co ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. She was reassigned to the Western Local Escort Force at Halifax the following month. From early 1944 she was employed on training duties at

Digby, Nova Scotia Digby is a Canadian town in southwestern Nova Scotia. It is in the historical Digby County, Nova Scotia, county of Digby and a separate municipality from the Municipality of the District of Digby. The town is situated on the western shore of the ...

, where on 1 April 1945 she was declared surplus. On 14 July 1945, the destroyer was under tow of the tug ''Peter Norman'', and bound for Baltimore to be broken up for scrap by the Boston Iron & Metal Co.. After passing through the

Cape Cod Canal The Cape Cod Canal is an artificial waterway in Massachusetts connecting Cape Cod Bay in the north to Buzzards Bay in the south, and is part of the Intracoastal Waterway, Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The approximately canal traverses the nec ...

, the vessels encountered a thick fog, which enshrouded

Buzzards Bay Buzzards Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is approximately 28 miles (45 kilometers) long by 8 miles (12 kilometers) wide. It is a popular destination for fishing, boating, and tourism. Buzzards ...

. Near the entrance to the bay the collier ''Windward Gulf'' collided with the old destroyer opening a hole in its hull. ''Peter Norman'' tried to ground the destroyer, but it was taking on water too quickly and soon sank on an even keel in of water approximately off Acoaxet with no loss of life.

Trans-Atlantic convoys escorted

Notes

References

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bancroft (DD-256) Ships of the Royal Canadian Navy Clemson-class destroyers Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1919 ships Town-class destroyers converted from Clemson-class destroyers Ships sunk in collisions Shipwrecks of the Massachusetts coast World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Maritime incidents in July 1945