USS ''Frost'' (DE-144) was an

Edsall-class The ''Edsall''-class destroyer escorts were destroyer escorts built primarily for ocean antisubmarine escort service during World War II. The lead ship, , was commissioned on 10 April 1943 at Orange, Texas, Orange, Texas. The class was also kno ...

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

in service with 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 ...

from 1943 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1966.

History

She was named in honor of

Holloway Halstead Frost Holloway Halstead Frost (April 11, 1889 - January 26, 1935), born in Brooklyn, New York, was an American World War I Navy officer and Navy Cross recipient. Naval career Frost was a member of the U.S. Naval Academy class of 1910. A widely published ...

who was 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 ...

for his

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

service as aide to Commander, American Patrol Detachment, Atlantic Fleet, a billet in which he played a significant role in developing the tactics of surface and air forces in combined operations against

submarines 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 info ...

. ''Frost'' (DE-144) was launched 21 March 1943 by

Consolidated Steel The Consolidated Steel Corporation was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Formed on 18 December 1928, the company built ships during World War II in two main locations: Wilmington, California, and Orange, Texas. It was created by the me ...

Corp.,

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. ...

; sponsored by Mrs. Holloway H. Frost, widow of Commander Frost; and commissioned 30 August 1943.

Battle of the Atlantic

''Frost'' made one

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 voyage to

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

between 11 November 1943 and 25 December before taking up her primary wartime assignments, coastal escort and operations with the hunter-killer group. Her first patrol with this group, from 24 March 1944 to 11 May, found her helping in the search for ''U-856'', sunk on 7 April by other escorts of the group, and joining in sinking ''U-488'' on 26 April, when she and three other escorts attacked after the

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 ...

had been spotted by an aircraft from Croatan. Again patrolling across the Atlantic to guard the movement of convoys to

between 3 June 1944 and 22 July, ''Frost'' made the initial contact with ''U-490'' on 11 June. A lengthy attack followed, at the close of which the escorts drew the oxygen-exhausted submarine to the surface by feigning their departure from the area. She was sunk by gunfire, ''Frost'' taking 13 of her crew prisoner. A two-hour attack on 3 July, during which the target submarine attempted to

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 ...

''Frost'', resulted in the sinking of ''U-154''. During her third hunter-killer patrol, from 20 August 1944 to 2 October, ''Frost'' rescued survivors of who had capsized in a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

during the night of 13–14 September. Training at Guantanamo Bay and

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

preceded the next patrol, from 23 January 1945 to 7 February, during which her

task group A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...

formed a part of the escort for , carrying President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

toward the

Yalta Conference The Yalta Conference (), held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. The three sta ...

. Additional training in

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. S ...

and

Casco Bay Casco Bay is an bay, open bay of the Gulf of Maine on the coast of Maine in the United States. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's chart for Casco Bay marks the dividing line between the bay and the Gulf of Maine as running from ...

prepared her for her final

antisubmarine Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations a ...

patrol, during which she won the Presidential Unit Citation, for her high achievement in joining in sinking two submarines on the night of 15 – 16 April. The first contact was made by just before midnight, and ''Frost'' joined in the attack which produced a violent underwater explosion at 0114 on 16 April. This was ''U-880''. At 01:55, ''Frost'' picked up another target, and she and ''Stanton'' illuminated ''U-1235'' and opened fire. They pressed home a

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

attack when the submarine dived, and were rewarded at 04:10 with another great underwater explosion.

Post-war activity and decommissioning

''Frost'' sailed from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts on 10 July 1945 for training in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, and Pacific duty, reaching

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 ...

after the close of hostilities. She carried passengers back to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, then sailed on to

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, and

Green Cove Springs, Florida Green Cove Springs is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Florida, United States. Green Cove Springs is a part of the Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,786 at the 2020 census, up from 6,908 at ...

, where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve 18 June 1946. She was struck from the

Navy list A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

on 1 April 1965. On 29 December 1966 she was sold and scrapped.

Awards

In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, ''Frost'' received seven

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 ...

s for World War II service.

References

External links

*
USS Frost website

Brief at www.destroyersonline.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frost (DE-144) 1943 ships Edsall-class destroyer escorts Ships built in Orange, Texas World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States