USS Leopold

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

USS Leopold (DE-319) launching at Orange, Texas on 12 June 1943
History
United States
NameUSS Leopold
NamesakeRobert Lawrence Leopold
BuilderConsolidated Steel Corporation, Orange, Texas
Laid down24 March 1943
Launched12 June 1943
Sponsored byMs. Helen S. Leopold
Commissioned18 October 1943
FateSunk by the submarine U-255, 10 March 1944
General characteristics
Class and typeEdsall-class destroyer escort
Displacement
  • 1,253 long tons (1,273 t) (standard)
  • 1,590 long tons (1,616 t) (full load)
Length306 ft (93 m)
Beam36.58 ft (11.15 m)
Draft10.42 ft (3.18 m) full load
Installed power6,000 shp (4,500 kW)
Propulsion
Speed21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h)
Range9,700 nmi (11,200 mi; 18,000 km) at 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h)
Complement8 officers, 201 enlisted
Armament

USS Leopold (DE-319) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for Ensign Robert Lawrence Leopold to date it is the only United States Navy vessel to bear the name.

Namesake

Robert Lawrence Leopold was born on 11 November 1916 in Louisville, Kentucky. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve 10 July 1940. Following training in Wyoming, he was appointed midshipman on 16 September 1940 and commissioned Ensign on 12 December. Reporting for duty on board the USS Arizona two weeks later, Leopold was killed in action on 7 December 1941 during the Attack on Pearl Harbor.

Construction and commissioning

Leopold was laid down on 24 March 1943 by the Consolidated Steel Corporation of Orange, Texas; launched on 12 June 1943; sponsored by Ms. Helen S. Leopold, sister of Ensign Leopold; and commissioned on 18 October 1943.

History

After structural firing tests at

Great Sound, Bermuda where shakedown exercises were begun. On 9 December, she left for Charleston, South Carolina
and 11 days of post-shakedown availability.

After four days of training exercises for officers and her nucleus crew for new destroyer escorts in the

Casco Bay, Maine
.

Departing

General Quarters was sounded and orders were issued to "fire on sight." A flare was released and gun crew strained to sight the submarine in the lighted area. The U-boat was almost submerged when spotted and the gun crews had to work blind. Leopold was struck by an acoustic torpedo fired from the German submarine U-255
. Shortly after the torpedo strike, the crew of Leopold began to abandon ship as she broke in half.

Joyce rescued 28 survivors at the close of the action; 171 others were lost through the explosion on board, drowning, and – most of all – cold water immersion. Leopold's bow remained afloat until early the next morning until sunk as a hazard to navigation by gunfire from Joyce 400 miles south of Iceland.

The book

In 2017 Lyons Press published Never to Return by Randall Peffer and Col. Robert Nersasian. Through the use of extensive interviews with survivors of Leopold, Joyce, and the German submarine U-255, the book tells the story of the battle and the struggles of the 28 men who survived. The book also resolves unanswered questions about why it took Joyce so long to begin rescuing the crew of Leopold from the icy water. Col. Nersasian's brother Sparky was one of the 28 survivors.

References

  • Public Domain This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
  • "Leopold". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
  • "USS Leopold (DE-319)". Destroyer Escort Photo Archive. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
  • "USS Leopold (DE-319)". U. S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 13 May 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=USS_Leopold&oldid=1209775503"