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

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 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 ...

from 1943 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1966.

History

She was named in honor of Holloway Halstead Frost who was awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' 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 eq ...

for his

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely o ...

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

Consolidated Steel Consolidated Steel Corporation (formed 18 December 1928) was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Consolidated built ships during World War II in two locations: Wilmington, California and Orange, Texas. It was created in 1929 by the merg ...

Corp.,

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

; 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, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

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 (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

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, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

''Frost'', resulted in the sinking of ''U-154''. During her third

hunter-killer Hunter-killer may refer to: Military terminology * Hunter-killer team, a team that separates the tasks of "hunting" and "killing" to two or more individuals * Hunter-killer armored-vehicle team, scout vehicles and tanks operating in concert as "hun ...

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 characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

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

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

preceded the next patrol, from 23 January 1945 to 7 February, during which her task group formed a part of the escort for , carrying President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

toward the

Yalta Conference The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea 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 post ...

. 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. Sma ...

and

Casco Bay Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth. The city of Portland sits along its south ...

prepared her for her final

antisubmarine 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 weapo ...

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. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

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 (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts on 10 July 1945 for training in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, 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 Re ...

after the close of hostilities. She carried passengers back to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, then sailed on to

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, and

Green Cove Springs, Florida Green Cove Springs is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,908. The city is named after the portio ...

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

Navy list A Navy Directory, formerly the 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 author ...

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 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 World War II service.

References

External links

NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive - USS Frost (DE-144)

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