USS Scott (DE-214)

USS "Scott" (DE-214), a sclass|Buckley|destroyer escort of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Machinist's Mate First Class Robert R. Scott (1915–1941, who was killed in action during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941, while serving aboard the battleship USS|California|BB-44|6. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism.

"Scott" was laid down on 1 January 1943 by the Philadelphia Navy Yard; launched on 3 April 1943; sponsored by Mrs. George McBride; and commissioned on 20 July 1943, Lieutenant Commander Claude S. Kirkpatrick in command.

After shakedown at Bermuda and post-shakedown repairs at Philadelphia, "Scott" rendezvoused with her first convoy off Bermuda on 23 September 1943 and escorted it to Curaçao. After escorting convoys to New York and back, "Scott" departed Curaçao on 29 October for her first transatlantic convoy voyage to Derry, Northern Ireland. She served on the Derry-New York convoy route until 4 October 1944, crossing the ocean a total of 16 times without incident. Between voyages, she underwent anti-submarine training at Derry or Casco Bay, Maine, and received voyage repairs made necessary by the rough North Atlantic weather. As flagship of Escort Division 17, "Scott" was usually escort commander for her convoys.

On 1 November 1944, "Scott" left Norfolk, Virginia with a slow convoy for the Mediterranean, but was detached on 15 November to assist USS|Frament|DE-677|6 which had been damaged in a collision with the Italian submarine "Luigi Settembrini", off the Azores. She helped search for Italian survivors, and then escorted "Frament" back to Boston, arriving on 3 December.

Between 14 December 1944 and 16 January 1945, "Scott" provided training services for submarines in New London, Connecticut. On the 16th, she departed New London escorting the French submarine "Le Centaure" to Casablanca. After repairs at Bermuda and the Azores, the submarine was safely delivered at Casablanca on 23 February. "Scott" then escorted two Army dredges from the Azores to Delaware Bay, arriving on 30 March.

"Scott" next served under the Atlantic Training Command, first at Norfolk and then at Mayport, escorting ships undergoing training and investigating reported submarine contacts. On 18 May, she arrived at Key West for experimental duty with the Naval Research Laboratories, Radar Division, and conducted tests of special equipment until 18 July. She underwent overhaul at New York between 20 July and 18 August, and then refresher training at Guantanamo from 21 August to 3 September. The escort was to have been converted to APD-64, but due to the end of the war, the much-delayed conversion was cancelled on 10 September 1945.

"Scott" spent most of the next two months at Casco Bay, Maine, except for four days at Charleston, South Carolina in early October and Navy Day at Newburgh, New York, at the end of the month. The escort arrived at Green Cove Springs, Florida, on 21 November 1945 for inactivation and was decommissioned there on 3 March 1947 and placed in reserve. "Scott" was struck from the Navy List on 1 July 1965 and was sold on 20 January 1967 to Southern Scrap Metals Company, New Orleans, for scrapping.

References

External links

* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s7/scott.htm history.navy.mil: USS "Scott"]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/214.htm navsource.org: USS "Scott"]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/escorts/de214.htm hazegray.org: USS "Scott"]