USS Swanson (DD-443) was a of the United States Navy, named for Secretary of the Navy Claude A. Swanson (1862–1939).
She participated in, Operation Torch, Operation Husky, the Pacific theatre, escorted nine convoys and earned eight battle stars for her service.
Service history
Swanson was laid down on 15 November 1939 by the Charleston Navy Yard, launched on 2 November 1940; sponsored by Mrs Claude A. Swanson, widow of Secretary Swanson; and commissioned on 29 May 1941.
After her initial shakedown cruise, Swanson began convoy escort duties between New England, Bermuda, and Iceland. She escorted the battleships and , and aircraft carrier , on their trial runs in late 1941. After the Attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, her convoy duties were extended to include three runs to Scotland and single trips to Nova Scotia and Greenland.
Operation Torch
In October 1942, after amphibious training in Chesapeake Bay, Swanson joined the invasion fleet sailing for French North Africa. In the early morning of 8 November 1942, she lay close inshore to guide the landing craft to the beach at Fedhala. As she began to move further offshore at daybreak, the French shore batteries opened fire and, for the next two hours, Swanson returned fire to protect the transports.
Shortly after 08:00, seven French destroyers sortied from Casablanca to attack the transports and opened fire on the nearest ships, destroyers , and Swanson. Ludlow was hit and withdrew. Swanson and Wilkes were join by cruisers and , which were steaming up to engage the French.
The covering force, led by battleship , took over the action from the Augusta group; but, at 10:00, Swanson was once again in action, engaging three French destroyers and the shore batteries before being ordered seaward to protect the convoy.
German U-boats had not been present during the landings but, on 11 November 1942, and arrived and sank four transports, damaged a destroyer and a tanker. On 16 November, the destroyer gained sonar contact; and, after making several attacks which brought up oil and air bubbles, turned the contact over to Swanson and , which made further attacks. The contact was evaluated at that time as a wreck but subsequent information revealed that it was U-173, destroyed at () with all hands.
Operation Husky
After the Casablanca landings, Swanson returned to Atlantic convoy duty until July 1943, when she joined the Sicily invasion force. She and were assigned as fire support ships for the landings at Licata, Sicily. On 10 July, the night before the landings, she collided with Roe while investigating radar contacts and went dead in the water with a flooded fire room. She was able to control further flooding and retired to Malta for temporary repairs before proceeding to the Brooklyn Navy Yard in July.
Convoys escorted
{|class="wikitable"
!Convoy
!Escort Group
!Dates
!Notes
|-
|HX 158
|
|5-13 Nov 1941
|from Newfoundland to Iceland prior to US declaration of war
|-
|ON 37
|
|22-30 Nov 1941
|from Iceland to Newfoundland prior to US declaration of war
|-
|HX 165
|
|17-24 Dec 1941
|troopships from New York City to Firth of Clyde
|-
|ON 115
|
|24 July-8 Aug 1942