My service in Ericsson
by Robert Louis Smith
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I received orders to join E while an NROTC senior at the University of Pennsylvania (graduating 6/01/43). Having requested DD duty I was thrilled! Orders stated I was to attend the DD Gunnery School at Washington Navy Yard; I reported aboard in July. Assigned as Assistant Gunnery Officer. Worked Main Battery Director under Lieut. Dan Karcher who adopted the "Pacific System" he learned, unofficially, from classmates who were serving out there in Benson Class DDs. This concept moved the Assn'y forward to the Gun Boss' seat to do the " mechanical" chores of talking to Plot, the 4 guns, working the slewing sight, and actually pulling the trigger. What a job for a new Ensign! The key point was that the Gun Boss had time to survey the combat situation free of details and do target selection. After about six months Captain Bernard M. Meyer assigned me to be A.S.W. Officer. While screening USS BROOKLYN from Mers -el-Kabir to Naples USS KEARNY and ERICSSON were detached to proceed to a British commanded sub hunt just off of Palermo, Sicily where a Uboat was down over two days, extremely deep, and U.S. stern charges were needed to reach the U-Boat. The enemy surfaced, undetected , about 1:00 A.M.; sunk the hunt flagship (H.M.S. La forey (F99)) before the rest of us (half a dozen British and US cans) sunk U223. (Date: 30 March44) ERICSSON worked Anzio Beachhead , averaging two days out of three, screening BROOKLYN and firing ,under spotter plane direction, at enemy targets of opportunity, until the beachead was reached by the main Allied line about the end of May. ERICSSON then joined KEARNY, HMS TERMAGENT and TERPSICHORE screening an APD carrying a Commando/Ranger force of the FIRST SPECIAL SERVICES FORCE attacking 4 German coast defense guns enfillading YELLOW BEACH at the Invasion of Southern France. This mission was completely successful but the attackers did suffer casualties. Dates: mid-late 44. I was made First Lieut. & Damage Control Officer about this time, was sent to the Philadelphia Navy Yard D/C & Firefighting School; rejoined E in October. Before year end I felt the "destroyer war" in Europe was really over, and Captain Charles Baldwin approved my request for a transfer to a SUMNER class tincan in the Western Pacific. I left the E, I believe, in December for the MOALE (DD693). The ERICSSON experience was one of the most exciting, maturing, interesting times of my life. Made good friends, worked hard at interesting tasks, felt that I was contributing to defeating the enemy. Well, that's my abreviated story of service in ERICSSON. If there was a better "tin can" crew in the fleet I never came across them! Robert Louis Smith
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