During the invasion of Europe from 43-45, the German and Italian military forces devised a plan to
infiltrate and destroy transport and naval ships in and near harbor entrances. E-boats and MAS boats, along with other craft, were sent to disrupt and destroy any military operation at sea. The main goal was to break up any landing attempts, or in many cases to destroy ships at anchor.
To confront this new menace, the US Navy gave the task to its most dependable and versatile ship:: the Destroyer.
See below for some actions against these enemy craft.
E-boat and MAS boats
USS Eberle DD430 arrived at Naples 11 March 1944, her base for patrol and bombardment until May for the attack on Southern France. On 20 April she broke up an attack by German E-boats on the transport anchorage in Naples, Italy by sinking one and damaging three others so badly that they were subsequently beached. Thus, she ended this attack.Official Action Report April 19-20 1944 ,from the personal files of the Executive Officer at the time, Carl Keyser. This was contributed by his son Paul Keyser.
During the invasion of Sicily, USS Niblack DD424 performed escort duties and screened the minelaying operation near Gela. She escorted troop ships into Syracuse harbor the day after British troops captured the city. During this operation German torpedo boats attacked Niblack and PC-556 under cover of a dense smoke screen. The American ships drove off the E-boats by gunfire after the enemy craft had fired three torpedoes which missed and exploded near the harbor breakwater.
Following the capture of Marseille and Toulon, she was assigned to Task Force 86 and later to "Flank Force," the Allied Naval forces which provided fire support for the 1st Airborne Division on the Franco-Italian frontier. During the periods 4 to 17 October and 11 to 25 December 1944, the ship completed numerous fire support missions, operating under the constant threat of explosive boats, human torpedoes, and floating mines. The ship also sank 43 mines, destroyed one German MAS boat, and damaged four others in the harbor of San Remo, Italy.
During June and July 1944 USS Hilary P. Jones DD427, acted as escort ship for vital Mediterranean convoys and took part in training for the invasion of southern France. She departed Naples 13 August in convoy with French and British ships for the invasion, arriving 3 days later. The destroyer not only provided gunfire support missions during the assault, but also acted as electronic jamming vessel in the successful attempt to prevent radio-controlled bombs from harassing the area. In the weeks that followed she continued to range up and down the coast in support of the First Airborne Task Force destroying bridges, gun emplacements, railroad facilities and coastal vessels. She was attacked by a German "E-boat" 21 August, but destroyed the craft with gunfire. E-boats, submarines, and human torpedoes couldn't stop Hilary P. Jones from performing her vital missions, and for her outstanding performance during this invasion the ship received the Navy Unit Commendation.
Returning to antisubmarine patrol and escort duties in the western Mediterranean after guarding the beaches of Anzio,USS Charles F. Hughes arrived at Naples 30 July 1944 to prepare for the invasion of southern France. While protecting the eastern flank of the shipping off the beachhead from attack on the night of 19-20 August, she spotted three German E-boats attempting to penetrate the screen, and forced two of them to beach while she sank the third by gunfire. With the beachhead secure, Charles F. Hughes resumed patrol and escort services throughout the western Mediterranean, particularly in the Gulf of Genoa. The below picture of a E-boat was taken by a German sailor that manned that boat. This boat had the unlucky task of attacking the C.F. Hughes on the night of August 19-20 1944. After a surface engagement, the CFH picked up the survivors in the water. Upon pulling one German sailor out of the water, the CFH sailors searched the prisoners and found the below picture of the eboat they just sank.Upon interrogation, the prisoner simply stating in a very depressed manner in regards to the eboat picture, that "he doesn't need it now that his boat was sunk". The German also stated that they were trying to fire a torpedo when the Charles F. Hughes attacked them but the torpedo got jammed in the launcher. There were only 3 German's rescued, the rest drowned when the CFH went
"emergency astern" to defend itself against the other 2 e-boats. Albert Albertlini, crewmember, wrote a poem about this action, click here to see it
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