USS Huse (DE-145) - Hunting For German Submarines

Hunting For German Submarines

The escorts dogged U-856 until it surfaced and was destroyed by gunfire from USS Huse and USS Champlin (DD-601). After a brief period at Bermuda, the group stood out to the search area again 12 April. Carrier aircraft and escort vessels came upon another submarine 26 April, and the destroyer escorts sank U-boat U-488.

Huse spent the period 11 May – 3 June at Brooklyn, New York, departing the latter date with Croatan to search for submarines. They had not long to wait, beginning attacks on a submerged submarine the morning of 11 June. Six depth charge and two hedgehog runs brought no confirmation of a sinking, but the persistent ships remained in the area searching until just after midnight 12 June when, radar revealed a surfaced submarine. The badly damaged U-490 was finished off by gunfire. In the months that followed USS Huse continued to operate with the Croatan hunter-killer group that had much to do with keeping open the important supply lines to Europe. Replenishing as necessary at Norfolk, Bermuda, or Casablanca, they scoured the sea for enemy submarines. In addition, Huse rescued downed pilots from Croatan's air group on three separate occasions. She arrived Brooklyn 2 October 1944 for repairs and training, after which she conducted exercises in Chesapeake Bay and the Caribbean.

Huse joined Croatan for hunter-killer operations again 25 March 1945, and two of her sister ships scored a kill on Type 7 U-880 on 16 April 1945 in the Atlantic. They continued to operate in northern waters out of Argentia, Newfoundland, until returning to New York 14 May 1945.