Sinking German Submarines
On 15 April, Stanton made surface radar contact range 3,500 yards, and headed for the target. The U-boat disappeared from the radar screen, but sonar contact was made. Stanton fired a pattern of hedgehogs and a deep rumble followed their explosions.
Contact was regained, and another pattern was fired. This was followed by a heavy underwater explosion. Sonar contact was made again, and Stanton attacked. After this there was a tremendous explosion that shook the task group. USS Frost joined in the attack with her hedgehogs shortly after midnight. The two DE's kept pounding the contact until there was an explosion of such magnitude that it shook some of the group 10 miles away. Then, contact was lost, and so was U-1285. Just before 0200 on the 16th, Frost made a surface contact at 500 yards, fired starshells to no avail, and finally illuminated a U-boat with her searchlight. Frost opened fire with her deck guns as the submarine submerged and made several hits on the conning tower. Contact was lost so Stanton and Huse joined the search. At 0406, Stanton fired a hedgehog pattern over a contact that produced an explosion so violent that she thought she had been torpedoed and rocked Croatan 15 miles away. Frost fired one more pattern which produced three deep explosions. Diesel fuel already covered the surface of the sea, and sonar contact slowly faded. This was the end of U-880. The task group returned to Argentia, Newfoundland, from 22 to 28 April, to refuel and rearm before resuming antisubmarine patrols.
Read more about this topic: USS Stanton (DE-247)
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