Fowler was named in honor of Lieutenant (junior grade) Robert L. Fowler (1919-1942), who was killed in action, while serving aboard the destroyerDuncan (DD-485) during the Battle of Cape Esperance on the night of 11–12 October 1942. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. Fowler was launched on 3 July 1943 by Philadelphia Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. Robert L. Fowler, III, widow of Lieutenant (junior grade) Fowler; and commissioned on 15 March 1944.
Between 22 May 1944 and 15 May 1945, Fowler made six voyages to escort convoys from New York, Norfolk, and Boston to ports in northern Africa, guarding men and supplies destined for the operations in Italy and southern France.
The fifth such voyage, between 1 February and 16 March 1945, was marked by the presence of submarines both outward and homeward bound. On 17 February, west of Gibraltar, two of the merchantmen were torpedoed, but both were brought safely into Gibraltar, one after Fowler had stood by to screen while a tug came out to help. Two days out of Oran homeward bound on 28 February, Fowler picked up a sound contact, and made an urgent attack which brought debris to the surface. A second attack, made in coordination with a French escort, was believed to have sunk U-869, however, as this submarine was subsequently found off the coast of New Jersey, what, if anything, was attacked remains unknown.
In June 1945, Fowler began serving as a target and escort to submarines training out of New London, Connecticut, then in September, arrived at Miami, Florida, to serve as schoolship for the Naval Training Center. Her final duty, in November, was as plane guard for the escort carrierCharger (CVE-30) in Chesapeake Bay. Fowler arrived at Green Cove Springs, Florida on 10 January 1946, and there was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 28 June 1946.
Fowler was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 July 1965, and sold for scrapping on 29 December 1966.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Fowler (DE-222).
Photo gallery of USS Fowler at NavSource Naval History
April 15, 2024
fowler, buckley, class, destroyer, escort, service, with, united, states, navy, from, 1944, 1946, scrapped, 1967, fowler, july, 1944historyunited, statesnamenamesakerobert, fowlerordered1942builderphiladelphia, navy, yard, philadelphia, pennsylvanialaid, down5. USS Fowler DE 222 was a Buckley class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946 She was scrapped in 1967 Fowler on 22 July 1944HistoryUnited StatesNameUSS FowlerNamesakeRobert L FowlerOrdered1942BuilderPhiladelphia Navy Yard Philadelphia PennsylvaniaLaid down5 April 1943Launched3 July 1943Commissioned15 March 1944Decommissioned28 June 1946Stricken1 July 1965Honors andawards1 battle star World War II FateSold for scrap 29 December 1966General characteristicsClass and typeBuckley class destroyer escortDisplacement1 400 long tons 1 422 t standard 1 740 long tons 1 768 t full loadLength306 ft 93 m Beam37 ft 11 m Draft9 ft 6 in 2 90 m standard 11 ft 3 in 3 43 m full loadPropulsion2 boilers General Electric turbo electric drive 12 000 shp 8 9 MW 2 solid manganese bronze 3 600 lb 1 600 kg 3 bladed propellers 8 ft 6 in 2 59 m diameter 7 ft 7 in 2 31 m pitch 2 rudders 359 tons fuel oilSpeed23 knots 43 km h 26 mph Range3 700 nmi 6 900 km at 15 kn 28 km h 17 mph 6 000 nmi 11 000 km at 12 kn 22 km h 14 mph Complement15 officers 198 menArmament3 3 50 caliber guns 1 quad 1 1 75 caliber gun 8 single 20 mm guns 1 triple 21 inch 533 mm torpedo tubes 1 Hedgehog anti submarine mortar 8 K gun depth charge projectors 2 depth charge tracks Contents 1 History 2 Awards 3 References 4 External linksHistory editFowler was named in honor of Lieutenant junior grade Robert L Fowler 1919 1942 who was killed in action while serving aboard the destroyer Duncan DD 485 during the Battle of Cape Esperance on the night of 11 12 October 1942 He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross Fowler was launched on 3 July 1943 by Philadelphia Navy Yard sponsored by Mrs Robert L Fowler III widow of Lieutenant junior grade Fowler and commissioned on 15 March 1944 Between 22 May 1944 and 15 May 1945 Fowler made six voyages to escort convoys from New York Norfolk and Boston to ports in northern Africa guarding men and supplies destined for the operations in Italy and southern France The fifth such voyage between 1 February and 16 March 1945 was marked by the presence of submarines both outward and homeward bound On 17 February west of Gibraltar two of the merchantmen were torpedoed but both were brought safely into Gibraltar one after Fowler had stood by to screen while a tug came out to help Two days out of Oran homeward bound on 28 February Fowler picked up a sound contact and made an urgent attack which brought debris to the surface A second attack made in coordination with a French escort was believed to have sunk U 869 however as this submarine was subsequently found off the coast of New Jersey what if anything was attacked remains unknown In June 1945 Fowler began serving as a target and escort to submarines training out of New London Connecticut then in September arrived at Miami Florida to serve as schoolship for the Naval Training Center Her final duty in November was as plane guard for the escort carrier Charger CVE 30 in Chesapeake Bay Fowler arrived at Green Cove Springs Florida on 10 January 1946 and there was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 28 June 1946 Fowler was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 July 1965 and sold for scrapping on 29 December 1966 Awards editFowler received one battle star for World War II service References editThis article incorporates text from the public domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The entry can be found here External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Fowler DE 222 Photo gallery of USS Fowler at NavSource Naval History Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title USS Fowler amp oldid 1161822122, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
