USS Boyle (DD-600)

USS Boyle (DD-600) was a Benson class destroyer that took part in the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, Anzio and the South of France and briefly operated off Okinawa.

The Boyle was named after Thomas Boyle, who served in the US Navy and as a privateer during the War of 1812 carrying out five privateering voyages during the war.

The Boyle was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Co at Fore River, Mass on 31 December 1941, launched on 15 June 1942 when she was sponsored by Mrs Margaret A. Glascock and commissioned on 15 August 1942.

After her shakedown cruise the Boyle was allocated to Destroyer Division 32, Destroyer Squadron 16, of the Atlantic Fleet. This was part of the force allocated to Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa.

Just before she was due to sail as part of the escort for the convoys crossing the Atlantic to take part in the invasion, the fully loaded transport Harry Lee developed engine problems. She was unable to sail with the main fleet, and instead had to transfer the men and supplies to the Calvert. The Boyle and Eberle also stayed behind, and on 25 October the three ships left Hampton Roads to catch up with the main fleet. They joined up with it in the mid-Atlantic on 30 October.

Late on 7 November the Boyle was detached to meet up with a beacon submarine that was meant to be operating off Fedala as a navigation aid, but there was no sign of the submarine until after daybreak on 8 November.

She was part of TG 34.9, which supported General Jonathan W. Anderson’s Sub Task Force Brushwood. The Boyle was part of the anti-submarine screen as the task force landed at Fedhala, fifteen miles to the north-east of Casablanca, on 8 November. She took part in the battle with Vichy French warships on 10 November.

At the end of November she departed for the United States, where she began to carry out patrols off the US East Coast and in the West Indies.

On 18 December the Boyle and Livermore (DD-429) left Norfolk to escort a convoy to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, arriving safely on 22 December.

1943

In February 1943 the Boyle became to escort trans-Atlantic convoys, making six round trips to the Mediterranean and one to Iceland between February 1943 and April 1944.

She was also used within the Mediterranean. She joined the fleet that supported the invasion of Sicily, operating off the island from 9-15 July and 28 July-17 August.

On the night of 5-6 November she rescued some of the survivors from the Beatty (DD-640) and two transports that had been sunk by German aerial torpedoes during an attack on Convoy KIMF-25A north-west of Philippeville, Tunisia.

1944

In April 1944 the Boyle briefly joined a hunter-killer task group operating off New York. However later in the same month she was part of a force of seven destroyers that departed for Oran in Algeria. From Oran she moved to the Italian coast, to help support the US 5th Army.

In mid May the Boyle and Kendrick (DD-612) performed fire support missions near Gaeta, south of Anzio, to support American forces advancing towards Anzio from the south.

The Boyle was part of Rear Admiral Morton L. Deyo’s Bombardment Group for Operation Dragoon, the invasion of the south of France. During the invasion she attacked German coastal batteries and provided fire support for the troops. She also carried out anti E-boat patrols.

In early September she returned to Oran, from where she departed for the US as part of the screen of the battleships Arkansas (BB-33), Nevada (BB-36), and Texas (BB-35). The fleet reached New York on 14 September and the Boyle then moved to Boston for repairs.

On 10 December she departed for the Mediterranean as part of Destroyer Squadron 16.

1945

For the first four months of 1945 she escorted convoys between Gibraltar and Casablanca, and supported the troops fighting on the Franco-Italian border.

Towards the end of April she departed for the United States, ready to be transferred to the Pacific. She reached New York on 1 May, and began a refit in which she was given extra anti-aircraft guns. On 23 May she left New York, and reached San Diego on 12 June. She then moved to Hawaii, where she spent the first twenty four days of July. On 25 July she departed for the war zone in the western Pacific.

She reached Okinawa on 12 August, and spent three days on the radar picket line, before the war ended on 15 August. She remained in the Ryuku Islands until 1 September when she departed for Japan. She entered Tokyo Bay on 10 September and from then until 1 November moved between Japan, Shanghai and Okinawa. On 1 November she left Okinawa to head back to the United States.

The Boyle reached Charleston on 8 December 1945. She was decommissioned there on 29 March 1946. She remained in the reserve at Charleston until 5 February 1958 when she moved to Boston. She was later moved to Philadelphia, then on 27 July 1966 to Orange, Texas. She was struck off at Orange on 1 June 1971 and sunk as a target in May 1973.

Boyle earned four battle stars during World War II, for North Africa, Sicily, Anzio and the South of France.

U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History, Norman Friedmann . The standard history of the development of American destroyers, from the earliest torpedo boat destroyers to the post-war fleet, and covering the massive classes of destroyers built for both World Wars. Gives the reader a good understanding of the debates that surrounded each class of destroyer and led to their individual features.

Help - F.A.Q. - Contact Us - Search - Recent - About Us - Privacy