USSWyffels

History
United States
Name	Wyffels
Namesake	Lawrence Edward Wyffels
Ordered	asBDE-6
Builder	Boston Navy Yard
Laid down	17 October 1942
Launched	7 December 1942
Reclassified	DE-6, 25 January 1943
Renamed	Wyffels19 February 1943
Commissioned	15 April 1943
Decommissioned	28 August 1945
Fate	transferred toRepublic of China,28 August 1945
Stricken	12 March 1948
Taiwan
Name	Tai Kang
Acquired	28 August 1945
Identification	Pennant number:F-21
Fate	Sold for scrapping, 1972
General characteristics
Class and type	Evarts-classdestroyer escort
Displacement	1,140 tons
Length	289 ft 5 in (88.21 m)
Beam	35 ft 1 in (10.69 m)
Draft	8 ft 3 in (2.51 m)
Speed	19½ knots
Complement	198
Armament	33 in (76 mm)/50 guns, 41.1 "/75 caliber gun,240 mm., 920 mm., 3 dct., 8 dcp., 1 dcp. (hh.)

USSWyffels(DE-6)was anEvarts-class destroyer escortin theUnited States NavyduringWorld War II.

Intended for transfer toGreat Britain,Wyffelswas laid down asBDE-6on 17 October 1942 atCharlestown, Massachusetts,by theBoston Navy Yard;launched on 7 December 1942; retained by the United States and redesignatedDE-6on 25 January 1943; renamedWyffelson 19 February 1943; and commissioned on 15 April 1943.

Namesake

Lawrence Edward Wyffels was born on 20 January 1915, on a farm east of Marshall, Minnesota. He enlisted in the Navy on 7 March 1936. He was transferred toUSSEnterprisein May 1938, and served with distinction in many battles during World War II, including the Marshall Islands, the Solomons, the Coral Sea, and Midway. His citations included the Purple Heart, the Silver Star, Good Conduct medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the American Defense medal, and the Asiatic Pacific medal. It was in the battle of Santa Cruz on 26 October 1942 that he was killed by an enemy bomb.^[1]

History

United States Navy (1942–1945)

Following sea trials in April,Wyffelsgot underway fromBostonon 8 May 1943, and for the remainder of the month conducted exercises out ofBermuda.In June, she alternated operations out ofNorfolk, Virginiawith drydock periods. On 27 June 1943, she departed fromHampton Roadson the first of 11 wartime voyages escorting convoys across the treacherousAtlantictoMediterraneanports. Her first voyage proved uneventful, although the return fromCasablancawas enlivened by the investigation of sound contacts. On 29 July, the destroyer escort left her station to guard a tanker,British Pride,which had fallen behind due to engine failure. Long, anxious hours ensued asWyffelscircled the disabled ship while repairs were being made; she then escorted the straggler back to her convoy.

From August 1943-April 1945,Wyffels,with occasional interruptions for exercises off theNew Englandcoast, conducted 10 more successful circuit voyages escorting convoys to and fromNorth Africa.On her Atlantic crossings, the ship acted as a versatile and valuable part of the Atlantic convoy system, marshalling reluctant merchantmen, protecting stragglers, and searching for the source of each sound contact which might, at any time, turn out to be a predatoryGerman submarine.In winter, stormy weather and heavy seas slowed the awkward merchant ships and increased the number of stragglers, complicating the task of the escort vessels.

On 11 May 1944,Wyffelswas escorting UGS-40, a convoy of 56 merchant ships bound forBizerte,when she experienced her most perilous moments. Shortly after sunset, a task force order to go to general quarters joltedWyffelsfrom the normal routine of convoy duty. Ships of the escort began laying smoke, and soon Wyffels' radar picked up a group of approaching planes. After a tense, six-minute wait, the ominous calm of theMediterraneannight was broken as firstBensonand thenEvartsopened fire.

Moments later, seamen inWyffelsspotted the first wave of attacking planes as they came into view low over the water, some four miles away. Three of the aircraft veered off to make a run on the convoy at an altitude of about 200 feet (61 m).Wyffelsopened fire as the planes passed down her port side and sped off toward the convoy's port quarter. Moments passed as the destroyer escort patrolled at full speed, her guns silent. An aerial attacker appeared out of the smoke, dropped an ill-aimed torpedo, and disappeared. Then, at 2124,Wyffelsengaged a clearly visibleJunkersbomber which approached the ship's starboard bow at an altitude of 100 feet (30 m). Amidst a telling crossfire fromWyffelsand other members of the escort, the plane banked to the right, missing the forward part of the ship. Smoke poured from the attacker as it rapidly lost altitude and disappeared in a burst of black smoke.

Soon after,Wyffelstook under fire another plane which emerged from the convoy's barrage and passed directly over the ship's forecastle and along her starboard side. The aircraft then continued on its way, apparently without having suffered serious damage. Other ships continued to fire for 10 minutes, but the raiders had departed without scoring a single hit on the convoy or its escort.

Through the final year of the war in Europe,Wyffelscontinued her protection of Atlantic convoys. On 13 April 1945, asWyffelswas en route home from what was to be her last wartime Atlantic convoy, the destroyer escort received word that PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelthad died, and she lowered her colors to half mast. After repairs atCharlestonlater that month, she arrived atMiamion 11 May. In the following months, she operated offFloridaand inthe Bahamas,serving as a school ship training student crews in basic gunnery and antisubmarine warfare.

Republic of China Navy (1945–1972)

On 28 August 1945, she was decommissioned and leased to theRepublic of China,which she served asTai Kang.Wyffelswas permanently transferred to theRepublic of China Navyin February 1948 and was struck from the Navy list on 12 March 1948.

On 23 June 1954, She joined theblockadetask force to capture and confiscate the civilian oil tankerTuapseof theSoviet Unionwithkerosenepassing thehigh seaofBalintang Channelat19°35′00″N120°39′00″E/ 19.58333°N 120.65000°E/19.58333; 120.65000nearPhilippineseastbound toward the westPacific Ocean,whereas the crew were detained in various time frames up to 34 years incaptivityand certain deaths.^[2]^[3]

Awards

	Combat Action Ribbon(retroactive)
	American Campaign Medal
	European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
	World War II Victory Medal

Notes

^Lyon County, Mn., Historical Society
^Prof. Sergey Vradiy (20 February 2020).""Tuapse" Oil Tanker Episode in the History of Taiwan-Russia Relations "(PDF).Taiwan Fellowship, Center for Chinese Studies,National Central Library.
^Lin Hong-yi (2009)."Chapter 4, 1953-1960"(PDF).Blockade on Chinese mainland coast - ROC'sGuanbi policy,1949-1960(M.D. thesis) (in Chinese (Taiwan)).National Chengchi University.

References

This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.The entry can be foundhere.
John W. Garver (1997).The Sino-American Alliance, Nationalist China and American Cold war Strategy in Asia.Armonk: M. E. Sharpe, Inc.ISBN 9780765600530.
Robert Accinelli (23 January 1996).Crisis and Commitment: United States Policy toward Taiwan, 1950-1955.The Journal of American History.ISBN 0807822590.

External links

Photo galleryat navsource.org

[1] Lyon County, Mn., Historical Society

[2] Prof. Sergey Vradiy (20 February 2020).""Tuapse" Oil Tanker Episode in the History of Taiwan-Russia Relations "(PDF).Taiwan Fellowship, Center for Chinese Studies,National Central Library.

[3] Lin Hong-yi (2009)."Chapter 4, 1953-1960"(PDF).Blockade on Chinese mainland coast - ROC'sGuanbi policy,1949-1960(M.D. thesis) (in Chinese (Taiwan)).National Chengchi University.

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