Credit River - USS Ericsson Traditional Cache

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Hidden : 8/5/2013
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
4.5 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:


Credit River - Shipwreck Series

USS Ericsson
 November 17, 1970



There are many shipwrecks around the world. Some very famous and others not so. Each however has it’s own story to tell. As you travel along the Credit River doing this series of caches, we have highlighted a number of these shipwrecks. During low water levels on these parts of the Credit River, you need to be careful in a canoe or kayak so as you don’t wind up in your own shipwreck. Besides the many large rocks along the way, there are also some other obstacles such as dams which should be avoided. All of the geocaches in this series have been placed by tubing, inflatable boat or on foot by walking in the water along the Credit River. Whichever way you choose to search for these caches, use caution and common sense.
More information about this series can be found here: Credit River - Shipwreck Series

USS Ericsson
The ERICSSON (DD-440) was launched at the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company on 23 November 1940 and was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 13 March 1941. She began her career with escort duty in the North Atlantic, where on 15 January 1942 she sighted life rafts from the SS DAYROSE and rescued two survivors. Ten days later, she was underway to assist the USCG HAMILTON, which had been torpedoed off Iceland. She found the HAMILTON on 30 January under tow by a British tug and listing badly. When, at 1720, the stricken ship capsized the ERICSSON attempted to sink her by gunfire and then resumed patrolling for submarines, which were still in the area. The ERICSSON was on patrol off Iceland in the early morning hours of 13 February 1942 when the fishing vessel GREEDIR ran into her and sank. The destroyer rescued six of the seven-man crew. She continued her escort and patrol duty through October 1942.

On 7 November 1942, the day before Allied forces landed in North Africa, the ERICSSON was off Media, French Morocco, screening Task Group 34.8. For four days, she covered the landing forces, bombarding enemy strong points and repelling air and submarine attacks. She left the beach area on 14 November for Port Lyautey and a return stateside. The following year was spent mainly on convoy duty in the North and South Atlantic.

February 1944 saw the ERICSSON headed back to the Mediterranean and cruiser escort duty. While there in March, she and the destroyer KEARNY (DD-432) joined in a sub hunt and screened British destroyers, which sank the U-223. From 12–19 May, she and the KEARNY screened the cruiser BROOKLYN (CL-40) during her bombardments of targets in the Gaeta-Terraciana area. A few days later, near Anzio, Italy, the ERICSSON took part in the shore bombardment and successfully destroyed a number of targets. Her patrol and escort duties continued until August 1944.

On 15 August, she moved from Italy to Southern France with Task Group 84.7, which included British and French ships and U.S. DesDiv 21, for Operation Dragoon. From 15–17 August, she furnished close-in support for the initial landing on Yellow Beach during the invasion of Southern France. At 0005 on 27 August, the destroyer’s radar picked up a small target 9,000 yards distant. After reporting the contact to the task force commander, she was ordered to investigate. Closing in, she discovered the vessel was an unarmed fishing trawler with an inoperative motor and fifty Germans aboard. Coming alongside, she took the Germans prisoner. They apparently had thrown their weapons overboard when they saw the American destroyer approaching, but the men of the ERICSSON found a large quantity of small arms ammunition and hand grenades. Under interrogation, the prisoners admitted that they were from the U-230, which they had scuttled when it went aground. Taking the trawler in tow, the DD-440 steamed for Baie de Cavalaire where she turned the prisoners over to the troop landing craft LCI-954 for delivery to the commander of Task Force 84.

During the fall, the ERICSSON joined DesRon 13 for convoy duty between the Mediterranean and the U.S. East Coast. Antisubmarine patrol and a yard period took her into 1945. On 6 May 1945, a pre-World War I collier was steaming up the coast south of Cape Cod when a German submarine, the U-853, targeted her with a single torpedo. The aged ship got off a distress signal before going down with her twelve-man crew. Steaming homeward after escorting a convoy from Europe, the ERICSSON, the destroyer escort ATHERTON (DE-169), and the frigate MOBERLY (PF-63) received the doomed ship’s signal and sped to the area. First on the scene, the ATHERTON picked up faint beat of the U-boat’s propeller as it tried to escape. Within minutes, all three American ships were sowing the sea with depth charges. At least one delivered a fatal blow. The U-boat sank, leaving a trail of oil and debris. The following day, navy divers located the submarine in shallow water off Block Island. She was lying on her side, her conning tower blasted open. Thus, the ERICSSON’s last battle took place just a few miles off U. S. shores. Twenty-four hours later, the war with Germany was over.

By mid-summer, the ERICSSON was headed for combat duty in the Pacific, but the war ended before she could steam into action. She went on to operate in the Sasebo-Nagasaki area during the occupation before returning to San Diego, en route to Charleston, SC, and inactivation. She was decommissioned on 15 March 1946 and placed in reserve in January 1947. The ERICSSON was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1970 and in November was sunk as a target in training exercises off the Atlantic coast.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Urnq urvtug va qrnq jbbq ng rqtr bs jngre

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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