USS BROUGH DE 148

USS Brough DE 148

USS BROUGH DE 148

National Archives photo

The History of USS BROUGH DE-148
by
John Adriani, historian

The keel for USS Brough DE-148 was laid on 22 January 1943 at the Consolidated Steel Corporation in Orange, TX. She was constructed as an Edsall Class Destroyer Escort. On 10 April BROUGH was launched and Christened by Mrs. Jack Bell, sister of LT(jg) David A. Brough.

BROUGH was commissioned 18 September at Orange, TX, LCDR Kenneth J. Hartley, USN, in command. DE-148 departed Orange, TX 27 September and entered the Gulf of Mexico enroute to Galveston for ship degaussing. The next port of call was New Orleans, LA early in October 1943.

From 9 October through 11 November, Brough was involved with her shakedown cruise off Bermuda. She departed Bermuda 11 November enroute to Charleston, SC. During this return trip, on 12 November, very high seas were encountered which caused the death of Captain Hartley. He was inspecting a problem with the number one gun mount and a large wave threw him against the gun's splinter shield causing fatal head injuries. BROUGH returned to Bermuda the same day where Capt. Hartley's body was delivered for burial.

BROUGH arrived in Charleston 16 November and on 23 November a new CO reported aboard - LCDR Arthur J. Hopkins. Departing Charleston, BROUGH proceeded to Norfolk, VA, arriving 23 November. On this day, LCDR Hopkins was detached from duty and relieved by LCDR James A. Rector. Rector served as CO until 11 September when he was relieved by LCDR Milton A. Stein.

She departed Norfolk 24 November and sailed for Bermuda, arriving 27 November. On 28 Nov she was underway to rendezvous with her first convoy, UGS-25, bound for North Africa.

BROUGH escorted UGS-25 through the Straights of Gibraltar 11 December and was relieved of the convoy that day. BROUGH continued on to Casablanca, arriving at 2000 hrs. On 17 December she was underway from Casablanca escorting GUS-24 to the US and into the Brooklyn Navy Yard (New York Navy Yard).

During her Atlantic convoy duty for December 1943, BROUGH investigated 2 possible submarine contacts - one sonar and one radar contact and assisted in one contact by USS Swasey DE 248. The U-boats were unverified in each case.

During 1944, BROUGH remained stationed in the Atlantic Ocean escorting convoys between the US and Europe for a total of fourteen convoys. On 14 February BROUGH was steaming in the Straights of Gibraltar when an air patrol dropped two smoke flares indicating a possible submarine sighting. BROUGH made a sonar contact at 1036 hrs and commenced firing 24 hedge hogs on the possible sub contact. No debris or oil surfaced. BROUGH secured from battle stations at 1109 hrs and continued to Gibraltar Harbor.

On 28 May BROUGH was in the Atlantic Ocean escorting UC-24 when another possible submarine contact was made. BROUGH made three attacks, firing hedgehogs and dropping depth charges on all three runs. There was no evidence of sub contact.

BROUGH did not directly participate in the D-Day invasion of France, 6 June 1944. However, she protected the convoys moving across the Atlantic ensuring the movement of war supplies to the east.

On August 9, BROUGH investigated a radar contact, which was identified as the Swedish tanker Malmahus.

In the first half of 1945, BROUGH made eight more escort crossings. On 14 January 1945 BROUGH came alongside the HMS Reaper for a transfer of mail by high line which almost resulted with a collision at sea. By 29 May 1945, BROUGH would take her last convoy back to the states and began to prepare for her duty on the Pacific Front.

It should be noted that from the start of her service in September 1943 until the end of May of 1945, (21 months) a total of 24 escort trips were completed without the loss of a single vessel. Although five attacks were made on possible enemy submarines, her toughest battles were the constant war against the wind, sea, fog and ice with the Atlantic Ocean, BROUGH had to remain battle ready at all times.

BROUGH was at sea for 373 days during her 25 months of active duty. Most of this time she was on war patrols with her guns manned and at full battle watch alertness. During the anti-submarine actions, she dropped 200 depth charges and fired 372 hedgehog projectiles.

Leaving the New York Navy Yard in June of l945, BROUGH made her way into the Caribbean for a training period at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. From Cuba she proceeded through the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Canal and entered the Pacific Ocean bound for San Diego, CA for supplies and ammunition.

She sailed for Pearl Harbor arriving 11 August 1945. BROUGH participated in various war training exercises and on 22 August she rendezvoused with the escort aircraft carrier USS Petrof Bay (CVE 80), Task Group 19.2. Equipment failure followed by sonar gear problems led to the detachment of BROUGH from TG 19.2.

The formal surrender of Japan occurred on 2 September 1945. On 4 September, BROUGH departed Pearl Harbor and arrived 10 September at San Pedro Bay, CA. The following day, her command changed to LCDR Eugene Emerson.

Some time later she set a course through the Panama Canal arriving in Charleston 25 September 1945. She left Charleston 24 October and arrived 26 October at Green Cove Springs, FL, on the St. Johns River, to be prepped for inactive service. The official decommissioning date for BROUGH was 22 March 1946 and she was placed into the US Atlantic Fleet Reserve, Florida Group.

With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1951, BROUGH was taken out of the mothball fleet and completely overhauled at the Merrill Stevens Shipyard in Jacksonville, FL. She recommissioned 7 September 1951 and attached to the US Atlantic Fleet, followed by an intensive shakedown cruise.

In early 1952, BROUGH was in Key West, FL when she had an encounter with the pier at the Naval Annex Base, trying to either modify the pier or her bow. On the morning of 16 February President Harry Truman was on his morning walk and stopped to survey the damage on the BROUGH’s bow.

By late spring BROUGH was operating out of Goose Bay, Labrador delivering materials and mail to various remote Distant Early Warning Radar (DEW) Stations that were under construction. The DEW Line Project started at the beginning of the Cold War Era and the main purpose was to provide early detection of ICBM missiles and/or air attacks from the Soviet Union. In September, BROUGH participated in a joint NATO exercise known as Mainbrace. BROUGH crossed the Arctic Circle on 18 September at longitude 03°20’E and during this deployment made port calls in Norway, Scotland, France and a few Caribbean ports.

BROUGH went to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for an overhaul in November. She left the shipyard in late February 1953 for a shakedown cruise and proceeded to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for refresher training.

BROUGH spent some time in Newport, RI and by early June sailed for Key West to provide training services for the Fleet Sonar School. In August, she berthed along side the USS Yosemite (AD 19) for tender overhaul during which it was discovered that the ship’s generators also warranted an overhaul. BROUGH was sent to the Naval Shipyard at Portsmouth, NH for further repairs. By November, she was operating with CortRon 14 out of Newport and was the flagship for Commander Escort Squadron 14 and participated in Operation Springboard in the Caribbean. She returned to Newport in December 1953.

Through the first months of 1954, BROUGH operated on a daily basis from Newport. In March she returned to Key West, resuming ASW training duties with the Fleet Sonar School until July 1954. BROUGH, accompanied by Huse, Blair, and Maurice J. Manual, journeyed to Newfoundland for a three week fleet exercise with some submarines. In September she started preparations for Joint Atlantic Fleet Exercises off the coast of Labrador - LantFlex 1-55.

On 9 July 1955, BROUGH departed Norfolk on the first leg of the Midshipman Cruise BAKER. By 3 September she had received DE tender service in Newport and had left for Key West to provide training for the Fleet Sonar School. In November, BROUGH returned to Newport for a two-week tender availability alongside the USS Yosemite (AD 19). This was followed by two weeks of operational training out of Newport.

In January of l956, BROUGH moored along side Yosemite for another ten days of tender availability. On 13 February she sailed for Key West and provided training services for the ASW School. In the spring of 1956 BROUGH participated in two phases of the Atlantic Fleet Convoy Exercises. BROUGH won the Battle Efficiency "E" Plaque for CortRon 14.

On 4 September 1956, BROUGH departed for Newport to join Task Force 43 for the start of Operation Deepfreeze II. Steaming independently via the Panama Canal, BROUGH reached Dunedin, New Zealand one month later. From October 1956 until March 1957, BROUGH operated off the coast of Dunedin on her assigned picket station #57, southeast. Her assignment was to report weather conditions and communications on SAAR ship traffic in the area. Sea conditions with high winds and forty-foot waves were not uncommon. The pattern of operations was five to six days in port and nineteen to twenty one days at sea. BROUGH occasionally made calls at isolated Campbell Island, NZ.

During the spring of 1957 BROUGH would undergo an overhaul at the Boston Naval Shipyard and then make preparation for the next Deepfreeze deployment. On 26 August, BROUGH left Newport for Deepfreeze III sailing through the Panama Canal and arriving in Dunedin 25 September 1957. As a part of that exercise, BROUGH made five trips to station.

On 5 February 1958, she took a trip across the Antarctic Circle, a first for a Destroyer Escort. In April BROUGH returned to Newport and later that month was reassigned to the homeport of Key West. In June BROUGH prepared for her third cruise south for Operation Deepfreeze IV. On 23 August BROUGH sailed from Key West via the Panama Canal and arrived in Dunedin 22 September. She was on duty stationed between New Zealand and Antarctica.

Leaving Dunedin 7 February 1959, BROUGH took the long way home to become the first DE to circumnavigate the world alone. Via the Suez Canal, she visited many ports on her way home to the US. On 14 April she returned to Key West. Shortly after returning home, BROUGH spent ten days off Puerto Rico for the famous Jupiter rocket flight which carried two monkeys, Alfa and Bravo, into space. BROUGH was in command of the recovery group.

While in her homeport of Key West in the late spring of 1959, BROUGH provided services to the Fleet Sonar School for the training of reservists and enlisted personnel on anti-submarine warfare (ASW) tactics. BROUGH underwent a regular shipyard overhaul in Key West from 1 July through the end of September. She continued ASW training services for the Sonar Training Center. In October, BROUGH went to Guantanamo Bay for refresher training and returned to Key West for the remainder of 1959.

In 1960, BROUGH still served as a training platform for the sonar students at the sonar school at Key West. On 29 February she arrived at Charleston and tied up to the destroyer tender USS Everglades (AD 24). On 10 March she left for Key West to resume her duties with the Fleet Sonar School. On 14 May she arrived in Norfolk for tender availability along side USS Sierra (AD 18), returning to Key West on 31 May and remaining until August. During the 4th of July weekend, BROUGH visited Tampa, FL before returning to Key West to resume ASW training duties until August.

In late August, BROUGH returned to Norfolk, stopping briefly at Fort Lauderdale for recreation. Once in Norfolk, she received repair services from USS Amphion (AR 13). Afterwards, BROUGH returned to Key West to perform ASW training. From mid-September through mid-October, she participated in training exercises at Guantanamo Bay then returned to Key West to resume Sonar School training services. From mid-November until 1 December she had another tender availability along side USS Sierra (AD 18), returning to Key West by the first week of December.

From early January 1961 until 5 February, BROUGH provided training services for the Fleet Sonar School before departing for Nassau and proceeding to Norfolk for tender services along side USS Tutuila (ARG 4) until 24 February. BROUGH returned to Key West for more training operations with the Sonar Fleet School. At the end of April, BROUGH visited Miami to represent the US Navy at the Miami Beach Serviceman’s Center Ninth Anniversary Celebration.

On 14 July 1961 BROUGH was in Miami and received two visitors from the Miss Universe Contest, Miss USA and Miss Finland, before returning to Key West. On 15 July, BROUGH won the Battle Efficiency Award for Competitive Excellence in Destroyer Division 601. For the most part, she provided services to the Fleet Sonar School but was involved with the witness of test missile firings with the National Space Agency (NASA) and Polaris Missile testing by the US Navy. In 1961 BROUGH made an "at sea" rescue picking up five Cubans (ex-Batista regime members) who were adrift sixty miles south of Key West. There was a second "at sea" rescue involving Cuban men, women, and children. These refugees were transferred to a US Coast Guard cutter for processing.

In the fall of 1961, BROUGH went to Charleston and berthed along side the tender USS Everglades (AD 24) for repairs. At this time she had the outer open bridge re-enclosed. The roof (overhead) was replaced and new windows with new wipers and new wiper motors were installed. She returned to Key West to continue ASW training services for the Fleet Sonar School for the remainder of 1961.

On 9 January 1962 BROUGH departed Key West for Mayport, FL for scheduled maintenance, completed by 26 January. Returning to Key West, she resumed her duties as part of the training efforts of the fleet ASW School. During this time she made six port visits.

On 6 April, BROUGH was originally sent to Port Au Prince, Haiti to escort GC-8, a Haitian vessel, back to Miami for yard work to be done in the United States. The Haitian vessel was to be escorted by the BROUGH because Cuban patrol craft would most likely seize the ship if it were encountered alone in transit. Upon BROUGH’s arrival at Port Au Prince, she docked near a YP (patrol boat) which had a jeep tied down to her stern. The YP sailed for Jeremie, Haiti shortly after and sank off Jeremie. Five crewmen from BROUGH (on or about 20 April) were sent to salvage the YP. BROUGH patrolled some distance off the coast and the motor whaleboat was dispatched to the salvage site. The coastal area was very shallow and BROUGH’s draft kept her a good distance from the salvage site. The YP was refloated and the jeep was recovered when the natives on the beach attached lines to the jeep and pulled it ashore. The jeep was repaired for future use. After the salvage mission was completed, BROUGH returned to Port Au Prince, escorted the Haitian vessel GC-8 back to Miami and returned to Key West. (Note: The YP vessel was used to do tuberculosis research and to treat tuberculosis patients in various Haitian villages. The YP vessel was restored and equipped with x-ray and other medical equipment and staffed with two doctors, two interns and nurses, providing services through the Care Foundation.

BROUGH left Key West 7 May 1962 for the Earl Naval Weapons Depot in Leonardo, NJ to offload ammunition, visited New York City for liberty and then went to Boston MA for yard work. During the overhaul, BROUGH received new sonar and radar equipment in addition to a new mast for the new electronic gear. When she left Boston shipyard, she went to Charleston SC to load ammunition. After stopping in Key West, BROUGH visited Montego Bay, Jamaica for a liberty weekend. She left the following Monday for Guantanamo Bay at the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Early in the Crisis some of the US military dependents living at Guantanamo were boarded onto the seaplane tender USS Duxbury Bay (AVP 38) for evacuation. BROUGH was the duty escort for the Duxbury Bay while enroute to US waters where the Coast Guard assumed the escort duty to Norfolk, VA.

By the fall of 1962 BROUGH was aiding with the quarantine of Cuba by patrolling the Windward Passage in the sight of Cuban shores. Her duty was to halt shipping. In late October, BROUGH did intercept a Norwegian vessel that was identified as the Mylla from Oslo, Norway. Watch conditions were at full condition 1 GQ status and the gun mounts were fully manned and ready for possible action. The purpose of the shipping blockade in November 1962 was to stop the Russian government from shipping ICBM missile weaponry to the Cuban government. These weapons were seen as a major threat to the United States. American and British naval forces participated in this effort. USS BROUGH returned to Key West in early December 1962.

By early January 1963 the Cuban Missile Crisis was over, but BROUGH made one more patrol of the Cuban coast during February and March. While on that patrol, the Cuban fire control radars were constantly locked on BROUGH as she patrolled the coast. During the spring of 1963 BROUGH participated in a acoustic torpedo test exercise with one of the Key West based submarines. BROUGH also made several ports of call during this period, including two trips to Mayport, FL for routine maintenance.

In October 1963, BROUGH was enroute from Key West to Mayport when she encountered a bad storm. During that storm, the ship received a fair amount of damage but continued to operate. In the latter part of 1963, BROUGH’s primary operations were in Key West conducting sonar school operations and tracking Russian ships in and out of the port of Havana, Cuba. She took several short refresher training cruises to Guantanamo and trips to the tender in Mayport and Charleston in addition to port calls in Fort Lauderdale and Kingston and Montego Bay, Jamaica.

BROUGH conducted an extended two to three month shipping survey in the Caribbean in late 1964. During this cruise, BROUGH was diverted to Colon, Panama during the riots there and made port calls in Cartagena, Colombia and Curacao, the Netherlands Antilles.

In early 1965, BROUGH had an auxiliary boiler failure that the Navy decided not to repair. In early spring of l965, BROUGH underwent an INSURV inspection in Key West. As a result of this INSURV inspection, the Navy decided to decommission the ship. BROUGH was moved to the Reserve Fleet at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA in April 1965. She was being mothballed when the word came down to stop all work. The Navy had decided to scrap the ship based on the findings of the INSURV inspection.

During the summer of 1965 she was decommissioned and in November of 1965 she was stricken from the naval records. The findings from the INSURV inspection, plus the fact that newer, faster, and more capable ships were entering the fleet were all factors in the decision to decommission and ultimately scrap BROUGH. On 13 October 1966, BROUGH was sold for scrap and dismantled sometime later. This concluded 23 years of the history of USS BROUGH and those who served on her from 1943 until 1966.

Origin of the DE 148 Name

USS BROUGH was named for Lt.(jg) David Atkins Brough, who was born in Pueblo, Colorado on 15 June 1914. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1939 and was appointed a Naval Aviator on 30 July 1940 with the rank of Ensign. He was assigned to Patrol Squadron 42
(VP-42) flying missions along the Alaskan Coast.

In June 1942 Lt.(jg) Brough conducted scouting missions during bombing raids on the Japanese near the islands of Attu and Kiska. For this action he was recommended for the Air Medal. Before this medal could be awarded, he was killed 30 July 1942 when his PBY5 crashed into Dutch Harbor while returning from a scouting mission. The cause of the crash was not determined but thought to be due to foul weather and possible pilot fatigue.

The Air Medal was presented posthumously to Mrs. Jack Bell, Brough’s sister, since his parents were deceased. Lt.(jg) Brough is listed in the USN record in the hometown of Butte, MT. This is because his sister lived in Butte at the time she accepted his Air Medal. His hometown at the time of his death and burial location is unknown.

Citation for Lt.(jg) David A. Brough

"For meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight as Patrol Plane Commander in action with the enemy Japanese forces during the Aleutian Island Campaign from June 10-20, 1942. Flying under extremely hazardous conditions of high winds, snow, rain and dense fog, LT(jg) Brough engaged in dangerous scouting missions during the enemy bombing of Dutch Harbor and Uminak, and in addition participated in all night aerial patrols and bombing attacks on Japanese ships in Kiska Harbor, facing concentrated air and
anti-aircraft opposition. His courageous and daring devotion to the accomplishment of important missions was in keeping with traditions of the United States Naval Services".

NOTE:
The complete history was printed in April 2006. (paper back booklet) The physical size of the booklet is 7" by 8.5", consisting of 48 pages with 50+ photos, and information that has never been published before. Copies of the USS BROUGH History are available for purchase while the supply last ($12.00 per booklet, with mailing included). Send a money order or check to: John N. Adriani Sr. PO Box #2272, Shelton CT 06484-1272. The above events were obtained from personal collections and memories, and there maybe errors, and /or omissions that may surface after the first printing. Thanks to all those that helped with the USS BROUGH history project, John N. Adriani Sr. (16 July 2006)

Historical contributions made by:
John Best, Harry Bissell, Rod Blue, Sid Brown, Douglas Burgess, Richard Carl, Daniel Cooley, Roger DeKoker, John Ertz, Mark Evdemon, Judson Goodrich, Sabina Duke (Hartley), Robert Kessler, Harold Kicza, Frank Kirkleski, Jr., Don Knispel, Harvey Latshaw, Ralph Parrott, James Rieder, Hans Peter Schoenberg, Larry Sell, James Shea, Orvill Smith, Tom Sowell, Wilson Walters, Ben Webster, Fred Weiss and Peter White.

Named for Lieutenant (jg) David Aitkens Brough, b. 15 June 1914, Pueblo, CO; KIA 30 July 1942 in airplane crash while serving with Patrol Squadron 42, Aleutian Islands

Type: FMR
Builder: COT
Keel laid 01/22/43
Launched 04/10/43
Commissioned 09/18/43
First CO: Lt Cdr K. J. Hartley
Decommissioned 03/22/46
Recommissioned 09/07/51
Decommissioned 06/65
Stricken 11/01/65
Sold 10/13/66, scrapped

Unit of CortDiv 3
Made 24 Atlantic crossings

From the research of Anne McCarthy,
with contributions by Pat Perrella and Pat Stephens, webmaster. March 2006