November 21, 1943. USS Roper, (APD-20) Starboard Quarter. File 11-21-43-4
US Navy Yard, SC, November 21, 1943. USS Roper, (APD-20) Starboard Quarter. File 11-21-43-4.” Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum
laststandonzombieisland
Weapons, Wars, Preparation and Security from a recovering gun nut turned bad writer
Why is the Jesse Roper omitted from most Destroyer books (that I have seen) as the first US warship to sink a German U-Boat in the US coastal waters of the Atlantic? The USS Ward is always prominent in print as the ship that fired the first shot in WW II and sinking the Japanese midget sub, the Kearny is also always mentioned as the first DD to be torpedoed by the Germans & survive, but never a mention of the Roper’s sinking of the U-85, why? As we were getting our butts kicked by the U-Boats at that time, one would think that the Roper’s action would have been heralded and certainly in a high place in Naval history up there with the Ward….but no, apparently not to be…