>From the “Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships,” 

(1969) Vol. 4, p.82.





LEE FOX





	Lee Fox, born 11 January 1920 at Rock Island, Ill., 

died defending the U.S. Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, 

Oahu, Hawaii, during the Japanese sneak attack of 7 

December 1941.  He began his flight training in the 

Civilian Pilot Training Program as an undergraduate at 

Franklin and Marshall College.  Appointed an aviation cadet 

in the Naval Reserve 9 January 1941, he won his pilot’s 

wings at Pensacola and was commissioned an ensign 5 August.  

After brief service on the west coast, he arrived Hawaii 17 

September and served with Patrol Squadron 12 until his 

death.





DE-65

Displacement:  1,400 t.

Length:  306’

Beam:  36’10”

Draft:  13’6”

Speed:  24 k.

Complement:  186

Armament:  3 3”; 4 1.1”; 8 20mm;

	2 depth charge tracks;

	8 depth charge projectors;

	1 hedge hog

Class:  BUCKLEY



	LEE FOX (DE-65) was laid down 1 March 1943 by 

Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, Mass.; launched 29 

May; sponsored by Mrs. Lee Fox, mother of Ensign Fox; and 

commissioned 30 August 1943, Lt Comdr. W. C. Jennings in command.



	Built with dispatch, LEE FOX helped to overcome the German 

submarine menace in the Atlantic.  Her greatest enemy, however, 

turned out to be the buffeting storms of the North Atlantic.  

Returning from her Bermuda shakedown voyage 17 October 1943, she 

was overtaken by a hurricane that almost capsized the vessel and 

caused a fire in the aft engineroom.  On 11 December off Cape 

Cod, during a storm a projectile exploded on her forecastle, 

causing more fire damage and further yard repairs.



	Overcoming her early misfortunes, LEE FOX completed 18 

Atlantic crossings between 6 November 1943 and 7 January 1945.  

Londonderry, Northern Ireland, became her port away from home as 

she helped escort the invasion troops and supplies to England for 

Operation "Overlord," the invasion of Normandy.  The last 

round-trip voyage required 30 days to convoy heavy equipment, 

such as floating cranes and powerplants, being towed to Plymouth, 

England, for use in the captured ports on the continent.  Her 

only sure contact with enemy submarines occurred 20 December 1944 

when two ships in the return convoy were torpedoed.



	Beginning 21 February 1945, this destroyer escort was 

converted to a high-speed transport and reclassified APD-45 2 

days later.  On 7 May she sortied from Norfolk with TU 29.6.1 

bound for the war in -the Pacific.  LEE FOX arrived Pearl Harbor 

31 May, having transited the Panama Canal on the 13th and spent 3 

days at San Diego.



	After she had additional training with Naval Combat 

Demolition Teams, 120 passengers were embarked 18 June for Guam.  

Continuing westward from Guam with a new list of passengers, LEE 

FOX next dropped anchor in San Pedro Bay, Philippines, 6 July.  

Here, the end of the war overtook her but on 9 September the 

first of a series of escort assignments ended at Tokyo Bay.  As a 

member of TU 53.7.1, she sailed for Yokohama 23 October to see 

that the northern Japanese islands of Oshima and others nearby 

were complying with the terms of surrender.



	Released from this duty 15 November, she sailed for home 

before the end of the month and disembarked 123 veterans at San 

Diego 15 December.  Departing New Year's Day 1946, she reached 

her home port of Boston on the 17th.  Following a period in dry 

dock, she arrived Green Cove Springs, Fla., 14 February 1946 and 

decommissioned 13 May and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.  

Struck from the Navy list 1 September 1964, LEE FOX was sold 31 

January 1966 for scrapping to the Southern Scrap Material Co., 

New Orleans, La.





Transcribed by Michael Hansen

mhansen2@home.com