USS CORRY
July 28, 1941. US Naval Historical Center
The USS Corry was built in Charleston Naval Yard and commissioned on July 28, 1941 by Miss Jean Constance Corry (Shafter 133).
The ship was named after Lieutenant Commander William Merrill Corry, a pioneer in naval aviation who organized the US Aviation Force in France during the First World War. He was killed in a plane crash in Connecticut in 1920 (Shafter 135-136). The USS Corry had worked patrolling the Atlantic Ocean throughout World War II. She supported the invasion of North Africa and then sailed as a support ship escorting British ships headed to the Soviet Union (Balkoski 213).
The ship was named after Lieutenant Commander William Merrill Corry, a pioneer in naval aviation who organized the US Aviation Force in France during the First World War. He was killed in a plane crash in Connecticut in 1920 (Shafter 135-136). The USS Corry had worked patrolling the Atlantic Ocean throughout World War II. She supported the invasion of North Africa and then sailed as a support ship escorting British ships headed to the Soviet Union (Balkoski 213).
US Naval Historical Center
The USS Corry left Norfolk, Virginia, in April 1944. Its job was to escort a munitions convoy to England. The ship stopped in Belfast, Ireland, and then proceeded to Plymouth, England.
After several weeks in Plymouth, the men headed to France on June 3,1944. Once away from England, their target – Utah Beach was revealed. At 0200 hours on June 6, the
reacted their destination off of Utah Beach (Andersen 53). The Corry was especially
vulnerable because they were the closest ship to the guns located at Saint
Marcouf. There were four 210-millimeters guns, the largest and most powerful guns on the Normandy coast, which dwarfed the 5-inch guns on the Corry (Balkoski 213).
After several weeks in Plymouth, the men headed to France on June 3,1944. Once away from England, their target – Utah Beach was revealed. At 0200 hours on June 6, the
reacted their destination off of Utah Beach (Andersen 53). The Corry was especially
vulnerable because they were the closest ship to the guns located at Saint
Marcouf. There were four 210-millimeters guns, the largest and most powerful guns on the Normandy coast, which dwarfed the 5-inch guns on the Corry (Balkoski 213).
Sinking of the CORRY
Flag from the USS Corry, USS Corry Survivors Association
The chief medical officer on the Corry, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Howard A. Andersen, recalled that “the ‘fireworks’ on land and sea were so spectacular that no one slept that night.” The mission of the Corry was to serve as an escort for the LSTs and to take out the four five-inch German guns perched on Utah Beach. The
Germans were able to see the Corry at dawn and commenced firing, and the Corry returned fire (Andersen 53). The captain of the Corry, Lieutenant Commander George Hoffman, remarked that “ ‘we were being fired upon by shore batteries…so Fitch and Corry were about the first ships to commence firing for the invasion – for the purpose of self-preservation’ ” (Balkoski 213).
They were supposed to be protected by a smoke screen, but the plane that
was supposed to lay the screen had been hit and was unable to complete its mission (Andersen 53). The Corry launched 44 depth charges before being hit itself (Shafter 137)
At 0633, the USS Corry was hit, and it took 10-12 minutes to go down. Lieutenant Commander Hoffman ordered his crew – 18 officers and 265 enlisted men – to abandon ship into the 54 degree English Channel. Lieutenant Paul Garray saved the flag of the Corry (Allen 31).
Germans were able to see the Corry at dawn and commenced firing, and the Corry returned fire (Andersen 53). The captain of the Corry, Lieutenant Commander George Hoffman, remarked that “ ‘we were being fired upon by shore batteries…so Fitch and Corry were about the first ships to commence firing for the invasion – for the purpose of self-preservation’ ” (Balkoski 213).
They were supposed to be protected by a smoke screen, but the plane that
was supposed to lay the screen had been hit and was unable to complete its mission (Andersen 53). The Corry launched 44 depth charges before being hit itself (Shafter 137)
At 0633, the USS Corry was hit, and it took 10-12 minutes to go down. Lieutenant Commander Hoffman ordered his crew – 18 officers and 265 enlisted men – to abandon ship into the 54 degree English Channel. Lieutenant Paul Garray saved the flag of the Corry (Allen 31).
Controversy
USS Corry Survivors Association
There is a long-standing dispute as to what exactly took down the Corry. Survivors learned that “Captain Hoffman had rewritten his June 9 action report after conferring with the captains of the USS Meredith and Glennon, two Navy destroyers that can been lost off Utah Beach on June 8. Hoffman’s original report had stated that German gunfire had sunk the Corry; but his final and official June 19 report was entirely different. ON the cover of that report, Hoffman declared firmly that on D-Day, Corry ‘struck a mine and sank’ ”(Balkoski
219).
Captain John R. Blackburn of the USS Quincy described what happened to the Corry:
219).
Captain John R. Blackburn of the USS Quincy described what happened to the Corry:
I was watching the Corry…she was having a duel with a shore battery to the
northwest of our target. I saw the splashes falling around the little destroyer
and saw her blazing back with grim determination. Suddenly her stern hit a
moored enemy mine, opeing up her smoke-making tanks. Her steering gear was
disabled by the mine. The shore battery seemed to sense a victory and kept
pouring out more shells at the disabled victim…the plucky little tin can was
mortally wounded by the mine blast and sinking rapidly (reprinted in Stillwell
104)
Saving the Survivors
The men found themselves in the water. Many were rescued by PT boat captain Commander John Bulkeley, who had rescused General MacArthur from the Philippines (Andersen 55-56).
Quartermaster Third Class Robert E. Powell, serving aboard the USS Fitch, served as a “Sky lookout” on the morning of June 6. He recalled communicating with a seaman on the bridge who asked “ ‘How are the Germans doing now?’ ” to which he replied “pretty darn good.” The Fitch later pulled several Corry survivors out of the water (Powell 49).
Machinist Mate Grant Gullickson of the Corry described being picked up by the USS Fitch and bing given “coffee laced with the ship’s torpedo alcohol” and then transferred to another ship to be taken to a hospital in England (Ambrose 267).
The battery at Saint-Marcouf was a primary target for the battleships Nevada, Arkansas, and Texas. At 0900, the Nevada scored a direct hit on the battery, destroying one gun and damaging two others (Carrell 120-121). The Germans were able to repair one damaged dgun, then the other, and inflict damage for two more days. The battery was able to defend its position for three days, resulting the death or injury to all of the men at the post (Stillwell 38).
Quartermaster Third Class Robert E. Powell, serving aboard the USS Fitch, served as a “Sky lookout” on the morning of June 6. He recalled communicating with a seaman on the bridge who asked “ ‘How are the Germans doing now?’ ” to which he replied “pretty darn good.” The Fitch later pulled several Corry survivors out of the water (Powell 49).
Machinist Mate Grant Gullickson of the Corry described being picked up by the USS Fitch and bing given “coffee laced with the ship’s torpedo alcohol” and then transferred to another ship to be taken to a hospital in England (Ambrose 267).
The battery at Saint-Marcouf was a primary target for the battleships Nevada, Arkansas, and Texas. At 0900, the Nevada scored a direct hit on the battery, destroying one gun and damaging two others (Carrell 120-121). The Germans were able to repair one damaged dgun, then the other, and inflict damage for two more days. The battery was able to defend its position for three days, resulting the death or injury to all of the men at the post (Stillwell 38).
NBC News broadcast describing the sinking of the CORRY
Courtesy of the USS Corry Survivors Assocation