USS Jacob Jones (DE-130)

The third Jacob Jones (DE-130) was laid down on 26 June 1942 at Orange, Texas, by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd.,; launched on 1 November 1942; sponsored by Mrs. L. W. Hesselman; and commissioned on 29 April 1943, Lt. Cmdr. Walton B. Hinds, in command.

After fitting out, Jacob Jones sailed on 13 May 1943 for shakedown in Bermuda waters and arrived at Charleston, S.C., on 7 July. On the 18th she steamed to Newport to prepare for convoy duty. A week later, she sailed with a convoy of Coast Guard cutters and Navy ships, which steamed to North Africa to support Allied operations in the Mediterranean. While escorting this convoy, Jacob Jones made her first antisubmarine attack on 7 August, firing 13 depth charges in two attacks with no discernable results. She arrived Casablanca, French Morocco, on 13 August; a week later she departed with Task Force 64 escorting a convoy bound back to the United States.

Reaching New York on 5 September 1943, Jacob Jones underwent inspection and on the 16th departed for convoy training with Hammann (DE-131) and Robert E. Peary (DE-132) at Casco Bay, Maine. She sailed for Norfolk on 21 September and on the 25th joined Convoy UGS-19 headed for North African waters off Casablanca. Arriving on 12 October, Jacob Jones conducted anti-submarine patrols before departing for Gibraltar to join a westbound convoy on the 19th. She arrived at Norfolk on 6 November with the southern section of the convoy, then departed for ten days of repairs at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y. On the 23rd, she joined a 64-ship Norfolk-to-Casablanca convoy. Upon her arrival on 10 December, she patrolled waters off the coast of Africa for a week before returning to the U.S. with Convoy GUS-24.

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From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Jacob Jones III (DE-130)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.