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Robert Billings Cline
Monument

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Robert Billings Cline Veteran

Birth
Burke County, North Carolina, USA
Death
24 Apr 1945 (aged 22)
At Sea
Monument
Manhattan, New York County, New York, USA Add to Map
Plot
Tablets of the Missing
Memorial ID
View Source
USNR WORLD WAR II
Ship's Cook 3rd Class, Robert B. Cline MIA/KIA
Hometown: North Carolina
Service # 8297092
Awards: Purple Heart,
Captain: Lt J.R. Crosby, USNR

Ship: USS Frederick C. Davis (DE 136)
Mission: operation Teardrop, a hunt for snorkel-equipped U-boats
Loss Date: 24-Apr-1945
Fate: Sunk by U-546 (Paul Just)
Location: 43° 52'N, 40° 15'W - Grid BC 95 North Atlantic
Complement: 195 officers and men (113 dead and 82 survivors).

Notes on event
USS Frederick C. Davis (DE 136) was participating in the operation Teardrop, a hunt for snorkel-equipped U-boats in the Western Atlantic and was part of the 4th Escort Division, which screened the escort carrier USS Bogue (CVE 9) in the Southern Surface Barrier.

On 24 Apr, 1945, U-546 discovered USS Bogue about 570 miles east-southeast of Cape Race and tried to attack on periscope depth, but USS Frederick C. Davis discovered the U-boat and prepared herself for an attack. At this moment a Gnat struck forward on the port side. The ship broke in two and sank quickly with the bow and stern raising into the air. The crew abandoned ship and were picked up within three hours by the other escort destroyers of the Division, after they had sunk U-546.

Visit the virtual cemetery of USS Frederick C. Davis


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