Where Is the USS England?
By John Burgess
August 2026 Proceedings Vol. 152/8/1,482
Admiral Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations during World War II, was tough as nails. He was a demanding leader fighting a brutal war, little given to praise or sentiment at the best of times. But in 1944, he was moved to make an unusual promise, vowing, “There will always be an England in the United States Navy.”1
Commissioned in December 1943, the first USS England (DE-635) was not a fast carrier bringing the war to the enemy or a submarine on silent, solitary patrol. Rather, she was a destroyer escort, one of hundreds mass-produced for the war. Aside from the captain, her crew was composed of officers and sailors for whom the Navy was not a career but a duty to fulfill before returning to school, farm, or factory. Her namesake was John C. England, one of hundreds of USS Oklahoma (BB-37) sailors who died during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The destroyer escort England sank six submarines in 12 days during World War II, leading Admiral Ernest King to pledge the U.S. Navy would never be without an England. Inset: John C. England and his wife. He survived the attack on Pearl Harbor but died during his fourth trip back to the stricken Oklahoma to pull shipmates to safety.
The destroyer escort England sank six submarines in 12 days during World War II, leading Admiral Ernest King to pledge the U.S. Navy would never be without an England.Inset: John C. England and his wife. He survived the attack on Pearl Harbor but died during his fourth trip back to the stricken Oklahoma to pull shipmates to safety. Naval Institute Photo Archive; Inset: Veterans Voices
In early 1944, the England was assigned to patrol and antisubmarine duties in the South Pacific, supporting the U.S. advance toward the Marianas. It was there she began sinking Japanese submarines: the I-16 on 19 May and the RO-106 on 22 May. The RO-104 on 23 May, RO-116 on 24 May, and RO-108 on 26 May. On 31 May, after two sister ships tried and failed to sink the RO-105, the group commander said, “Oh, hell. Go ahead England,” and she did.2
Six submarines in 12 days was an extraordinary exploit historian Samuel Eliot Morison noted was “unparalleled in anti-submarine warfare in any ocean.”3 The destroyer escort was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. And Admiral King made his promise the U.S. Navy would never be without an England.
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2026/august/where-uss-england
