USS CARD

Originally commissioned on Nov. 8, 1942, USS Card was named for the sound by the same name located south of Miami, Florida. Her first run was to ferry aircraft and troops to North Africa in May and early June 1943. In July, she was made a flagship in one of the anti-submarine groups of the North Atlantic. The idea was to take an offensive stance against the German U-boats. And she was successful. In a period of three months, Card and her group accounted for eight confirmed U-boat kills (July to October). In December she went back on the hunt but one of her escorts was sunk by an enemy sub.

After doing transport duty between Norfolk and Casablanca in spring 1944, she returned to submarine hunt in June-July 1944. That cruise landed her another German submarine, U-233. She undertook anti-submarine patrols in the Caribbean but had no hits. She entered the Philadelphia Naval Yard for upgrades in February 1945.

She then began transporting aircraft and personnel to England. She was also used for carrier qualifications. She transferred to the Pacific Fleet in summer, 1945. After the war, she was used to bring men and equipment home. She was decommissioned May 13, 1946.