History::

Nields (DD-616) was laid down 15 June 1942 by the Bethlehem Steel Co., Fore River, Mass.; launched 1 October 1942 sponsored by Miss Ella S. Nields, daughter of Lt. Comdr. Henry C. Nields; and commissioned 15 January 1943, Lt. Comdr. Albert R. Heckey in command.

Following shakedown and training off the east coast, Nields escorted two tankers to Aruba and Cristobal, returning to Norfolk 11 April 1943. Thence she proceeded to Boston before joining DesRon 16 at New York. Assigned to trans-Atlantic convoy duty, the destroyer departed New York 28 April on her first North African run, screening convoy USG-8. Arriving at Oran, Algeria, 19 May, Nields refueled and commenced patrolling the approaches to that anchorage. On patrol 21 May, awaiting the departure of the convoy on its return voyage, Nields received a submarine contact report from a British observation plane and immediately headed for the area. At 1716 Nields established sound contact. At 1718 she dropped a pattern of 9 depth charges. At 1723 sound contact was regained and another 9 charge pattern was fired. At 1731 and at 1741, further charges were fired from her "K" guns, forward and port. Within seconds of the last attack, oil patches were observed. Italian submarine Gorgo, one of two such submarines to be sunk by American forces, had gone to the bottom of the Mediterranean.

The convoy, GUS-7A, sortied on 22 May, arriving New York 8 June. By 22 June, Nields was back at Oran. Between that date and 5 July she conducted antisubmarine patrols off Algeria. On the 5th, she sortied with the "Cent" attack force, screening the transports destined for Scoglitti, Sicily. On the 10th, as Allied waves hit the beaches, the destroyer guarded Transport Area Two. There until the 13th, she guarded the transports from enemy aerial and underwater attack. On the 16th, she arrived back at Oran, whence she returned to New York, with convoy UGF-9, 4 August.

Mediterranean and UK convoys occupied Nields for the remainder of 1943, and into 1944. In March, 1944, she joined other units of DesDivs 31 and 32 in hunter-killer (HUK) exercises off the northeastern coast. On 7 April, two destroyers of her HUK group, Champlin (DD-601) and Huse (DE-145) sank U-856. Nields picked up 11 survivors and transported them to New York where they were turned over to representatives of ONI. From New York, Nields' division sailed for the Mediterranean 21 April to join the 8th Fleet.

Assigned to coastal escort and patrol duties on her arrival at Oran, 2 May, Nields was soon drawn into a submarine chase lasting four days. On 14 May, U-616 was detected in the southwestern Mediterranean by British observation aircraft. Nields, temporarily with DesDiv 21, was one of the ships to answer the call. Soon afterward Ellyson (DD-454) dropped the first depth charge pattern. On the morning of the 15th, oil slicks were spotted, but sound contact was lost. Another search plane sighted the submarine, now surfaced, ten miles away and running nort