American naval might is on patrol and display in this work by noted artist Gordon Grant. Dated 1944, the Buckley-class Destroyer-Escort U.S.S. SIMS (DE-154) in the forefront confirms the group's identity and purpose. The American Naval Command formed specialized convoys against the swift and deadly German U-Boats; Task Group 21.6 escorted oil tankers from Curacao in the southern Caribbean to Londonderry, Northern Ireland on two runs, before switching the western port to New York. The group made eight more runs, for a total of 20 transatlantic crossings from April 1943 to September 1944. In the face of heavy patrols and multiple close-encounters, the escort group only had one tanker sunk by a U-Boat.
The pitch of the rolling ocean is dwarfed by the rising might of the top-deck conversion aircraft carrier and the heavily armored and more heavily armed destroyer. The ocean dark is contrasted with the reach of the sky, layers of cumulus clouds back-dropping the launching fighter aircraft off the carrier deck. Aerial coverage was the first line of defense against the U-Boats, as they at first had to primarily run on the surface under diesel power, saving their battery supply for submersion when necessary. Grant's vast technical knowledge is surpassed with his artistic vision, able to share the reality of the moment. His use of color in this painting is subtle and illuminating.
U.S.S. SIMS launched in 1943, the second, namesake vessel after Admiral William Sims, who led the push to modernize the American Navy in the 19TH Century. The destroyer-escort would be modernized into a high-speed transport in Sept. 1943, and see heavy action in the naval war against Japan, earning a battle star for service.
