USS Snowden ( DE - 246 ) USS " Snowden " ( DE - 246 ) was an Edsall - class destroyer escort built for the U . S . Navy during World War II . She served in the Atlantic Ocean the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys . She was named in honor of Admiral Thomas Snowden ( 1857 - 1930 ) who was awarded the Navy Cross during World War I . She was laid down on 7 December 1942 by Brown Shipbuilding Co . , Inc . , Houston , Texas ; launched on 19 February 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Halford R . Greenlee ; and commissioned on 23 August 1943 , Lt . Comdr . A . Jackson , Jr . , USNR , in command . At war ' s end , she returned home proudly with three battle stars . World War II North Atlantic operations . " Snowden " sailed for New Orleans , Louisiana , on 3 September en route to Bermuda for her shakedown cruise which lasted until 14 October . She was then ordered to Charleston , South Carolina . Late in the month , she escorted to Panama , and , in November , to New York . The ship was assigned to convoy UGS - 24 there , on 11 November , and escorted it to Norfolk , Virginia , and Casablanca , arriving on 1 December . She picked up another convoy there and returned to New York on 24 December 1943 . " Snowden " got underway for a short training cruise to Norfolk on 5 January 1944 and then escorted to New York . In January , she escorted convoy UGS - 31 to Gibraltar , via Norfolk , and in February returned to New York with convoy UGS - 30 which arrived on 8 March . The escort then moved to Norfolk and joined Task Group ( TG ) 21 . 15 , a hunter - killer group , which sailed on 24 March . That evening , a sound contact was made by " Snowden " , but she was ordered out of the area so that aircraft from could drop sonar buoy s , which produced negative results . Sinking of German Submarine U - 488 . On 28 April , " Snowden " , , and left their screening positions to make fathometer readings at the head of an oil slick . " Snowden " made a reading at 560 feet . The trio dropped two depth charge patterns of 39 charges each . Two undersea explosions followed as " U - 488 " died . Sinking of German Submarines U - 154 and U - 490 . The task group was forced to return to port for a resupply of depth charges on 5 May before continuing operations in June and July . On 12 June , " Snowden " , Frost , and made a surface radar contact . Inch illuminated the target with star shells , and it was identified as a submarine . Frost commenced firing as " Snowden " was out of range . An SOS was received by Frost which was followed by a loud explosion from the submarine . The three escorts picked up 60 survivors from the sunken " U - 490 " . On 3 July , Frost and Inch killed " U - 154 " " Snowden " put a boat in the water , and it collected such debris as paper with German writing , German cigarettes , and human flesh . The submarine was definitely sunk . Sinking of German Submarine U - 1235 . On 22 August , " Snowden " joined task group TG 22 . 5 and operated in the Caribbean until 30 December 1944 when it returned to Norfolk . On 25 March 1945 , the task group sailed to the north - central Atlantic to hunt enemy submarines . No contact was made until 15 April . " Snowden " left the barrier patrol to screen Croatan while and Frost attacked . Six minutes later , both ships were shaken by a violent explosion . At 0114 the next morning , there was an even larger explosion , which shook ships 12 miles away , followed by several minor ones . That was the end of " U - 1235 " . The hunter - killer group entered Argentia , Newfoundland , on 25 April , for three days and then put to sea for two more weeks of hunting . " Snowden " stopped at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on 14 May for two weeks and then moved down to Norfolk . Transfer to the Pacific Fleet . " Snowden " remained at Norfolk until 4 July when she sailed for Pearl Harbor , via Guantánamo Bay , Cuba , Panama , and San Diego , California . The escort was in Pearl Harbor from 14 August until 11 September when she retraced her route to Norfolk for overhaul and inactivation , arriving on 28 September 1945 . After the overhaul was completed , she sailed to Green Cove Springs , Florida , and in March 1946 , was placed in reserve , out of commission , with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet . Post - War Reactivation . On 6 June 1951 , " Snowden " was again placed in active service . She held refresher training at Guantanamo Bay in July and August and then conducted exercises out of Newport , Rhode Island , from September 1951 to March 1952 . After further refresher training at Guantanamo Bay in June and July , she sailed to the North Atlantic and participated in her first North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) fleet exercise . After calling at ports in Norway and Scotland , she returned to the Caribbean and spent the remainder of the year there . From 1953 to 1957 , " Snowden " operated with the Atlantic Fleet along the east coast , ranging from Labrador to the Caribbean . She participated in her second NATO exercise from 3 September to 21 October 1957 with port calls in France . The escort resumed her normal east coast operations until February 1960 when she became a Group I , Naval Reserve Training Ship . Reassigned as Naval Reserve Training Ship . " Snowden " was decommissioned in August and placed in service as a Group II , Naval Reserve Training Ship and berthed at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . She was recommissioned on 2 October 1961 and assigned to Key West , Florida . She operated from there until April 1962 when she was ordered to return to Philadelphia where she was again decommissioned and resumed her former status as a Group II , Naval Reserve Training Ship . She remained in this category until 20 August 1968 when she was ordered to prepare for inactivation and striking . Final Decommissioning . " Snowden " was struck from the Navy list on 23 September 1968 and sunk as a target on 27 June 1969 . Awards . " Snowden " received three battle stars for World War II .