The Fightin Freddy

Namesake

Frederick Curtice Davis, born 21 October 1915 in Rock County, Wisconsin, enlisted in the Naval Reserve 7 July 1939 and was commissioned ensign 4 September 1940. Serving with an observation squadron aboard the USS Nevada (BB-36), Ensign Davis was killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism at the moment of his death, when he was running forward to take charge of an antiaircraft machine gun battery. Frederick, killed at Pearl harbor, was actually a pilot, whose job was to fly an observation plane launched by catapult off battleships, and during the attack was unable to do that role so was manning a machine gun when killed. His brother, also a pilot, was killed in Panama when his plane lost power and crashed on a anti- submarine mission.

Flag hoist/ radio call sign  N - X - S - M

The following article appeared in the Trim But Deadly, quarterly newsletter of the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum, Volume 30 Number 1, First quarter 2024

Ship Photos

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Awards, Citations     (just click on title to see each individual document)

Ship's History

Click on this link to go to the Naval History and Heritage Command site. You will be taken to a detail write up of the ship https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/f/frederick-c-davis-de-136.html

The EDSALL Class 

From the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum website : "The 563 destroyer escorts built during World War II were divided into 6 classes. Four of the six classes mounted 3"/50 guns, while the last two classes mounted the larger 5"/38 gun. The various destroyer escort classes also mounted different types of propulsion, depending primarily upon what type of engine was available due to the high demands of new construction". 

For a description of all the different classes of the Destroyer Escort please go to the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum website.