USS Roche
1944 Cannon-class destroyer escort
USS Roche (DE-197) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort in service United States Navy from 1944 to 1945. She hit a mine in late September 1945. As it was uneconomical to repair her, she was scuttled in March 1946.
Namesake
David John Roche was born on 2 December 1918 in Hibbing, Minnesota. He enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve as seaman second class on 13 November 1939. He was appointed aviation cadet effective 15 February 1940, designated naval aviator (heavier-than-air), 14 October and became an ensign, USNR, effective 21 October 1940. Following training at Pensacola Naval Air Station, he was assigned to Torpedo Squadron 3 and reported for duty on 1 December. He was officially reported missing in action as of 4 June 1942, when the plane he was piloting was shot down in the Battle of Midway. For pressing home his torpedo attack on Imperial Japanese Navy units in the face of tremendous antiaircraft fire and overwhelming fighter opposition, he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
History
Roche was laid down on 21 October 1943 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company of Port Newark, New Jersey; launched on 9 January 1944, sponsored by Mrs.
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