Reybold (DE-275)
1943
Named for the late Lt. Cmdr. John Keane Reybold (1903-1942). See Reybold (DE-177) for full biography.
Reybold (DE-275)—an Evarts-class escort vessel—was laid down at Boston, Mass., on 20 May 1943 by the Boston Navy Yard, but during construction was allocated to the United Kingdom. She was launched as Goodall (K.479) on 8 July 1943 and transferred to the Royal Navy on 4 October 1943.
Classified in British service as a “Captain”-class frigate, Goodall served the Royal Navy on escort of convoy duty until very shortly before the end of hostilities with Germany. One hour into the first watch (2100) on 29 April 1945, the German submarine U-968 (Oberleutnant zur See Otto Westphalen, commanding) attacked convoy RA-66, firing Gnats [G7es Type V torpedoes] at the ships escorting the convoy; one Gnat missed Goodall (Lt. Cmdr. James V. Fulton, RNVR). One hour later on 29 April, however, U-268 (Oberleutnant zur See Willi Dietrich) in the entrance to the Kola Inlet (69°25'N, 33°38'E) near Murmansk, fired a Gnat that struck Goodall and detonated her forward magazine, blowing off the forward part of the ship, killing Lt. Cmdr. Fulton and 111 other men; 44 men survived. Frigate HMS Anguilla (K.500) scuttled the irreparably damaged warship with gunfire.
U-268 did not savor the victory long, however, for Anguilla and the frigates HMS Loch Insh (K.433), and HMS Cotton (K.510) teamed up to sink that U-boat in the Barents Sea very soon thereafter. There were no survivors from the 51 souls on board.
Robert J. Cressman
27 March 2023
