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| Inspiration for A Book |
undated, uncredited photo
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This beached U.S. Navy submarine chaser is the USS Bell (PC-624). She was damaged by grounding off Palermo, Sicily, Italy on March 12, 1944. She was reclassified as Water Barge YW-120 on June 30, 1944 and later transferred to the Free French on November 22, 1944. The Bell sunk the German submarine U-375 in the western Mediterranean northwest of Malta with depth charges on July 30, 1943. It is reported that the ship's bell from the Bell was installed in a local church tower, perhaps inspiring John Hersey's story of WW II Italy, A Bell for Adano.
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| from the Webmaster's collection |
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