Changes

==War service==

==War service==

On 8 June 1943, Maddox departed Norfolk for Oran, Algeria, where she became a unit of Task Force 81 TF81, the assault force for [[Operation Husky]] the Sicilian invasion. As the amphibious assault troops opened the Battle of Gela on 10 July, USS Maddox was on antisubmarine patrol about 16 miles offshore. The destroyer along with the British submarine [[HMS Safari]] was attacked by Stuka dive bomber.<ref>"At 0458, just as daylight began to spread over the sea, she was attacked by a Stuka. A bomb exploded under her starboard propeller guard, completely demolishing the stern and probably exploding after the magazine. An officer in a distant ship observed: "a great blob of light bleached and reddened the sky, tearing the night into threds. It was followed by a blast more sullen and defeaning than any we have so far heard. Within two minutes Maddox rolled over and sank, taking down most of her crew.  Beacon submarine Safari, on her way out, was straddled by two sticks of bombs in the same attack; unhurt she hastened to the spot where Maddox had disappeared, and, in conjunction with stray landing craft, searched for the survivors , but found none." History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 100-101, University of Illinois Press, 2001</ref>The plane that attacked Mddox dropped four 250 pound bombs, the first landed in the water, the second two hit the fantail and detonated the powder ammunition magazine and the last bomb hit in the water by the side of the ship. The Maddox sank in 90 seconds, 70 men survived, but 212 men went down with the ship including her captain. The Livermore destroyer USS Maddox, has the unfortunate distinction of having been the fastest sinking US warship to be lost in World War II. The ship's captain is memorialized at the Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy.  The Maddox did receive two battle stars for her [[World War II]] service.

On 8 June 1943, Maddox departed Norfolk for Oran, Algeria, where she became a unit of Task Force 81 TF81, the assault force for [[Operation Husky]] the Sicilian invasion. As the amphibious assault troops opened the Battle of Gela on 10 July, USS Maddox was on antisubmarine patrol about 16 miles offshore. The destroyer and British submarine [[HMS Safari]] were attacked by Stuka dive bombers that had cut their engines and dived keeping the sun behind them in order to achieve maximum surprise.<ref>"At 0458, just as daylight began to spread over the sea, she was attacked by a Stuka. A bomb exploded under her starboard propeller guard, completely demolishing the stern and probably exploding after the magazine. An officer in a distant ship observed: "a great blob of light bleached and reddened the sky, tearing the night into threds. It was followed by a blast more sullen and defeaning than any we have so far heard. Within two minutes Maddox rolled over and sank, taking down most of her crew.  Beacon submarine Safari, on her way out, was straddled by two sticks of bombs in the same attack; unhurt she hastened to the spot where Maddox had disappeared, and, in conjunction with stray landing craft, searched for the survivors , but found none." History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 100-101, University of Illinois Press, 2001</ref><ref>"German pilots had learned to hunt stragglers by tracking the ships wakes, then gliding out of the sun with their engines cut. An officer on the Maddox's bridge realized he was under attack only when he heard the whistle of falling bombs. The first detonated twenty five yards astern; a second hit beneath the propeller guard, detonating depth charges aligned on the aft deck." The Day Of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy 1943-44, Rick Atkinson, Hachette, 2013</ref>The plane that attacked Mddox dropped four 250 pound bombs, the first landed in the water, the second two hit the fantail and detonated the powder ammunition magazine and the last bomb hit in the water by the side of the ship. The Maddox sank in 90 seconds, 70 men survived, but 212 men went down with the ship including her captain. The Livermore destroyer USS Maddox, has the unfortunate distinction of having been the fastest sinking US warship to be lost in World War II. The ship's captain is memorialized at the Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy.  The Maddox did receive two battle stars for her [[World War II]] service.

== Notes ==

== Notes ==