In death as in life the little gunboat Asheville remained anonymous, but her sinking marked the end of the oldest U.S. Navy fleet.

As the old gunboat went under in the Indian Ocean on 3 March 1942, holed by dozens of 12.7-cm armor-piercing shells, the U.S. Asiatic Fleet met its tragic demise. The Imperial Japanese Navy was supreme in Asian waters. While several small American naval ships would continue to fight in the defense of Corregidor until they were sunk in May, the gunboat USS Asheville (PG-21) was the last warship of the Asiatic Fleet lost in open seas.

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