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USS Flusser (DD-368)
Encyclopedia
The fourth USS Flusser (DD-368) was a Mahan-class
destroyer
in the United States Navy
during World War II
. She was named for Charles W. Flusser
.
, Kearny, New Jersey
; sponsored by Mrs. F. W. Packard; and commissioned 1 October 1936, Commander
F. L. Lowe in command.
Flusser sailed from New York
1 December 1936 for a shakedown cruise which found her operating with Squadron 40-T, a unit formed to protect American interests in the Western Mediterranean during the Spanish Civil War
. She returned to Hampton Roads
9 February 1937, and for the next 5 months operated along the east coast as far north as Maine
. On 16 July, she arrived at San Diego, California
, her base for Pacific
and Caribbean
operations until October 1939, aside from a 2-week visit to Washington earlier that year.
, she took part in intensive training operations with ships of all types, and on 5 December 1941 put to sea screening Lexington (CV-2)
. Thus away from base at the time of the Japan
ese attack on Pearl Harbor
, Flusser's force sought the retiring Japanese after the attack, then returned to their devastated home port 12 December. Through April 1942, Flusser sailed on convoy escort duty between Pearl Harbor and the west coast, and then cleared for Palmyra Atoll
, where on 21 April she landed a small marine garrison. Continuing on, she began a period of escort and patrol service out of various southwest Pacific ports, on several occasions putting in to Australia
n ports.
Overhauled at Pearl Harbor between July 1942 and February 1943, Flusser returned to escort, antisubmarine, and training operations in the southern Solomon Islands
. After replenishing at Pearl Harbor between 25 July and 4 August 1942, Flusser returned to Efate
17 August to resume escort and patrol operations to the Fiji Islands, Espiritu Santo
, Samoa
, and Tonga
, returning to Pearl Harbor for overhaul between September and February 1943. Once more at Espiritu Santo 17 February, Flusser again escorted convoys of auxiliaries as well as warships among southwest Pacific bases, to and from Australia, and to Guadalcanal. She returned from Australia to Milne Bay
22 August, and based here for the New Guinea
operation. Participating in the landings at Lae
and Finschhafen
, she conducted preinvasion bombardment, gave fire support cover to the assaults, escorted reinforcement and re-supply convoys, and on 22 September, attacked and sank three Japanese barges at Finschhafen. Flusser next participated in the bombardment and landing at Arawe
, New Britain
, and had similar duty in the occupation of Cape Gloucester
and Saidor.
, Admiralty Islands
. Her constant activity in the New Guinea area made a west coast overhaul imperative, and she received this at Mare Island
between April and June.
Departing Pearl Harbor 1 August 1944, Flusser escorted a convoy to Eniwetok, and arrived at Majuro
16 August for 6 weeks of duty patrolling off the bypassed Japanese-held atolls in the southern Marshall Islands
. On 7 September, in an engagement with a shore battery on Wotje, nine of her men were wounded. Leaving Majuro 1 October on escort duty to Eniwetok, Ulithi
, and Hollandia
, she sailed north for San Pedro Bay
, arriving 29 October for patrol duty in Leyte Gulf
and Surigao Strait. On 18 November, she shot down a kamikaze
plane, which crashed so close aboard that the pilot's parachute landed on the ship's forecastle.
Continuing her support of the Philippines
operation, Flusser escorted reinforcement convoys to Leyte from Hollandia, and on 4 December 1944, received damage from the near miss of a Japanese suicide plane. A heavy air attack was launched at her group the next day, during which Flusser downed several planes, and rescued survivors of LSM-20 following a kamikaze attack. The destroyer sailed from Leyte 6 December to cover the landings at Ormoc Bay, and next day her group was attacked by the first of many waves of suicide planes. Flusser shot down at least one of these, and aided survivors of stricken ships, screening Lamson (DD-367)
back to San Pedro.
Flusser sailed to Hollandia and Biak
to prepare for the Lingayen
operation, and arrived in Lingayen Gulf
escorting the second group of reinforcements 13 January 1945. She covered the landings at Nasugbu on 31 January, then participated in the assault at Puerto Princesa, Palawan
, as well as convoying escort forces between Leyte, Mindoro, and Palawan.
Flusser remained in the Philippines, joining in the landings on Cebu
26 March 1945 and escorting support convoys to that island, then escorted resupply convoys from Morotai
to Polloc Harbor and Davao Gulf
until 1 July. She participated in the Balikpapan
operation, covering the landings, and escorting ships from Morotai, until 20 July, when she arrived at Manila. After brief overhaul, she sailed 31 August for escort duty to Okinawa, then arrived at Sasebo
16 September for occupation duty. Her officers served on teams inspecting Japanese naval and merchant shipping at Sasebo until 29 October, when the destroyer departed for San Diego, arriving 19 November.
, the atomic weapons tests in the Marshalls. She returned to Pearl Harbor from this duty 14 September, and on 12 November arrived at Norfolk, Virginia
, where she was decommissioned 16 December 1946 and sold 6 January 1948.
Flusser received eight battle stars for World War II service.
Mahan class destroyer
The Mahan-class destroyers served in the United States Navy before and during World War II. The lead ship of the class was named for Alfred T. Mahan, a US Naval officer and influential theorist on sea power....
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She was named for Charles W. Flusser
Charles W. Flusser
Charles Williamson Flusser was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
.
History
Flusser was launched 28 September 1935 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock CompanyFederal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard, active from 1917 to 1949. During World War II, it built ships as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Operated by a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, the shipyard was located at...
, Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....
; sponsored by Mrs. F. W. Packard; and commissioned 1 October 1936, Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
F. L. Lowe in command.
Flusser sailed from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
1 December 1936 for a shakedown cruise which found her operating with Squadron 40-T, a unit formed to protect American interests in the Western Mediterranean during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. She returned to Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
9 February 1937, and for the next 5 months operated along the east coast as far north as Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. On 16 July, she arrived at San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, her base for Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
and Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
operations until October 1939, aside from a 2-week visit to Washington earlier that year.
World War II
Based at Pearl HarborPearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, she took part in intensive training operations with ships of all types, and on 5 December 1941 put to sea screening Lexington (CV-2)
USS Lexington (CV-2)
USS Lexington , nicknamed the "Gray Lady" or "Lady Lex," was an early aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. She was the lead ship of the , though her sister ship was commissioned a month earlier...
. Thus away from base at the time of the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, Flusser's force sought the retiring Japanese after the attack, then returned to their devastated home port 12 December. Through April 1942, Flusser sailed on convoy escort duty between Pearl Harbor and the west coast, and then cleared for Palmyra Atoll
Palmyra Atoll
Palmyra Atoll is an essentially unoccupied equatorial Northern Pacific atoll administered as an unorganized incorporated territory by the United States federal government...
, where on 21 April she landed a small marine garrison. Continuing on, she began a period of escort and patrol service out of various southwest Pacific ports, on several occasions putting in to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n ports.
Overhauled at Pearl Harbor between July 1942 and February 1943, Flusser returned to escort, antisubmarine, and training operations in the southern Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
. After replenishing at Pearl Harbor between 25 July and 4 August 1942, Flusser returned to Efate
Éfaté
Efate is an island in the Agean Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in The Republic of Maliki. It is also known as Île Vate. It is the most populous island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third largest island. Most inhabitants of Efate live in Port Vila, the national...
17 August to resume escort and patrol operations to the Fiji Islands, Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
, Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, and Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
, returning to Pearl Harbor for overhaul between September and February 1943. Once more at Espiritu Santo 17 February, Flusser again escorted convoys of auxiliaries as well as warships among southwest Pacific bases, to and from Australia, and to Guadalcanal. She returned from Australia to Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
22 August, and based here for the New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
operation. Participating in the landings at Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
and Finschhafen
Finschhafen
Finschhafen is a district on the northeast coast of the Morobe province of Papua New Guinea. It is named after the port of the same name.The port was discovered in 1884 by the German researcher Otto Finsch. In 1885 the German colony of German New Guinea created a town on the site and named it...
, she conducted preinvasion bombardment, gave fire support cover to the assaults, escorted reinforcement and re-supply convoys, and on 22 September, attacked and sank three Japanese barges at Finschhafen. Flusser next participated in the bombardment and landing at Arawe
Arawe
Arawe is located on the south coast of New Britain about from Cape Gloucester. A small harbour known as Arawe harbour provides an anchorage....
, New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
, and had similar duty in the occupation of Cape Gloucester
Cape Gloucester
Cape Gloucester is a headland, in the northwest of the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea, at . During World War II, the Japanese captured New Britain, and had driven most of Cape Gloucester's native population out to construct two airfields...
and Saidor.
1944 - 1945
From 11 January 1944 to 30 January, Flusser had a brief overhaul; she then took part in exercises in Australian waters, returning to Milne Bay for duty escorting convoys to Saidor and Cape Gloucester, and taking part in the landings on Los NegrosLos Negros
Los Negros was a criminal organization that was once the armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel and after a switch of alliances, became the armed wing of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. On 2010 it went independent and had been contesting the control of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. It was then the criminal...
, Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
. Her constant activity in the New Guinea area made a west coast overhaul imperative, and she received this at Mare Island
Mare Island
Mare Island is a peninsula in the United States alongside the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay. Mare Island is considered a peninsula because no full...
between April and June.
Departing Pearl Harbor 1 August 1944, Flusser escorted a convoy to Eniwetok, and arrived at Majuro
Majuro
Majuro , is a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll itself has a land area of and encloses a lagoon of...
16 August for 6 weeks of duty patrolling off the bypassed Japanese-held atolls in the southern Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
. On 7 September, in an engagement with a shore battery on Wotje, nine of her men were wounded. Leaving Majuro 1 October on escort duty to Eniwetok, Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
, and Hollandia
Jayapura
Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
, she sailed north for San Pedro Bay
San Pedro Bay (Philippines)
San Pedro Bay is a bay in the Philippines, at the northwest end of Leyte Gulf, about 15 km east-west and 20 km north-south. The bay is bounded on the north and east by Samar and on the east by Leyte Island. It is connected by San Juanico Strait to Carigara Bay of the Samar Sea. The...
, arriving 29 October for patrol duty in Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
and Surigao Strait. On 18 November, she shot down a kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
plane, which crashed so close aboard that the pilot's parachute landed on the ship's forecastle.
Continuing her support of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
operation, Flusser escorted reinforcement convoys to Leyte from Hollandia, and on 4 December 1944, received damage from the near miss of a Japanese suicide plane. A heavy air attack was launched at her group the next day, during which Flusser downed several planes, and rescued survivors of LSM-20 following a kamikaze attack. The destroyer sailed from Leyte 6 December to cover the landings at Ormoc Bay, and next day her group was attacked by the first of many waves of suicide planes. Flusser shot down at least one of these, and aided survivors of stricken ships, screening Lamson (DD-367)
USS Lamson (DD-367)
The third USS Lamson was a Mahan-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Roswell Hawkes Lamson.-History:...
back to San Pedro.
Flusser sailed to Hollandia and Biak
Biak
Biak features a tropical rainforest climate with nearly identical temperatures throughout the course of the year. The average annual temperature in the city is 27 degrees celsius, which is also generally the average temperature of each day in Biak...
to prepare for the Lingayen
Invasion of Lingayen Gulf
The Liberation of Lingayen Gulf was an Allied amphibious operation in the Philippines during World War II. In the early morning of 9 January 1945, an Allied force commanded by Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf began approaching the shores of Lingayen. U.S...
operation, and arrived in Lingayen Gulf
Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
escorting the second group of reinforcements 13 January 1945. She covered the landings at Nasugbu on 31 January, then participated in the assault at Puerto Princesa, Palawan
Palawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
, as well as convoying escort forces between Leyte, Mindoro, and Palawan.
Flusser remained in the Philippines, joining in the landings on Cebu
Cebu Island
Cebu is an island of the Philippines. It is the main island of Cebu Province at the center of the Visayan Islands, south of Manila.It lies to the east of Negros Island; to the east is Leyte and to the southeast is Bohol Island. It is flanked on both sides by the Cebu Strait and Tañon Strait...
26 March 1945 and escorting support convoys to that island, then escorted resupply convoys from Morotai
Morotai
Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
to Polloc Harbor and Davao Gulf
Davao Gulf
Davao Gulf is a gulf found in Mindanao in the Philippines. It has an area of 308,000 hectares. Davao Gulf cuts into the island of Mindanao from Celebes Sea. It is surrounded by all four provinces in the Davao Region. The largest island in the gulf is Samal Island. Davao City, on the gulf's west...
until 1 July. She participated in the Balikpapan
Balikpapan
Balikpapan is a seaport city on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo, Indonesia, in the East Kalimantan province, a resource-rich region well known for its timber, mining, and petroleum export products. Two harbors, Semayang and Kariangau , and the Sepinggan International Airport are the main...
operation, covering the landings, and escorting ships from Morotai, until 20 July, when she arrived at Manila. After brief overhaul, she sailed 31 August for escort duty to Okinawa, then arrived at Sasebo
Sasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
16 September for occupation duty. Her officers served on teams inspecting Japanese naval and merchant shipping at Sasebo until 29 October, when the destroyer departed for San Diego, arriving 19 November.
Fate
During the summer of 1946, Flusser took part in Operation CrossroadsOperation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
, the atomic weapons tests in the Marshalls. She returned to Pearl Harbor from this duty 14 September, and on 12 November arrived at Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, where she was decommissioned 16 December 1946 and sold 6 January 1948.
Flusser received eight battle stars for World War II service.
External links
- http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/368.htm
- U.S.S. Frustrate: "The Luckiest Ship in the Navy" - book review