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USS George E. Davis (DE-357)
Encyclopedia
USS George E. Davis (DE-357) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort
acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II
. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy
, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket
.
She was named in honor of Lt. George Elliot Davis, Jr., who was killed in action by enemy aircraft
near Madoera Strait, Borneo
. She was laid down 15 February 1944 by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas
; launched 8 April 1944; sponsored by Mrs. George E. Davis, Jr., widow; and commissioned 11 August 1944, Lt. Cdr. Frederick L. Lincoln in command.
off Bermuda
, George E. Davis departed Norfolk, Virginia
, for the Pacific Ocean
21 October and arrived Hollandia
, New Guinea
, 28 November. As a convoy escort, she sailed 7 December for the Philippines
where she arrived San Pedro Bay
, Leyte
, 12 December. Assigned to the Philippine Sea Frontier
, during the remaining months of fighting in the Pacific she served in the Southwest Pacific on convoy escort and antisubmarine patrols.
, escorting troop and supply convoys to and from New Guinea
, the Admiralties, and the Palaus. On 23 March she departed Leyte for the western Philippines
; and, steaming via Mindoro
, she arrived Subic Bay
, Luzon
, the 30th. During the next two months she patrolled the convoy lanes west of Mindoro and Luzon, sweeping the South China Sea
in search of Japanese
submarines. Between 3 June and 7 June she steamed from Subic Bay to Ulithi
, Western Carolines, returning to Subic Bay the 12th as escort for a convoy. Departing 16 June, she returned to Ulithi the 20th; and between 27 June and 30 June, she escorted a supply convoy to Leyte Gulf
.
. In September she guarded convoys carrying occupation troops from the Philippines to Japan
. Early in December she sailed from the Philippines to the coast of China
where she supported American and Chinese Nationalist
troops during reoccupation operations along the coast of northern China. During January and February 1946 she operated along the coast of Japan before returning to Tsingtao, China
, 20 February. She patrolled the East China Sea and Yellow Sea
off mainland China until 16 April when she departed for the United States
. She arrived San Pedro, California, 11 May decommissioned at San Diego, California
, 26 August, and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
to the U.S. East Coast, where she arrived Newport, Rhode Island
, 27 October. Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet
, during the next 3 years she operated out of Newport, providing valuable service as a training ship for the U.S. Naval Reserves. This unheralded but important duty carried her along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean and she continued this service until June 1954.
, and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. On 1 December 1972 she was struck from the Navy list
and, on 2 January 1974, she was sold for scrapping.
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
acquired by the U.S. Navy 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...
. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket
Radar picket
A radar picket is a radar-equipped ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a force to protect it from surprise attack. Often several detached radar units encircle a force to provide increased cover in all directions.-World War II:Radar picket ships...
.
She was named in honor of Lt. George Elliot Davis, Jr., who was killed in action by enemy aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
near Madoera Strait, Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. She was laid down 15 February 1944 by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas
Orange, Texas
Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...
; launched 8 April 1944; sponsored by Mrs. George E. Davis, Jr., widow; and commissioned 11 August 1944, Lt. Cdr. Frederick L. Lincoln in command.
World War II Pacific Theatre operations
After shakedownShakedown (testing)
A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...
off Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, George E. Davis departed 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....
, for the Pacific Ocean
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...
21 October and arrived 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....
, 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...
, 28 November. As a convoy escort, she sailed 7 December for 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...
where she arrived 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...
, Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
, 12 December. Assigned to the Philippine Sea Frontier
Philippine Sea Frontier
The Philippine Sea Frontier was a United States Navy Sea Frontier active in 1941, and reformed in 1944.On 8 December 1941 it was part of the 16th Naval District, a component of the United States Asiatic Fleet....
, during the remaining months of fighting in the Pacific she served in the Southwest Pacific on convoy escort and antisubmarine patrols.
Supporting Philippine operations
Until March 1945 George E. Davis operated out of San Pedro Bay, LeyteLeyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
, escorting troop and supply convoys to and from 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...
, the Admiralties, and the Palaus. On 23 March she departed Leyte for the western 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...
; and, steaming via Mindoro
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
, she arrived Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
, Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, the 30th. During the next two months she patrolled the convoy lanes west of Mindoro and Luzon, sweeping the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
in search of Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
submarines. Between 3 June and 7 June she steamed from Subic Bay to 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...
, Western Carolines, returning to Subic Bay the 12th as escort for a convoy. Departing 16 June, she returned to Ulithi the 20th; and between 27 June and 30 June, she escorted a supply convoy to 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...
.
End-of-war activity
During July George E. Davis escorted convoys between the Philippines and Okinawa. After the Japanese capitulation 15 August, she continued escort and patrol duties in the Philippines and in the East China SeaEast China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
. In September she guarded convoys carrying occupation troops from the Philippines to 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...
. Early in December she sailed from the Philippines to the coast of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
where she supported American and Chinese Nationalist
Chinese nationalist
Chinese nationalist can refer to:* Chinese nationalism* Kuomintang - Chinese Nationalist Party in Taiwan....
troops during reoccupation operations along the coast of northern China. During January and February 1946 she operated along the coast of Japan before returning to Tsingtao, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, 20 February. She patrolled the East China Sea and Yellow Sea
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
off mainland China until 16 April when she departed for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. She arrived San Pedro, California, 11 May decommissioned 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...
, 26 August, and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Recommissioned as a training ship
George E. Davis recommissioned at San Diego 11 July 1951, and departed San Diego 11 October. She steamed via the Panama CanalPanama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
to the U.S. East Coast, where she arrived Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, 27 October. Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
, during the next 3 years she operated out of Newport, providing valuable service as a training ship for the U.S. Naval Reserves. This unheralded but important duty carried her along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean and she continued this service until June 1954.
Final decommissioning
She decommissioned 11 November 1954 at Green Cove Springs, FloridaGreen Cove Springs, Florida
Green Cove Springs is a city in Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,908. It is the county seat of Clay County....
, and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. On 1 December 1972 she was struck from the Navy list
Navy List
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....
and, on 2 January 1974, she was sold for scrapping.
See also
- List of United States Navy ships
- World War IIWorld War IIWorld 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...
- DestroyerDestroyerIn 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...
- Destroyer escortDestroyer escortA destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...