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USS Guest (DD-472)
Encyclopedia
USS Guest (DD-472), a Fletcher-class
destroyer
, was a ship of the United States Navy
named for Commodore John Guest (1822–1879).
Guest was launched
20 February 1942 by the Boston Naval Shipyard; sponsored by Mrs. Ann Guest Walsh, granddaughter of Com. Guest; commissioned
15 December 1942, Commander Henry Crommelin in command. Guest decommissioned in 1946 and was transferred on loan to the Brazilian Navy in 1959, where she served as Pará (D27). She was stricken in 1979 and was sunk as a target ship in 1983.
, Guest made a cruise to Trinidad
with aircraft carrier
Independence
(CVL-22). This was followed by a convoy
escort voyage from New York to Casablanca
and return to Boston (28 April – 31 May 1943). She departed Boston 20 July for brief training in Hawaii
an waters, then joined the 3rd Fleet 28 August at Efate
, New Hebrides
Islands. After an offensive sweep to the Santa Cruz Islands
and several escort missions to Nouméa
, New Caledonia
, she departed Efate 28 October for invasion of Bougainville. She guarded transports during the initial landings 1 November assisting in shooting down two enemy bombers. In the following months she escorted troop and logistic convoys from Guadalcanal
to Cape Torokina
, twice driving off bombers and torpedo planes which attacked her convoy. She silenced Japanese coastal defense guns at Motupene Point, Bougainville
, 4 December 1943, and bombarded the Saba River area 25 January 1944.
on Green Island 31 January 1944. As the Raiders reembarked the next morning, she made two depth charge
attacks on a diving submarine
. Hudson
(DD-475) followed up this attack to complete the kill of the 1,400-ton Japanese submarine I-171. Guest again screened transports during invasion of the Green Islands
15 February 1944. She bombarded Kavieng
, New Ireland
25 February, and the Sanba River area on Bougainville 17 March. She rescued the crew of PT-63 on the latter date. In a case of mistaken identity on 17Mar44 Motor torpedo boat PT-283 is sunk by friendly fire from destroyer Guest (DD-472), in the Solomons, near Choseul Island. Her 5 inch gunfire destroyed the grounded Japanese freighter Meisyo Maru 30 April to the east of Nemto Island. After amphibious assault training in the New Hebrides, she departed from Roi
, in the Marshall Islands
, 10 June 1944 for the invasion and capture of the Mariana Islands
.
Guest poured gunfire ahead of troops landing on Saipan
15 June 1944, then helped repel four massive air raids against Admiral Marc Mitscher
's Fast Carrier Task Force
in the Battle of the Philippine Sea
. She also conducted pre-invasion bombardment of Guam
and gave direct gunfire support to the landings on Guam 21 July 1944. She remained on bombardment support and patrol stations until 9 August, then sailed for amphibious warfare exercises in the Solomons
.
Guest departed Purvis Bay
, Solomon Islands, 6 September 1944. A unit of Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf's Western Fire Support group, she bombarded Anguar in the Palau Islands 12 September 1944. The following day she rescued 7 officers and 45 men of destroyer Perry
(DMS-17), which hit a mine
and sank off Anguar. Guest departed the area 25 September and entered San Francisco Bay
25 October 1944 for overhaul.
for Iwo Jima
. Her 5 inch guns blasted that island during the initial invasion
19 February 1945. She continued gunfire support until 28 February when she sailed to join the screen of escort carrier
s in San Pedro Bay
, Philippine Islands.
Guest departed San Pedro Bay 27 March to guard escort carriers giving direct support to the invasion of Okinawa
. Detached 9 May, she was assigned to antiaircraft defense station in the Okinawas western transport area. The night of 25 May a kamikaze
suicide plane glanced off her mast and crashed alongside to portside, causing damage to the stack. She remained on antiaircraft defense station until 1 July 1945. She was then routed via Ulithi
and the Marshalls
in the screen of escort carriers bound to Adak, Alaska
, thence to Ominato, Japan
. After plane guard duty with carriers along the coast of Honshū
, she returned via Adak to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
15 November 1945.
Guest decommissioned at San Diego
4 June 1946 and remained in reserve until transferred 5 June 1959 on loan to the government of Brazil.
Pará (D27) The ship served in the Brazilian Navy
as Pará (D27). She was stricken in 1979. After decomission she was used as a target ship for Exocet
MM 38-missiles launched by the frigate
Niterói (F 40). She was sunk by two torpedoes fired by the Brazilian submarine Ceará (S 14) approximately 80 NM south of Cabo Frio
lighthouse.
Fletcher class destroyer
The Fletcher class were a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The class was designed in 1939 as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types...
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...
, was a ship of 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...
named for Commodore John Guest (1822–1879).
Guest was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
20 February 1942 by the Boston Naval Shipyard; sponsored by Mrs. Ann Guest Walsh, granddaughter of Com. Guest; commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
15 December 1942, Commander Henry Crommelin in command. Guest decommissioned in 1946 and was transferred on loan to the Brazilian Navy in 1959, where she served as Pará (D27). She was stricken in 1979 and was sunk as a target ship in 1983.
1943
After shakedown training at Guantanamo BayGuantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
, Guest made a cruise to Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
with aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
Independence
USS Independence (CVL-22)
The fourth USS Independence was a United States Navy light aircraft carrier, lead ship of her class.-Construction and deployment:...
(CVL-22). This was followed by a 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...
escort voyage from New York to Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
and return to Boston (28 April – 31 May 1943). She departed Boston 20 July for brief training in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an waters, then joined the 3rd Fleet 28 August at 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...
, New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
Islands. After an offensive sweep to the Santa Cruz Islands
Santa Cruz Islands
The Santa Cruz Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands. They lie approximately 250 miles to the southeast of the Solomon Islands Chain...
and several escort missions to Nouméa
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, she departed Efate 28 October for invasion of Bougainville. She guarded transports during the initial landings 1 November assisting in shooting down two enemy bombers. In the following months she escorted troop and logistic convoys from Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
to Cape Torokina
Cape Torokina
Cape Torokina is a promontory at the north end of Empress Augusta Bay, along the central part of the southeastern coast of Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea....
, twice driving off bombers and torpedo planes which attacked her convoy. She silenced Japanese coastal defense guns at Motupene Point, Bougainville
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
, 4 December 1943, and bombarded the Saba River area 25 January 1944.
1944
Guest protected transports landing the Marine RaidersMarine Raiders
The Marine Raiders were elite units established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare, particularly in landing in rubber boats and operating behind the lines...
on Green Island 31 January 1944. As the Raiders reembarked the next morning, she made two depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
attacks on a diving submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
. Hudson
USS Hudson (DD-475)
USS Hudson , a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Captain William L. Hudson ....
(DD-475) followed up this attack to complete the kill of the 1,400-ton Japanese submarine I-171. Guest again screened transports during invasion of the Green Islands
Green Islands, Papua New Guinea
The Green Islands are a small group of islands in Papua New Guinea. They are located at , about east of Rabaul on New Britain and about northwest of Bougainville. The Green Islands are administered as part of Bougainville Province .Nissan is the largest island of the group. Other islands include:...
15 February 1944. She bombarded Kavieng
Kavieng
Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2000, it had a population of 10,600....
, New Ireland
New Ireland (island)
New Ireland is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km² in area. It is the largest island of the New Ireland Province, lying northeast of the island of New Britain. Both islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, named after Otto von Bismarck, and they are separated by...
25 February, and the Sanba River area on Bougainville 17 March. She rescued the crew of PT-63 on the latter date. In a case of mistaken identity on 17Mar44 Motor torpedo boat PT-283 is sunk by friendly fire from destroyer Guest (DD-472), in the Solomons, near Choseul Island. Her 5 inch gunfire destroyed the grounded Japanese freighter Meisyo Maru 30 April to the east of Nemto Island. After amphibious assault training in the New Hebrides, she departed from Roi
Roi-Namur
Roi-Namur is an island in the northern part of the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands.Occupied by Japanese forces prior to World War II, it was the target of the U.S. 4th Marine Division in the Battle of Kwajalein, in February 1944....
, in the 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...
, 10 June 1944 for the invasion and capture of the Mariana Islands
Mariana and Palau Islands campaign
The Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, also known as Operation Forager, was an offensive launched by United States forces against Imperial Japanese forces in the Mariana Islands and Palau in the Pacific Ocean between June and November, 1944 during the Pacific War...
.
Guest poured gunfire ahead of troops landing on Saipan
Battle of Saipan
The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June-9 July 1944. The Allied invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, the day before Operation Overlord in Europe was...
15 June 1944, then helped repel four massive air raids against Admiral Marc Mitscher
Marc Mitscher
Admiral Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher was an admiral in the United States Navy who served as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific in the latter half of World War II.-Early life and career:...
's Fast Carrier Task Force
Fast Carrier Task Force
The Fast Carrier Task Force was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II.The Fast Carrier Task Force was known under two designations. The Navy made use of two sets of upper command structures for planning the upcoming operations...
in the Battle of the Philippine Sea
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...
. She also conducted pre-invasion bombardment of Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
and gave direct gunfire support to the landings on Guam 21 July 1944. She remained on bombardment support and patrol stations until 9 August, then sailed for amphibious warfare exercises in the Solomons
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...
.
Guest departed Purvis Bay
Purvis Bay
Purvis Bay is located in the Florida Islands, which are part of the Solomon Islands. The bay was used by the US Navy during World War Two....
, Solomon Islands, 6 September 1944. A unit of Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf's Western Fire Support group, she bombarded Anguar in the Palau Islands 12 September 1944. The following day she rescued 7 officers and 45 men of destroyer Perry
USS Perry (DD-340)
The third USS Perry was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I. She was one of eight ships named for Oliver Hazard Perry.-History:...
(DMS-17), which hit a mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
and sank off Anguar. Guest departed the area 25 September and entered San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
25 October 1944 for overhaul.
1945
Overhaul was followed by training in Hawaiian waters until 27 January 1945 when she departed with a task group bound via the MarianasMariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
for Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
. Her 5 inch guns blasted that island during the initial invasion
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
19 February 1945. She continued gunfire support until 28 February when she sailed to join the screen of escort carrier
Escort aircraft carrier
The escort aircraft carrier or escort carrier, also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the USN or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft carrier used by the British Royal Navy , the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, and the...
s in 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...
, Philippine Islands.
Guest departed San Pedro Bay 27 March to guard escort carriers giving direct support to the invasion of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
. Detached 9 May, she was assigned to antiaircraft defense station in the Okinawas western transport area. The night of 25 May 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....
suicide plane glanced off her mast and crashed alongside to portside, causing damage to the stack. She remained on antiaircraft defense station until 1 July 1945. She was then routed via 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 the Marshalls
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...
in the screen of escort carriers bound to Adak, Alaska
Adak, Alaska
Adak , formerly Adak Station, is a city in the Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 326. It is the westernmost municipality in the United States and the southernmost city in Alaska. The city is the former location of the Adak Army Base and Adak...
, thence to Ominato, 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...
. After plane guard duty with carriers along the coast of Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
, she returned via Adak to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington...
15 November 1945.
Guest decommissioned at San Diego
Naval Station San Diego
Naval Base San Diego is the largest base of the United States Navy on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of 54 ships and over 120 tenant commands. The base is composed of 13 piers stretched...
4 June 1946 and remained in reserve until transferred 5 June 1959 on loan to the government of Brazil.
Pará (D27) The ship served in the Brazilian Navy
Brazilian Navy
The Brazilian Navy is a branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible for conducting naval operations. It is the largest navy in Latin America...
as Pará (D27). She was stricken in 1979. After decomission she was used as a target ship for Exocet
Exocet
The Exocet is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Hundreds were fired in combat during the 1980s.-Etymology:...
MM 38-missiles launched by the frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
Niterói (F 40). She was sunk by two torpedoes fired by the Brazilian submarine Ceará (S 14) approximately 80 NM south of Cabo Frio
Cabo Frio
Cabo Frio is a Brazilian municipality in Rio de Janeiro state, founded by the Portuguese on November 13, 1615.The city's economy is mainly based on tourism, as most of the cities situated in the called Região dos Lagos . The city is usually visited by people from Minas Gerais, Brasília and Rio de...
lighthouse.