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USS Hovey (DD-208)
Encyclopedia
USS Hovey (DD-208/DMS-11) was a Clemson-class
destroyer
in the United States Navy
during World War II. She was the only ship named for Ensign Charles Hovey
(1885–1911).
Hovey was launched
26 April 1919 by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
; sponsored by Mrs. Louise F. Kautz, sister of Ensign Hovey; and commissioned
2 October 1919, Commander
Stephen B. McKinney in command.
and in the Caribbean Hovey sailed from Newport, Rhode Island
19 December 1919 in company with for the Azores
and Brest, France
, for duty as station ship. She sailed from Dalmatia
, Italy 10 July 1920 for the Adriatic Sea
to deliver important papers and claims. Arriving Constantinople
12 July she later visited various Russian ports as station ship until 17 December when she sailed for Port Said
, Egypt, and duty with the Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines
. Hovey remained on the Asiatic station until she returned to San Francisco, California
2 October 1922, decommissioning at San Diego, 1 February 1923.
Hovey recommissioned 20 February 1930 at San Diego, California
, Commander Stuart O. Greig in command. After shakedown out of San Diego and Mare Island she served principally as training ship for reservists until 9 April 1934 when she transited the Panama Canal
, arriving New York 31 May. After training and fleet exercises out of New England
and off the Florida
coast, Hovey returned to San Diego 9 November. After overhaul at Mare Island
, she resumed her operations along the West Coast with additional exercises and fleet problems in the Canal Zone and Hawaii
an waters.
George Thomas Sullivan and Francis Henry Sullivan, two of the five Sullivan Brothers
served aboard the Hovey.
and was reclassified DMS-11 19 November 1940. After intensive training she sailed 4 February 1941 for duty at Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor
7 December 1941 Hovey was steaming in company with Chandler as antisubmarine screen for , engaged in gunnery practice some 20 miles
(40 km) off Pearl Harbor. The minesweeper immediately took up patrol and convoy duty around Pearl Harbor until 20 May when she escorted a 20-ship convoy
to San Francisco, arriving 31 May. Hovey returned to Pearl Harbor in mid-June and sailed 10 July for the southwest Pacific escorting in company with Hovey. She reached the Fiji Islands 23 July and joined Minesweeping Group of Rear Admiral
Richmond K. Turner
's South Pacific Amphibious Force the 31st.
. Japanese shore batteries opened up but were quickly silenced by accurate fire from Hovey and the other ships providing fire support. She next joined other DMS's for sweeps between Gavutu and Bungana Islands. The next morning she steamed into Lengo Channel
to help ward off an attack by a squadron of torpedo bomber
s. Intensive US anti-aircraft fire caused the Japanese planes to drop their torpedoes prematurely and hence at too great a range, thereby rendering the attack almost totally ineffective.
Hovey continued her operations around Guadalcanal before retiring to New Caledonia
13 September for replenishment. From there she proceeded to Samoa before returning to Ndeni, Santa Cruz
, with a reconnaissance party of marines
on board. Returning to New Caledonia, Hovey departed 10 October with two PT boat
s in tow and 127 drums of aviation gasoline on board, which she delivered to Tulagi two days later. Hovey continued escort duty between Guadalcanal and Espiritu Santo
, until she returned to San Francisco 19 April 1943 for overhaul. She joined a convoy out of Mare Island
31 May for New Caledonia, arriving 10 August. She then resumed her escort and patrol duties until 30 October when she joined Rear Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson
's III Amphibious Force for the Cape Torokina
landing, 1 November 1943. For the next week during the seizure of Empress Augusta Bay
, Hovey operated with the invasion forces, screening transports and making prelanding sweeps.
Hovey continued screening and escort duties in the Solomons until 5 April 1944 when she escorted from Tulagi
to Majuro
, Marshall Islands
. She returned to Espiritu Santo 11 April and on the 20th joined Task Unit 34.9.3 (Captain Kane in ) delivering replacement planes to other carriers at Manus. The task unit rendezvoused 29 April with Fast Carrier Task Force
(TF 58) to furnish replacement planes for the first strikes on Truk. Proceeding to Florida Island, Hovey departed for the West Coast, arriving 31 May via Pearl Harbor.
for Mine Squadron Two (Commander W. R. Loud). She sortied from Port Purvis 6 September as part of the antisubmarine screen for Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf
's Western Gunfire Support Group for operations in the southern Palaus. After sweeps between Angaur
and Peleliu
Islands and in Kossol Passage, Hovey took up antisubmarine patrol in the transport area off Peleliu Island. She joined the Minesweeping and Hydrographic Group of Rear Admiral Thomas Sprague's Escort Carrier Group for the invasion of Leyte
(17–25 October 1944). On the 17th she began sweeping ahead of the high speed transports and fire support vessels in the approach to the landing beaches on Dinagat Island. After more sweeps through Looc Bay and the Tacloban-Dulag
approach Hovey retired to Manus 25 October.
and passed into the Mindanao Sea en route to the landings on Lingayen
, Luzon
. Many reconnaissance aircraft harassed the convoy during the night but no attacks developed until morning of the 3 January.
From then on, the convoy was under such heavy air attack that Hovey had to adopt the policy of not firing unless she was directly under attack, fearing that she would expend all her ammunition. In the entrance to Lingayen Gulf
, at 0800 the sweepers came under attack and Hovey immediately shot down one kamikaze
. As the ships made a return sweep, two kamikazes made straight runs on the last two ships in the column, crashing into and . Hovey slipped her gear and stood in to assist Long. Longs entire bridge and well deck was on fire, with intermittent explosions coming from the forward magazine and ready ammunition. Because of the explosions and air attacks, Hovey could not get alongside, but spent an hour picking up 149 survivors. At dark the sweepers made their night retirement and began steaming off the entrance to Lingayen Gulf.
No more attacks occurred until 0425, 7 January, when enemy aircraft were picked up on radar. At 450, one plane flying low to the water came in from the starboard quarter passing ahead of Hovey. A few moments later, another plane coming from the port beam was put on fire by Chandler. This plane passed very low over Hovey and crashed on the starboard beam. At 0455, the instant the burning plane crashed, Hovey was struck by a torpedo on her starboard side in the after engineroom. Lights and power were lost instantly. The stern remained nearly level and sinking to the top of the after deck house, the bow listed 40 degrees to starboard and rose out of the water, the ship breaking in half. Two minutes later the bow listed to 90 degrees, rose vertically and rapidly sank in 54 fathom
s (99 m) of water. Twenty four men were killed in addition to twenty four more men who were survivors from Long and Brooks.
Clemson class destroyer
The Clemson class was a series of 156 destroyers which served with the United States Navy from after World War I through World War II.The Clemson-class ships were commissioned by the United States Navy from 1919 to 1922, built by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, New York Shipbuilding...
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. She was the only ship named for Ensign Charles Hovey
Charles Hovey
Charles Emerson Hovey was an officer in the United States Navy during the Philippine-American War....
(1885–1911).
Hovey 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...
26 April 1919 by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
; sponsored by Mrs. Louise F. Kautz, sister of Ensign Hovey; and 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...
2 October 1919, Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Stephen B. McKinney in command.
1919-1940
After shakedown off the coast of FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and in the Caribbean Hovey sailed from 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...
19 December 1919 in company with for the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
and Brest, France
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
, for duty as station ship. She sailed from Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
, Italy 10 July 1920 for the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
to deliver important papers and claims. Arriving Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
12 July she later visited various Russian ports as station ship until 17 December when she sailed for Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
, Egypt, and duty with the Asiatic Fleet in 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...
. Hovey remained on the Asiatic station until she returned to San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
2 October 1922, decommissioning at San Diego, 1 February 1923.
Hovey recommissioned 20 February 1930 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...
, Commander Stuart O. Greig in command. After shakedown out of San Diego and Mare Island she served principally as training ship for reservists until 9 April 1934 when she transited the Panama Canal
Panama 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...
, arriving New York 31 May. After training and fleet exercises out of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and off the Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
coast, Hovey returned to San Diego 9 November. After overhaul 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...
, she resumed her operations along the West Coast with additional exercises and fleet problems in the Canal Zone and 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.
George Thomas Sullivan and Francis Henry Sullivan, two of the five Sullivan Brothers
Sullivan brothers
The Sullivan brothers were five siblings who were all killed in action during or shortly after the sinking of the light cruiser USS Juneau , the vessel on which they all served, on November 13, 1942, in World War II....
served aboard the Hovey.
World War II
Hovey converted to a high speed minesweeperMinesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
and was reclassified DMS-11 19 November 1940. After intensive training she sailed 4 February 1941 for duty at Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese bombed 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...
7 December 1941 Hovey was steaming in company with Chandler as antisubmarine screen for , engaged in gunnery practice some 20 miles
Nautical mile
The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...
(40 km) off Pearl Harbor. The minesweeper immediately took up patrol and convoy duty around Pearl Harbor until 20 May when she escorted a 20-ship 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...
to San Francisco, arriving 31 May. Hovey returned to Pearl Harbor in mid-June and sailed 10 July for the southwest Pacific escorting in company with Hovey. She reached the Fiji Islands 23 July and joined Minesweeping Group of Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Richmond K. Turner
Richmond K. Turner
-Footnotes:...
's South Pacific Amphibious Force the 31st.
Solomon Islands Campaign
On 7 August, during the invasion of Guadalcanal, the first amphibious assault in the long island-hopping campaign, Hovey was assigned a screening station for the transports. Then, shortly before 0800, she took a bombardment station to cover the landings east of GavutuGavutu
Gavutu is a small islet in the Central Province of the Solomon Islands, some 500 metres in length. It is one of the Nggela Islands....
. Japanese shore batteries opened up but were quickly silenced by accurate fire from Hovey and the other ships providing fire support. She next joined other DMS's for sweeps between Gavutu and Bungana Islands. The next morning she steamed into Lengo Channel
Lengo Channel
In the Solomon Islands, the waters between the Florida Islands and Taivu Point on the northeast of Guadalcanal are divided by reefs into Nggela Channel, Sealark Channel, and Lengo Channel. They connect Ironbottom Sound to the west with Indispensable Strait to the east....
to help ward off an attack by a squadron of torpedo bomber
Torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...
s. Intensive US anti-aircraft fire caused the Japanese planes to drop their torpedoes prematurely and hence at too great a range, thereby rendering the attack almost totally ineffective.
Hovey continued her operations around Guadalcanal before retiring to 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...
13 September for replenishment. From there she proceeded to Samoa before returning to Ndeni, Santa Cruz
Nendo Island
Nendo is the largest and most important of the Santa Cruz Islands, located in the Temotu province of the Solomon Islands. The island is also known as Santa Cruz, Ndeni, Nitendi or Ndende...
, with a reconnaissance party of marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
on board. Returning to New Caledonia, Hovey departed 10 October with two PT boat
PT boat
PT Boats were a variety of motor torpedo boat , a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "Devil Boats".The original pre–World War I torpedo boats were...
s in tow and 127 drums of aviation gasoline on board, which she delivered to Tulagi two days later. Hovey continued escort duty between Guadalcanal and 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....
, until she returned to San Francisco 19 April 1943 for overhaul. She joined a convoy out of Mare Island
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
31 May for New Caledonia, arriving 10 August. She then resumed her escort and patrol duties until 30 October when she joined Rear Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson
Theodore S. Wilkinson
Theodore Stark "Ping" Wilkinson was a Vice-Admiral of the United States Navy during World War II. He also received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Veracruz, Mexico.-Early life and career:...
's III Amphibious Force for the 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....
landing, 1 November 1943. For the next week during the seizure of Empress Augusta Bay
Empress Augusta Bay
Empress Augusta Bay is a major bay on the western side of the island of Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea, at . It is a major subsistence fishing area for the people of Bougainville. It is named after Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein, wife of German Emperor William II.In November 1943, the...
, Hovey operated with the invasion forces, screening transports and making prelanding sweeps.
Hovey continued screening and escort duties in the Solomons until 5 April 1944 when she escorted from Tulagi
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
to 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...
, 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...
. She returned to Espiritu Santo 11 April and on the 20th joined Task Unit 34.9.3 (Captain Kane in ) delivering replacement planes to other carriers at Manus. The task unit rendezvoused 29 April with 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...
(TF 58) to furnish replacement planes for the first strikes on Truk. Proceeding to Florida Island, Hovey departed for the West Coast, arriving 31 May via Pearl Harbor.
Central Pacific Campaigns
Repairs complete, Hovey sailed for Pearl Harbor 29 July to become flagshipFlagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
for Mine Squadron Two (Commander W. R. Loud). She sortied from Port Purvis 6 September as part of the antisubmarine screen for Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf
Jesse B. Oldendorf
Jesse Bartlett "Oley" Oldendorf was an admiral in the United States Navy, famous for defeating a Japanese force in the Battle of Leyte Gulf during World War II...
's Western Gunfire Support Group for operations in the southern Palaus. After sweeps between Angaur
Angaur
Angaur or Ngeaur is an island in the island nation of Palau. The island, which forms its own state, has an area of 8 km² . Its population is 188 . State capital is the village of Ngeremasch on the western side...
and Peleliu
Peleliu
Peleliu is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu forms, along with two small islands to its northeast, one of the sixteen states of Palau. It is located northeast of Angaur and southwest of Koror....
Islands and in Kossol Passage, Hovey took up antisubmarine patrol in the transport area off Peleliu Island. She joined the Minesweeping and Hydrographic Group of Rear Admiral Thomas Sprague's Escort Carrier Group for the invasion of Leyte
Battle of Leyte
The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the invasion and conquest of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American and Filipino guerrilla forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fought against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines led by...
(17–25 October 1944). On the 17th she began sweeping ahead of the high speed transports and fire support vessels in the approach to the landing beaches on Dinagat Island. After more sweeps through Looc Bay and the Tacloban-Dulag
Dulag, Leyte
Dulag is a third-class municipality in the province of Leyte in Eastern Visayas in the Philippines. This coastal town covering 11,007 hectares of land is home to 44,143 residents...
approach Hovey retired to Manus 25 October.
Invasion of Luzon
As flagship for Commander Loud's Minesweeping and Hydrographic Group, Hovey departed Manus 23 December, arriving Leyte Gulf the 30th. She sortied 2 January 1945, proceeded south through Surigao StraitSurigao Strait
Surigao Strait is a body of water in the Philippines located between the islands of Mindanao and Leyte. This strait connects the Bohol Sea with Leyte Gulf and is regularly crossed by ferries that transport goods and people between Visayas and Mindanao...
and passed into the Mindanao Sea en route to the landings on Lingayen
Battle of Luzon
The Battle of Luzon was a land battle fought as part of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II by the Allied forces of the U.S., its colony The Philippines, and Mexico against forces of the Empire of Japan. The battle resulted in a U.S. and Filipino victory...
, 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...
. Many reconnaissance aircraft harassed the convoy during the night but no attacks developed until morning of the 3 January.
From then on, the convoy was under such heavy air attack that Hovey had to adopt the policy of not firing unless she was directly under attack, fearing that she would expend all her ammunition. In the entrance to 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...
, at 0800 the sweepers came under attack and Hovey immediately shot down one 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....
. As the ships made a return sweep, two kamikazes made straight runs on the last two ships in the column, crashing into and . Hovey slipped her gear and stood in to assist Long. Longs entire bridge and well deck was on fire, with intermittent explosions coming from the forward magazine and ready ammunition. Because of the explosions and air attacks, Hovey could not get alongside, but spent an hour picking up 149 survivors. At dark the sweepers made their night retirement and began steaming off the entrance to Lingayen Gulf.
No more attacks occurred until 0425, 7 January, when enemy aircraft were picked up on radar. At 450, one plane flying low to the water came in from the starboard quarter passing ahead of Hovey. A few moments later, another plane coming from the port beam was put on fire by Chandler. This plane passed very low over Hovey and crashed on the starboard beam. At 0455, the instant the burning plane crashed, Hovey was struck by a torpedo on her starboard side in the after engineroom. Lights and power were lost instantly. The stern remained nearly level and sinking to the top of the after deck house, the bow listed 40 degrees to starboard and rose out of the water, the ship breaking in half. Two minutes later the bow listed to 90 degrees, rose vertically and rapidly sank in 54 fathom
Fathom
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...
s (99 m) of water. Twenty four men were killed in addition to twenty four more men who were survivors from Long and Brooks.