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USS Isherwood (DD-520)
Encyclopedia
USS Isherwood (DD-520), a Fletcher-class
destroyer
, was the second ship of the United States Navy
to be named for
Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Isherwood
(1822–1915).
Isherwood was launched
by Bethlehem Shipbuilding
Co., Staten Island
, N.Y., 24 November 1942, sponsored by Mrs. A. J. Kerwin, granddaughter of Rear Admiral Isherwood; and commissioned
12 April 1943 at New York Navy Yard, Commander R. E. Gadrow in command.
The new destroyer conducted her shakedown training in Casco Bay
, Maine
, and off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
, through April and May. During the next 2 months she operated with a patrol and escort group out of NS Argentia
, Newfoundland
, and on 5 August 1943 departed for England
with troop ship RMS Queen Mary
. Isherwood arrived Scapa Flow
19 August to carry out combined operations with the British Home Fleet
, including a search toward Spitsbergen
for German
battleship
Tirpitz
. Sailing 14 September, the destroyer returned to Boston
with a convoy
29 September 1943.
Isherwood was subsequently reassigned to the Pacific, sailing from Boston 14 November for San Francisco. From there she steamed to Pearl Harbor
and sailed 11 December to join Task Force 94 (TF 94) in the Aleutians. For the next eight months, Isherwood carried out antisubmarine
sweeps of the cold Alaska
n waters. In June she took part in bombardments of the Kurile Islands, finally arriving San Francisco for repairs 15 August 1944.
, scheduled for October. She arrived at Manus
on 4 October and steamed into Leyte Gulf
with the assault force 20 October, carrying out escort and patrol duties during the first days of the operation
. She also provided gunfire support and night illumination fire. Isherwood remained in the assault area during the giant four-part Battle for Leyte Gulf 23–26 October, in which the Japanese
surface fleet was all but annihilated. During November the ship escorted convoys from advance bases to the Philippines in support of the buildup there.
The next major invasion of the Philippines campaign was to be at Lingayen Gulf
. Isherwood joined Vice Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson
's Lingayen Attack Force at Manus, sailing 27 December. During the voyage through the islands from Leyte to Lingayen, the transport groups and carrier task groups were attacked incessantly by kamikaze
s, but even these desperate attacks could not stop the invasion. Isherwood shot down at least one suicide plane and assisted in splashing others before arriving the assault area 9 January 1945. She screened a landing craft
group during the landing, sailing for Leyte with a returning group 11 January. During the last days of the month, specifically 29 and 30 January, the ship returned to Luzon
to support the unopposed landings at San Antonio and Subic Bay
, as ground units moved on Manila
. Isherwood remained in the Philippines providing antisubmarine protection and patrolling until mid-March.
preparatory to the main assault on Okinawa
. Troops from the main task force stormed ashore 1 April in the biggest amphibious operation of the Pacific war
, and 2 days later Isherwood moved to a position off the beaches for fire support missions. This continued until 16 April, when the ship was sent to aid stricken destroyers Pringle
(DD-477) and Laffey
(DD-724) off Ie Shima. That afternoon she took over Laffeys duties as fighter director ship on picket station.
The days that followed found Isherwood in numerous heavy air raids, as the Japanese made a desperate attempt to drive off the invasion fleet with suicide planes. While on station 22 April a kamikaze made a dusk attack on the destroyer and crashed No. 3 gun mount. One veteran described the kamikaze pilot as: "a jockey riding in on a horse." Many fires were started by the D3A1 "Val" dive bomber and his 500-pound bomb, but all were quickly extinguished except the one in the depth charge
rack aft. After 25 minutes of dangerous fire-fighting, the charge exploded, causing great damage in the after engine room. Isherwood arrived Kerama Retto with over 80 men killed, wounded, or missing.
for repairs 9 May 1945 and steamed into San Francisco Bay 3 June. She finished her overhaul just as the Pacific war ended; and, after training exercises, sailed 3 October for New York
. After taking part in the Navy Day
Presidential Review, the ship steamed to Charleston
, where she decommissioned 1 February 1946 and was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Isherwood recommissioned at Charleston 5 April 1951, and after shakedown and training in the Caribbean
steamed into Newport
, her new home port, 6 August. Plane guard duty off Jacksonville
and operations in Narragansett Bay
occupied her through the end of 1951. She then sailed for a cruise with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, departing 22 April 1952, and, for the next 6 months, visited various ports supporting the important peace-keeping operations of the fleet. She returned to her home port 17 October 1952.
Isherwood made another 6th Fleet cruise 22 April – 26 October 1953, after which she took part in maneuvers and plane guard duty off the East Coast. In June 1954 the ship underwent refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay, and sailed from Newport 30 November 1954 to join the Pacific Fleet.
The veteran ship arrived San Diego via the Panama Canal
15 December 1954, and got underway for the Far East 4 January 1955. During this cruise she operated mainly in the Philippines, with a period on Taiwan Patrol in April and May 1955. Her part in these important 7th Fleet operations ended in June and she arrived San Diego the 19th for additional training and readiness steaming. 1956, however, brought Isherwood back to these troubled waters, as she spent the period January–July on operations off Taiwan
, Malaya
, and Japan
.
The destroyer returned to the Far East in 1957, making stops in Sydney, Perth and Darwin, Australia with the three other destroyers of DesDiv 211, DesRon 21. This was the first US Navy visit to an Australian port, and the country welcomed the ships by opening a national park in Sidney, commemorating the Battle of Coral Sea.
During the 1958, she steamed off Taiwan during the tense Quemoy-Matsu crisis
, when American forces afloat helped prevent a flareup between Nationalist
and Communist China
. The ship returned to her home port of San Diego on 7 December 1958, and spent the first 6 months of 1959 on maneuvers and training exercises after refitting in Mare Island (Vallejo) Navy Yard. Isherwood then sailed for her fifth 7th Fleet cruise 1 August 1959. During the next months she operated with carrier
Lexington
(CV-16) in the South China Sea
, helping to limit the fighting in Laos
and lending strength to United Nations
efforts to find a solution. After additional flight operations and fleet exercises, the ship sailed for San Diego 29 November 1959.
In 1960 Isherwood took part in training operations, including a summer NROTC midshipmen training cruise, until sailing again for 7th Fleet duty 18 October. She served on Taiwan Patrol and took part in an amphibious exercise on Okinawa before arriving San Diego 27 March 1961.
Isherwood engaged in training off California
until decommissioning 11 September 1961. She was loaned to Peru
8 October 1961, but was never returned.
The Peruvian Navy
renamed the ship BAP Almirante Guise (DD-72).
The ship was stricken and scraped in 1981.
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 the second 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...
to be named for
Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Isherwood
Benjamin F. Isherwood
Benjamin Franklin Isherwood was an engineering officer in the United States Navy during the early days of steam-powered warships. He served as a ship's engineer during the Mexican–American War, and after the war did experimental work with steam propulsion...
(1822–1915).
Isherwood 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...
by Bethlehem Shipbuilding
Bethlehem Shipbuilding
Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard was founded in 1887 as Maryland Steel in Sparrows Point, Maryland. It was acquired by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in 1916 and renamed Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard. The shipyard was sold in 1997 to Baltimore Marine Industries Inc....
Co., Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, N.Y., 24 November 1942, sponsored by Mrs. A. J. Kerwin, granddaughter of Rear Admiral Isherwood; 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...
12 April 1943 at New York Navy Yard, Commander R. E. Gadrow in command.
The new destroyer conducted her shakedown training in Casco Bay
Casco Bay
Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth...
, 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...
, and off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, through April and May. During the next 2 months she operated with a patrol and escort group out of NS Argentia
Naval Station Argentia
Naval Station Argentia is a former base of the United States Navy that operated from 1941-1994. It was established in the community of Argentia in what was then the Dominion of Newfoundland, which later became the tenth Canadian province .-Construction:Established under the British-U.S...
, Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
, and on 5 August 1943 departed for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with troop ship RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
. Isherwood arrived Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
19 August to carry out combined operations with the British Home Fleet
British Home Fleet
The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which operated in the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967.-Pre–First World War:...
, including a search toward Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
for German
Reichsmarine
The Reichsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the Reichswehr, existing from 1918 to 1935...
battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
Tirpitz
German battleship Tirpitz
Tirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...
. Sailing 14 September, the destroyer returned to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
with 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...
29 September 1943.
Isherwood was subsequently reassigned to the Pacific, sailing from Boston 14 November for San Francisco. From there she steamed to Pearl Harbor
Pearl 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...
and sailed 11 December to join Task Force 94 (TF 94) in the Aleutians. For the next eight months, Isherwood carried out antisubmarine
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...
sweeps of the cold Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
n waters. In June she took part in bombardments of the Kurile Islands, finally arriving San Francisco for repairs 15 August 1944.
Philippines invasion
Isherwood sailed for Pearl Harbor 26 August 1944 to take part in the long-awaited invasion of the PhilippinesPhilippines
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...
, scheduled for October. She arrived at Manus
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
on 4 October and steamed into 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...
with the assault force 20 October, carrying out escort and patrol duties during the first days of the operation
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...
. She also provided gunfire support and night illumination fire. Isherwood remained in the assault area during the giant four-part Battle for Leyte Gulf 23–26 October, in which the Japanese
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
surface fleet was all but annihilated. During November the ship escorted convoys from advance bases to the Philippines in support of the buildup there.
The next major invasion of the Philippines campaign was to be at 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...
. Isherwood joined Vice 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 Lingayen Attack Force at Manus, sailing 27 December. During the voyage through the islands from Leyte to Lingayen, the transport groups and carrier task groups were attacked incessantly by 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....
s, but even these desperate attacks could not stop the invasion. Isherwood shot down at least one suicide plane and assisted in splashing others before arriving the assault area 9 January 1945. She screened a landing craft
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
group during the landing, sailing for Leyte with a returning group 11 January. During the last days of the month, specifically 29 and 30 January, the ship returned to 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...
to support the unopposed landings at San Antonio and 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...
, as ground units moved on Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
. Isherwood remained in the Philippines providing antisubmarine protection and patrolling until mid-March.
Okinawa invasion
Isherwood sailed for the Okinawa operation 21 March 1945; and, after her arrival 5 days later, took part in the landings on Kerama RettoKerama Retto
The are a group of 22 islands located southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Four of the islands are inhabited:,., and. The islands are within Shimajiri District. The Kerama-shotō coral reef is a Ramsar Site....
preparatory to the main assault on 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...
. Troops from the main task force stormed ashore 1 April in the biggest amphibious operation of the Pacific war
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, and 2 days later Isherwood moved to a position off the beaches for fire support missions. This continued until 16 April, when the ship was sent to aid stricken destroyers Pringle
USS Pringle (DD-477)
USS Pringle , a , was a ship of the United States Navy named for Vice Admiral Joel R. P. Pringle .Pringle was laid down by the Charleston Navy Yard, on 31 July 1941; launched on 2 May 1942, sponsored by Mrs. John D. H. Kane; and commissioned on 15 September 1942, with Lieutenant Commander Harold O...
(DD-477) and Laffey
USS Laffey (DD-724)
USS Laffey , an , was the 2nd ship of the United States Navy to be named for Bartlett Laffey. Seaman Laffey was awarded the Medal of Honor for his stand against Confederate forces on 5 March 1864...
(DD-724) off Ie Shima. That afternoon she took over Laffeys duties as fighter director ship on picket station.
The days that followed found Isherwood in numerous heavy air raids, as the Japanese made a desperate attempt to drive off the invasion fleet with suicide planes. While on station 22 April a kamikaze made a dusk attack on the destroyer and crashed No. 3 gun mount. One veteran described the kamikaze pilot as: "a jockey riding in on a horse." Many fires were started by the D3A1 "Val" dive bomber and his 500-pound bomb, but all were quickly extinguished except the one in the 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...
rack aft. After 25 minutes of dangerous fire-fighting, the charge exploded, causing great damage in the after engine room. Isherwood arrived Kerama Retto with over 80 men killed, wounded, or missing.
After the war
Isherwood arrived UlithiUlithi
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...
for repairs 9 May 1945 and steamed into San Francisco Bay 3 June. She finished her overhaul just as the Pacific war ended; and, after training exercises, sailed 3 October for 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...
. After taking part in the Navy Day
Navy Day
Several nations observe or have observed a Navy Day to recognize their navy. The term is also used in Britain to mean an open day at a dockyard such as HMNB Portsmouth, when the public can visit military ships and see air displays, roughly along the lines of an American Fleet Week .- Argentina...
Presidential Review, the ship steamed to Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, where she decommissioned 1 February 1946 and was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Isherwood recommissioned at Charleston 5 April 1951, and after shakedown and training in the 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...
steamed into Newport
Naval Station Newport
The Naval Station Newport is a United States Navy base located in the towns of Newport and Middletown, Rhode Island. Naval Station Newport is home to the Naval War College and the Naval Justice School...
, her new home port, 6 August. Plane guard duty off Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
and operations in Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
occupied her through the end of 1951. She then sailed for a cruise with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, departing 22 April 1952, and, for the next 6 months, visited various ports supporting the important peace-keeping operations of the fleet. She returned to her home port 17 October 1952.
Isherwood made another 6th Fleet cruise 22 April – 26 October 1953, after which she took part in maneuvers and plane guard duty off the East Coast. In June 1954 the ship underwent refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay, and sailed from Newport 30 November 1954 to join the Pacific Fleet.
The veteran ship arrived San Diego via 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...
15 December 1954, and got underway for the Far East 4 January 1955. During this cruise she operated mainly in the Philippines, with a period on Taiwan Patrol in April and May 1955. Her part in these important 7th Fleet operations ended in June and she arrived San Diego the 19th for additional training and readiness steaming. 1956, however, brought Isherwood back to these troubled waters, as she spent the period January–July on operations off Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Malaya
Federation of Malaya
The Federation of Malaya is the name given to a federation of 11 states that existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957...
, and 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...
.
The destroyer returned to the Far East in 1957, making stops in Sydney, Perth and Darwin, Australia with the three other destroyers of DesDiv 211, DesRon 21. This was the first US Navy visit to an Australian port, and the country welcomed the ships by opening a national park in Sidney, commemorating the Battle of Coral Sea.
During the 1958, she steamed off Taiwan during the tense Quemoy-Matsu crisis
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China governments in which the PRC shelled the islands of Matsu and Quemoy in the Taiwan Strait in an attempt to seize them from...
, when American forces afloat helped prevent a flareup between Nationalist
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
and Communist China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. The ship returned to her home port of San Diego on 7 December 1958, and spent the first 6 months of 1959 on maneuvers and training exercises after refitting in Mare Island (Vallejo) Navy Yard. Isherwood then sailed for her fifth 7th Fleet cruise 1 August 1959. During the next months she operated with 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...
Lexington
USS Lexington (CV-16)
USS Lexington , known as "The Blue Ghost", is one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship, the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name, is named in honor of the Revolutionary War Battle of Lexington...
(CV-16) in 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...
, helping to limit the fighting in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and lending strength to United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
efforts to find a solution. After additional flight operations and fleet exercises, the ship sailed for San Diego 29 November 1959.
In 1960 Isherwood took part in training operations, including a summer NROTC midshipmen training cruise, until sailing again for 7th Fleet duty 18 October. She served on Taiwan Patrol and took part in an amphibious exercise on Okinawa before arriving San Diego 27 March 1961.
Isherwood engaged in training off California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
until decommissioning 11 September 1961. She was loaned to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
8 October 1961, but was never returned.
The Peruvian Navy
Peruvian Navy
The Peruvian Navy is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to 200 nautical miles from the Peruvian littoral...
renamed the ship BAP Almirante Guise (DD-72).
The ship was stricken and scraped in 1981.