USS James E. Craig (DE-201), a 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...

, was named in honor of Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

 James Edwin Craig (1901-1941), who was killed in action aboard the during the Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese attack on Pearl Harbor

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

 on 7 December 1941.

James E. Craig was launched on 22 July 1943, by Charleston Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. J. E. Craig, widow of Lieutenant Commander Craig; and commissioned on 1 November 1943, Lieutenant Commander Hampton M. Ericson in command.

Service history

The new destroyer escort departed the Charleston Navy Yard on 23 November for shakedown 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...

 and returned to the yard on 25 December for alterations. She sailed on 4 January 1944 for Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

 via the Windward Passage

Windward Passage

The Windward Passage is a strait in the Caribbean Sea, between the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. The strait specifically lies between the easternmost region of Cuba and the northwest of Haiti.80km wide, the Windward Passage has a threshold depth of 1,700m...

. 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...

 she joined her sister ships and on 7 January to escort two troop transports. 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...

 on 8 January.

In company with other destroyer escorts, James E. Craig steamed from Balboa, Panama

Balboa, Panama

Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.- History :The town of Balboa, founded by the United States during the construction of the Panama Canal, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador credited with discovering the Pacific Ocean...

, on 14 January escorting SS Azalea City 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...

. Stopping at Bora Bora

Bora Bora

The commune of Bora-Bora is made up of the island of Bora Bora proper with its surrounding islets emerging from the coral reef, 29.3 km² in total, and of the atoll of Tupai , located north of Bora Bora...

 on 27 January, James E. Craig and Azalea City departed the 28th and two days later encountered a typhoon which pounded the ships with 50 feet (15 m) waves. They passed through a second typhoon on 4 February with winds of 80 kn (97 mph; 157 km/h). On 5 February they were ordered to 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....

, and arrived the following day.

New Guinea campaign

James E. Craig departed Espiritu Santo on 13 February with three other escorts and seven merchant ships bound for 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...

. Upon arrival the 16th, she began anti-submarine patrol off Lunga Point

Lunga Point

Lunga Point is a promontory on the northern coast of Guadalcanal, the site of a naval battle during World War II. It was also the name of a nearby airfield, later named Henderson Field....

. She departed for Espiritu Santo on 23 February, escorting two merchant ships and continued her escort duty between Guadalcanal and Espiritu Santo for several weeks. On 15 March, she escorted the oiler

United States Navy oiler

In the United States Navy, an Oiler is a Combat Logistics ship that replenishes other ships with fuel and in some cases food, mail, ammunition and other necessities while at sea, in a process called Underway Replenishment or UNREP...

  from Espiritu Santo to a fueling rendezvous with Task Force 36, which was engaged in operations against 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...

, and Emirau Island

Landing on Emirau

The Landing on Emirau was the last of the series of operations that made up Operation Cartwheel, General Douglas MacArthur's strategy for the encirclement of the major Japanese base at Rabaul. A force of nearly 4,000 United States Marines landed on the island of Emirau on 20 March 1944. The island...

, "the last link in the ring around Rabaul

Rabaul

Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...

." Refueling completed the 25th, James E. Craig and Cacapon joined other escorts and tankers and returned to Espirito Santo.

On 31 March, James E. Craig departed Espiritu Santo in company with Escort Division 37, including Lovelace, , and . Stopping at 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...

 in the Solomons, 2 to 4 April, they sailed the 5th for 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...

, where James E. Craig was to see action for five months.

On 26 April, James E. Craig joined 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...

 of escorts and transports bound from Cape Sudest

Cape Sudest

Cape Sudest is a Cape in Papua New Guinea, next to Oro Bay. There was an important U.S military base there in World War II. It was situated in Oro Province, about a mile south of Harigo....

 to Humboldt Bay

Teluk Yos Sudarso

Yos Sudarso Bay also known earlier as Humboldt Bay is a small bay in Indonesia. It is on the north coast of New Guinea, about 50 kilometers west of the border between Indonesia's province of Papua and the country of Papua New Guinea...

 to support the invasion of 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....

, underway since the 22nd. The convoy arrived on 3 May; and after discharging the transports, the escorts returned to Cape Sudest the 5th. James E. Craig, now under the command of Lieutenant Commander Edward F. Andrews, steamed on 13 May on escort duty to Humboldt Bay via Aitape Roads, arrived the 17th, and immediately joined an attack convoy bound for Wakde-Sarmi, west of Hollandia. She returned the same day to Humboldt Bay, where she continued her patrols and escort duty. She bombarded enemy troop concentrations at Wakde-Sarmi on the 27th and returned to Cape Cretin via Humboldt Bay on the 31st.

James E. Craig returned to Humboldt Bay on 6 June to prepare for the bitter conquest of Biak Island. With six other escorts, she accompanied the convoy and supported the landing operations on 12 June. Departing the same day, the convoy returned to Humboldt Bay the 14th; and James E. Craig continued as escort to Cape Cretin, where she arrived three days later.

During the remainder of June and through July, James E. Craig continued escort and anti-submarine duties along the northern coast of New Guinea. While on ASW operations off Wakde, she conducted prolonged, successful bombardments of enemy supply depots at Sawar, 11-12 July, expending some 3,300 rounds of 3-inch and 1.1-inch shellfire. A week later, she arrived at Noemfoor Island, southwest of Biak, and escorted convoys 18 to 23 July on a triangular route from Noemfoor to Humboldt Bay via Biak. Arriving at Madang

Madang

Madang is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century....

, Astrolabe Bay

Astrolabe Bay

Astrolabe Bay is a large body of water off the south coast of Madang Province, Papua New Guinea, located at . It is a part of the Bismarck Sea and stretches from the Cape Iris in the south to the Cape Croisilles to the north. It was discovered in 1827 by Jules Dumont d'Urville and named after his...

, on 23 July for overhaul, James E. Craig returned to Humboldt Bay to resume her escort and ASW operations.

During August, she plied the coastal waters off New Guinea from Cape Cretin to Wakde; then devoted the six weeks to escort and anti-submarine patrol between Cape Cretin, Manus Island

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...

, and Humboldt Bay. On 11 October, she joined a convoy at 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...

, then sailed for the Palaus on the 18th and arrived 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....

 two days later for ASW operations. She returned to Manus the 25th for repairs.

Attacked off Letye

Back at Humboldt Bay on 14 November, she joined a large convoy of transports, amphibious craft, and escorts underway on the 17th for the Philippine Islands, to support the vital, Allied

Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

 foothold on Leyte

Leyte Island

Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines.The island measures about 180 km north-south and about 65 km at its widest point. In the north it nearly joins Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 km in some places...

, established some four weeks earlier. The convoy of 75 ships and 9 escorts steamed northwestward and by dusk of the 23rd approached 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...

.

James E. Craig, returning from 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...

 patrol to her assigned ASW station, made radar contact with six low-flying unidentified planes approaching from the south at approximately 190 kn (231 mph; 372 km/h). Soon her spotters observed "Jill"

Nakajima B6N

The Nakajima B6N Tenzan was the Imperial Japanese Navy's standard carrier-borne torpedo bomber during the final years of World War II and the successor to the B5N "Kate"...

 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 7 miles (11 km) out, closing at high speed. As the enemy aircraft broke into three groups in an attempt to "box the target," James E. Craig turned left full rudder to meet the attackers; and all guns which could bear commenced firing at the aircraft, still more than 2 miles (3 km) out. Four of the attackers began a run and launched their torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

es at a range of 1,000-1,500 yards to port; as the ship turned, three torpedoes passed "close aboard to port" and almost parallel to her. Meanwhile, two aircraft commenced a run from the starboard side. Approaching almost directly from out of the sunset, one dropped a torpedo within a thousand yards which broached once before settling down on its run. As James E. Craig turned hard to starboard, the torpedo passed within 5 yards (5 m) astern. One of the attackers passed within 200 yards (182.9 m) of the ship, was hit by starboard 20 mm

20 mm caliber

The 20 mm caliber is a specific size of cannon or autocannon ammunition, commonly the smallest caliber which is unambiguously a cannon and not a heavy machine gun....

 gunfire, and splashed after passing over frigate .

The convoy stood into 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, the following day, and remained at battle stations a greater part of the day to repel enemy aircraft which attempted to bomb the convoy. That night, the convoy and escorts reformed and departed for Humboldt Bay via the Palaus.

Upon arrival, James E. Craig received general maintenance and overhaul from destroyer tender

Destroyer tender

A destroyer tender is a ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of the 20th century as the roles of small combatants have evolved .Due to the increased size and automation of...

  through 10 December. She spent the remainder of the month escorting fleet tankers and practicing anti-aircraft and night torpedo firing drills at Padaido, Dutch East Indies

Dutch East Indies

The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....

, and Humboldt Bay. On 28 December, Escort Division 37 departed Humboldt Bay with a convoy of tankers and merchant ships bound for Leyte, where they arrived on 1 January 1945.

Landings on Luzon

The following day, James E. Craig stood out for Mindoro Island to join Task Group 77.2, ordered to support landing operations on northern Luzon. Enemy reconnaissance planes maintained close surveillance; and late afternoon on 4 January an enemy suicide plane

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....

 penetrated defenses and struck the , causing her to burst into flame. After the conflagration got out of hand, the 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 commander ordered abandon ship. James E. Craig assisted in rescue operations and, later that evening, proceeded with other escorts and tankers to Mindoro.

Standing into Mangarin Bay

Mangarin Bay

Mangarin Bay is situated to the east of Mangarin Point, on the west coast of Mindoro, among the Philippine Islands. The bay is shoal and sheltered from the wind by the point and Ilin Island. Magarin point terminates in a long sandy pit off which the depth is 4 to 5 fathoms. Farther in the water...

 the following morning, James E. Craig commenced picket and ASW operations, which continued through the day and into the night, as the convoy departed Mangarin to maneuver off Mindoro during darkness. Designed to prevent enemy attack at night, the night
maneuvers continued until the 10th, when the convoy remained at Mangarin Bay through the night.

James E. Craig resumed ASW operations at the harbor entrance for several days until troublesome submarine detection equipment forced her to retire to Mangarin Harbor on 14 January. She commenced anti-aircraft patrol for ships in anchorage and on 5 February returned to San Pedro Bay, Leyte, for repairs, thence to Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, arriving on 2 March.

Escort duties

Getting underway the following day, she returned to San Pedro Bay via Kossol Roads, Palaus. Upon arriving Leyte on 10 March, James E. Craig prepared for continued escort duties between San Pedro Bay and 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,...

, Manus, Humboldt Bay, and Kossol Roads. From 14 March to 21 May, she operated almost continuously on escort duty, and on the 21st she departed Leyte for 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...

. Standing into San Fernando Harbor four days later, she commenced anti-submarine and escort patrols along the coast of Luzon that continued to 13 August when she departed for Manila. Once at Manila, she resumed ASW operations to the 27th; then, as escort in company with Eichenberger, she convoyed tugs and tows en route Okinawa

Okinawa Island

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, and is home to Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture. The island has an area of...

. An impending typhoon disrupted the convoy on 1 September; high seas and 70 kn (85 mph; 137 km/h) winds scattered the ships and separated tugs from their tows. After the storm abated on 2 September, James E. Craig began search and rescue operations which continued to the 9th. Further typhoon warnings caused the ships to return to 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, where the convoy anchored the following day.

Decommissioning

James E. Craig remained at Subic Bay until 1 October, when she steamed for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 via Eniwetok and 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...

. She arrived San Diego on 5 November and decommissioned there on 2 July 1946. She was struck from the Navy List

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

on 30 June 1968.