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USS John L. Williamson (DE-370)
Encyclopedia
USS John L. Williamson (DE-370) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort
acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II
. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy
, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket
.
She was named in honor of Seaman First Class John Leon Williamson
who was awarded the Navy Cross
posthumously for his bravery during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
. She was laid down 22 May 1944 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas
; launched 29 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Sherman Register, sister of Seaman First Class Williamson; and commissioned 31 October 1944, Lt. Comdr. J. E. Allen in command.
, the new escort vessel arrived at Boston, Massachusetts on 21 December 1944. Early in 1945, she received orders to join the U.S. Pacific Fleet and got underway on 3 January to steam via the Panama Canal
to San Diego, California
. There she arrived on 19 January and moved on to Pearl Harbor
on 28 January for training exercises. As Allied amphibious
assaults struck ever-closer to Japan
, John L. Williamson sailed on 2 March with a convoy for Iwo Jima
, arriving on 20 March after a stop at Eniwetok. She took up antisubmarine patrol around the island for four days and anchored again at Eniwetok 28 March 1945.
After serving on a brief antisubmarine patrol off Eniwetok, the ship steamed to Majuro
on 5 April and for the next three weeks operated in the Marshall Islands
. Air strikes and shore bombardments combined with surrender demands over loudspeakers were used to induce Japanese holdouts to give themselves up. John L. Williamson fired at shore batteries and emplacements at Mill, Alu
and other islands, taking off scores of prisoners and natives from these bypassed islands. She sailed from Majuro on 24 April and arrived at Ulithi
five days later for picket duty.
John L. Williamson remained on patrol duty around Ulithi with an occasional escort voyage to Eniwetok with troop transports until departing on 15 July with a large convoy for Okinawa. She arrived in Okinawa on 21 July during the final stages of this, the last great island fight of the war, and after two days patrolling off the transport area returned to Ulithi on 27 July. The ship made one more escort voyage to Okinawa in August, and was at anchor at Ulithi when the Japanese accepted surrender terms on 15 August.
The destroyer escort sailed on 22 August for Okinawa and Japan, arriving at Wakayama on 14 September to escort ships through the swept channel and aid in occupation operations. After screening flight operations off Japan, she carried out courier duties between Wakayama and Yokosuka until she sailed for the United States
on 2 January 1946.
on 2 January 1946 and was decommissioned on 14 June 1946 at San Diego, California. She entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet there and in January 1947 was transferred to Stockton, California
. On 15 September 1970, she was struck from the Navy list
, and, on 13 June 1973, she was sold for scrapping.
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket
Radar picket
A radar picket is a radar-equipped ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a force to protect it from surprise attack. Often several detached radar units encircle a force to provide increased cover in all directions.-World War II:Radar picket ships...
.
She was named in honor of Seaman First Class John Leon Williamson
John Leon Williamson
-Navy career:Williamson enlisted in the Navy at Raleigh, North Carolina, 11 July 1940. After recruit training, he was assigned to cruiser USS San Francisco ....
who was awarded the Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
posthumously for his bravery during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, The Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, as the , took place from 12–15 November 1942, and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles...
. She was laid down 22 May 1944 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas
Orange, Texas
Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...
; launched 29 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Sherman Register, sister of Seaman First Class Williamson; and commissioned 31 October 1944, Lt. Comdr. J. E. Allen in command.
World War II
Following shakedown training in waters off BermudaBermuda
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...
, the new escort vessel arrived at Boston, Massachusetts on 21 December 1944. Early in 1945, she received orders to join the U.S. Pacific Fleet and got underway on 3 January to steam 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...
to 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...
. There she arrived on 19 January and moved on 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...
on 28 January for training exercises. As Allied amphibious
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
assaults struck ever-closer to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, John L. Williamson sailed on 2 March with a convoy 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...
, arriving on 20 March after a stop at Eniwetok. She took up antisubmarine patrol around the island for four days and anchored again at Eniwetok 28 March 1945.
After serving on a brief antisubmarine patrol off Eniwetok, the ship steamed 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...
on 5 April and for the next three weeks operated 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...
. Air strikes and shore bombardments combined with surrender demands over loudspeakers were used to induce Japanese holdouts to give themselves up. John L. Williamson fired at shore batteries and emplacements at Mill, Alu
Alû
Alû is one of the Utukku, vengeful spirits in the lore of the ancient Assyrians.Stephen Herbert Langdon cites a translation of a cuneiform script by Major-General Sir H. C. Rawlinson. From v Pl. 50, A, line 42: "Whom in his bed the wicked Alû covered,/Whom the wicked ghost by night overwhelmed"...
and other islands, taking off scores of prisoners and natives from these bypassed islands. She sailed from Majuro on 24 April and arrived 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...
five days later for picket duty.
John L. Williamson remained on patrol duty around Ulithi with an occasional escort voyage to Eniwetok with troop transports until departing on 15 July with a large convoy for Okinawa. She arrived in Okinawa on 21 July during the final stages of this, the last great island fight of the war, and after two days patrolling off the transport area returned to Ulithi on 27 July. The ship made one more escort voyage to Okinawa in August, and was at anchor at Ulithi when the Japanese accepted surrender terms on 15 August.
The destroyer escort sailed on 22 August for Okinawa and Japan, arriving at Wakayama on 14 September to escort ships through the swept channel and aid in occupation operations. After screening flight operations off Japan, she carried out courier duties between Wakayama and Yokosuka until she sailed for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on 2 January 1946.
Post-war decommissioning
John L. Williamson arrived in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan 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...
on 2 January 1946 and was decommissioned on 14 June 1946 at San Diego, California. She entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet there and in January 1947 was transferred to Stockton, California
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
. On 15 September 1970, she was struck from the Navy list
Navy List
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....
, and, on 13 June 1973, she was sold for scrapping.
See also
- USS Williamson (DD-244)USS Williamson (DD-244)USS Williamson was a in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Commander William Price Williamson....
- List of United States Navy ships
- World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
- DestroyerDestroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
- Destroyer escortDestroyer escortA destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...