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USS Key (DE-348)
Encyclopedia
USS Key (DE-348) was a 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
. Post-war, she returned home proudly with one battle star to her credit.
Key was launched 12 February 1944 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas
, sponsored by Mrs. Ira F. Key, mother of Lt. Key; and commissioned 5 June 1944, Lt. Comdr. F. D. Buckley in command.
, Key operated out of Norfolk, Virginia
, training crews for destroyer escorts and patrolling the North Atlantic in quest of submarines. Clearing Hampton Roads
20 September, she escorted a convoy to Naples, Italy, then returned to New York
24 October. As a unit of CortDiv 76, she sailed from New York 10 November for duty with the U.S. 7th Fleet in the Southwest Pacific.
, New Guinea
, 27 December, and between 1 January 1945 and 6 February she made five escort runs from Hollandia to Leyte Gulf
. On 9 February she began antisubmarine patrols east of Leyte Gulf; then she steamed to Mangarin Bay, Mindoro
, 19 February for similar duty in the South China Sea
. Returning to Leyte
14 March, the versatile destroyer escort operated out of Leyte Gulf and Polloc
, Mindanao
, screening ships en route to Lingayen Gulf
, Luzon
; Zamboanga
, Mindanao; Jolo
, Sulu Archipelago
; and Legaspi and Manila
, Luzon. After escorting a convoy of LSMs and LCI
s to Davao Gulf
15 May, Key bombarded and destroyed an important Japanese PT base at Piso Point before returning to Polloc the 17th.
After additional escort runs to Davao Gulf, Leyte Gulf, and Legaspi, Luzon, Key departed Manila Bay
11 June for duty in the Dutch East Indies
. Arriving Morotai
Island 14 June, she screened Tawitawi-bound LCI's 23–26 June before escorting a convoy the 28th to a rendezvous the following day with the amphibious force en route to the assault at Balikpapan
, Borneo
. While at Balikpapan 7 July, Key rescued a survivor from an LCM sunk by a mine in the harbor. She patrolled for enemy submarines until 22 July when she sailed via Morotai for Leyte Gulf, arriving 4 August.
, Western Carolines
before sailing to Manila 8 September. Between 18 September and 23 November she made two escort runs from Manila Bay to Okinawa to support American occupation operations in Japan. Clearing Manila Bay 25 November, she embarked homebound veterans 27 November at Guiuan, Samar
and departed the next day for the United States
.
and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. She was struck from the Navy List
on 1 March 1972 and sold for scrapping 19 December 1972.
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...
. Post-war, she returned home proudly with one battle star to her credit.
Key was launched 12 February 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...
, sponsored by Mrs. Ira F. Key, mother of Lt. Key; and commissioned 5 June 1944, Lt. Comdr. F. D. Buckley in command.
World War II North Atlantic operations
Following shakedown 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...
, Key operated out of Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, training crews for destroyer escorts and patrolling the North Atlantic in quest of submarines. Clearing Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
20 September, she escorted a convoy to Naples, Italy, then returned to 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...
24 October. As a unit of CortDiv 76, she sailed from New York 10 November for duty with the U.S. 7th Fleet in the Southwest Pacific.
Transfer to the Pacific Fleet
Key arrived HollandiaJayapura
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....
, 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...
, 27 December, and between 1 January 1945 and 6 February she made five escort runs from Hollandia to 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...
. On 9 February she began antisubmarine patrols east of Leyte Gulf; then she steamed to Mangarin Bay, Mindoro
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
, 19 February for similar duty 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...
. Returning to Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
14 March, the versatile destroyer escort operated out of Leyte Gulf and Polloc
Polloc
Polloc Island is an uninhabited island in the province of Romblon in the Philippines. It is part of barangay Yabawon in the municipality of Banton....
, Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
, screening ships en route 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...
, 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...
; Zamboanga
Zamboanga City
The City of Zamboanga : is a highly urbanized, independent and a chartered city located in Mindanao, Philippines....
, Mindanao; Jolo
Jolo
Jolo may refer to:* Jolo Island* Jolo, Sulu* Jolo, West Virginia* Jolo is also the nickname of Swedish author Jan Olof Olsson....
, Sulu Archipelago
Sulu Archipelago
The Sulu Archipelago is a chain of islands in the southwestern Philippines. This archipelago is considered to be part of the Moroland by the local rebel independence movement. This island group forms the northern limit of the Celebes Sea....
; and Legaspi 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,...
, Luzon. After escorting a convoy of LSMs and LCI
Landing Craft Infantry
The Landing craft, Infantry or LCI were several classes of sea-going amphibious assault ships of the Second World War utilized to land large numbers of infantry directly onto beaches. They were developed in response to a British request for a vessel capable of carrying and landing substantially...
s to Davao Gulf
Davao Gulf
Davao Gulf is a gulf found in Mindanao in the Philippines. It has an area of 308,000 hectares. Davao Gulf cuts into the island of Mindanao from Celebes Sea. It is surrounded by all four provinces in the Davao Region. The largest island in the gulf is Samal Island. Davao City, on the gulf's west...
15 May, Key bombarded and destroyed an important Japanese PT base at Piso Point before returning to Polloc the 17th.
After additional escort runs to Davao Gulf, Leyte Gulf, and Legaspi, Luzon, Key departed Manila Bay
Manila Bay
Manila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...
11 June for duty in the 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....
. Arriving Morotai
Morotai
Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
Island 14 June, she screened Tawitawi-bound LCI's 23–26 June before escorting a convoy the 28th to a rendezvous the following day with the amphibious force en route to the assault at Balikpapan
Balikpapan
Balikpapan is a seaport city on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo, Indonesia, in the East Kalimantan province, a resource-rich region well known for its timber, mining, and petroleum export products. Two harbors, Semayang and Kariangau , and the Sepinggan International Airport are the main...
, Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. While at Balikpapan 7 July, Key rescued a survivor from an LCM sunk by a mine in the harbor. She patrolled for enemy submarines until 22 July when she sailed via Morotai for Leyte Gulf, arriving 4 August.
End-of-war operations
Operating out of Leyte after the end of hostilities, Key steamed on antisubmarine patrols east of Leyte 22 to 31 August and escorted a convoy to 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...
, Western Carolines
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
before sailing to Manila 8 September. Between 18 September and 23 November she made two escort runs from Manila Bay to Okinawa to support American occupation operations in Japan. Clearing Manila Bay 25 November, she embarked homebound veterans 27 November at Guiuan, Samar
Samar
Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...
and departed the next day for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Post-war decommissioning
Arriving San Pedro, California, 17 December, she decommissioned 9 July 1946 at Terminal IslandTerminal Island
Terminal Island is an island located in Los Angeles County, California between Los Angeles Harbor and Long Beach Harbor. Originally a mudflat known to the Spanish as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, and later called Rattlesnake Island, it has officially been Terminal Island since 1918...
and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. 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 1 March 1972 and sold for scrapping 19 December 1972.