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USS O'Reilly (DE-330)
Encyclopedia
USS O'Reilly (DE-330) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort
built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. It served in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine
and air attack for Navy vessels and convoy
s.
It was named in honor of Edward Joseph O'Reilly who died in action in the Battle of Savo Island
in the Eastern Solomons
on August 9, 1942. It was laid down on July 29, 1943, by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas
; launched November 14, 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Bride O'Reilly, mother of Lieut. O'Reilly; and commissioned December 28, 1943, Lt. Comdr. William C. F. Robards in command.
, and Galveston, Texas
, O'Reilly left on January 18, 1944, for shakedown off Bermuda
. This was followed by a ten-day availability in Charleston, South Carolina
, before she sailed for Guantánamo Bay, Aruba
, and Curaçao
.
On March 9 O'Reilly picked up its first convoy
, out of Curaçao, for Gibraltar
and several North African ports, and arrived in Algiers
on the 25th. It returned the following month, then made two more Mediterranean voyages from the West Indies and one from New York before undergoing repairs and upkeep at the New York Navy Yard in early September.
O'Reilly then switched convoy routes, and on September 20 began its first of five round trips across the North Atlantic to England. On November 18, while heading to Plymouth, England, on the second of these, it attacked a submarine
with unknown results. During its nine Atlantic crossings not one ship under iys protection was lost to submarine or air attack.
June 8, and proceeded to Pearl Harbor
after a brief stop at San Diego, California
. It conducted five weeks of local training in Hawaii
an waters then, on August 1, sailed for Leyte Gulf
with stops at Eniwetok and other islands. At Leyte
it spent several weeks in upkeep, then sailed on a good-will tour via Okinawa to Shanghai
and Taiwan
.
with one of its propellers and threw a shaft
out of alignment. it remained there until December 2 for repairs, then sailed for Los Angeles, California
, arriving the 22nd.
at Green Cove Springs, Florida
. During 1961 she shifted to Orange, Texas
. She was struck from the Navy List
on 15 January 1971 and sold for scrapping 10 April 1972.
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...
built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. It served in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine
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...
and air attack for Navy vessels and 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...
s.
It was named in honor of Edward Joseph O'Reilly who died in action in the Battle of Savo Island
Battle of Savo Island
The Battle of Savo Island, also known as the First Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , was a naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval forces...
in the Eastern Solomons
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
on August 9, 1942. It was laid down on July 29, 1943, 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 November 14, 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Bride O'Reilly, mother of Lieut. O'Reilly; and commissioned December 28, 1943, Lt. Comdr. William C. F. Robards in command.
World War II North Atlantic operations
After fitting-out and sea trials in the Orange, TexasOrange, 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...
, and Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
, O'Reilly left on January 18, 1944, 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...
. This was followed by a ten-day availability in Charleston, South Carolina
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...
, before she sailed for Guantánamo Bay, Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
, and Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
.
On March 9 O'Reilly picked up its first 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...
, out of Curaçao, for Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and several North African ports, and arrived in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
on the 25th. It returned the following month, then made two more Mediterranean voyages from the West Indies and one from New York before undergoing repairs and upkeep at the New York Navy Yard in early September.
O'Reilly then switched convoy routes, and on September 20 began its first of five round trips across the North Atlantic to England. On November 18, while heading to Plymouth, England, on the second of these, it attacked a submarine
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...
with unknown results. During its nine Atlantic crossings not one ship under iys protection was lost to submarine or air attack.
Transfer to the Pacific Fleet
In April 1945, with the European War well on the way to its conclusion, O'Reilly was ordered to the Pacific. It left New York on May 24, transited the Panama CanalPanama 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...
June 8, and proceeded 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...
after a brief stop 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...
. It conducted five weeks of local training in 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 then, on August 1, sailed for 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 stops at Eniwetok and other islands. At 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...
it spent several weeks in upkeep, then sailed on a good-will tour via Okinawa to Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and 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...
.
Damaged on a Reef
While entering Buckner Bay, Okinawa, on October 23, O'Reilly struck a reefReef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
with one of its propellers and threw a shaft
Driveshaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, propeller shaft, or Cardan shaft is a mechanical component for transmitting torque and rotation, usually used to connect other components of a drive train that cannot be connected directly because of distance or the need to allow for relative movement...
out of alignment. it remained there until December 2 for repairs, then sailed for Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, arriving the 22nd.
Post-War inactivation and decommissioning
On January 16, 1946, it departed for New York and there underwent pre-inactivation availability. It decommissioned 15 June 1946 and joined the Reserve FleetReserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....
at Green Cove Springs, Florida
Green Cove Springs, Florida
Green Cove Springs is a city in Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,908. It is the county seat of Clay County....
. During 1961 she shifted to 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...
. 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 15 January 1971 and sold for scrapping 10 April 1972.