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USS Overton (DD-239)
Encyclopedia
USS Overton (DD-239/APD–23) was a Clemson-class
destroyer
in the United States Navy
during World War II
. She was named for Captain
Macon C. Overton
.
Overton was laid down 30 October 1918, by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation; named prior to launching 10 July 1919; sponsored by Mrs. Margaret C. Overton, mother of Captain Overton; and commissioned 30 June 1920, Commander
Archibald D. Turnbull in command.
, 5 October. For the next year and a half she performed quasi-diplomatic and humanitarian roles necessitated by the aftermath of World War I
. Cruising regularly to Caucasian
, Romania
n, and Turkish
Black Sea
ports, she also steamed into the Mediterranean to visit Levant
ine cities. She distributed relief supplies, provided transportation and communication services and relocated refugees. Much of the latter was accomplished following the capitulation of General Pyotr N. Wrangel
's White Army
to Bolshevik
forces in the Crimea
in November 1920. In July, 1922, Overton returned to the US for abbreviated exercises with the Scouting Fleet
and, then, in October, as Turkish-Greek hostilities flared at Smyrna
, rejoined the Turkish Waters Detachment for another six month tour.
In mid-May 1923, the destroyer sailed west to Italy, from where she returned to New York, arriving 12 June. Independent, squadron, and fleet exercises over the next eight years kept her in the Atlantic with but two interruptions, deployments in 1925 and 1926 to the Pacific for Fleet Problems.
On 3 February 1931, Overton was placed out of commission in reserve. The following year she was placed in rotating reserve commission, and served in that capacity until again decommissioned, in reserve, 20 November 1937.
. Moored at Boston, Massachusetts on 7 December 1941, her assignments changed little with American entry into World War II
. Escort of convoy and antisubmarine warfare (ASW) patrols continued; at first to Iceland, then in the Gulf of Mexico
and the Caribbean
. Between July, 1942, and February, 1943, she performed similar missions along the east coast. Then, from 7 February until 26 May, she escorted convoys between New York and Casablanca
. Overhaul followed and toward the end of June Overton joined one of the first escort carrier groups, TG 21.11 centered on , and, with that group, covered the Norfolk-Casablanca convoy route. On the 14th and 30 July, planes from her group were credited with sinking and .
, 12 November; underwent further training; and, on 22 January 1944, headed west with the Advance Southern Transport Group for Kwajalein
. Before dawn on the 31st, she put reconnaissance troops ashore at Gehh (from where they moved to Ninni) and at Gea
to control the Gea Pass into the southern end of the lagoon. She then took up bombardment, fire support and reconnaissance duties. On the 4th, she covered the capture of Bigej
and, on the 8th, sailed for Pearl Harbor and the west coast. By 29 May, however, she was back in the Pacific theater, en route to Saipan
with Marines
embarked. Until 24 June, she screened the transport area and patrolled off Tinian
, then retired to Eniwetok to escort convoys to Saipan. In July she resumed patrol and bombardment duties off Tinian, then covered LCTs to Guam
, and, at the end of the month, escorted LSTs to Pearl Harbor.
Overton steamed west again 15 September, this time to Manus
, and from there, on 12 October, to the Philippines to cover UDT personnel put ashore prior to the landings on Leyte. Supply convoy assignments preceded her next amphibious operation, Lingayen Gulf
. On 27 December, she departed Humboldt Bay
. On 6 January 1945, she entered the Gulf and, on the following day, once again covered UDT personnel ashore. Throughout the landings and until the 12th, Overton screened heavy units and transports, then retired to Leyte.
From Leyte, the APD steamed to Ulithi, from where she screened the fast carriers' logistics support group to UNREP areas until early March. She next patrolled off Iwo Jima, and, on 10 March, resumed escort assignments. A run to Leyte was followed by convoy duty to Okinawa. She arrived at the latter island 11 April and patrolled on radar picket station until the 15th, then headed for Saipan. From there, she was routed back to the United States.
She arrived at San Francisco 15 May and was ordered on to Philadelphia for inactivation. Decommissioned 30 July 1945, she was struck from the Navy List
, 13 August, and sold for scrapping, 30 November, to the Boston Metals Company, Baltimore, Maryland.
As of 2005, no other ship have been named Overton.
See also USS Overton County (LST-1074)
.
Clemson class destroyer
The Clemson class was a series of 156 destroyers which served with the United States Navy from after World War I through World War II.The Clemson-class ships were commissioned by the United States Navy from 1919 to 1922, built by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, New York Shipbuilding...
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...
in 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...
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...
. She was named for Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Macon C. Overton
Macon C. Overton
Macon C. Overton was an officer in the United States Marine Corps during World War I.Overton was born in Union Point, Georgia. Mortally wounded while guiding a tank against an enemy position at St...
.
Overton was laid down 30 October 1918, by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation; named prior to launching 10 July 1919; sponsored by Mrs. Margaret C. Overton, mother of Captain Overton; and commissioned 30 June 1920, Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Archibald D. Turnbull in command.
Service history
Following shakedown, Overton operated with the 3rd, then 5th, Destroyer Squadrons off the east coast. While with the latter in early September 1920, she assisted in the rescue of . She was then assigned to the 2nd Destroyer Squadron and ordered to European Waters. Departing New York, 14 September, she joined the Black Sea Detachment at ConstantinopleConstantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, 5 October. For the next year and a half she performed quasi-diplomatic and humanitarian roles necessitated by the aftermath of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Cruising regularly to Caucasian
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n, and Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
ports, she also steamed into the Mediterranean to visit Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
ine cities. She distributed relief supplies, provided transportation and communication services and relocated refugees. Much of the latter was accomplished following the capitulation of General Pyotr N. Wrangel
Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel
Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel or Vrangel was an officer in the Imperial Russian army and later commanding general of the anti-Bolshevik White Army in Southern Russia in the later stages of the Russian Civil War.-Life:Wrangel was born in Mukuliai, Kovno Governorate in the Russian Empire...
's White Army
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
to Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
forces in the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
in November 1920. In July, 1922, Overton returned to the US for abbreviated exercises with the Scouting Fleet
Scouting Fleet
The Scouting Fleet was part of the United States Fleet in the United States Navy, and renamed the Scouting Force in 1930.Established in 1922, the fleet consisted mainly of older battleships and initially operated in the Atlantic...
and, then, in October, as Turkish-Greek hostilities flared at Smyrna
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
, rejoined the Turkish Waters Detachment for another six month tour.
In mid-May 1923, the destroyer sailed west to Italy, from where she returned to New York, arriving 12 June. Independent, squadron, and fleet exercises over the next eight years kept her in the Atlantic with but two interruptions, deployments in 1925 and 1926 to the Pacific for Fleet Problems.
On 3 February 1931, Overton was placed out of commission in reserve. The following year she was placed in rotating reserve commission, and served in that capacity until again decommissioned, in reserve, 20 November 1937.
World War II
With the outbreak of hostilities in Europe in 1939 Overton recommissioned 26 September and was assigned to Neutrality PatrolNeutrality Patrol
At the beginning of World War II, when Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 started the hostilities in Europe, President Franklin D...
. Moored at Boston, Massachusetts on 7 December 1941, her assignments changed little with American entry into 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...
. Escort of convoy and antisubmarine warfare (ASW) patrols continued; at first to Iceland, then in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
and 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...
. Between July, 1942, and February, 1943, she performed similar missions along the east coast. Then, from 7 February until 26 May, she escorted convoys between New York and Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
. Overhaul followed and toward the end of June Overton joined one of the first escort carrier groups, TG 21.11 centered on , and, with that group, covered the Norfolk-Casablanca convoy route. On the 14th and 30 July, planes from her group were credited with sinking and .
Convoys escorted
| Convoy | Escort Group | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| HX 155 HX convoys The HX convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were east-bound convoys and originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia from where they sailed to ports in the United Kingdom... |
18-25 Nov 1941 | from 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... to Iceland Iceland Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population... prior to US declaration of war |
|
| ON 31 ON convoys The ON convoys were a series of North Atlantic trade convoys running Outbound from the British Isles to North America during the Battle of the Atlantic .-History:... |
4-15 Nov 1941 | from Iceland to Newfoundland prior to US declaration of war | |
| HX 170 HX convoys The HX convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were east-bound convoys and originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia from where they sailed to ports in the United Kingdom... |
16-24 Jan 1942 | from Newfoundland to Iceland | |
| ON 61 ON convoys The ON convoys were a series of North Atlantic trade convoys running Outbound from the British Isles to North America during the Battle of the Atlantic .-History:... |
1-10 Feb 1942 | from Iceland to Newfoundland |
High-speed transport
Overton returned to Norfolk, 6 August, and emerged from refitting as APD-23 (effective 21 August). On 22 October the high speed transport sailed for the Pacific. She arrived at Pearl HarborPearl 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...
, 12 November; underwent further training; and, on 22 January 1944, headed west with the Advance Southern Transport Group for Kwajalein
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
. Before dawn on the 31st, she put reconnaissance troops ashore at Gehh (from where they moved to Ninni) and at Gea
GEA
GEA was a Swedish automobile manufacturer founded by Gustaf Ericsson in 1904 in Stockholm. Originally the company was located in Arbetargatan, but later it moved to Liljeholmen. Together with his study friends from Chalmers University of Technology K G Karlsson and Erik L Magnus they had the...
to control the Gea Pass into the southern end of the lagoon. She then took up bombardment, fire support and reconnaissance duties. On the 4th, she covered the capture of Bigej
Bigej
Bigej or Begej Island is part of Kwajalein Atoll in the Ralik Chain in the Republic of the Marshall Islands , 2,100 nautical miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii....
and, on the 8th, sailed for Pearl Harbor and the west coast. By 29 May, however, she was back in the Pacific theater, en route to Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
with Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
embarked. Until 24 June, she screened the transport area and patrolled off Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
, then retired to Eniwetok to escort convoys to Saipan. In July she resumed patrol and bombardment duties off Tinian, then covered LCTs to Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, and, at the end of the month, escorted LSTs to Pearl Harbor.
Overton steamed west again 15 September, this time to 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...
, and from there, on 12 October, to the Philippines to cover UDT personnel put ashore prior to the landings on Leyte. Supply convoy assignments preceded her next amphibious operation, 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...
. On 27 December, she departed 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...
. On 6 January 1945, she entered the Gulf and, on the following day, once again covered UDT personnel ashore. Throughout the landings and until the 12th, Overton screened heavy units and transports, then retired to Leyte.
From Leyte, the APD steamed to Ulithi, from where she screened the fast carriers' logistics support group to UNREP areas until early March. She next patrolled off Iwo Jima, and, on 10 March, resumed escort assignments. A run to Leyte was followed by convoy duty to Okinawa. She arrived at the latter island 11 April and patrolled on radar picket station until the 15th, then headed for Saipan. From there, she was routed back to the United States.
She arrived at San Francisco 15 May and was ordered on to Philadelphia for inactivation. Decommissioned 30 July 1945, 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...
, 13 August, and sold for scrapping, 30 November, to the Boston Metals Company, Baltimore, Maryland.
Awards
Overton earned 8 battle stars during World War II.As of 2005, no other ship have been named Overton.
See also USS Overton County (LST-1074)
USS Overton County (LST-1074)
USS LST-1074 was an built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was later named Overton County for the Overton County, Tennessee — the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name—but never saw active service under that name....
.
External links
- http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/239.htm