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USS Strickland (DE-333)
Encyclopedia
USS Strickland (DE-333) was an built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She 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. Post-war, she served the U.S. Navy in other tasks, including that of a radar picket
ship.
She was named in honor of Ensign Everett C. Strickland who was killed on 9 August 1942 during the Battle of Savo Island
. She was laid down on 23 August 1943 by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas
; launched on 2 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Everett Strickland; and commissioned on 10 January 1944, Lt. Comdr. A. J. Hopkins in command.
on her shakedown cruise
and thence to Norfolk, Virginia
. She stood out of that port on 24 March in the screen of convoy UGS-37, consisting of 60 merchant ships and six LSTs, en route to Bizerte
. The voyage to Gibraltar
was uneventful; but, once the Allied ships entered the Mediterranean, they were trailed by German planes. The Luftwaffe
struck late in the evening of 11 April when the convoy was off Cape Bengut, Algeria
, with a force of approximately 25 Dornier 217s and Junker 88s
making bombing and torpedo runs. Strickland, on the starboard flank of the convoy, splashed a Junker that was making a strafing run on her. During the action, was torpedo
ed and badly damaged. The ship's return trip to the United States was uneventful, and she arrived at New York
on 11 May.
Strickland continued on the Norfolk-to-Bizerte run for five months and, in October, shifted to the North Atlantic lanes, escorting tankers and troop transports to England and France. She continued these runs until mid-May 1945 when she returned to New York to be refitted for duty in the Pacific. She stood out of New York on 20 June for a 10-day training period at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and onward routing via the Panama Canal
to Hawaii
.
on 25 July and was conducting training exercises when Japan capitulated. She escorted an aircraft carrier to Eniwetok, Marshall Islands
, on 29 August, and accompanied three merchant ships from there to Japan, arriving in Tokyo Bay
on 2 October. She sailed from there to Guam
and, until January 1946, visited Iwo Jima
, Truk, and Okinawa. She returned to San Diego, California
, on 25 January 1946 and was routed to the East Coast for inactivation. Strickland arrived at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, on 11 February and moved down to Charleston, South Carolina
, the following month. She remained at Charleston from 10 March to 5 December when she was towed to Green Cove Springs, Florida
. The destroyer was decommissioned on 15 June and placed in reserve with the Atlantic Fleet.
, where she began duty with the Eastern Air Defense Command. With her new and complex electronics installation, Strickland worked hand-in-hand with the U.S. Air Force in a network of radar stations that were scanning the coasts of the United States. Operating from her homeport, the ship served at various picket stations on the North Atlantic seaboard until October 1955 when she was overhauled at the New York Naval Shipyard. With updated radar
equipment, Strickland held training off Guantanamo Bay; then returned to Newport on 18 March 1956 for assignment to the picket line. During the summer of 1956, she had the distinction of being the first DER to man a regularly assigned picket station on the Distant Early Warning (DEW) line. She continued her picket duties in the Atlantic until July 1957.
On 15 July, Strickland, with four other DERs, stood out of Newport en route to the Pacific. They arrived at Pearl Harbor, her new homeport, on 18 August. The ship then began patrolling picket stations on the Pacific extension of the DEW line. From 2 October 1957 to 24 March 1958, she was in Pearl Harbor. After installation of stronger radar and communications systems, she returned to her former duties on the barrier stations in the Pacific Ocean area until ordered to return to the United States for inactivation.
on 1 December 1972.
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. Post-war, she served the U.S. Navy in other tasks, including that of a 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...
ship.
She was named in honor of Ensign Everett C. Strickland who was killed on 9 August 1942 during 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...
. She was laid down on 23 August 1943 by the 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 on 2 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Everett Strickland; and commissioned on 10 January 1944, Lt. Comdr. A. J. Hopkins in command.
World War II North Atlantic operations
Strickland sailed for 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...
on her shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Shakedown cruises are also used to familiarize the ship's crew with operation of the craft....
and thence to 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....
. She stood out of that port on 24 March in the screen of convoy UGS-37, consisting of 60 merchant ships and six LSTs, en route to Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
. The voyage to 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...
was uneventful; but, once the Allied ships entered the Mediterranean, they were trailed by German planes. The Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
struck late in the evening of 11 April when the convoy was off Cape Bengut, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, with a force of approximately 25 Dornier 217s and Junker 88s
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
making bombing and torpedo runs. Strickland, on the starboard flank of the convoy, splashed a Junker that was making a strafing run on her. During the action, was 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...
ed and badly damaged. The ship's return trip to the United States was uneventful, and she arrived at 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...
on 11 May.
Strickland continued on the Norfolk-to-Bizerte run for five months and, in October, shifted to the North Atlantic lanes, escorting tankers and troop transports to England and France. She continued these runs until mid-May 1945 when she returned to New York to be refitted for duty in the Pacific. She stood out of New York on 20 June for a 10-day training period at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and onward routing 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 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...
.
Transfer to the Pacific Fleet
Strickland 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...
on 25 July and was conducting training exercises when Japan capitulated. She escorted an aircraft carrier to Eniwetok, 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...
, on 29 August, and accompanied three merchant ships from there to Japan, arriving in Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
on 2 October. She sailed from there 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, until January 1946, visited 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...
, Truk, and Okinawa. She returned 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...
, on 25 January 1946 and was routed to the East Coast for inactivation. Strickland arrived at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, on 11 February and moved down to 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...
, the following month. She remained at Charleston from 10 March to 5 December when she was towed to 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....
. The destroyer was decommissioned on 15 June and placed in reserve with the Atlantic Fleet.
Reactivated as a radar picket ship
In December 1950, the Navy decided to reactivate the ship and convert her into a radar picket escort ship. Strickland was towed to Norfolk, Virginia, on 29 March 1951 for conversion. She was recommissioned as DER-333 on 2 February 1952. After shakedown off Guantánamo Bay, the destroyer returned to Norfolk for availability from 1 to 27 June; and then reported to Escort Squadron 16 at Newport, Rhode IslandNewport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, where she began duty with the Eastern Air Defense Command. With her new and complex electronics installation, Strickland worked hand-in-hand with the U.S. Air Force in a network of radar stations that were scanning the coasts of the United States. Operating from her homeport, the ship served at various picket stations on the North Atlantic seaboard until October 1955 when she was overhauled at the New York Naval Shipyard. With updated radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
equipment, Strickland held training off Guantanamo Bay; then returned to Newport on 18 March 1956 for assignment to the picket line. During the summer of 1956, she had the distinction of being the first DER to man a regularly assigned picket station on the Distant Early Warning (DEW) line. She continued her picket duties in the Atlantic until July 1957.
On 15 July, Strickland, with four other DERs, stood out of Newport en route to the Pacific. They arrived at Pearl Harbor, her new homeport, on 18 August. The ship then began patrolling picket stations on the Pacific extension of the DEW line. From 2 October 1957 to 24 March 1958, she was in Pearl Harbor. After installation of stronger radar and communications systems, she returned to her former duties on the barrier stations in the Pacific Ocean area until ordered to return to the United States for inactivation.
Final decommissioning
Strickland was decommissioned on 17 June and assigned to the Reserve Fleet. She was struck from the Naval Vessel RegisterNaval 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 December 1972.