USS Tisdale (DE-33) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

USS Tisdale (DE-33) was an of 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 promptly sent off into the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

to protect convoys and other ships from Japanese

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

submarines and fighter aircraft

Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

. She performed dangerous work in numerous battle areas, and returned home proudly with four battle stars.

BDE-33 was laid down at Mare Island Navy Yard on 23 January 1943 as one of the warships to be transferred to the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

under the terms of the Lend-Lease

Lend-Lease

Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...

agreement. However, her allocation to the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

was canceled; and she was named Tisdale (for Commander Ryland Dillard Tisdale

Ryland Dillard Tisdale

Ryland Dillard Tisdale was born on 15 November 1894 at the Naval Ordnance Proving Ground located in Charles County, Maryland, about 25 miles south of Washington, D.C. He was appointed a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy on 7 July 1911 and graduated on 5 June 1915. Between his commissioning and...

) and redesignated DE-33 on 23 June 1943 when a destroyer escort

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...

recently laid down at Boston, Massachusetts, DE-228, was assigned to the Royal Navy in her stead. Tisdale was launched on 28 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth M. Tisdale, Jr.; and commissioned on 11 October 1943, Lt. Comdr. Theodore Wolcott in command.

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

Following shakedown

Shakedown (testing)

A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...

, Tisdale cleared Treasure Island, California

Treasure Island, California

Treasure Island is an artificial island in the San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland, and an emerging neighborhood of San Francisco....

, on 5 December 1943. Six days later, she moored at 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...

in the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...

. The destroyer escort conducted training in the vicinity of Oahu

Oahu

Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...

until the 23nd, when she got underway for the Central Pacific. After stops at Canton Island and Abemama

Abemama

Abemama is an atoll in the central part of the Kiribati Group located 152 kilometres southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator.- Geography :...

, she reached Tarawa Atoll

Atoll

An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...

, in the Gilbert Islands

Gilbert Islands

The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...

, on 9 January 1944. Between 16 and 20 January, she made two voyages between Tarawa and Funafuti

Funafuti

Funafuti is an atoll that forms the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 4,492 , making it the most populated atoll in the country. It is a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 metres wide, encircling a large lagoon 18 km long and 14 km wide, with a surface of...

in the Ellice Islands, ending up at Funafuti on the 20th. On the 23d, Tisdale stood out of Funafuti to participate in "Operation Flintlock", the seizure and occupation of 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...

and 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...

Atoll

An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...

s 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...

. However, the destroyer escort saw no action in the operation and only put into Majuro

Majuro

after it had been secured.

The destroyer escort moored at the dock in Pearl Harbor at mid-morning on 13 February. She underwent repairs until the first week in March. On 3 March, she cleared the harbor to return to the Marshalls. After a stop at Johnston Island, she moored at Majuro

Majuro

just after noon on the 12th. Three days later, Tisdale exited the lagoon

Lagoon

A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...

in the screen of a 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...

bound for the Gilberts. She arrived at Tarawa on St. Patrick's Day and remained there for almost two months screening ships into and out of the atoll. On 12 May, she exited the lagoon

Lagoon

in company with and and set course for Pearl Harbor, where she arrived on the 19th.

Invasion of the Marianas operations

Following a 10-day availability at the DE

Destroyer escort

docks, she got underway on 29 May in the screen of Rear Admiral Blandy

William H. P. Blandy

William Henry Purnell Blandy , known to friends as "Spike", was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II.-Biography:...

's floating reserve for the Marianas invasion. Tisdale and her charges staged through 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...

, stopping there from 9 to 11 June before continuing on to the Marianas. Soldiers and marines stormed ashore at 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...

on the 15th. The destroyer escort, however, remained some distance from the island, continuing to screen the reserve force. On 16 June, Admiral Spruance

Raymond A. Spruance

Raymond Ames Spruance was a United States Navy admiral in World War II.Spruance commanded US naval forces during two of the most significant naval battles in the Pacific theater, the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea...

decided to commit the floating reserve, and the Army's 27th Infantry Division landed at dusk. Tisdale escorted the ships into position off Saipan

Saipan

for the landings and began duty screening the transport area.

Battle of the Philippine Sea

During the Battle of the Philippine Sea

Philippine Sea

The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea east and north of the Philippines occupying an estimated surface area of 2 million mi² on the western part of the North Pacific Ocean...

, the warship

Warship

A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...

covered the transports against the possibility of an enemy end run and the contingency of Japanese planes penetrating Task Force

Task force

A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...

58's reinforced anti-aircraft screen. Neither eventuality materialized, and Tisdale saw no action until 24 June when she accompanied on a bombardment of Saipan

Saipan

. Later that day, she joined in the channel between 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....

and Saipan

Saipan

where they fired shells to illuminate that stretch of water to interdict Japanese attempts to reinforce the Saipan garrison. The following morning, she returned to the transport area and resumed her duties in the anti-submarine screen. On 2 July, she began screening ships on their nightly retirements from Saipan. Six days later, Tisdale went into action against the next objective in the Marianas, Tinian

Tinian

, by delivering night harassing fire and illuminating fire in the area around Tinian Town and Sunharon Harbor.

On the 12th, she cleared the Marianas and escorted a convoy to Eniwetok until the 21st, when she headed back to the Marianas. The destroyer escort arrived off Saipan on 25 July and resumed her familiar duty screening transports during the campaign on Tinian. On 16 August, just before the assault on Guam

Battle of Guam

The Second Battle of Guam was the American capture of the Japanese held island of Guam, a United States territory during the Pacific campaign of World War II.-Background:...

, she departed the Marianas once more. Steaming via Eniwetok, she reached Pearl Harbor on 27 August and began a 20-day availability. She conducted trials and training exercises in the Hawaiian Islands until October.

Attacking A Japanese Submarine

Tisdale departed Oahu in the screen of a convoy on 2 October and arrived in Eniwetok lagoon on the 13th. From then until late February 1945, she escorted convoys. This duty took her back and forth, between Eniwetok and 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...

. The single exception was a round-trip voyage 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...

in late January and early February. During the return voyage, she attacked a sonar

Sonar

Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...

contact on 3 February and, although she received no official credit for it, she probably sank a Japanese 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...

.

On 25 February, Tisdale exited the lagoon at Eniwetok in company with . The task unit reached Apra Harbor

Apra Harbor

Apra Harbor is a deep-water port on the western side of Guam in the Mariana Islands. The harbor is formed by Orote Peninsula in the south and Cabras Island in the north. To the south, the harbor narrows and then widens again to form an inner harbor. The southern end of the harbor is the location...

, 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...

, on the 28th, and she conducted operations with the escort carrier well into the first week in March. On 5 March, the two warships headed back to Eniwetok, entering the lagoon on the 8th. Three days later, she headed out of the Eniwetok anchorage with a Ulithi

Ulithi

-bound convoy. She made her destination on 16 March and, five days later, headed for the Ryukyu Islands

Ryukyu Islands

The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...

with the escort carriers of Support Carrier Unit 2.

Supporting Operation Iceberg

On 25 March, the warships arrived in their area of operations to the south of Okinawa, the objective in "Operation Iceberg". The carriers launched their planes to support the invasion of Okinawa

Battle of Okinawa

The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...

, and Tisdale helped protect them from enemy submarine and air attacks. Though enemy planes occasionally approached the task unit, Tisdale saw no real air action because the combat air patrol either splashed them or chased them away. On the 31st, she was transferred to the screen of Support Carrier Group 1; but her duties remained as before.

On 17 April, the warship closed the Hagushi

Hagushi

Hagushi bay was the primary unloading point for American supplies during the invasion of Okinawa during World War II. The bay, at the mouth of the Bishi River , was the dividing line between the First and Sixth US Marine divisions, which landed on the Hagushi beaches to the north, and the Seventh...

beaches at Okinawa for the first time; then retired to screen refueling operations. On 20 April, she did her first duty as a 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...

picket ship. That same day, Tisdale departed the Ryukyus to screen , , and to Ulithi. After five days at Ulithi

Ulithi

, she departed the atoll on 29 April. She escorted a convoy to Okinawa and arrived off the Hagushi beaches once more on 3 May. For the next month, she stood radar picket duty at various stations around the island, occasionally putting into the anchorage at Kerama Retto

Kerama Retto

The are a group of 22 islands located southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Four of the islands are inhabited:,., and. The islands are within Shimajiri District. The Kerama-shotō coral reef is a Ramsar Site....

for mail, provisions, and other supplies.

End-of War Activities

On 14 June, Tisdale departed Okinawa and headed for 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...

in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. After some repairs, she cleared Leyte on 30 June and steamed, via Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor, back to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. She arrived in San Francisco, California

San 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 1 August and, four days later, moved north to Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

Post-War Decommissioning

The Japanese agreed to capitulate on 15 August, and Tisdale began decommissioning procedures soon thereafter. She was decommissioned on 17 November 1945, and her name 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 28 November 1945. She was sold to A. G. Schoonmaker Co., Inc., of New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

on 2 February 1948 and scrapped the following month.

Awards

	Combat Action Ribbon Combat Action Ribbon The Combat Action Ribbon is a personal military decoration of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard which is awarded to those who, in any grade including and below that of a Captain in the Navy and Coast Guard , have actively participated in ground or... (retroactive)
	American Campaign Medal American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal was a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal is a service decoration of the Second World War which was awarded to any member of the United States military who served in the Pacific Theater from 1941 to 1945 and was created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was... (with four service star Service star A service star, also referred to as a battle star, campaign star, or engagement star, is an attachment to a United States military decoration which denotes participation in military campaigns or multiple bestowals of the same award. Service stars are typically issued for campaign medals, service... s)
	World War II Victory Medal

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

Invasion of the Marianas operations

Battle of the Philippine Sea

Attacking A Japanese Submarine

Supporting Operation Iceberg

End-of War Activities

Post-War Decommissioning

Awards

See also