England (DLG 22) - Naval Cruise Book

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THE ENGLAND CREST The USS ENGLAND (DE-635) was named in honor of Ensign John Charles England, who reported for duty on board the Pacific Reel battleship USS OKLAHOMA on 3 September 1941, and was killed during the attack at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1 94 1 . The ship ' s insignia is the crest from the England family ' s coat of arms. The six stars in the outline represent the six Japanese submarines, 1-16, RO-104, RO-105, RO-106, RO- 108 and RO-1 16 sunk by the Buckley Class escort in late May 1944. L

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USS ENGLAND (DE-635) is christened by Mrs. Harry B. England on 26 September 1943. A HISTORY MAKER Seldom, if ever, has one ship altered the courses of a naval war. In WWII, the destroyer escort ENGLAND accom- pUshed this achievement. In the spring of 1944, Admiral Soemic Tayoda, commander of the Japanese fleet in the Philippines, dispatched six submarines to form a scout line from south of True to west of Manus. Their mission was to spy on U.S. fleet movements so that the location of the next American attack could be determined and reinforce- ments dispensed to the proper area in time. scouts, one by one. Nothing was further from the truth, for in reality the American attack was headed for the Marianas. Nevertheless, Japanese planes were ordered from Guam to the Peleus to bolster its defenses, a move which left them severely handicapped in repulsing the Marianas attack. ENGLAND had accomplished more than the sinking of six submarines. She had single handedly altered the course of the Pacific War. Between 19 to 30 May - 12 days - the entire scout line became the victim of a single ship : the ENGLAND. This gave Admiral Tayoda the mistaken impression that a huge task force was charging toward Palau and obliterating his On 9 May 1945, during the Okinawa campaign, the ENG- LAND was attacked and severely damaged by a kamikaze plane. DE-635 was decommissioned on 15 October 1945 and stricken from the Naval registry on 1 November 1945.

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A PROUD NAME CARRIED FORWARD A proud name was carried forward, when, on 4 October 1960, the keel was laid for a 630-foot guided missile frigate in the Todd Shipyard Corporation, San Pedro, California, and designated USS DLG-22. This future addition to the U.S. Pacific Fleet was launched following ceremonies on 6 March 1962 at which Mrs. Clair Engle, wife of the Honorable Clair Engle, U.S. Senator of California, christened he the USS ENGLAND. At left is ENGLAND, sliding down the way. Below: ENGLAND ' takes shape ' after being launched on 6 March 1962. ■■ n-mr sM ji -. --s-. -:,-r;.ag5=-r-:=