Sterett (DLG 31) - Naval Cruise Book

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The First STERETT KDD-279 5 z 1 I The Second STERETT CDD 4075 .-:sv-Nix

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Q' ix I . . 1 151 . 9,4 Q tel' ' H: 4 it 1 I if tt EEE . ,, if ii? -:ii gi i2 gr, 1: ii 555' S5 I it 1,. iq' KK' ' lf pl I 1 1 ii l 5 'f . .5 , i 3 i Q52 1115: ., 1 L l 1 ',., Qi ffl .1 'I 1 SHIPS N MED TERETT The first S'1'FRE'1'T 117197-971 was commissioned at liosttltl on Iii lieeeinliei 111141 'lihe new hllll' was 293 feet long and displaced 7-12 tonsg with a tlesiglwtl fiI l uf ifll 5' linots, st lgltl-,l l was armed with five three-inch guns. three .130 caliber machine films- illlll Mx lb Hull' lulilmll' lullw Homeported in Boston S'l'ERlf'liT patrolled the waters of the east coast with other 'flute 'rf the Ninth Torpedo Division Oper-oiiiig iii aio ciii-ititioiiii, s'1'i-:tu-:'r'r t-ov.-i-.-it nit- iiioitiiie -it l' H Mari'-es in Hoiii on 1 ,lune 1916 when chaotic conditions in the troubled t'aribhean country retpurt-il liuitetl States inter- vention to restore order. VVith America's entry into VVorld VVar 1, Sllzlilz l l l ll t intomin' convoys and sltepliertletl them along 'lvl' was one til' the first 11.5. ships to sec action overseas. STERETT, based at Queenstown, re ant, 1 e ' 5, the U-boat infested Irish and English coasts. S'lilCl.Qli'l1'li frcipiently drove the tierman subs from the tracks of the convoys and followed a grueling routine of a weelt or more on convoy, two days in port to replenish ammunition and supplies, and then back on convoy. lior resolute action in an all-night pursuit of a German submarine which had threatened a convoy, S'lilflQl'f'l'l received a commendation from the Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland, in ,lune of 1918. ln the last summer of the war, S'lilfR1iTT Worked with patrol aircraft in the tentative beginnings of today's hunter-liiller anti-submarine warfare methods. The first STERETT was decommissioned on Sl llecember 19151 and remained inactive until struck from the Navy List in 1935. The second STERETT CDD-4071 was built by the Charleston Naval Shipyard, t'harleston, South Caro- lina, and commissioned on 15 August 1939, 13111 feet long with a displacement of 17135 tons, 1317,-107 was designed to make 38.5 knots. Four 5-inch 138 caliber guns, four .511 caliber antiaircraft guns, and sixteen 21-inch torpedo tubes constituted the ship's initial armament. After a shakedown cruise STIiRE'1 1' was assigned to the l'aeifie to plane guard for the carrier ENTER- PRISE QCV-61, the famous namesake of Andrew S'lilflQlf'li'l s own ship. Proceeding to the North Atlantic in 1941 STERETT convoyed transports of the first American lfxpeditionary lforce and tlicQ111i1iN MARY to their rendezvous with British escorts for the second portion of the transatlantic journey. ln March, 1942, as the flagship of Destroyer Division 15, S'l'1ilQlQ'li'l' participated in the defense of Malta, receiving a battle star for her actions. By June of 1942 STERETT was enroute to the South Pacific for final battle rehearsals preparatory to the invasion of Guadalcanal. In the pre-dawn hours of 7 August 15142 S'l'lilQlC'l l' saw the beginning of the Battle of Savo Island. Guarding WAS1' CCV-71, S'lilCRl'l'li'l' patrolled supply lines to the beachhead and later assumed duties as escort for troop and logistics transports. ln September, 19-12. the ship came under attack from Japanese aircraft but fought them off without damage to herself or the transports. Joining in the shore bombardment of Guadalcanal later in September, S'l'lilQli'l l' and other American units ravaged Japanese batteries, supply dumps, and troop concentrations. Un ll! November, 513 enemy aircraft attacked a concentration of transports, guarded by S'lililQlC'l li and other units, which Were unloading troops and supplies on Guadalcanal. S'l'lilQli'l l', in direct line of approach between the plal19S and the transports, shot down four of the enemy raiders and damaged a liftli. The attackers fled. 32 Of their planes destroyed, and the transports resumed unloading. The fiercest battle was yet to come. The night following S'l'lilQl'Q'li'l s antiaircraft action found the ship in formation with five cruisers and seven other destroyers under Rear Admiral t'.fXl.l,AtillAN. Their mission was to intercept and destroy a Japanese raiding force of two hattlesliips, tint' light cruiser. and 14 destroyers, then steaming southward to bombard American forces on titiatliilt-untill ln the resulting engagement STERETT single-handedly sank one enemy vessel and inflicted numerous hits on othel' enemy vessels, including the huge battleship llllil. S'l'lClQli'li'l' sustained eleven hits and 28 battle cielaltllrfiirlbrtiitsthfemblavallBattle of ffiuaclalczanal was won: the woultlflic raiders fled to the north. Many . ' .Y cers ant mxenxlater received medals from ,'Xtlnural ll.Xl.S1-fY for their part in this aCt10n. In December 1942 511312121-'I' arrived at Mare lslaiirl, flalilotnia, fox repairs and rt-niaint-cl them until February 1943. i . -g--A hh ' .

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Convoy duty in the South Pacific occupied STERETT for several months after the completion of the yard perigd, Then on the morning of 6 August 1943, STERETT and five sister destroyers surprised a group of four new Japanese destroyers headed for Kolombaranga with reinforcements for the troops there. In a devastating torpedo and gunnery assault, three enemy destroyers were sunk and the fourth driven off. By 1944 STERETT had joined the fast carrier task force of Vice Admiral MITSCHER for the preparatory raids on Japanese forces in the Marshall Islands and later participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. After duty in the Marianas Campaign the ship returned to Seattle for repairs. In December of 1944, however, STERETT was again ready to fight, escorting transports from Leyte to Mindoro in the Philip- pines. In one enemy air attack STERETT shot down five enemy aircraft and drove off others with a terrific barrage of antiaircraft fire. January, 1945, brought the campaign for the liberation of Luzon in the Philippines, and STERETT covered the landings in Lingayen Gulf as the first wave of troops hit the beach. STERETT went on to join the invasion of Okinawa in April, where the ship was attacked by five suicide planes. One of the enemy craft crashed into STERETT's starboard side at the waterline, knocking out all electric power and rupturing the forward fuel tanks. STERETT brought a large fire under control and restored casualties without loss of a single life throughout the fight. STERETT left Okinawa on 19 April 1945, bound for the United States, to repair the battle damage. Arriving at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 17 May 1945, STERETT remained there until the end of the war. After a brief trip to Pearl Harbor, the ship set course for the Panama Canal, arriving in New York on 8 October 1945 for decommissioning. The second STERETT had seen more battles in six years than most ships see in twenty, The ship received twelve battle stars and earned a noteworthy place in naval history. STERETT's name was struck from the Navy list on 25 march 1947 and twenty years were to pass before the name STERETT would be reborn again, but the ship which would carry that name anew made the delay seem insignificant. Constructed by the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, in Bremerton, Washington, the third STERETT QDLG-315 was launched on 30 June 1964, under the sponsorship of Mrs. Paul NITZE, wife of the Secretary of the Navy. Commissioned on 8 April 1967, STERETT dwarfs its predecessors, measuring 547 feet overall and displacing 7900 tons. With a speed exceeding 30 knots, STERETT carries a com- plement of 22 officers and 373 enlisted men. Armed with a dual Terrier-ASRDC missile launcher for- ward, the ship's armament also includes a 5-inch 54 caliber rapid fire gun, two 3-inch guns and anti-sub- marine torpedoes. Advanced sensors enable STERETT to detect air, surface, and subsurface threats at standoff range where the ship's advanced weapons systems can counter such threats with rapid and deci- sive force. Following shakedown and fitting out STERETT's employment focused on preparations for our present deployment with the United States Seventh Fleet. i t fe 11 1 l 2 1 1 if 2 ll it 5 le 1 1 a 5 1. L i f . l. i. Q if i i i x I5 10.43-q,....,-as . l B Ii E F 3 ti il 1 . P K i ' 1 Y f K V l X r