_underway_in_San_Diego_harbor%2c_circa_1938_(NH_61868).jpg) USSCummings (DD-365) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Cummings |
| Namesake | Andrew Boyd Cummings |
| Builder | United Shipyards, Incorporated,Staten Island,New York |
| Laid down | 26 June 1934 |
| Launched | 11 December 1935 |
| Commissioned | 25 November 1936 |
| Decommissioned | 14 December 1945 |
| Stricken | 28 January 1947 |
| Fate | Sold, 17 July 1947 |
| General characteristics as built | |
| Class & type | Mahan-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 1,500 tons |
| Length | 341 ft 4 in (104.04 m) |
| Beam | 35 ft (11 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) |
| Propulsion | Steam turbine |
| Speed | 36knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) |
| Complement | 158 officers and crew |
| Armament |
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The secondUSSCummings (DD-365) was aMahan-classdestroyer in theUnited States Navy, named forAndrew Boyd Cummings. She was a Pacific-based vessel, performing patrol and escort duties before and duringWorld War II. The ship was present during theAttack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on 7 December 1941, though she escaped major damage or casualties.Cummings was decommissioned in 1945 and sold for scrap in 1947.
Cummings was launched 11 December 1935 at theUnited Shipyards, Inc.,New York. The ship was sponsored by Mrs. W. W. Mills, niece ofLieutenant Commander Cummings, and commissioned 25 November 1936.
Departing New York 29 September 1937,Cummings arrived atSan Diego 28 October to join the Battle Force. She participated in the fleet problem inHawaiian waters in April 1938, and a Presidential Fleet Review atSan Francisco in July. In 1939, the exercises were held in thePanama Canal Zone and theCaribbean from January to April. Returning to San Diego 12 May 1939,Cummings participated in flotilla and fleet training, and served as plane guard for the carriersYorktown (CV-5) andLexington (CV-2). When the security patrol was begun on the west coast in 1940,Cummings served on it, intermittently, while continuing to conduct exercises in anti-aircraft and submarine tactics and target practice.
Cummings was based inPearl Harbor on 26 April 1940. Except for a west coast overhaul and cruises toTutuila, Samoa,Auckland, New Zealand, andTahiti between 4 March and 3 April 1941, she remained in Hawaiian waters conducting patrols and constantly exercising and drilling. When theJapaneseattacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941,Cummings weathered the bombs that fell ahead and astern, receiving only minor casualties from fragments, and sortied on patrol almost immediately. From 19 December 1941 to 4 May 1942,Cummings escorted convoys between Pearl Harbor and San Francisco. Then sailed betweenSuva,Fiji Islands, and Auckland, New Zealand, from 9 June to 13 August on similar duty.
After overhaul in San Francisco,Cummings escorted a convoy toNoumea andWellington, New Zealand, in November 1942. The ship began patrol and escort missions for theGuadalcanal operation from bases atEspiritu Santo and Nouméa until 17 May 1943, and then sailed to Auckland, New Zealand, for a brief overhaul.Cummings Returned to Nouméa 4 June and screened transports to Auckland in July, and served atEfate from 5 August until 4 September.
Overhauled on the west coast again,Cummings joined TF 94 to patrol offAdak, Alaska, between 1 and 16 December, before she returned to Pearl Harbor 21 December.
Assigned to the5th Fleet,Cummings sortied on 19 January 1944 for operations in theMarshall Islands, accompanying carriers for air strikes onWotje andEniwetok until 21 February. She sailed fromMajuro 4 March forTrincomalee,Ceylon, where she rendezvoused 31 March withBritish ships for exercises.Cummings sailed with British Force 70 to screen during air strikes onSabang,Sumatra, on 19 April. She returned to Ceylon until 6 May and then cleared forExmouth Gulf, Australia. With British Force 66,Cummings sortied 15 May for air strikes onSoerabaja,Java, then she left the British forces and returned to Pearl Harbor via Sydney.
Arriving at San Francisco 7 July 1944,Cummings sailed 21 July, escorting PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt aboardBaltimore (CA-68) to Pearl Harbor, Adak, andJuneau. The President and his staff came aboardCummings 8 August for transportation toSeattle and upon arrival 12 August, President Roosevelt broadcast a nationwide address from the forecastle ofCummings.
Departing Seattle 13 August 1944,Cummings joined TG 12.5 at Pearl Harbor for an air strike and shore bombardment ofWake Island on 3 September. With the3d Fleet,Cummings joined the bombardment ofMarcus Island on 9 October. Then she screened the escort carriers that launched the supporting air strikes onLuzon,Cebu,Leyte,Samar,Negros, and engaged the Japanese in the decisiveBattle of Leyte Gulf.Cummings took part in the bombardment ofIwo Jima on 11 and 12 November, and she then returned toSaipan 21 November for local duty.
Cummings interrupted this duty to join the repeated strikes on Iwo Jima from 8 December 1944 to 19 March 1945, supplying fire support for the invading troops. She was stationed off Iwo Jima and, occasionally, escorted convoys to Saipan andGuam until the end of the war.Cummings duties included local convoy escort and control duty, and the air-sea rescue work that accompanied the intensified strikes onOkinawa and the Japanese home islands. She supervised the occupation ofHaha Jima on 9 September, then the ship sailed from Iwo Jima 19 September forSan Pedro, California,Tampa, Florida, andNorfolk, Virginia.Cummings was decommissioned 14 December 1945 and sold 17 July 1947.
Cummings received seven battle stars for service during World War II.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.