_on_21_August_1942.jpg) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSDu Pont (DD-152) |
| Namesake | Samuel Francis Du Pont |
| Builder | William Cramp & Sons,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Yard number | 467 |
| Laid down | 2 May 1918 |
| Launched | 22 October 1918 |
| Commissioned | 30 April 1919 |
| Decommissioned | 19 April 1922 |
| Recommissioned | 1 May 1930 |
| Decommissioned | 14 January 1937 |
| Commissioned | 16 October 1939 |
| Decommissioned | 2 May 1946 |
| Reclassified | Miscellaneous auxiliary,AG-80, 25 September 1944 |
| Stricken | 5 June 1946 |
| Honors & awards | |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 12 March 1947 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Wickes-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 1,090 tons |
| Length | 314 ft 5 in (95.83 m) |
| Beam | 31 ft 8 in (9.65 m) |
| Draft | 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) |
| Speed | 35 knots (65 km/h) |
| Complement | 101 officers and enlisted |
| Armament | 4 ×4 in (102 mm)/50 guns, 2 ×3 in (76 mm)/23 guns, 4 ×21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes |
USSDu Pont (DD–152) was aWickes-classdestroyer in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II, later reclassified asAG-80. She was the second ship named forRear AdmiralSamuel Francis Du Pont.
Du Pont was launched 22 October 1918 byWilliam Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Building Company,Philadelphia; sponsored by Miss C. S. Du Pont, great-grandniece of Rear Admiral Du Pont; and commissioned 30 April 1919.
Du Pont sailed fromNewport 6 May 1919 to patrol off theAzores during the historic firsttransatlantic airplane flight, made byNavy seaplanes, then visitedBrest, France, before returning toNew York 15 June. She sailed 10 July for theMediterranean and on the 27th reported to Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, European Waters, atConstantinople, Turkey. She carried mail and passengers in connection with relief in easternEurope, and investigated conditions inLebanon, Syria,Egypt, andGreece. Returning to New York 21 July 1920, she was placed in reserve and operated with 50 percent of her complement in training duty along the Atlantic coast until placed out of commission at Philadelphia 19 April 1922.
Recommissioned 1 May 1930,Du Pont operated along the east coast and in theCaribbean, in practice and exercises and on reserve training cruises. Between 13 March and 29 March 1931 she escortedArizona with PresidentH. C. Hoover embarked for visits toPonce, Puerto Rico, andSt. Thomas, Virgin Islands, then returned to tactical exercises with the fleet and occasional duty as a plane guard.
Between 9 January and 22 October 1932,Du Pont cruised to the west coast, returning toNorfolk to joinRotating Reserve Squadron 19. She operated fromBoston training Naval Reservists until assigned temporary duty on patrol offCuba from September 1933 until February 1934.
On 15 August 1934,Du Pont returned to active commission. She leftCharleston, South Carolina, 15 September, served as target vessel and plane guard in the Caribbean, then arrived atSan Diego 9 November. Based there she served in training and tactical development with the fleet, cruising toAlaskan waters andPearl Harbor on a problem during 29 April 1935 – 10 June 1935. She sailed from the west coast 27 April 1936 for the annual fleet problem held that year in theCanal Zone, then transited thePanama Canal, and arrived atJacksonville, Florida, 7 June for Naval Reserve training duty along the east coast. Arriving atPhiladelphia Navy Yard 29 September 1936,Du Pont was placed out of commission 14 January 1937.
With the outbreak of war in Europe,Du Pont was recommissioned 16 October 1939 for duty on theNeutrality Patrol. She patrolled along the east coast, trained reservists, and spent several periods training withsubmarines out ofNew London. Between 7 July 1941 and 26 February 1942, she escorted five vital convoys toNS Argentia,Newfoundland, andIceland, continuing escort and antisubmarine patrol duty in the Atlantic as far north as Argentia and south to the Caribbean.Du Pont, 15 March 1942, rescued 30 survivors from a torpedoed merchantman. From 8 May 1942 to 19 January 1943, she guarded convoys from New York and Norfolk toKey West andGuantanamo Bay.
After overhaul,Du Pont returned to the Caribbean to escort tanker convoys betweenAruba,Netherlands West Indies, and Guantanamo Bay until 17 May 1943 when she sailed from Aruba to the Mediterranean. She arrived atAlgiers, Algeria, 1 June, and put intoCasablanca 5 days later. The destroyer sailed on 9 June for New York in the escort forCard, rescuing four men from downed aircraft during hunter-killer operations en route. She arrived at New York 6 July.
Between 17 July and 12 September 1943,Du Pont made two voyages to theUnited Kingdom on convoy escort duty. On 25 September, she sailed from Norfolk for an antisubmarine patrol with a hunter-killer group centered onCard. On 6 October she joined the screen forBogue during exercises inCasco Bay andLong Island Sound. The group sailed from Norfolk 14 November to give close support to aGibraltar-bound convoy. On the return passage one ofBogue's planes sighted and bombed surfacedU-172, 12 December.Du Pont andGeorge E. Badger continued the attack, driving the submarine to the surface on the morning of the following day. The destroyers opened fire and after the submarine's conning tower exploded, rescued 46 survivors including the captain asU-172 sank in26°19′N29°58′W / 26.317°N 29.967°W /26.317; -29.967.Du Pont shared in thePresidential Unit Citation awarded theBogue task group for distinguished success in operations against submarines.
Du Pont escorted a convoy to Gibraltar and back to Boston between 25 January and 9 March 1944, and then returned to escort duty in the Caribbean. She left Norfolk 11 June in the screen ofAlbemarle sailing by way of Casablanca toAvonmouth,England, arriving 28 June.Du Pont returned to Boston 13 July withAlbemarle who was carrying casualties from theNormandy invasion.
"Du Pont" was based in Norfolk during September 1944 when she sailed for anti-submarine duties off Cape Hatteras. She was caught in the Great Hurricane of 1944, which resulted in the loss ofUSS Warrington,USCGC Jackson andUSCGC Bedloe. "Du Pont" survived the hurricane, but was heavily damaged. She limped into Charleston Navy Yard where it was determined that "Du Pont" would be reclassified as an auxiliary, AG-80.
| Convoy | Escort Group | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| HX 153 | 7-13 Oct 1941[1] | fromNewfoundland toIceland prior to US declaration of war | |
| ON 28 | 25 Oct – 3 Nov 1941[2] | from Iceland to Newfoundland prior to US declaration of war | |
| HX 161 | 23-25 Nov 1941[1] | from Newfoundland to Iceland prior to US declaration of war | |
| ON 43 | 11-15 Dec 1941[2] | from Iceland to Newfoundland | |
| HX 172 | 28 Jan-2 Feb Feb 1942[1] | from Newfoundland to Iceland | |
| ON 65 | 12-19 Feb 1942[2] | from Iceland to Newfoundland |
After overhaul and refresher training,Du Pont put intoCharleston Navy Yard 16 September 1944 to undergo conversion to an auxiliary vessel. ReclassifiedAG-80, 25 September 1944, she sailed from Charleston 9 October and arrived at Key West 2 days later to act as target ship for Fleet Air Wing 5. She rescued two downed aviators 24 November and 2 days later, transferred her doctor to aNorwegian merchantman to render emergency treatment. She continued to serve offFlorida aiding aviation training until 1 April 1946 when she arrived at Boston.Du Pont was decommissioned 2 May 1946 and sold 12 March 1947.
In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation awarded to TG 21.13,Du Pont received threebattle stars for World War II service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
