Destroyer escort USSJohn P. Gray (DE-673) islaunched by theDravo Corporation atPittsburgh,Pennsylvania, on 18 March 1944. She was completed ashigh-speed transportJohn P. Gray (APD-74).
History
United States
Name	USSJohn P. Gray
Namesake	Lieutenant, junior grade, John P. Gray (1914-1942),U.S. Navyofficer andNavy Cross recipient
Builder	Dravo Corporation,Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania Consolidated Steel Corporation,Orange, Texas
Laid down	18 December 1943
Launched	18 March 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. Roy C. Gray
Commissioned	15 March 1945
Decommissioned	29 April 1946
Reclassified	Fromdestroyer escort (DE-673) tohigh-speed transport (APD-74) 27 June 1944
Stricken	1 March 1967
Fate	Sold for scrapping 3 September 1968
Notes	Laid down asBuckley-classdestroyer escort USSJohn P. Gray (DE-673)
General characteristics
Class & type	Charles Lawrence-classhigh-speed transport
Displacement	1,400 long tons (1,422 t)
Length	306 ft (93 m) overall
Beam	36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)
Draft	13 ft 6 in (4.11 m) maximum
Installed power	12,000shaft horsepower (16megawatts)
Propulsion	Twoboilers; twoGEsteam turbines (turbo-electric transmission)
Speed	24knots (44 km/h; 28 mph)
Range	6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km) at 12knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Troops	162
Complement	186
Armament	1 ×5 in (130 mm) gun 6 ×40 mm guns 6 ×20 mm guns 2 ×depth charge tracks

USSJohn P. Gray (APD-74), ex-DE-673, was aUnited States Navyhigh-speed transport in commission from 1944 to 1946.

John Porter Gray was born on 22 December 1914 inKansas City,Missouri. He enlisted in theUnited States Naval Reserve on 12 October 1939, was appointedAviation Cadet in 1940 and underwent flight training, and wascommissioned as anensign. Gray then served at severalnaval air stations before reporting toTorpedo Squadron 2 in October 1940. He later transferred for temporary duty toTorpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) aboard theaircraft carrierUSS Hornet and reached the rank oflieutenant, junior grade.

As aDouglas TBD Devastatortorpedo bomber pilot in VT-8, Gray took part in the pivotalBattle of Midway on 4 June 1942. Gray and the rest of the squadron attacked theJapanese aircraft carriers withoutfighter cover and in the face of witheringantiaircraft fire and heavy Japanese fighter opposition. Though all of VT-8's aircraft were shot down, they succeeded in diverting Japanese fighter cover and preventing further launches of Japanese carrier aircraft, thus contributing to the United States Navy's victory in the battle. Gray was killed during the attack. Gray was awarded theNavy Cross posthumously and shared in thePresidential Unit Citation awarded to VT-8 for its actions in the Battle of Midway.

John P. Gray was laid down as theBuckley-classdestroyer escort USSJohn P. Gray (DE-673) on 18 December 1943 by theDravo Corporation atPittsburgh,Pennsylvania andlaunched as such on 18 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Roy C. Gray, mother of the ship's namesake,Lieutenant, junior grade, John P. Gray. She then was towed down theOhio River and theMississippi River toOrange,Texas, forfitting out at theConsolidated Steel Corporation,Orange, Texasshipyard. The ship was reclassified as aCharles Lawrence-class high-speed transport and redesignated APD-74 on 27 June 1944. After conversion to her new role, the ship wascommissioned at the Consolidated yard on 15 March 1945.

Following ashakedown cruise toGuantanamo Bay,Cuba, during April and May 1945,John P. Gray arrived atNew London on 1 June 1945 to escort theItalian submarine Goffredo Mameli to Guantanamo Bay. From thereJohn P. Gray proceeded via thePanama Canal Zone toSan Diego,California, arriving 19 June 1945. She departed forPearl Harbor,Territory of Hawaii, 21 June 1945, and spent July 1945 trainingunderwater demolition teams on the island ofMaui. In August 1945 she returned briefly to California to embark an underwater demolition team unit for duty; and, after a stopover in Hawaii, she arrivedEniwetok 30 August 1945. Meanwhile,World War II came to end with thesurrender of Japan on 15 August 1945.

The war over,John P. Gray arrived atJinsen,Korea, on 8 September 1945 to take part in occupation operations. Departing on 14 September 1945, she steamed viaGuam and Eniwetok to Pearl Harbor, and was attached toOperation Magic Carpet, the giant operation undertaken to return to theUnited States the thousands of Pacific war veteransdemobilizing after World War II. She made two voyages between Hawaii and San Diego, then departed San Diego on 30 November 1945 forNorfolk,Virginia.John P. Gray arrived atHampton Roads, Virginia, on 13 December 1945, and then moved toGreen Cove Springs,Florida, where she arrived on 25 January 1946.

John P. Gray wasdecommissioned at Green Cove Springs on 29 April 1946 and entered the Texas Group of theAtlantic Reserve Fleet at Orange, Texas. Later she was moved to San Francisco. After nearly 21 years of inactivity, she was stricken from theNavy List on 1 March 1967 and was sold for scrapping on 3 September 1968.

•  This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
• Photo gallery of USSJohn P. Gray at NavSource Naval History

• Charles Lawrence-class high speed transports
• World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
• Ships built in Pittsburgh
• Ships built in Orange, Texas
• 1944 ships
• Ships built by Dravo Corporation

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from October 2021
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships