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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSLevy (DE-162) |
| Namesake | Uriah P. Levy |
| Ordered | Unknown |
| Builder | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company,Newark, New Jersey |
| Laid down | 19 October 1942 |
| Launched | 28 March 1943 |
| Commissioned | 13 May 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 4 April 1947 |
| Stricken | 2 August 1973 |
| Honours & awards | 5battle stars (World War II) |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 17 July 1974 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Cannon-classdestroyer escort |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | |
| Beam | 36 ft 10 in (11.23 m) |
| Draft | 11 ft 8 in (3.56 m) |
| Propulsion | 4 × GM Mod. 16-278Adiesel engines with electric drive, 6,000 shp (4,474 kW), 2screws |
| Speed | 21knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
| Range | 10,800 nmi (20,000 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement | 15 officers and 201 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USSLevy (DE-162) was aCannon-classdestroyer escort, named in honor ofCommodoreUriah P. Levy (1792–1862), a notable figure of the 19th-century Navy.
The ship was laid down on 19 October 1942 by theFederal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company,Newark, New Jersey, launched on 28 March 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Charles Mathoff, niece of Commodore Levy; and commissioned on 13 May 1943.
After shakedown offBermuda,Levy, one of the Navy's first destroyer escorts, steamed for the South Pacific, arriving at theSociety Islands on 19 August 1943. For the next eight months the ship escorted and screened oilers during various fueling operations in the South and Central Pacific theaters. In support of theHollandia operation and the strikes againstTruk, Statwan, andPonape from 13 April to 4 May 1944,Levy escorted a convoy of logistic ships to a point north ofManus, arriving on 23 April for a refueling rendezvous with TF 58.
From 12 June to 16 August 1944,Levy screened the oilers which supported the invasion of the Marianas and fueledAdmiral Mitscher's carriers during theBattle of the Philippine Sea, in which American carrier-based planes caused significant damage to Japanese naval airpower. For the next four months, she escorted TG 30.8 which refueled and replenished the3rd Fleet during the conquest of the westernCarolines and the liberation ofLeyte. On 20 November, while escorting a convoy from Ulithi for another rendezvous with Mitscher's flattops,Levy drove off enemy planes which attacked the formation. She sailed fromEniwetok on 24 November for the west coast and arrived San Diego on 8 December for a month-long overhaul.
Early in March 1945 the ship returned to the Pacific war zones and resumed escort and ASW duty. During the last two months of the war,Levy helped blockade and bombard the remaining Japanese-held atolls in theMarshalls and rescued a boatload of natives who had escaped from enemy-heldJaluit.
August and September marked a high point of the ship's wartime career. AboardLevy, Capt. H. D. Grow negotiated and accepted the surrender ofMili Atoll on 22 August. A few days later Levy witnessed the surrender of Jaluit Atoll. On 4 September,Wake Island surrendered to Brig. Gen. L. H. M. Sanderson, USMC, embarked inLevy.
Departing the Pacific theater on 17 September, the ship steamed, viaSan Francisco, for the east coast. On 15 November she joined theSt. John's River Group, 16th Fleet, atGreen Cove Springs, Florida, and was placed in commission, in reserve. She was decommissioned on 4 April 1947, and berthed at Norfolk, Virginia, as part of the Atlantic Inactive Fleet.
Finally struck from theNavy List on 2 August 1973, the ship was sold for scrap to the Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, Maryland, on 17 July 1974.
Levy received 5battle stars for World War II service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
