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_off_the_Mare_Island_Naval_Shipyard_on_24_September_1944.jpg) Finnegan on 24 September 1944 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSFinnegan |
| Builder | Mare Island Navy Yard |
| Laid down | 5 July 1943 |
| Launched | 22 January 1944 |
| Commissioned | 19 August 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 27 November 1945 |
| Stricken | 19 December 1945 |
| Honors & awards | 3battle stars (World War II) |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping, June 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Evarts-classdestroyer escort |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | |
| Beam | 35 ft 2 in (10.72 m) |
| Draft | 11 ft (3.4 m) (max) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 19knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Range | 4,150 nmi (7,690 km) |
| Complement | 15 officers and 183 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USSFinnegan (DE-307) was anEvarts-classdestroyer escort constructed for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. She was sent off into thePacific Ocean to protectconvoys and other ships fromJapanesesubmarines and fighteraircraft. She performed escort andantisubmarine operations in dangerous battle areas and returned home with three well-earnedbattle stars.
William Michael Finnegan was born on 18 April 1897 inBessemer, Michigan. He enlisted in the Navy on 22 October 1917, and served continuously, rising to Chief Radio Electrician on 8 November 1929. He reported toUSS Oklahoma on 30 August 1941. AppointedEnsign 18 November 1941, Chief Radio Electrician Finnegan was killed in action during theJapaneseAttack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.
Finnegan was launched on 22 February 1944 by Mare Island Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. Charles Schroeder, sister of Ensign Finnegan; and commissioned on 19 August 1944.
Finnegan arrived at Pearl Harbor on 8 November 1944 to serve as escort for submarines conducting training exercises prior to their war patrols. She voyaged toMidway Island escorting a transport between 11 and 20 December, then returned to duty with submarines until 9 January 1945. Afteramphibious training exercises in theHawaiian Islands,Finnegan sailed escorting a group ofLSTs andsubmarine chasers, two of which she towed for parts of the passage toSaipan.
On 15 February 1945, the escort ship sailed from Saipan for the assault onIwo Jima, during which she screened transports as they launched their boats for the initial invasion on 19 February.
On 26 February, while escorting empty transports to Saipan,Finnegan made a surface contact by Radarman Robert N. Perryradar, and was detached from the screen to locate and sink the Japanese submarineI-370 in a four-hour attack, in22°45′N141°27′E / 22.750°N 141.450°E /22.750; 141.450. Radarman Perry was given $50.00 by the Captain for catching the early morning contact. The actual sinking of the submarine was fortuitous. A seaman operating one of the depth charge launchers mistakenly set the detonation depth differently from what was ordered. It was those depth charges that destroyed the submarine.
From Saipan,Finnegan screened the transports on toEspiritu Santo, arriving 15 March 1945. She sailed ten days later forUlithi, the vast base from which theOkinawa assault was staged, and on 9 April, she reached the newly assaulted island. Sailing on anti-submarine patrols, as well as screening assault shipping,Finnegan fired to drive off a would-besuicide plane on 28 May. On 10 July she departed Okinawa for duty in thePhilippines on local escort and patrol assignments until 15 September.
Finnegan then sailed forEniwetok, Pearl Harbor, andCharleston, South Carolina, where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 27 November 1945. She was sold for scrapping in June 1946.
Finnegan 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.
