.jpg) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Namesake | James Duval Koiner |
| Builder | Consolidated Steel Corporation,Orange, Texas |
| Laid down | 26 July 1943 |
| Launched | 5 October 1943 |
| Commissioned | 27 December 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 1968 |
| Reclassified | DER-331, 28 October 1954 |
| Stricken | 23 September 1968 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 3 September 1969 |
 United States | |
| Name | USCGCKoiner (WDE-431) |
| Commissioned | 20 June 1951 |
| Decommissioned | 14 May 1954 |
| Fate | Returned to USN, 14 May 1954 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Edsall-classdestroyer escort |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 306 feet (93.27 m) |
| Beam | 36.58 feet (11.15 m) |
| Draft | 10.42 full load feet (3.18 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 21 knots (39 km/h) |
| Range |
|
| Complement | 8 officers, 201 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USSKoiner (DE-331) was anEdsall-classdestroyer escort built for theU.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection againstsubmarine and air attack for Navy vessels andconvoys. Post-war, she was loaned to theU.S. Coast Guard, and also reclassified as aradar picket ship.
James Duval Koiner was born on 16 February 1919, inWaynesboro, Virginia. He entered theUnited States Naval Reserve asEnsign on 31 December 1940. He reported for active duty 17 March 1941, under instruction at the Supply Corps, Naval Medical Center, Washington, D.C.. He reported to the 3rd Naval District 17 October 1941, for duty on boardUSS Atlanta upon its commissioning. After serving on the light cruiser during theBattle of Midway and Solomon Islands campaigns, he was promoted toLieutenant (junior grade) on 1 October 1942. He was killed in action 13 November 1942, on boardAtlanta, during theNaval Battle of Guadalcanal.
She was laid down 26 July 1943, byConsolidated Steel Corporation,Orange, Texas; launched 5 September 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Mae H. Koiner, the mother of Lt. (j.g.) Koiner; and commissioned 27 December 1943.
Aftershakedown offBermuda,Koiner clearedCharleston, South Carolina, 28 February 1944, to join a convoy atWillemstad, Curaçao, N.W.I., and escort tankers to Mediterranean ports. For the next six months, she remained on convoy-escort duty in the Atlantic, making four round trip cruises fromCuraçao to North Africa andNaples, Italy. Completing her final Mediterranean cruise 31 August,Koiner commenced escort duty for United Kingdom-bound ships. From 20 September 1944 to 1 May 1945, the destroyer escort sailed with five convoys to British ports. On 11 February 1945,Koiner likely helped sinkU-869. Upon cessation of hostilities in Europe she began preparations for Pacific duty.
Koiner arrivedPearl Harbor 25 June, commencing training operations withUSS Corregidor (CVE-58) and exercises withsubmarines. Departing Pearl Harbor 4 August, she was en route toLeyte when PresidentHarry S. Truman announced the end of hostilities with Japan.
The destroyer escort remained in theFar East as part of the occupation forces on escort and patrol duty until 1 April 1946. ClearingHong Kong, she sailed by way of theIndian Ocean and Mediterranean, and arrived Charleston, South Carolina, 30 May.Koiner was decommissioned and joined theAtlantic Reserve Fleet 4 October 1946 atGreen Cove Springs, Florida.
From 20 June 1951 to 14 May 1954,Koiner was on loan to theUnited States Coast Guard commissioned as WDE-431. She served as an ocean station vessel out ofSeattle, Washington until her return to the Navy in 1954.
She was converted to a radar picket escort vessel and reclassified DER-331 on 28 September 1954. Recommissioned 26 August 1955,Koiner joined theContinental Air Defense System in the Pacific Barrier. From 1956 into 1965,Koiner operated on picket stations off theWashington andCalifornia coast to provide early warning in the event of enemy air attack.
On 1 July 1965,Koiner departedAlameda, California, for her new home port,Guam, arriving 28 July after a stopover at Pearl Harbor. On 6 August, she left for the first of threeOperation Market Time patrols ending in December.
Koiner operated in Vietnam territorial waters on the following dates: 8-Aug-65thru7-Sep-65,22-Sep-65thru19-Oct-65,5-Nov-65,11-Nov-65thru1-Dec-65,28-Feb-66thru29-Mar-66,9-Apr-66thru10-May-66,17-May-66thru19-May-66,23-May-66thru9-Jul-66,29-Jul-66thru25-Aug-66,7-Sep-66thru25-Sep-66,27-Jan-67thru4-Feb-67,13-Feb-67thru10-Mar-67,19-Mar-67thru18-Apr-67,27-Apr-67thru14-May-67,8-Jun-67thru1-Jul-67,13-Feb-68thru8-Mar-68,25-Apr-68thru31-May-68,8-Jun-68thru22-Jun-68.
The experienceKoiner had gained during her patrols off the West Coast enabled the radar picket escort ship to contribute greatly to the surveillance tactics necessary to prevent the flow of supplies by sea to theViet Cong.
During 1966,Koiner was again deployed for further "Market Time" operations offVietnam. A seven-month WestPac cruise began late in February. Between patrols, the ship visited Hong Kong;Bangkok;Manila; andKaoshiung,Formosa.
In late January 1967,Koiner participated in a gunfire mission after a brief in-port period in Yokosuka, Japan. She then resumed her regular duties.
Koiner was decommissioned and struck from theNavy List 23 September 1968. She was sold for scrapping 3 September 1969.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
