History
United States
Name	Little
Namesake	George Little
Builder	Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation, Seattle
Laid down	13 September 1943
Launched	22 May 1944
Commissioned	19 August 1944
Fate	Sunk byKamikaze,[1] 3 May 1945
General characteristics
Class & type	Fletcher-classdestroyer
Displacement	2,050 tons
Length	376 ft 5 in (114.7 m)
Beam	39 ft in (12.1 m)
Draft	13 ft 9 in (4.2 m)
Propulsion	60,000 shp (45 MW); 2 propellers
Speed	35knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range	6500 nmi. (12,000 km)   @ 15 kt
Complement	329
Armament	5 ×5 in (130 mm), 10 ×40 mm AA guns, 7 ×20 mm AA guns, 10 ×21 inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes, 6 ×depth charge projectors, 2 × depth charge tracks

USSLittle (DD-803), aFletcher-classdestroyer, was the second ship of theUnited States Navy to be named for CaptainGeorge Little (1754–1809).

Little was laid down bySeattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp.,Seattle, Wash., 13 September 1943;launched 22 May 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Russell F. O'Hara; andcommissioned 19 August 1944.

After training off the West Coast,Little departed Seattle 11 November 1944 to escort aconvoy toPearl Harbor. She arrived 23 November and participated in gunnery training and battle problems. On 22 January 1945 she got underway with a group ofLSTs forEniwetok and rehearsals for theinvasion of Iwo Jima. Final preparations were made atSaipan, and 15 FebruaryLittle sailed for the assault beaches.

Shore bombardment atIwo Jima began 19 February.Little furnished fire support for ground forces until the 24th when she left for Saipan. She returned 4 March for bombardment, screening, andradar picket duties, and was back at Saipan 14 March to prepare for theOkinawa invasion.

Little sailed forOkinawa 27 March assigned to the demonstration group charged with feigning landings opposite the actual assault beaches. After accomplishing this diversion 1 and 2 April,Little screened transports and escorted LSTs to the beaches. On 19 April she was ordered to picket duty where she remained until 24 April—unscathed despite relentless enemy suicide attacks.

On 3 MayLittle andAaron Ward (DM-34) were again on picket duty. At 18:13 hours, 18 to 24 aircraft attacked from under cloud cover.Aaron Ward took the first hit at 18:41. An instant laterLittle was hit on the portside. Within four minutes three more enemykamikazes had hit her, breaking her keel, demolishing the amidship section, and opening all three after machinery spaces. At 19:55Little broke up and sank. Thirty-one of theLittle's approximately 320 crew members perished, while another 49 suffered injuries.^[2][3]

Little received twobattle stars forWorld War II service.

• Brown, David (1990).Warship Losses of World War Two. London, UK: Arms and Armour.ISBN 0-85368-802-8.
•  This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.

• NavSource: USSLittle
• hazegray.org: USSLittle^{[permanent dead link]}
• dd803.org: USS Little

26°24′N126°15′E / 26.4°N 126.25°E /26.4; 126.25

• World War II destroyers of the United States
• Ships built in Seattle
• World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean
• 1944 ships
• Fletcher-class destroyers of the United States Navy
• Naval ships of Operation Detachment
• Ships sunk by kamikaze attack
• Maritime incidents in May 1945
• Destroyers sunk by aircraft

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