_at_anchor_before_World_War_II.jpeg) USSTracy (DD-214) atanchor sometime before her June 1937 reclassification as adestroyer minelayer. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Tracy |
| Namesake | Benjamin Franklin Tracy |
| Builder | William Cramp & Sons,Philadelphia |
| Yard number | 480 |
| Laid down | 3 April 1919 |
| Launched | 13 August 1919 |
| Commissioned | 9 March 1920 |
| Reclassified | Destroyer minelayer 30 June 1937 |
| Decommissioned | 19 January 1946 |
| Stricken | 7 February 1946 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap 16 May 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Clemson-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 1,308 tons |
| Length | 314 ft4+1⁄2 in (95.82 m) |
| Beam | 30 ft 11 in (9.42 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 35knots (65 km/h) |
| Complement | 132 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USSTracy (DD-214/DM-19) was aClemson-classdestroyer in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. She was the only ship named forSecretary of the NavyBenjamin Franklin Tracy.
Tracy waslaid down on 3 April andlaunched on 13 August 1919 by theWilliam Cramp & Sons' Shipyard,sponsored by Mrs. Frank B. Tracy. The destroyer wascommissioned on 9 March 1920.
Following commissioning,Tracy cruised on shakedown to theDry Tortugas before returning toPhiladelphia. She steamed with Destroyer Division (DesDiv) 39 for duty in the Near East, arriving atConstantinople,Turkey, in early June 1920.
With the troubled international situation in the Near East, American naval forces "showed the flag" and stood ready to protect American lives and property.Tracy touched at principalBlack Sea ports and also visited cities along the coasts ofPalestine andEgypt, as well as Mediterranean Turkey.
Towards the end of theRussian Civil War theBolsheviks began to overwhelm theWhite Russian forces and many felt compelled to evacuate.Tracy was one of the ships which embarked hundreds of refugees atSevastopol and carried them to Constantinople.
In June 1921, she sailed with her division for theFar East, transiting theSuez Canal and touching at ports in India,Ceylon,French Indochina, andJava before finally reachingManila late in August 1921.
Tracy initially operated independently with theSouth China Patrol, "showing the flag" at the ports upon which she called. Detached from this duty in the spring of 1923, she steamed to Japan for a goodwill cruise before proceeding toChefoo for summer maneuvers.
Anchored atDairen,Manchuria, in early September 1923,Tracy received orders to get underway immediately forYokohama, Japan, which had been rocked by a severe earthquake. Upon arrival, she participated in the initial relief work there and carried refugees from Yokohama to Tokyo. She sent repair parties ashore to assist in laying fresh water lines and remained in the Yokohama area for two weeks before heading forShanghai.
There, her landing party went ashore to guard the American-ownedShanghai Light and Power Company until relieved on 12 October 1923 by a force fromUSS South Dakota. Proceeding to Manila, she spent some time in that port before commencing a cruise to southern Philippine ports on 26 November. For the remainder of her tour in theAsiatic Fleet, she carried out flag-showing cruises and exercises before departing for the United States on 8 May 1925. AtMidway, her division was relieved by DesDiv 39.
Arriving inSan Diego, California, on 17 June,Tracy was refitted and received new fire-control instruments. She departed theUnited States West Coast on 24 June and proceeded, via thePanama Canal, toNew York City. Spending the next two years with theScouting Fleet,Tracy wound up her tour by taking part in the reinforcement operations for theSpecial Service Squadron in Nicaraguan waters during the revolution and civil strife which had broken out in that country in November and December 1926.
Following overhaul by theNorfolk Navy Yard,Tracy returned briefly to Nicaraguan waters in March 1927, and then proceeded north. Steaming fromNewport, Rhode Island on 1 June with DesDiv 38, she visited ports inScotland, England,Belgium, France,Portugal, Spain,Algeria,Tunisia, andItaly. DepartingGibraltar on 28 January 1928, she operated in the Atlantic for one month before orders transferred DesDiv 38 to theBattle Fleet. Based at San Diego from 1 April 1928 until the spring of 1929,Tracy served on occasion as plane guard destroyer with theaircraft carriersLexington andSaratoga before preparing atMare Island Navy Yard, in June and July 1929, for duty in the Far East.
DesDiv 38 relieved DesDiv 45 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and then proceeded to Japan for a goodwill visit, arriving at Yokohama on 26 August 1929.
In accordance with the Asiatic Fleet's routine,Tracy alternated duty in China ports in the summer with operations in the Philippines during the winter. The months in between were spent in cruises along the Chinese coast, engaged in "showing the flag" and exercises. During the fall of 1930, after a cruise to theNetherlands East Indies, she was fitted out for extended independent duties as station ship, Chefoo, China.
Japan's seizure of Manchuria in September 1931 and the fighting between Japanese and Chinese forces around Shanghai in February 1932 enlivened the Asiatic Fleet's duty at this juncture, butTracy's activities were limited to keeping a watchful eye on American interests. Later in the year, the destroyer received orders assigning her once again to the Battle Force, and she left the Asiatic Fleet for the last time.
Tracy took part in maneuvers and exercises in the Pacific and off the U.S. West Coast before being reclassified as adestroyer minelayer and redesignatedDM-19 on 30 June 1937.Tracy was then assigned to Mine Division 1 and operated out of Pearl Harbor with the Battle Force.
In late 1941, her division entered the navy yard at Pearl Harbor for overhaul. On 7 December 1941,Tracy lay at berth 15 of the yard with her machinery, boilers, and guns dismantled. Most of her complement were living in the receiving barracks ashore, and only a skeleton crew was on board. AsJapanese planes swept overhead,Tracy's crew boarded their ship and sought to find ways to fight back.
Some sailors went toUSS Cummings and helped to man her guns, while others boardedUSS Pennsylvania and assisted in operating thebattleship's antiaircraft batteries. Meanwhile, back on boardTracy, the remaining sailors, after assembling three .30-caliber Lewis guns and two .50-caliber Brownings, did their best to drive off the attackers. When the raid ended, a party of ten men from the destroyer minesweeper assisted in fighting the fires raging on boardUSS California.
Following the interrupted overhaul at the navy yard,Tracy went to sea to commence wartime operations. On 31 March 1942, she assisted in laying a minefield nearFrench Frigate Shoals before returning to Pearl Harbor and conducting local operations. She then headed forSuva, in theFiji Islands, on 23 July. Seven days later, in company withUSS Breese andUSS Gamble,Tracy arrived at Suva before proceeding from there toEspiritu Santo.
At bases in the Southwest Pacific, American forces prepared for their first amphibious assault of the war, theSolomon Islands.Tracy, in Task Force (TF) 62, arrived off the beaches ofGuadalcanal on 7 August, as the guns of UScruisers and destroyers conducted a shore bombardment. She took part in the hard-fought campaign for the islands, engaged in the unglamorous but vital tasks of escort duty and antisubmarine patrol. She operated between Espiritu Santo and the battle zones through the summer and fall of 1942 before returning to Pearl Harbor in December for a brief refit. On 18 December, she set out forNew Caledonia, escorting a west-bound convoy, and arrived with her charges atNouméa on 2 January 1943.
Designated a unit in TF 66, she operated out of Nouméa andNadi, on occasion engaged in laying minefields around the American and Allied bases. She also delivered much-needed gasoline toHenderson Field, on Guadalcanal, for the aircraft of theCactus Air Force.
By late January 1943, the Japanese had decided to abandon Guadalcanal and had begun to evacuate as many men as possible. Increased Japanese surface activity, and corresponding air cover, tipped off the Americans that major Japanese troop movements were taking place, and orders went out to try to derail theTokyo Express by any means possible including mines,PT-boats, and air strikes.
On 1 February 1943, a large force of Japanese destroyers was sighted heading for "Ironbottom Sound."Tracy, as task group leader, ledUSS Montgomery andUSS Preble in laying a field of 300 mines betweenDoma Reef andCape Esperance. That night, theJapanese destroyer Makigumo struck one of these mines and was damaged so badly that she wasscuttled. Nevertheless, the Japanese managed to extricate their garrison from Guadalcanal.
Following this action,Tracy rejoined TF 62 for escort duty and touched at Nouméa,Tulagi, andEfate before heading forHawaii on 19 April. She reached Pearl Harbor on 1 May and, 11 days later, headed towardSan Francisco, California for a much neededoverhaul at Mare Island.
After refitting,Tracy departed San Francisco on 22 May and spent the next few months engaged in "milk run" convoys between the Hawaiian Islands and the U.S. West Coast. On 10 August, she departed Pearl Harbor and steamed to Samoa, from there setting her course toward Espiritu Santo and the South Pacific.
At the end of November 1943,Tracy led a division of minelayers in placing an offensive minefield nearBougainville in preparations for the landings there.
Next, operating out of Nouméa for the remainder of 1943,Tracy called atFunafuti, Espiritu Santo, and Guadalcanal through December. On 1 January 1944, she steamed in convoy withPresident Jackson,President Hayes,President Adams,Titania, andAlhena to the Fiji Islands, arriving at Nandi on 5 January.
Underway again the following day,Tracy escorted another convoy to Guadalcanal, conducting gunnery exercises en route, and arrived on 10 January. Later in the month, she departed Efate,New Hebrides, bound for New Caledonia in company with thePresident Hayes. During the passage, they fought through a storm1944 Pacific typhoon season before arriving at Nouméa on 19 January. Upon the completion of refueling there, she proceeded toWellington, New Zealand. For the remainder of January and continuing into May, she threaded her way among the Pacific Isles, escorting convoys and carrying out exercises en route.
On 3 June, she arrived in San Francisco to commence overhaul at Hunters Point. Upon conclusion of the yard work,Tracy underwent refresher training off the U.S. West Coast, ranging as far north asSeattle andBremerton, Washington. On 31 August, she departed Seattle in company withCushman K. Davis bound forOahu, and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 9 September.
After a navy yard availability from 12 to 24 September, she got underway on 29 September, bound for the Marshalls in company with Convoy BD-110T. Arriving at Eniwetok on 8 October, she commenced further convoy runs between Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor, and Pearl Harbor and San Francisco.
WithIwo Jima secured, the Navy then turned its attention toOkinawa.Tracy served as a buoy-laying and mine disposal vessel, arriving off the island on 1 April 1945. In support of the Okinawa invasion, she engaged in antisubmarine and anti small boat patrols off the Fleet anchorages and while conducting screening duty, she rescued survivors fromLCI(G)-82, which had been hit by ashinyo suicide motorboat.Tracy herself came through this sustained and effective period ofkamikaze assault on the US Fleet unscathed. She departed forUlithi on 16 April and arrived on 22 April at the atoll to commence a period of upkeep and availability which lasted until 2 May. Continuing operations in the western Pacific, she took part in convoy escort duties through July, when she escorted an LST convoy from Okinawa toLeyte, anchoring in San Pedro Bay, Leyte, Philippines, on 3 July. From 5 to 17 July, she underwent tender availability before entering floating drydockUSS ARD-2 (2) for hull repairs.
Under the operational control of Minecraft,Pacific Fleet, she anchored at San Pedro Bay through the middle of August. On 10 August, her radio picked up an unofficial Japanese broadcast which announced that Japan had agreed to accept unconditional surrender terms.Tracy's log noted "much blowing of whistles and searchlight displays by Fleet units present."
On 15 August, she got underway as part of the screen for TU 72.5.38, and, while en route to Okinawa she received word to cease all offensive activities. EnteringBuckner Bay, Okinawa, on 20 August, she lay at anchor for five days before transferring Mark VI buoys fromWeehawken to various other fastminesweepers gathering to commence the job of sweeping up the mines sown during the war.
The end of the war in the Pacific in August marked only the beginning ofTracy's participation in the gigantic minesweeping efforts in Japanese home waters. From Buckner Bay, the ship proceeded to Japan and she arrived inNagasaki Wan on 11 September one of the first Allied ships to enter that expanse of water. She served as buoy-laying and mine-disposal vessel during the minesweeping operations which cleared the sea lanes outside that key seaport and continued these duties until late in October, when she sailed for home.
On 25 October she departed for Pearl Harbor, calling briefly at Buckner Bay en route. Arriving at the Hawaiian base in mid-November, she departed there on the 18th, bound via San Diego, California, andSalina Cruz,Mexico for the Panama Canal.
She arrived at New York in December 1945 and was decommissioned on 19 January 1946. Struck from theNavy list on 7 February 1946, she was sold to theNorthern Metals Company of Philadelphia, and scrapped later in the year.
Tracy received sevenbattle stars for her World War II service.
As of 13 July 2017, no other U.S. Navy ship has been named theTracy.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
