USS Dale (DD-353)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The fourth USS ''Dale'' (DD-353) was a ''Farragut''-class
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. ''Dale'' received 14
battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...
s for World War II service. She was named for
American Revolutionary war The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
hero
Richard Dale Richard Dale (November 6, 1756 – February 26, 1826) was an American naval officer who fought in the Continental Navy under John Barry and was first lieutenant for John Paul Jones during the naval battle off of Flamborough Head, England again ...
. ''Dale'' was launched 23 January 1935 at the
Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a se ...
; sponsored by Mrs. E. C. Dale; and commissioned 17 June 1935.
Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
Yates Stirling Jr. Yates Stirling Jr. (April 30, 1872 – January 27, 1948) was a decorated and controversial rear admiral in the United States Navy whose 44-year career spanned from several years before the Spanish–American War to the mid-1930s. He was awarded ...
,
commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...
of the Third Naval District and the Brooklyn Navy Yard, oversaw construction and presided over the commissioning. As a fourteen-year-old boy nearly 50 years earlier, Stirling had lived aboard the first
USS Dale (1839) USS ''Dale'' (later ''Oriole'') was a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy ship commissioning, commissioned on 11 December 1839. ''Dale'' was involved in the Mexican–American War, the American Civil War, operations along Africa to suppress ...
when the old
sloop-of-war During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all u ...
, her masts removed and at the end of her long service, was the station ship at the
Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is a ceremonial and administrative center for the United States Navy, located in the federal national capital city of Washington, D.C. (federal District of Columbia). It is the oldest shore establishment / base of ...
under his father's command.Hamersly, Lewis Randolph. (1902). ''The Records of Living Officers of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps'', Seventh Edition, New York: L. R. Hamersly Company, p. 86
/ref> ''Dale'' was decommissioned 16 October 1945 and sold 20 December 1946.


Pre-World War II

''Dale'' made a southern cruise from 13 February to 6 March 1936, visiting
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
,
Dry Tortugas Dry Tortugas National Park is a national park of the United States located about west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico, in the United States. The park preserves Fort Jefferson and the several Dry Tortugas islands, the westernmost and most iso ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, and
Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, and acted as escort for President F. D. Roosevelt's cruise in the
Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...
before departing for the west coast. She took part in fleet problems, made a good will visit to
Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...
, Peru, served as training ship for the gunnery school at
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, and cruised to
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
,
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
, and the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
on exercises. On 5 October 1939, ''Dale'' departed San Diego to join the Hawaiian Detachment for training and patrol.


Late 1941 Pearl Harbor Attack – early 1942

At the commencement of the raid on Pearl Harbor at 0750 on 7 December 1941, the ''Dale'' was moored with ships of Destroyer Division Two at Berth X-14. The order of ships in the nest, from starboard to port, was as follows: , , the ''Dale'', and . The ship's head was 030, and boiler number three was in use for auxiliary purposes. The
deck officer The deck department is an organisational team on board naval and merchant ships. Seafarers in the deck department work a variety of jobs on a ship or vessel, but primarily they will carry out the navigation of a vessel from the bridge. Howeve ...
and acting commanding officer, Ensign F.M. Radel, saw the first plane attack the from westward.
General Quarters General quarters, battle stations, or action stations is an announcement made aboard a navy, naval warship to signal that all hands (everyone available) aboard a ship must go to battle stations (the positions they are to assume when the ves ...
was immediately sounded, and orders were given to set material condition Affirm and light all boilers. At 0810, fire was opened on Japanese planes using the after .50-caliber machine guns, followed shortly thereafter by the after five-inch anti-aircraft guns. The ships on either side of the ''Dale'' prevented the use of the forward guns, and the forward searchlight made it impossible to bring the director to bear in the direction of the level bombing attacks. The 5-inch guns operated in local control against a squadron of level bombers flying at about 10,000 feet above the battleships, but results were poor, with shots bursting well behind and short of the targets. At 0815, an enemy
dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...
attacking the from westward came under severe machine gun fire from all the ships in the nest, was struck, and crashed into the harbor.Detailed report of offensive measures taken during Air Raid, December 7, 1941.
28 December 1941. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
At 0820 it was reported to the senior officer in the nest—Lieutenant Commander W.P. Burford, commanding the ''Monaghan''—that the ''Dale'' was ready to get underway. While backing clear, a torpedo apparently aimed at the ''Raleigh'' passed under the bow of the ''Dale'' and exploded on
Ford Island Ford Island () is an islet in the center of Pearl Harbor, Oahu, in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It has been known as Rabbit Island, Marín's Island, and Little Goats Island; its native Hawaiian name is ''Mokuumeume''. The island had an area of ...
. At 0844 the ''Dale'' stopped while the Monaghan dropped depth charges against a Japanese submarine close aboard the starboard side of the . The ''Dale'' then changed speed to 25 knots and proceeded out of harbor ahead of the Monaghan. Until the ''Dale'' neared the submarine net she did not come under the direct fire of the planes; apparently the Japanese wished to sink a ship in the entrance, blocking the harbor, as the ''Dale'' came under severe dive bombing and machine gun attacks near the entrance. Machine-gun fire from the ship served to keep the attackers from approaching too closely, although there were several close misses which caused no damage. At 0907 the ''Dale'' cleared the entrance buoys. By stopping the port engine and coming hard left rudder, she caused a flight of three Japanese dive bombers to overshoot their mark. As the flight passed by the starboard side close to the water, machine-gun fire from the ''Dale'' struck the leading plane, causing it to burst into flame and crash into the water. The remaining two planes attempted to attack again, but were driven off by machine-gun fire. At 0911, the ''Dale'' established offshore patrol in sector one, changing speed to 12 knots at 0927. Due to repeated airplane attacks the ship was forced to make frequent course changes and run at high speed. High-speed wakes and depth charging from other destroyers in the vicinity rendered the sound gear practically useless. At 1114, the (Commander Destroyer Squadron One) sortied. The ''Dale'' formed on the ''Worden'' as third ship in column. After investigating the falsely-reported presence of three enemy transports off
Barbers Point Naval Air Station Barbers Point , on O'ahu, home to John Rodgers Field (the original name of Honolulu International Airport), is a former United States Navy airfield closed in 1999, and renamed Kalaeloa Airport. Parts of the former air station ...
, the ships formed an inner anti-submarine screen on the , , , and . The ''Dale'' was assigned station nine, and the task force speed was 25 knots. At 1410, the pinion bearings on the reduction gear of the port engine failed. An attempt was made to stay with the assigned task force, as the maximum speed obtainable with one engine was 22 knots, but the ''Dale'' fell steadily behind. The starboard engine began overheating, forcing a further reduction of speed to 10 knots. The ''Dale'' retired to southward at 1654, stopped at 1930, and lay to until 0500 the following morning attempting repairs. At dawn the ''Dale'' rendezvoused with the task force, but as full repairs to the engine were impossible without the assistance of the tender, the ''Dale'' could not maintain her assigned screening station. Instead, under orders of Commander Destroyers, Battle Force, the ''Dale'' established an offshore patrol in sector one until the entrance of Task Group 8.4. The ''Dale'' suffered no casualties and no enemy damage during the raid on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese plane shot down by the ''Dale'' off the entrance buoys was reported to the Commanding Officer. Two other planes, both dive bombers, were claimed by members of the crew to have been shot down by the ''Dale''. From 14 December 1941 to 17 March 1942, The ''Dale'' screened and , covering the strikes on the
Salamaua–Lae campaign The Salamaua–Lae campaign was a series of actions in the New Guinea campaign of World War II. Australian and United States forces sought to capture two major Japanese bases, one in the town of Lae, and another one at Salamaua. The campaign ...
area of
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
on 10 March. The ''Dale'' returned to Pearl Harbor on escort and training duty until 11 May when she departed for
Mare Island Mare Island (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Isla de la Yegua'') is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait junc ...
and an overhaul. On 5 June she sailed from
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, with others, to back up the task forces engaged in the
Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of t ...
from 6 July to 17 August. She was assigned to convoy duty between
Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ; ) is the largest island in Fiji. It is the site of the country's capital and largest city, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a plate tectonics, tectonically complex area betwe ...
,
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
, and
Efate Efate (), also known as Île Vate (), is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. Geography It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third larg ...
and
Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region ...
,
New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium () and named after the Hebrides in Scotland, was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu. Native people had inhabited the islands for three th ...
, in preparation for the assault on
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...
. She covered the landings, escorted transports loaded with reinforcements to the bitterly contested island from 18 August to 21 September, then sailed to Pearl Harbor for escort and training duty until 10 November. She sailed to screen the battleships and into Pearl Harbor, continuing with the ''South Dakota'' to San Francisco.


1943, Aleutians Campaign

On 9 January 1943 ''Dale'' sailed from San Francisco for duty in Aleutian waters. She supported the occupation of
Amchitka Amchitka (; ;) is a volcanic, tectonically unstable and uninhabited island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The island, with a land area of ro ...
between 23 January and 19 March, patrolling and repelling attacks by the Japanese. On 22 March her group sailed to patrol west of Attu to intercept and destroy enemy shipping bound for Attu or
Kiska Kiska (, ) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required to visit it. The island has ...
. Four days later, the group engaged a numerically superior Japanese force screening reinforcements to Attu. In the resulting
Battle of the Komandorski Islands A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
, at one time or another ''Dale'' took all of the Japanese cruisers under fire as well as screening the damaged . The Japanese reinforcements failed to reach Attu. She screened transports and fire support ships into Attu for the assault on 11 May, then patrolled off Attu until 1 August. She joined in the preinvasion bombardment of Kiska 2 August, then screened the transports which landed men there 13 August. She joined for a reconnaissance of
Rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...
and
Buldir Island Buldir Island (also sometimes written Buldyr; ; ) is a small island in the western Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is long and wide with an area of . Buldir is farther from the nearest land than any other Aleutian Island. ...
s 22 August, finding no Japanese present.


1943-1944, Central Pacific

Sailing from
Adak Adak may refer to: Places *Adak Island, one of the Aleutian Islands **Adak, Alaska, a town on the above island ** Adak Airport, airport serving the town *** Adak Army Airfield, original name of the airport (1942–c.1943) *** Davis Army Airfield, ...
5 September 1943, ''Dale'' arrived at Pearl Harbor 16 September to screen the group which on 8 October fueled carriers returning from a two-day air strike on Wake. ''Dale'' trained at Pearl Harbor until 5 November. She escorted a group of LSTs to the landings on Makin of 20 November, and then sailed for the west coast. ''Dale'' got underway from San Diego 13 January 1944 to screen carriers during the assaults on Kwajalein and
Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a legi ...
. She served in the
Marshalls Marshalls, Inc. is an American chain of discount store, off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store (stores operating with HomeGoods combined), ...
on escort and patrol until 22 March, then screened TF 58 during air attacks on
Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...
,
Yap Yap (, sometimes written as , or ) traditionally refers to an island group located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of Yap State. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also refer to the state within the Federate ...
,
Ulithi Ulithi (, , or ; pronounced roughly as YOU-li-thee) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap, within Yap State. Name The name of the island goes back to Chuukic languages, Proto-Chuukic ''*úlú-diw ...
and
Woleai Woleai (), also known as Oleai, is a coral atoll of 22 islands in the western Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, forming a legislative district in the Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia, and located approximately west-northwest ...
between 30 March and 1 April raids supporting the Hollandia operations from 21 to 24 April; and strikes on Truk,
Satawan Satawan Atoll is an atoll located about southeast of Chuuk Lagoon proper. Geographically it is part of the Nomoi or Mortlock Islands in the Carolines and administratively it is part of Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia. About 3 ...
and
Ponape Ponape may refer to: *Pohnpei Pohnpei (formerly known as Ponape or Ascension, from Pohnpeian: "upon (''pohn'') a stone altar (''pei'')") is an island of the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger Caroline Islands group. It belongs to ...
from 20 April to 1 May.


1944-45, Marianas, Philippines and Japan

From 6 June to 30 July ''Dale'' served in the
Marianas The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly Volcano#Dormant and reactivated, dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean ...
, bombarding
Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...
and
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
, screening carriers during the
Battle of the Philippine Sea The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a major naval battle of World War II on 19–20 June 1944 that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious r ...
, and supporting underwater demolition teams. Overhauled at Bremerton Navy Yard from August to October, ''Dale'' returned to Pearl Harbor, and then sailed to Ulithi to join TF 38. She screened this group during
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
invasion between 25 November and 8 December; and while the group refueled TF 38 in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
during raids on the
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
coast,
Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...
,
Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
, and
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
. She remained with the group during carrier strikes on
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
and
Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...
. ''Dale'' cruised with the logistics group on five voyages between Ulithi and the Okinawa area between 13 March 1945 and 11 June when she sailed for
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...
to join a carrier division's screen. ''Dale'' returned to Leyte to escort a convoy to Ulithi and patrolled there until 29 July and then escorted a convoy to Okinawa.


End of War and fate

Anchored at Guam when the war ended, ''Dale'' escorted two ships in a convoy to a rendezvous 19 August off Japan, then sailed homeward, arriving at San Diego 7 September. Four days later, she was underway for the east coast. Arriving at
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
25 September, ''Dale'' was decommissioned 16 October 1945 and was sold 20 December 1946. ''Dale'' received 14
battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...
s for World War II service.


Citations


References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dale (Dd-353) Farragut-class destroyers (1934) World War II destroyers of the United States Ships built in Brooklyn 1935 ships Ships present during the attack on Pearl Harbor Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign