USS ''Little'' (DD-803), a , was the second ship of 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 ...

to be named for Captain George Little (1754–1809). ''Little'' was laid down by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp.,

Seattle, Wash. Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the county ...

, 13 September 1943; launched 22 May 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Russell F. O'Hara; and commissioned 19 August 1944.

History

After training off the West Coast, ''Little'' departed Seattle 11 November 1944 to escort a

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

. She arrived 23 November and participated in gunnery training and battle problems. On 22 January 1945 she got underway with a group of LSTs for

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 ...

and rehearsals for the

invasion of Iwo Jima The was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, desi ...

. Final preparations were made at

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 15 February ''Little'' sailed for the assault beaches. Shore bombardment at

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

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, and

radar picket A radar picket is a radar-equipped station, ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a nation or military (including naval) force to protect it from surprise attack, typically air attack, or from c ...

duties, and was back at Saipan 14 March to prepare for the Okinawa invasion. ''Little'' sailed for

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 ...

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 May ''Little'' and ''Aaron 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 later ''Little'' was hit on the portside. Within four minutes three more enemy

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

s had hit her, breaking her keel, demolishing the amidship section, and opening all three after machinery spaces. At 19:55 ''Little'' broke up and sank. Thirty-one of the ''Little''s approximately 320 crew members perished, while another 49 suffered injuries. ''Little'' received two

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 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 ...

service.

Citations

References

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External links

NavSource: USS ''Little''dd803.org: USS '' Little''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Little (DD-803) Ships built in Seattle World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean 1944 ships Little (DD-803) Ships sunk by kamikaze attack Maritime incidents in May 1945 Destroyers sunk by aircraft