USS ''Dent'' (DD–116) was a ''Wickes''-class destroyer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and later served as APD-9 in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. She was named for Captain

John H. Dent John Herbert Dent (22 February 1782 – 29 July 1823) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War, the First Barbary War, and the War of 1812. He was acting captain on the ''USS Constitution" (Old Ironsides) during the att ...

Construction and commissioning

''Dent'' was launched 23 March 1918 by

William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company (also known as William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company) of Philadelphia was founded in 1830 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder of the late 19th century. Company hi ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

; sponsored by Miss A. W. Collins, great-granddaughter of Captain Dent; and commissioned 9 September 1918.

Service history

''Dent'' escorted a convoy to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

between 19 September and 8 November 1918, and then carried out training at Guantanamo Bay. On 1 May 1919 she got underway from New York to serve on station off Trepassey Harbor, Newfoundland, during the historic first aerial crossing of the Atlantic, a feat accomplished by a Navy seaplane. She returned to Newport on the 24th, and on 20 June she joined the escort for the yacht ''Imperator'', carrying the President of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

from New York to Newport. ''Dent'' arrived at

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: "St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

, 6 August 1919 to join the Pacific Fleet. She cruised to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

as escort for with the

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

embarked in August, then steamed to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

for a

Fleet Review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

in September. She returned to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

22 September and went into reserve. She was placed in active commission again 14 December 1920, and operated with 50 percent of her complement on gunnery and torpedo practice, and in fleet maneuvers. She made a cruise to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

from 7 January to 11 March 1921, visiting

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

; Costa Rica; and various ports in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. ''Dent'' was placed out of commission in reserve 7 June 1922. Recommissioned 15 May 1930, ''Dent'' acted as plane guard for carrier operations, trained reservists, and sailed for a fleet problem in the Caribbean and a visit to the

United States East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

from April to November 1934. On 18 December, she entered the Rotating Reserve at San Diego and tested ordnance until returning to active commission 10 June 1935. ''Dent'' operated along the

United States West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S. ...

and in the Hawaiian Islands until the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

entered World War II. At San Diego on 7 December 1941, she got underway the next day to screen in her high speed run to

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 R ...

World War II

Returning to San Francisco 29 December 1941, Dent had duty with the Sound School at San Diego and operated along the U.S. West Coast on convoy duty until 27 April 1942 when she sailed for

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

n waters. From 8 May she operated out of

Dutch Harbor Dutch Harbor is a harbor on Amaknak Island in Unalaska, Alaska. It was the location of the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June 1942, and was one of the few sites in the United States to be subjected to aerial bombardment by a foreign power during ...

on convoy and patrol duty, escorting transports for the invasion of Adak 1 September. She returned to Seattle 30 January 1943 for repairs and conversion to a high-speed transport. She was reclassified APD-9, 7 March 1943. ''Dent'' arrived at Noumea, New Caledonia 20 April 1943. She operated from this base 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 o ...

, landing troops in the assaults on

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most ...

Rendova Rendova is an island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, east of Papua New Guinea. Geography Rendova Island is a roughly rectangularly-shaped island, located in the South Pacific in the New Georgia Islands. The l ...

Vella Lavella Vella Lavella is an island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It lies to the west of New Georgia, but is considered one of the New Georgia Group. To its west are the Treasury Islands. Environment The island of Vella Lavella is lo ...

, and

Cape Torokina Cape Torokina is a promontory at the north end of Empress Augusta Bay, along the central part of the western coast of Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea. This cape formed the southern end of the landing zone where I Marine Amphibious Corps perfor ...

, Bougainville. After overhaul at Sydney, Australia, in November, she returned to Milne Bay,

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

on 17 December. While training at

Cape Sudest Cape Sudest is a cape in Papua New Guinea, next to Oro Bay. There was an important U.S military base there in World War II. It was situated in Oro Province Oro Province, formerly (and officially still) Northern Province, is a coastal province of P ...

5 days later, she grounded on an uncharted shoal. Serious structural damage necessitated her return to Australia for repairs through January 1944. ''Dent'' arrived at Nouméa 7 February 1944 and landed men of the 4th Marines on

Emirau Island Emirau Island, also called Emira, is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago located at . It is currently part of the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. The local language is a dialect of the Mussau-Emira language. Emira is part of what on ...

20 March. From Milne Bay, New Guinea, she carried soldiers to the Aitape landings 22 April. Sailing from New Guinea 9 May, she returned to the Solomons to train an underwater demolition team for the invasion of the Marianas. She carried her team to Roi where they were transferred for transportation to

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, then escorted to Saipan to carry emergency supplies of ammunition to the bombardment ships. ''Dent'' patrolled off Saipan and

Tinian Tinian ( or ; old Japanese name: 天仁安島, ''Tenian-shima'') is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the ...

until early July when she escorted transports to

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with i ...

and sailed for overhaul at San Diego, arriving 3 August. From 8 November 1944 until the end of the war, ''Dent'' served with the Amphibious Training Force, Pacific Fleet, at

. She sailed 20 October 1945 for the U.S. East Coast, arriving at

6 November. ''Dent'' was decommissioned there 4 December 1945 and sold 13 June 1946.

Awards

''Dent'' received five

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) 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 ser ...

s for World War II service. As of 2012, no other ships of this name have served in the United States Navy.

References

External links

NavSource Photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dent (Dd-116) Wickes-class destroyers World War I destroyers of the United States World War II destroyers of the United States World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Ships built by William Cramp & Sons 1918 ships Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign