destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
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
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 opposin ...
. She was the first ship named for
Elisha Kent Kane
Elisha Kent Kane (February 3, 1820 – February 16, 1857) was a United States Navy medical officer and Arctic explorer. He served as assistant surgeon during Caleb Cushing's journey to China to negotiate the Treaty of Wangxia and in the Af ...
.
Construction and commissioning
''Kane'' was laid down 3 July 1918 and launched 12 August 1919 by the
New York Shipbuilding Corporation
The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short) was an American shipbuilding company that operated from 1899 to 1968, ultimately completing more than 500 vessels for the U.S. Navy, the United States Merchant Marine, the United ...
; sponsored by Miss Florence Kane, cousin of Elisha Kent Kane; and commissioned 11 June 1920.
Service history
''Kane'' departed
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
20 August 1920 for her shakedown cruise to
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
,
Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
* Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
* Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
** Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Br ...
,
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
Gulf of Riga
The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia ( lv, Rīgas līcis, et, Liivi laht) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia.
The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main con ...
. She was just outside the Gulf in the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
1 October 1920 and supposedly well clear of the minefields laid in
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 ...
when a mine exploded, bending her port engine shafts and port propeller struts. After repair at
Landskrona
Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...
, Sweden, and overhaul at
Chatham
Chatham may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Canada
* Chatham Islands (British Columbia)
* Chatham Sound, British Columbia
* Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi
* Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
, England, she sailed 21 May 1921 for the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
.
On 22 June 1921, ''Kane'' rescued an Italian
torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...
drifting upon the rocks off Cape Spartivento. On 3 July, she reached
for relief work in Turkish waters. She returned to Newport 23 August. She sailed 2 October with Destroyer Squadron 14 to evacuate refugees and perform other relief work in
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. She arrived in Constantinople 22 October, and was constantly used to carry supplies, medical aid, refugees and relief officials between ports of the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
and the Eastern Mediterranean. She departed Constantinople 18 May 1923, and spent the next five years with the
Scouting Fleet
The Scouting Fleet was created in 1922 as part of a major, post-World War I reorganization of the United States Navy. The Atlantic and Pacific fleets, which comprised a significant portion of the ships in the United States Navy, were combined into ...
operating along 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 ...
and in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
. She departed
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
13 February 1925 for a fleet training cruise to
San Diego, California
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 States ...
, and from there she sailed 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 Re ...
and returned 17 July. In the spring of 1927 the destroyer patrolled off bandit-plagued
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
and the
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
. She decommissioned in the
Philadelphia Navy Yard
The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries.
Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...
31 December 1930.
''Kane'' recommissioned 1 April 1932, and departed Philadelphia 29 June for San Diego, her base for the next four years. She got underway from San Diego 27 April 1936 for fleet exercises in the Caribbean before entering the
New York Navy Yard
The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...
to prepare for special service.
''Kane'' departed New York 17 August 1936 for Spain to evacuate American citizens whose lives were endangered by the
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, she had to open fire three times to drive off a tri-motored monoplane dropping bombs within a hundred yards of the destroyer. A strong protest to both Spanish Civil War factions was made, and this forestalled similar incidents. She called at Bilbao and Gijon, embarking refugees who were taken to
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
27 September 1936 as flagship of Squadron Forty-T commanded by
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
Arthur P. Fairfield. This special squadron, initially comprising ''Raleigh'', ''Kane'', and , saved hundreds of American and other nationals from the dangers of the war in Spain. ''Kane'' and ''Hatfield'' were relieved by and 9 November 1937 and sailed for home. ''Kane'' entered the
Charleston Navy Yard
Charleston Naval Shipyard (formerly known as the Charleston Navy Yard) was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and part of Naval Base Charleston.
H ...
22 November, and decommissioned 28 April 1938.
World War II
''Kane'' recommissioned 23 September 1939 to serve in the
Neutrality Patrol
On September 3, 1939, the British and French declarations of war on Germany initiated the Battle of the Atlantic. The United States Navy Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) established a combined air and ship patrol of the United States Atlantic coa ...
in the North Atlantic. On 7 August she took up inshore defensive patrol along both coastlines of
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
. She then steamed to San Diego, arriving 4 November 1940, to patrol off the coast of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. She overhauled in the
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted u ...
from 4 January to 3 March 1941, she was based at Seattle for patrols north to Alaska, and 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 ...
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
for
Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak (Alutiiq: , russian: Кадьяк), formerly Paul's Harbor, is the main city and one of seven communities on Kodiak Island in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. All commercial transportation between the island's communities and the outside wo ...
, and escorted troop transports back to Seattle 23 December. Following a similar escort voyage, she arrived at Seward 19 April 1942 for inter-island convoy and
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
patrols among Alaskan ports.
On 11 June, ''Kane'' rescued 11 survivors of the torpedoed . The morning of 3 August 1942, she found her antiaircraft guns of little use against two attacks by high-altitude Japanese bombers. Evasion tactics and speed saved the destroyer from bombs which fell in her wake. She continued patrol and escort duty in Alaskan and Aleutian sectors until February 1942, then was converted to a
high-speed transport
High-speed transports were converted destroyers and destroyer escorts used in US Navy amphibious operations in World War II and afterward. They received the US Hull classification symbol APD; "AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer. In 1969, the ...
by Todd's Dry Docks, Seattle, Washington, and reclassified APD-18 on 25 March 1943.navsource.org USS KANE (DD-235/APD-18) /ref> Conversion was completed by 3 April 1943, when she departed for amphibious training with the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
's 7th infantry in
Monterey Bay, California
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by a ...
.
''Kane'' departed San Francisco 24 April and arrived in Cold Bay 30 April to prepare for the recapture of Attu, Aleutian Islands. The morning of 11 May, and landed 100 Army scouts northwest of
Holtz Bay Holtz Bay is an inlet on the northeast coast of the island of Attu in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.
Holtz Bay was among the landing sites of United States Army troops in the Battle of Attu on 11 May 1943, which led to the recapture of the island ...
. Several hours later, ''Kane'' was coached in through very dense fog by s radar to land 400 reconnaissance troops, who then joined the scouts.
During the ground fighting on Attu, ''Kane'' served as evacuation hospital transport and shuttled medical supplies between Holtz and Massacre Bay. Off the entrance to
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 Worl ...
17 July, she received 12 survivors of the Russian Seiner No. 2. Following amphibious exercises off
Amchitka Island
Amchitka (; ale, Amchixtax̂; russian: Амчитка) 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 Re ...
, she landed elements of the Army's 1st Special Service Force on Kiska 14 August and later on
Little Kiska Island
Little Kiska Island is an island off east coast of the island of Kiska in the Rat Islands (part of the Aleutian Islands)in Alaska. It lies immediately east of Kiska Harbor it is approximately 6 kilometers long and 2 kilometers wide. The island ha ...
. But the Japanese had evacuated under cover of fog, leaving a few mongrel dogs as sole inhabitants. This marked the end of the last Japanese hold in the Aleutians. ''Kane'' remained on duty between Alaskan and Aleutian ports until 20 November 1943, then steamed south for an overhaul in the
Mare Island Navy Yard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates th ...
until 7 January 1944.
''Kane'' arrived in Pearl Harbor 18 January 1944 to join the 5th Amphibious Force for the capture of the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
. Her
Marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
escort secured the channel islets at the entrance of Majuro Lagoon on the night of 30 to 31 January 1944 and later took the islands on the east side of Kwajalein Lagoon. She sailed 25 February to help screen amphibious landing ships for the invasion of
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range to t ...
,
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
, then entered
Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor, also known as Port Seeadler, is located on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea and played an important role in World War II. In German, "Seeadler" means sea eagle, pointing to German colonial activity between 1884 an ...
, Manus, as the 7th Cavalry Regiment took the remaining strong point in the
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island.
These rainforest-co ...
. The high speed transport landed men of the 163d Infantry at Aitape 22 April 1944, and bombarded enemy positions before withdrawing to shell Ali Island. After escorting a convoy to the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
she returned to Pearl Harbor 23 May 1944.
After training out of Pearl Harbor and preparations at
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 it ...
, ''Kane'' landed Marines for the invasion of
Saipan
Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
15 June 1944. After the fast carriers of the
5th Fleet
The Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It has been responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean since 1995 after a 48-year hiatus. It shares a commander and headq ...
destroyed Japan's carrier-based airpower in the
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944) was a major naval battle of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invas ...
, the transport supported Underwater Demolition Team 4 in operations off Saipan. On 23 June, she dodged an aerial bomb that sprayed her with shrapnel and wounded three men. She replenished at Eniwetok, then entered
Agat Bay
Agat Bay is a bay on the west coast of Guam. Its northern boundary is the Orote Peninsula, occupied entirely by Naval Base Guam, which itself lies within the village of Sånta Rita-Sumai, Guam, Sånta Rita-Sumai. The bay stretches south along the c ...
,
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 ...
, the afternoon of 17 July. The Japanese had planted three lines of palm-log cribs filled with coral rocks, linked each to the other by wire cables as antiship defences. Her "naked warriors" of Underwater Demolition Team 4, assisted by other teams, blew up hundreds of these obstacles, clearing the way for the marines, who landed 21 July 1944. On 24 July, as the frogmen worked into the night, Japanese mortar fire in Agat Bay barely missed ''Kane''. She returned to Pearl Harbor 10 August 1944, but entered
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindanao Isl ...
18 October carrying 100 tons of demolition explosives to be used in clearing the way for the Leyte Invasion landings 2 days later. She carried her demolition teams to the Admiralty Islands, then set course for home and an overhaul arriving
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 ...
, 4 December.
''Kane'' departed San Diego 20 April 1945 to train Underwater Demolition Team 24 in Hawaiian waters until 4 May, then arrived off Kerama Retto 12 June. After escorting out of the combat zone, she patrolled the southwest anchorage of Ilinawa and fought off two ''
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'' 21 June. A week later she sailed with a convoy bound for Leyte. She became a unit of the
Philippine Sea Frontier The Philippine Sea Frontier (PHILSEAFRON) was a United States Navy Sea Frontier active in 1941, and reformed in 1944.
On 8 December 1941 it was part of the 16th Naval District, a component of the United States Asiatic Fleet.
(Naval Coastal Front ...
on 4 July and patrolled the shipping lanes leading eastward guarding against submarines until the end of hostilities.
''Kane'' departed San Pedro Bay, Leyte, 13 September escorting occupation troops to Korea, arriving
Jinsen
Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...
17 September. Thereafter, she became an unofficial receiving ship and handled communications for the Jinsen representative of the 7th Amphibious Force. Relieved 12 November 1945, she headed for home arrived San Diego 13 December 1945.
After sending 149 Navy veterans ashore, she transited the
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
for the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she decommissioned 24 January 1946. She was sold for scrapping 21 June 1946 to Northern Metals Company, Philadelphia.
Awards
''Kane'' received seven
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 ...