USS ''Schmitt'' (DE-676) was a 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 ...

, commissioned in 1943. In late 1944, she 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 ...

and was redesignated ''APD-76''. She was retired in 1949 and transferred to the

Republic of China Navy The Republic of China Navy (ROCN; ), also called the ROC Navy and colloquially the Taiwan Navy, is the maritime branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces (ROCAF). The service was formerly commonly just called the Chinese Navy during World Wa ...

in 1969, where she served as ROCS ''Lung Shan'' (PF-44) until 1976, when she was scrapped.

History

USS ''Schmitt'' was named for Father

Aloysius H. Schmitt Father Aloysius H. Schmitt (December 4, 1909 – December 7, 1941) was a Roman Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, who served as a chaplain in the United States Navy at the beginning of World War II. Early life and ordination Born in ...

and was laid down on 22 February 1943 by the

Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co ...

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

; launched on 29 May 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth Buchheit; and commissioned on 24 July 1943.

U.S. Navy (1943-1949)

Battle of the Atlantic (1943-1944)

After shakedown in

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

and repairs at

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 * '' ...

, ''Schmitt'' departed from New York on 19 October 1943 escorting 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 ...

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

in the West Indies, and then made her first trans-Atlantic crossing with a convoy from Curaçao to

Derry, Northern Ireland Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

. She served on the Derry-New York convoy route until 30 September 1944, crossing the ocean 16 times without incident. Between voyages, the escort underwent

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

training at Derry or at

Casco Bay, Maine Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth. The city of Portland sits along its south ...

, and received repairs made necessary by the rough North Atlantic weather. On 21 October, ''Schmitt'' began a convoy voyage from

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Bizerte Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the cap ...

and other Mediterranean ports, returning to New York on 10 December. Between 16 December 1944 and 19 January 1945, she served as training ship for submarines at

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

, and then on 20 January arrived at the United States Naval Frontier Base, Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York, for conversion to a ''Charles Lawrence''-class

. Her designation was changed to APD-76 on 24 January 1945.

Pacific War (1945)

''Schmitt'' completed conversion on 3 April 1945, and once again underwent shakedown, this time out of Norfolk. She departed

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

on 19 April and arrived at

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 ...

on 16 May. She embarked

Underwater Demolition Team Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized non-tactical missions. They were predecessors of the navy's current SEAL teams. Their primary WWII func ...

s there and carried out six days of exercises with them at

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

before sailing for the

Southwest Pacific The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...

on 4 June. The fast transport arrived off

Balikpapan, Borneo Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 2 ...

, on 23 June, and screened the bombardment group of cruisers and destroyers during shore bombardment missions between 23 and 28 June. Her UDT personnel carried out night reconnaissance operations on 25 and 28 June, with the ship resuming escort duties during the day. On 1 July, ''Schmitt''s boat led the first 17 waves of landing craft to the beach. The ship left Balikpapan on 3 July, disembarking her UDT personnel at

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a city on the South Coast (California), South Coast of California, located in San Diego County, California, San Diego County. The city had a population of 167,086 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is a popular ...

, on 2 August; and, while the ship was under repair at San Pedro from 4 to 18 August, the war in the Pacific came to an end.

Post-war (1945–1949)

''Schmitt'' reembarked UDT personnel and departed from San Pedro on 19 August. She arrived at

Sasebo, Japan is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

, on 20 September and carried out four days of beach reconnaissance there followed by two more days on nearby islands. She got underway from Japan on 27 September and returned on 19 October 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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. Between 17 and 30 November, she made one round-trip voyage to Pearl Harbor, bringing troops home to the United States, and then sailed through 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 ...

and proceeded to join the Atlantic Fleet at Norfolk on 16 December. For the next three and a half years, ''Schmitt'' conducted peacetime training and upkeep along the Atlantic Coast, highlighted by refresher training and shore bombardment practice in the Caribbean and amphibious landing exercises in

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. She varied her normal routine between 12 June and 7 July 1948 when she escorted four

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

sailing yawls in the

Newport to Bermuda race The Newport Bermuda Race, commonly known as the ''Bermuda Race'', is a biennial, 635 nautical miles (1175 km) sailing yacht race from Newport, Rhode Island to the British island of Bermuda. According to its website, the Race is the oldest re ...

. On 16 April 1949, the fast transport arrived at

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, for inactivation, and was decommissioned and placed in reserve there on 28 June.

Republic of China Navy (1969-1976)

''Schmitt'' was struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

on 1 May 1967, and transferred in February 1969 to the

as ROCS ''Lung Shan'' (PF-44). She was subsequently scrapped in 1976.

Awards

''Schmitt'' received one

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 ...

for her World War II service.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmitt (DE-676) Buckley-class destroyer escorts Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1943 ships World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States Charles Lawrence-class high speed transports World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Charles Lawrence-class high speed transports of the Republic of China Navy