The second USS ''Perkins'' (DD–377) was a ''Mahan''-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 ...

before and 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 opposing ...

and named in honour of

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

George Hamilton Perkins an officer in the

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. ''Perkins'' was laid down on 15 November 1934 at the

Puget Sound Navy Yard 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 ...

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...

. She was launched 31 December 1935, sponsored by Mrs Larz Anderson, commissioned 18 September 1936.

Operational history

Assigned first to Destroyers,

Scouting Force 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 ...

then to Destroyers,

Battle Force The United States Battle Fleet or Battle Force was part of the organization of the United States Navy from 1922 to 1941. The General Order of 6 December 1922 organized the United States Fleet, with the Battle Fleet as the Pacific presence. This f ...

, ''Perkins'' home port was

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 Stat ...

and she operated in the eastern Pacific prior to World War II. At Mare Island Naval Shipyard for overhaul, 7 December 1941, she reported for convoy escort duty on the 15th and on the 17th was en route 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 ...

. By 15 January 1942 she was back at Mare Island for the installation of new

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

equipment returning on the 25th 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 ...

. On 2 February she departed Pearl Harbor with , for the southwest

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. On the 14th she joined Australian,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and other U.S. ships in the

ANZAC Squadron The ANZAC Squadron, also called the ''Allied Naval Squadron'', was an Allied naval warship task force which was tasked with defending northeast Australia and surrounding area in early 1942 during the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The squadr ...

then charged with protecting the eastern approaches to Australia and New Zealand. Through the spring, she continued operations with that squadron, steaming at times with fast carrier forces around the Coral Sea to strike at any enemy encroachments, escorting refuelling units to rendezvous areas and screening larger ships of her own and combined forces as they shelled enemy positions from

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 ...

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 capit ...

On 1–2 May, the squadron joined with Task Force (TF) 11 and 17 and screened the carriers as their aircraft struck at

Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island——in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 1 ...

to open the Battle of the Coral Sea. Detached on the 7th, the squadron steamed to the

Louisiade Archipelago The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands in Papua New Guinea. It is located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than and spread ...

to intercept a Japanese amphibious attack on

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

via the Jomard Passage. That afternoon the ships were attacked by land-based aircraft and in driving them off, diverted the Japanese force accomplishing the mission without engaging the enemy and setting the stage for the final action of the Battle of the Coral Sea. The ANZAC squadron continued to patrol to the southeast of Papua. On the 10th the squadron headed for Australia and for almost two months ''Perkins'' escorted convoys and patrolled harbour entrances along the coasts of the

Coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

and

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea ( Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer ...

s. ''Perkins'' was in Sydney Harbour during the Japanese midget submarine attack of 31 May 1942. On 11 July she sailed for

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, then to Noumea. Convoy escort duty between Suva and New Caledonia followed and in mid-August, she returned to New Zealand for propeller repairs. On the 20th, she sailed for Pearl Harbor where repairs were completed and additional radar equipment and 20 mm guns installed. In mid-November ''Perkins'' headed west, arriving at

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 ...

on the 27th. Three days later she departed

Segond Channel Canal du Segond, also known as Canal Pekoa and in English Segond Channel, literally "Second Channel," separates the island of Aore from the city of Luganville on main island of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. The channel was the location of the United ...

in Rear Admiral Carleton Wright's cruiser-destroyer force to intercept and destroy Japanese forces attempting to resupply units on Guadalcanal. At 2315, five radar contacts were made and a few minutes later the

Battle of Tassafaronga The Battle of Tassafaronga, sometimes referred to as the Fourth Battle of Savo Island or, in Japanese sources, as the , was a nighttime naval battle that took place on November 30, 1942, between United States Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy warsh ...

commenced. ''Perkins'' launched eight torpedoes, with no hits. Undamaged in the encounter she turned toward

to assist the burning ''Pensacola'', while ''Maury'' went to assist ''New Orleans''. Continuing operations from Tulagi, she shelled the Guadalcanal coast and served on escort assignments until January 1943. A brief availability at Noumea followed and by the 13th she was back at Tulagi for further escort and support missions. At the end of April ''Perkins'' joined TF 10 for tactical training and in May she returned to Australia to join the forces gathering to sail up the

coast to gain control of the

Huon Peninsula Huon Peninsula is a large rugged peninsula on the island of New Guinea in Morobe Province, eastern Papua New Guinea. It is named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec. The peninsula is dominated by the steep Saruwaged and Finisterr ...

. On 21 August ''Perkins'', flagship of DesRon 5, led ''Smith'', ''Conyngham'', and ''Mahan'' out of Milne Bay to make a sweep of

Huon Gulf Huon Gulf is a large gulf in eastern Papua New Guinea. It is bordered by Huon Peninsula in the north. Both are named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec. Huon Gulf is a part of the Solomon Sea. Its northern boundary is marked by ...

and shell

Finschhafen Finschhafen is a town east of Lae on the Huon Peninsula in Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. The town is commonly misspelt as Finschafen or Finschaven. During World War II, the town was also referred to as Fitch Haven in the logs of some U.S ...

. On 4 September ''Perkins'' shelled the coast between the Bulu and Buso rivers, covering Allied landings at Red Beach before heading toward

Lae Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...

. On the 8th, she fired on the isolated garrison and on the 15th, the last enemy soldiers pulled out and Allied forces entered Lae.

Fate

Finschhafen fell on 2 October and the increase in Allied shipping traffic in Huon Gulf, together with the presence of Japanese submarines, brought ''Perkins'' back to escort duty. Reinforcements were escorted to

Langemak Bay Langemak Bay (Langemark, Langemaak) is a bay north of Finschhafen, on the north east coast of Papua New Guinea. Langemak Bay saw extensive naval operations in World War II, including a landing beach at the western end of the bay for the embarkati ...

and to Scarlet Beach east of Satelberg. On 28 November 1943, she departed Milne Bay for Buna, steaming independently. Shortly before 0200, the Australian troopship ''Duntroon'' collided with her port side, amidships. Splitting in two, ''Perkins'' sank approximately 2 miles off Ipoteto Island. Nine personnel were killed, and a tenth seriously injured. A court of inquiry, held in San Francisco the following month, held the captain of ''Perkins'' accountable for the incident, along with his executive officer and officer-of-the-deck.

Honors

''Perkins'' earned 4

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 during World War II.

References

External links

history.navy.mil: USS ''Perkins''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins Perkins (DD-377) Perkins (DD-377) Ships sunk in collisions Ships built in Bremerton, Washington Shipwrecks in the Solomon Sea 1935 ships Maritime incidents in November 1943