USS ''Stern'' (DE-187) was a in service with 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 ...

from 1943 to 1946. In 1951, she was transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy where she served as Hr.Ms. ''Van Zijll'' (F811) until 1967. She was scrapped in 1968.

History

United States Navy (1943-1951)

She was named in honor of Charles M. Stern, Jr., who was on duty in battleship on 9 April 1941 and was killed when the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

attacked

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 ...

on 7 December 1941. The ship was laid down on 12 August 1943 by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.shakedown cruise off

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 = , es ...

and returned to New York for post-shakedown availability. After a short training period off

Casco Bay 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 s ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, she 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 ...

and returned with another to New York. She stood out of that port, on 23 March 1944, with a convoy for North

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and arrived at Casablanca on 2 April. On 7 May, she sailed for home with a return convoy and arrived at New York on the 17th. ''Stern'' made another round trip to Ireland, via Bermuda from 8 June to 2 August, and one more to Bizerte,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, which ended in New York on 7 October.

Pacific War

''Stern'' sailed for the West Coast on 23 October and arrived at

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 ...

, California, on 10 November. Routed westward, she arrived at

on 23 November, and after calling at 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 Intern ...

, arrived at

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the larges ...

Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the ce ...

, on 12 December. She was assigned to the at-sea logistics group ( Task Group 30.8) of the U.S. 3rd Fleet. ''Stern'' operated with the 3rd Fleet from 16 to 25 December and from 29 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, supporting operations liberating

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

. The ship returned to

on 8 February and was attached to the screen of the attack transport group of the task force which would invade Iwo Jima. The force arrived off that island early on the morning of the 19th, and the assault groups began landing under intense hostile fire. From that morning until 1 March, the escort protected American transports off Iwo Jima. On that day, ''Stern'' was routed via

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 ...

to the

Philippine Islands The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. She arrived there on 8 March, was assigned to the screen of Task Group 51.1, the Western Islands Attack Group, and sailed for the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yona ...

on 21 March. ''Stern'' screened the attack transports heading for

Kerama Retto The are a subtropical island group southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Geography Four islands are inhabited: Tokashiki Island, Zamami Island, Aka Island, and Geruma Island. The islands are administered as Tokashiki Village and Zamami Vill ...

and arrived there on 26 March. She then performed antisubmarine duty off the islands until 5 April, when she was ordered to escort a resupply convoy to Guam. From there, she sailed to

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

to join another

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

-bound task unit and was back off the island on 18 April. This tour off Okinawa was unbroken until July. On 13 and 18 May, she shot down two enemy planes each day, and splashed a single on the 27th. On 1 July, ''Stern'' sailed for the West Coast of the United States, via Ulithi and Pearl Harbor. She arrived at San Pedro, Los Angeles, on the 25th. She sailed from that port on 20 October, and proceeded, via 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 condui ...

, to Norfolk, Virginia, for inactivation. By a directive issued in March 1946, ''Stern'' was to be sold as surplus of naval requirements. The sale was cancelled and the escort was transferred to the

Atlantic Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

. She was placed in reserve, out of commission, on 26 April 1946 and berthed at

Green Cove Springs, Florida Green Cove Springs is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,908. The city is named after the portio ...

Royal Netherlands Navy (1951-1967)

''Stern'' was reactivated on 1 March 1951, and with five other destroyer escorts, transferred under the

Military Assistance Program The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a United States Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman on 6 October 1949. For US Foreign policy, it was the first U.S. military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era, and initially to Eu ...

to the government of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. ''Stern'' 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 autho ...

on 7 March 1951. She served the government of the Netherlands as Hr.Ms. ''Van Zijll'' (F811) until she was returned to the custody of the

in 1967. In 1968, ''Stern'' was sold to Simons Scheepssloperij N.V.,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

, and scrapped.

Awards

''Stern'' received three U.S. battle stars for World War II service.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stern (DE-187) Cannon-class destroyer escorts of the United States Navy Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey 1943 ships World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Netherlands Navy