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USS Abbot (DD-629)
Encyclopedia
USS Abbot (DD-629) was a Fletcher-class
destroyer
in the service of the United States Navy
. She was the second Navy ship named after Commodore
Joel Abbot
(1793–1855).
Abbot was laid down on 21 September 1942 at Bath, Maine
by the Bath Iron Works
, launched
on 17 February 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Grace Abbot Fletcher, the granddaughter of Commodore Abbot, and commissioned
at the Boston Navy Yard
on 23 April 1943, Commander
Chester E. Carroll in command.
, for shakedown training. She conducted her initial training out of Casco Bay, Maine, until 18 June and, during the next three months, served as an escort for larger warships conducting their own shakedown cruises. On 10 September, Abbot departed the New England
coast bound for the western Pacific. She transited the Panama Canal
on 16 September and, after a brief stop at San Diego, Calif.
, resumed her voyage west on the 28th. The warship arrived in the Hawaiian Islands
early in October and began additional training. However, a collision with aircraft carrier
on 18 October forced her into the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard for a repair period lasting almost three months. Abbot finally returned to sea on 10 December and briefly resumed training.
on the day after Christmas. Training and upkeep occupied her time through the early days of January 1944. Later that month, Abbot became a unit of Task Group 50.15 (TG 50.15), the so-called Neutralization Group attached to Task Force 58 (TF 58) for the occupation of the Marshall Islands
. The assignment of that task group — carried out between 29 January and 17 February was to cut off bypassed Wotje and Taroa
and to prevent enemy troops and war-planes there from supporting the Japanese
garrisons at Majuro
, Kwajalein
, and Eniwetok. Abbot joined , , , and five other destroyers in frequent shore bombardments of the two atolls to keep troops occupied and planes grounded. She continued to perform that duty until 12 February at which time she began patrolling between Majuro and Kwajalein.
By the middle of March, the destroyer had been reassigned to the southwestern Pacific where she carried out convoy
escort duty between the southern Solomons and the New Guinea
ports of Milne Bay
and Cape Sudest
. In mid-April, she became an element of the screen of TG 78.2, an escort carrier group built around , , , and . The destroyer helped to protect the escort carriers from possible Japanese air and submarine
attacks, while they launched their planes to provide close support for troops landing at Aitape and Hollandia on the northern coast of New Guinea. TG 78.2 ended that mission on 5 May, but Abbot remained with the escort carrier group until 7 May, when she and several other ships shaped a course for the New Hebrides Islands. She reached Espiritu Santo
on 12 May.
For the next four weeks, Abbot received routine maintenance and conducted training evolutions out of Espiritu Santo. Early in June, the destroyer headed back toward the Central Pacific in company with escort carriers and other destroyers. They stopped at Kwajalein in the Marshalls to make final preparations for the assault on Saipan
. On 12 June, she stood out of Kwajalein lagoon in company with TG 53.7, the Carrier Support Group built around , , and . The task group arrived in the Mariana Islands
on 16 June. While the air groups of the three carriers provided close air support for the assault troops — first, at Saipan
and, later at Guam — Abbot and her sister ships in the screen again protected the carriers from enemy air and submarine forces. She and her charges remained with the invasion force throughout the decisive Battle of the Philippine Sea
in which TF 58 shattered the remnants of Japanese naval air power. About a week later, on 26 June, she and joined forces to splash a Mitsubishi G4M
"Betty". Through the month of July, Abbot continued to shepherd the carriers while their aviators struck targets on Saipan and Guam
in support of the American invasion troops.
Early in August, Abbot returned to Pearl Harbor for repairs, relaxation, and training. On the 28th, she began preparing for another amphibious operation. She concluded that training during the second week in September and departed Hawaii
on the 15th headed for the western Pacific. Steaming via Eniwetok, she arrived at Manus Island
in the Admiralty Islands
on 3 October. She resumed training at Manus until the 14th when she got underway with the transport screen bound for the invasion of the Philippines
at Leyte
. She arrived off the beaches of that island on 20 October and began providing antiaircraft and antisubmarine protection for the transport area. Though the group to which she was attached came under sporadic air attack that day, only one intruder approached near enough to Abbot for her to open up with her antiaircraft battery. However, that twin-engine bomber night. Abbot assisted the troops ashore with night illumination and harassing fire on enemy lines near Dulag
.
On the morning of 21 October, Abbot retired from Leyte
to escort a group of transports to Hollandia
. She arrived at that New Guinea port on 26 October and remained there until 2 November when she returned to sea with a group of transports bound for Morotai
in the northern Molucca Islands of the Netherlands East Indies (now part of Indonesia
). She arrived at Morotai three days later and remained there for five days. During her stay at Morotai, the enemy staged frequent night air raids on the Morotai airfield but left the ships in the anchorage unmolested. However, this pattern changed after she departed the island with a Leyte-bound task group. As the group approached the Philippines, Japanese land-based air began intermittent day and night attacks. On the 13th, a Nakajima B6N
"Jill" launched a torpedo
in the midst of Abbots formation but failed to score a hit. repaid this impertinence by splashing the enemy plane some 1,000 yards ahead of Abbot. After several days at anchor off Dulag — during which time she claimed to have damaged an Yokosuka D4Y
"Judy" with her 5-inch battery — Abbot got underway for Hollandia on 24 November. She arrived at that New Guinea port on the 29th and remained there almost one month. Two days before Christmas 1944, the destroyer weighed anchor for the Philippines in company with a small cargoman and remained at Leyte through the end of the year and into 1945.
at Lingayen Gulf
. Within that task organization, she was assigned to the screen of Rear Admiral
Felix Stump
's San Fabian Carrier Group. During the voyage from Leyte to Lingayen, the formation came under increasingly intense air attacks by the kamikaze
corps. On 4 January, one aircraft succeeded in crashing into and damaged that escort carrier so badly that she was abandoned and sunk by a torpedo from . On 6 January, the Support Carrier Group divided into its constituent units, the Lingayen and San Fabian groups. Abbot continued to provide antisubmarine and anti-air protection to the San Fabian group while aircraft from its carriers carried out prelanding bombing and strafing missions and, after the 9th, supported the invasion troops in their struggle to wrest the island from the Japanese. That duty — as well as support for the secondary landings at San Felipe
and Nsugbu — lasted until 31 January. At that time, Abbot departed Lingayen Gulf in company with the carriers and headed for Mindoro
.
After a week of duty at Mangarin Bay
, Mindoro, Abbot set a course for Subic Bay
in the screen of the carriers. From that base, she joined the carriers in supporting the assaults on the islands in Manila Bay — Corregidor
, El Fraile, Carabao
, and Caballo
. Abbot herself destroyed a number of mines
around Corregidor and captured three Japanese who attempted the swim from Corregidor to Bataan
. After the 15 February paratroop landing on Corregidor, the destroyer provided call fire and night illumination fire.
On 17 February, she returned to Subic Bay for a week of replenishment and upkeep before sailing for Palawan on the 24th. In company with cruiser
s , , , and three other destroyers, Abbot steamed up to support elements of the Army's 41st Infantry Division's assault on Puerto Princesa — the main port on Palawan
. No gunfire from the warships was necessary, however, and they headed back to Subic Bay later that day. Abbot remained at Subic Bay in an upkeep status until 4 March when she joined another cruiser-destroyer force for the assault on Zamboanga
, Mindanao
. There, she acted as fire-support ship for the minesweepers
as well as for the troops ashore. On 11 March, she patrolled near Basilan Island — located to the south of Zamboanga Peninsula
— and destroyed enemy barges with gunfire. The following day, Abbots unit completed its mission at Mindanao, headed back to Luzon, and arrived back at Subic Bay on 17 March.
After a week of upkeep and logistics there, the warship resumed missions in support of the occupation of the remaining Japanese-held Philippine Islands. On 24 March, she stood out of Subic Bay with a cruiser-destroyer force on its way to help liberate Cebu
in the Visayas
subgroup. Two days later, she opened fire in the prelanding bombardment at beaches some four miles (6 km) west of Cebu City
. The troops went ashore around 08:30 and the warships then shifted to call fire and harassing fire. From there, she proceeded to San Pedro Bay
, Leyte, escorting a mixed group of LCMs
and LCIs
. After her arrival at San Pedro Bay, she remained there for the rest of March undergoing a tender availability. Through most of April, the destroyer was attached to the Commander, Philippine Sea Frontier, for whom she conducted a series of missions carrying mail and passengers.
On 24 April, she was returned to the operational control of the Commander, 7th Amphibious Force. She moved to Cebu harbor where she served standby duty as fire—support ship for the Americal Division
. That assignment proved relatively uneventful until the first week in May. On 3 May, she took under fire a group of houses on Nailon Point near Tobagan village, Cebu, rumored to harbor a concentration of Japanese troops. From there. Abbot moved along the coast toward Cebu harbor, firing at targets of opportunity as she went. She repeated the mission three days later and then departed Cebu on 8 May. Staged through Mindoro, the destroyer participated in the landings at Macajalar Bay
on the island of Mindanao
. She participated in the preparatory shore bombardment early on the 10th though it later proved to have been unnecessary when the assault troops encountered absolutely no Japanese. The ship remained in the neighborhood until the 14th to be on hand should her guns be needed. On that day, she shaped a course back to San Pedro Bay and spent the next three weeks engaged in patrols and escort missions in the southern Philippines. She concluded her Philippine service with a 10-day tender availability at Leyte.
On 12 June, the warship reported for duty with the 3rd Fleet and was assigned to duty with the fast carriers in the screen of TG 38.3. Her task group departed Leyte Gulf on 1 July bound for an operating area just to the east of the Japanese home islands, and Abbot steamed out with them. While the carriers' aircraft attacked the enemy's homeland, the destroyer joined the other escorts in protecting their mobile bases from air and submarine attack. However, on two occasions, Abbot also got in her own licks. Just after noon on 14 July, TG 34.8.1, a special force — composed of battleship
s , , , cruisers , , Abbot, and eight other destroyers — was detached from the TF 38 screen and closed the shores of northern Honshū
near the city of Kamaishi
. During six bombardment passes, the force fired over 2,300 shells of various calibers into the Japan Iron Works plant located there. A second and similar mission brought TG 34.8.1 back to the shores of Honshū at Hamamatsu on the 29th. Otherwise, Abbot served in the screen of TF 38.
On 8 August, the destroyer was shifted to TG 35.4 consisting of a cruiser division and a squadron of destroyers. Their assignment was to investigate surface targets reported some 63 miles (101 km) from the main formation. While she was forming up at 32 knots (59 km/h), her starboard propeller and a portion of her tail shaft broke off just forward of the after strut bearing. The damages forced her to rejoin the main force though she remained seaworthy, capable of 23 knots (43 km/h), and able to maintain station in formation. The following day, when suffered a kamikaze hit, Abbot rendered assistance and escorted her to a rendezvous with hospital ship
to evacuate casualties and thence to Saipan for repairs. The ships arrived at Saipan on 17 August, two days after the cessation of hostilities. There, Abbot herself entered drydock where her damage was found to be sufficiently serious to warrant her retiring, via Hawaii, to the Puget Sound Navy Yard. She arrived in Bremerton, Wash.
, early in September. After repairs, she reported to the Commander, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, for inactivation. Abbot was placed out of commission on 21 May 1946 and was berthed at San Diego.
in the summer of 1950 brought a need for more active ships in the Fleet. Though recommissioned on 26 February 1951, the destroyer spent the next three months at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard
undergoing alterations and modernization. On 1 June, she put to sea, bound for her first operational assignment since returning to active service. Instead of Korea, however, the east coast of the United States proved to be her destination. Later that month, she transited the Panama Canal
and arrived in her new home port
, Newport, R.I.
For the remainder of 1951, the destroyer underwent repairs at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
followed by refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay
, Cuba
. She spent the first three months of 1952 preparing for her first deployment to the Mediterranean Sea
with the 6th Fleet. That assignment began in April and ended with her return to Newport in October. Abbot spent the next 19 months operating out of Newport engaged in training evolutions — antisubmarine warfare (ASW) exercises, independent ship's exercises, and refresher training.
On 1 June 1954, the destroyer departed Newport in company with Destroyer Division 242 (DesDiv 242) on what proved to be a seven-month circumnavigation of the globe. Steaming via the Panama Canal, San Diego, Oahu
, and Midway
, she joined the 7th Fleet at Yokosuka, Japan, and operated in the South China Sea
and in the Taiwan Strait
until October. On 18 October, she headed back to the United States, via the Indian Ocean
, the Suez Canal
, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean
, making numerous port calls along the way. The destroyer arrived back at Newport on 18 December 1954 and remained in the Newport area through January 1955. In February and March of that year, the warship participated in the annual "Springboard" exercise conducted near Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She returned to Newport in March and began normal operations — independent ship's exercises and hunter/killer antisubmarine warfare exercises — out of her home port. Save for a three-week midshipman cruise to St. Johns, Newfoundland, in August, she busied herself with normal operations for the remainder of the year.
Early in 1956, Abbot entered the Boston Naval Shipyard for a 19-week repair period. Leaving the yard on 19 May, the destroyer conducted refresher training in Cuban waters through most of June. In July, she was reassigned to Destroyer Squadron 10 (DesRon 10) along with her entire division, DesDiv 242, which became DesDiv 102. The warship spent the period from September to November either alongside a tender or in the Boston Naval Shipyard undergoing preparations for a deployment to the Mediterranean. That assignment began in November 1956 and lasted until February 1957. The destroyer returned to Newport on 22 February and, after an availability period, resumed normal exercises and type training. That summer, she made a two-month midshipman cruise that took her to Rio de Janeiro
and to the West Indies. In the fall, Abbot participated in Operation Strikeback
, a NATO exercise conducted in the northeastern Atlantic. During that mission, she made port visits to Belfast
in Northern Ireland
and to Chatham
, England
. Upon her return to the New England coast late in October, the ship resumed type training and exercises out of Newport and continued such duty for the rest of 1957.
On 15 January 1958, Abbot entered the Boston Naval Shipyard for her regular overhaul. After three months of repairs and modifications, she spent another month conducting refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She then returned to Newport where she spent June and the first week of July. On 11 July, she stood out of Newport bound for Annapolis, Md.
, where she embarked Naval Academy
midshipmen for their summer cruise. Not long thereafter, President Camille Chamoun
of Lebanon
— whose country had been gripped by steadily intensifying civil strife
— requested United States help in restoring order. Forces already in the Mediterranean were dispatched to his aid. Abbot and the rest of DesRon 10 escorted amphibious forces to Vieques Island and, after a stop at San Juan, Puerto Rico
, headed across the Atlantic to bolster those units. She made brief stops at Gibraltar
and Naples
before joining TF 66 — the 6th Fleet fast carrier force — off the Levantine coast. Two weeks later, she anchored at Beirut
, the Lebanese capital, to serve as gunfire support ship for the Marine Corps
and Army
troops operating ashore. By the end of summer, the crisis had subsided, and Abbot took up routine 6th Fleet duty until returning to Newport on Veterans Day 1958.
flagship
. Her mission, however, remained antisubmarine warfare though in a more defensive rather than offensive mode. Later that month, she began an overhaul at the Boston Naval Shipyard. She completed repairs at the end of the summer and spent the month of September engaged in refresher training near Guantanamo Bay and at Culebra Island, Puerto Rico. In October, she returned north to Newport and resumed her antisubmarine warfare exercises.
That employment occupied her for the remainder of 1959 and throughout 1960. On 5 May 1961, Abbot briefly entered the race for space. Supporting the sub-orbital flight of Freedom 7, Abbot was detailed to help recover the Mercury capsule after splash-down roughly 300 miles (482.8 km) east of Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission was designated MR-3, or Mercury-Redstone 3, and it was America’s answer to the successful flight of Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet cosmonaut who became the first human in space. In September 1961, Abbot became the school ship for the Destroyer Officer's School located at Newport. Her routine of service along the east coast and in the West Indies training naval officers in their future duties on board destroyer-type warships was broken twice in 1962. In August, she was ordered to Guantanamo Bay where she served as a base defense ship during disorders in Haiti
. Then, in October, she participated in operations enforcing the quarantine of Cuba
established by President John F. Kennedy
after he learned that Soviet
offensive missiles had been based on that island. She was released from that duty in mid-November and returned to Newport on the 24th to resume her training missions.
Abbot continued her role as a training platform for prospective destroyer officers until April 1964. On the 14th, she departed Newport for Philadelphia for her last active duty assignment. At Philadelphia, she served as a Naval Reserve training ship for almost a year and as flagship for Reserve Destroyer Squadron 30. She was decommissioned
on 26 March 1965 at Philadelphia and, for the next decade, was berthed with the Philadelphia Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Struck from the Navy list
on 1 December 1974, she was sold for scrapping to the Boston Metals Company of Baltimore, Md., in August 1975.
Fletcher class destroyer
The Fletcher class were a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The class was designed in 1939 as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
in the service of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. She was the second Navy ship named after Commodore
Commodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
Joel Abbot
Joel Abbot
Joel Abbot was a U.S. naval officer who served notably in the War of 1812, and commanded a squadron during Commodore Perry's 1852 visit to Japan.-Biography:...
(1793–1855).
Abbot was laid down on 21 September 1942 at Bath, Maine
Bath, Maine
Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,266. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County. Located on the Kennebec River, Bath is a port of entry with a good harbor. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its...
by the Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, United States. Since its founding in 1884 , BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy...
, launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 17 February 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Grace Abbot Fletcher, the granddaughter of Commodore Abbot, and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
at the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
on 23 April 1943, Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Chester E. Carroll in command.
World War II
The destroyer completed outfitting at Boston by 13 May when she reported to the Commander, Destroyers, Atlantic FleetU.S. Atlantic Fleet
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
, for shakedown training. She conducted her initial training out of Casco Bay, Maine, until 18 June and, during the next three months, served as an escort for larger warships conducting their own shakedown cruises. On 10 September, Abbot departed the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
coast bound for the western Pacific. She transited the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
on 16 September and, after a brief stop at San Diego, Calif.
Naval Station San Diego
Naval Base San Diego is the largest base of the United States Navy on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of 54 ships and over 120 tenant commands. The base is composed of 13 piers stretched...
, resumed her voyage west on the 28th. The warship arrived in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
early in October and began additional training. However, a collision with aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
on 18 October forced her into the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard for a repair period lasting almost three months. Abbot finally returned to sea on 10 December and briefly resumed training.
1944
In mid-December, the destroyer stood out of Pearl Harbor, bound for the Ellice Islands, and arrived at FunafutiFunafuti
Funafuti is an atoll that forms the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 4,492 , making it the most populated atoll in the country. It is a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 metres wide, encircling a large lagoon 18 km long and 14 km wide, with a surface of...
on the day after Christmas. Training and upkeep occupied her time through the early days of January 1944. Later that month, Abbot became a unit of Task Group 50.15 (TG 50.15), the so-called Neutralization Group attached to Task Force 58 (TF 58) for the occupation of the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
. The assignment of that task group — carried out between 29 January and 17 February was to cut off bypassed Wotje and Taroa
Taroa
Taroa, also known as Tarawa, is an island in the east of Maloelap Atoll in the Marshall Islands. During World War II, it was the site of a major Japanese airfield...
and to prevent enemy troops and war-planes there from supporting the Japanese
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
garrisons at Majuro
Majuro
Majuro , is a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll itself has a land area of and encloses a lagoon of...
, Kwajalein
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
, and Eniwetok. Abbot joined , , , and five other destroyers in frequent shore bombardments of the two atolls to keep troops occupied and planes grounded. She continued to perform that duty until 12 February at which time she began patrolling between Majuro and Kwajalein.
By the middle of March, the destroyer had been reassigned to the southwestern Pacific where she carried out convoy
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, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
escort duty between the southern Solomons and the New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
ports of Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
and Cape Sudest
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, about a mile south of Harigo....
. In mid-April, she became an element of the screen of TG 78.2, an escort carrier group built around , , , and . The destroyer helped to protect the escort carriers from possible Japanese air and submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
attacks, while they launched their planes to provide close support for troops landing at Aitape and Hollandia on the northern coast of New Guinea. TG 78.2 ended that mission on 5 May, but Abbot remained with the escort carrier group until 7 May, when she and several other ships shaped a course for the New Hebrides Islands. She reached Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
on 12 May.
For the next four weeks, Abbot received routine maintenance and conducted training evolutions out of Espiritu Santo. Early in June, the destroyer headed back toward the Central Pacific in company with escort carriers and other destroyers. They stopped at Kwajalein in the Marshalls to make final preparations for the assault on Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
. On 12 June, she stood out of Kwajalein lagoon in company with TG 53.7, the Carrier Support Group built around , , and . The task group arrived in the Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
on 16 June. While the air groups of the three carriers provided close air support for the assault troops — first, at Saipan
Battle of Saipan
The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June-9 July 1944. The Allied invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, the day before Operation Overlord in Europe was...
and, later at Guam — Abbot and her sister ships in the screen again protected the carriers from enemy air and submarine forces. She and her charges remained with the invasion force throughout the decisive Battle of the Philippine Sea
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...
in which TF 58 shattered the remnants of Japanese naval air power. About a week later, on 26 June, she and joined forces to splash a Mitsubishi G4M
Mitsubishi G4M
The Mitsubishi G4M 一式陸上攻撃機, 一式陸攻 Isshiki rikujō kōgeki ki, Isshikirikkō was the main twin-engine, land-based bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allies gave the G4M the reporting name Betty...
"Betty". Through the month of July, Abbot continued to shepherd the carriers while their aviators struck targets on Saipan and Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
in support of the American invasion troops.
Early in August, Abbot returned to Pearl Harbor for repairs, relaxation, and training. On the 28th, she began preparing for another amphibious operation. She concluded that training during the second week in September and departed Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
on the 15th headed for the western Pacific. Steaming via Eniwetok, she arrived at Manus Island
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
in the Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen 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-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
on 3 October. She resumed training at Manus until the 14th when she got underway with the transport screen bound for the invasion of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
at Leyte
Battle of Leyte
The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the invasion and conquest of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American and Filipino guerrilla forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fought against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines led by...
. She arrived off the beaches of that island on 20 October and began providing antiaircraft and antisubmarine protection for the transport area. Though the group to which she was attached came under sporadic air attack that day, only one intruder approached near enough to Abbot for her to open up with her antiaircraft battery. However, that twin-engine bomber night. Abbot assisted the troops ashore with night illumination and harassing fire on enemy lines near Dulag
Dulag, Leyte
Dulag is a third-class municipality in the province of Leyte in Eastern Visayas in the Philippines. This coastal town covering 11,007 hectares of land is home to 44,143 residents...
.
On the morning of 21 October, Abbot retired from Leyte
Leyte Island
Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines.The island measures about 180 km north-south and about 65 km at its widest point. In the north it nearly joins Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 km in some places...
to escort a group of transports to Hollandia
Jayapura
Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
. She arrived at that New Guinea port on 26 October and remained there until 2 November when she returned to sea with a group of transports bound for Morotai
Morotai
Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
in the northern Molucca Islands of the Netherlands East Indies (now part of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
). She arrived at Morotai three days later and remained there for five days. During her stay at Morotai, the enemy staged frequent night air raids on the Morotai airfield but left the ships in the anchorage unmolested. However, this pattern changed after she departed the island with a Leyte-bound task group. As the group approached the Philippines, Japanese land-based air began intermittent day and night attacks. On the 13th, a Nakajima B6N
Nakajima B6N
The Nakajima B6N Tenzan was the Imperial Japanese Navy's standard carrier-borne torpedo bomber during the final years of World War II and the successor to the B5N "Kate"...
"Jill" launched a torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
in the midst of Abbots formation but failed to score a hit. repaid this impertinence by splashing the enemy plane some 1,000 yards ahead of Abbot. After several days at anchor off Dulag — during which time she claimed to have damaged an Yokosuka D4Y
Yokosuka D4Y
The D4Y Navy Type 2 Carrier Dive bomber was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Its Allied reporting name was "Judy". The D4Y was one of the fastest dive-bombers of the war, and only the delays in its development hindered its service, while its predecessor, the slower fixed gear Aichi D3A...
"Judy" with her 5-inch battery — Abbot got underway for Hollandia on 24 November. She arrived at that New Guinea port on the 29th and remained there almost one month. Two days before Christmas 1944, the destroyer weighed anchor for the Philippines in company with a small cargoman and remained at Leyte through the end of the year and into 1945.
1945
Provisioning and upkeep complete, Abbot put to sea on 2 January 1945 with TG 77.4, the Escort Carrier Group for the invasion of LuzonBattle of Luzon
The Battle of Luzon was a land battle fought as part of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II by the Allied forces of the U.S., its colony The Philippines, and Mexico against forces of the Empire of Japan. The battle resulted in a U.S. and Filipino victory...
at Lingayen Gulf
Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
. Within that task organization, she was assigned to the screen of Rear Admiral
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
Felix Stump
Felix Stump
Felix Budwell Stump was an admiral in the United States Navy and Commander, United States Pacific Fleet from July 10, 1953 until July 31, 1958....
's San Fabian Carrier Group. During the voyage from Leyte to Lingayen, the formation came under increasingly intense air attacks by the kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
corps. On 4 January, one aircraft succeeded in crashing into and damaged that escort carrier so badly that she was abandoned and sunk by a torpedo from . On 6 January, the Support Carrier Group divided into its constituent units, the Lingayen and San Fabian groups. Abbot continued to provide antisubmarine and anti-air protection to the San Fabian group while aircraft from its carriers carried out prelanding bombing and strafing missions and, after the 9th, supported the invasion troops in their struggle to wrest the island from the Japanese. That duty — as well as support for the secondary landings at San Felipe
San Felipe, Zambales
San Felipe is a 4th class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2007 Philippine census, it has a population of 21,322 people in 4,094 households.-Barangays:San Felipe is politically subdivided into 11 barangays....
and Nsugbu — lasted until 31 January. At that time, Abbot departed Lingayen Gulf in company with the carriers and headed for Mindoro
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
.
After a week of duty at Mangarin Bay
Mangarin Bay
Mangarin Bay is situated to the east of Mangarin Point, on the west coast of Mindoro, among the Philippine Islands. The bay is shoal and sheltered from the wind by the point and Ilin Island. Magarin point terminates in a long sandy pit off which the depth is 4 to 5 fathoms. Farther in the water...
, Mindoro, Abbot set a course for Subic Bay
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the United States Navy located in Zambales, Philippines. It was the largest U.S...
in the screen of the carriers. From that base, she joined the carriers in supporting the assaults on the islands in Manila Bay — Corregidor
Corregidor
Corregidor Island, locally called Isla ng Corregidor, is a lofty island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to this location, Corregidor was fortified with several coastal artillery and ammunition magazines to defend the entrance of...
, El Fraile, Carabao
Carabao Island
Carabao Island can refer to two islands in the Philippines:* Carabao Island, the former name of San Jose, the southernmost island in the province of Romblon* Carabao Island, an island in the province of Cavite...
, and Caballo
Caballo Island
Caballo Island is a bluff, rocky island located at the entrance to Manila Bay in the Philippines. It is about 3/4 mile long with the highest elevation at 381 feet high...
. Abbot herself destroyed a number of mines
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
around Corregidor and captured three Japanese who attempted the swim from Corregidor to Bataan
Bataan
Bataan is a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and it is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north...
. After the 15 February paratroop landing on Corregidor, the destroyer provided call fire and night illumination fire.
On 17 February, she returned to Subic Bay for a week of replenishment and upkeep before sailing for Palawan on the 24th. In company with cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s , , , and three other destroyers, Abbot steamed up to support elements of the Army's 41st Infantry Division's assault on Puerto Princesa — the main port on Palawan
Palawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
. No gunfire from the warships was necessary, however, and they headed back to Subic Bay later that day. Abbot remained at Subic Bay in an upkeep status until 4 March when she joined another cruiser-destroyer force for the assault on Zamboanga
Zamboanga City
The City of Zamboanga : is a highly urbanized, independent and a chartered city located in Mindanao, Philippines....
, Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
. There, she acted as fire-support ship for the minesweepers
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
as well as for the troops ashore. On 11 March, she patrolled near Basilan Island — located to the south of Zamboanga Peninsula
Zamboanga Peninsula
Zamboanga Peninsula / Western Mindanao is a peninsula and an administrative region in the Philippines. Designated as Region IX, the region consists of three provinces, namely, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, and Zamboanga Sibugay, its component cities of Dipolog, Dapitan, Pagadian, and...
— and destroyed enemy barges with gunfire. The following day, Abbots unit completed its mission at Mindanao, headed back to Luzon, and arrived back at Subic Bay on 17 March.
After a week of upkeep and logistics there, the warship resumed missions in support of the occupation of the remaining Japanese-held Philippine Islands. On 24 March, she stood out of Subic Bay with a cruiser-destroyer force on its way to help liberate Cebu
Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
in the Visayas
Visayas
The Visayas or Visayan Islands and locally known as Kabisay-an gid, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeast...
subgroup. Two days later, she opened fire in the prelanding bombardment at beaches some four miles (6 km) west of Cebu City
Cebu City
The City of Cebu is the capital city of Cebu and is the second largest city in the Philippines, the second most significant metropolitan centre in the Philippines and known as the oldest settlement established by the Spaniards in the country.The city is located on the eastern shore of Cebu and was...
. The troops went ashore around 08:30 and the warships then shifted to call fire and harassing fire. From there, she proceeded to San Pedro Bay
San Pedro Bay (Philippines)
San Pedro Bay is a bay in the Philippines, at the northwest end of Leyte Gulf, about 15 km east-west and 20 km north-south. The bay is bounded on the north and east by Samar and on the east by Leyte Island. It is connected by San Juanico Strait to Carigara Bay of the Samar Sea. The...
, Leyte, escorting a mixed group of LCMs
Landing Craft Mechanized
The Landing Craft Mechanized or Landing Craft Mechanical was a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults....
and LCIs
Landing Craft Infantry
The Landing craft, Infantry or LCI were several classes of sea-going amphibious assault ships of the Second World War utilized to land large numbers of infantry directly onto beaches. They were developed in response to a British request for a vessel capable of carrying and landing substantially...
. After her arrival at San Pedro Bay, she remained there for the rest of March undergoing a tender availability. Through most of April, the destroyer was attached to the Commander, Philippine Sea Frontier, for whom she conducted a series of missions carrying mail and passengers.
On 24 April, she was returned to the operational control of the Commander, 7th Amphibious Force. She moved to Cebu harbor where she served standby duty as fire—support ship for the Americal Division
Americal Division
The 23rd Infantry Division, more commonly known as the Americal Division of the United States Army was formed in May 1942 on the island of New Caledonia. In the immediate emergency following Pearl Harbor, the United States had hurriedly sent three individual regiments to defend New Caledonia...
. That assignment proved relatively uneventful until the first week in May. On 3 May, she took under fire a group of houses on Nailon Point near Tobagan village, Cebu, rumored to harbor a concentration of Japanese troops. From there. Abbot moved along the coast toward Cebu harbor, firing at targets of opportunity as she went. She repeated the mission three days later and then departed Cebu on 8 May. Staged through Mindoro, the destroyer participated in the landings at Macajalar Bay
Macajalar Bay
Macajalar Bay is a deep water bay located north of the Province of Misamis Oriental on the Mindanao island, southern part the Philippines. Cagayan de Oro City, being the regional center of Northern Mindanao , is located in one of its deep-water harbor...
on the island of Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
. She participated in the preparatory shore bombardment early on the 10th though it later proved to have been unnecessary when the assault troops encountered absolutely no Japanese. The ship remained in the neighborhood until the 14th to be on hand should her guns be needed. On that day, she shaped a course back to San Pedro Bay and spent the next three weeks engaged in patrols and escort missions in the southern Philippines. She concluded her Philippine service with a 10-day tender availability at Leyte.
On 12 June, the warship reported for duty with the 3rd Fleet and was assigned to duty with the fast carriers in the screen of TG 38.3. Her task group departed Leyte Gulf on 1 July bound for an operating area just to the east of the Japanese home islands, and Abbot steamed out with them. While the carriers' aircraft attacked the enemy's homeland, the destroyer joined the other escorts in protecting their mobile bases from air and submarine attack. However, on two occasions, Abbot also got in her own licks. Just after noon on 14 July, TG 34.8.1, a special force — composed of battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s , , , cruisers , , Abbot, and eight other destroyers — was detached from the TF 38 screen and closed the shores of northern Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
near the city of Kamaishi
Kamaishi, Iwate
is a small, historic city located on the Sanriku rias coast of Iwate, Japan. As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 41,022 and a density of 92.9 persons per km². The total area is 441.42 km². It is famous in modern times for its steel production and most recently for its promotion...
. During six bombardment passes, the force fired over 2,300 shells of various calibers into the Japan Iron Works plant located there. A second and similar mission brought TG 34.8.1 back to the shores of Honshū at Hamamatsu on the 29th. Otherwise, Abbot served in the screen of TF 38.
On 8 August, the destroyer was shifted to TG 35.4 consisting of a cruiser division and a squadron of destroyers. Their assignment was to investigate surface targets reported some 63 miles (101 km) from the main formation. While she was forming up at 32 knots (59 km/h), her starboard propeller and a portion of her tail shaft broke off just forward of the after strut bearing. The damages forced her to rejoin the main force though she remained seaworthy, capable of 23 knots (43 km/h), and able to maintain station in formation. The following day, when suffered a kamikaze hit, Abbot rendered assistance and escorted her to a rendezvous with hospital ship
Hospital ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....
to evacuate casualties and thence to Saipan for repairs. The ships arrived at Saipan on 17 August, two days after the cessation of hostilities. There, Abbot herself entered drydock where her damage was found to be sufficiently serious to warrant her retiring, via Hawaii, to the Puget Sound Navy Yard. She arrived in Bremerton, Wash.
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
, early in September. After repairs, she reported to the Commander, San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, for inactivation. Abbot was placed out of commission on 21 May 1946 and was berthed at San Diego.
1950–1959
Abbot spent almost five years in the Reserve Fleet, before the outbreak of hostilities in KoreaKorea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
in the summer of 1950 brought a need for more active ships in the Fleet. Though recommissioned on 26 February 1951, the destroyer spent the next three months at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
undergoing alterations and modernization. On 1 June, she put to sea, bound for her first operational assignment since returning to active service. Instead of Korea, however, the east coast of the United States proved to be her destination. Later that month, she transited the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
and arrived in her new home port
Home port
A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull...
, Newport, R.I.
Naval Station Newport
The Naval Station Newport is a United States Navy base located in the towns of Newport and Middletown, Rhode Island. Naval Station Newport is home to the Naval War College and the Naval Justice School...
For the remainder of 1951, the destroyer underwent repairs at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
followed by refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. She spent the first three months of 1952 preparing for her first deployment to the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
with the 6th Fleet. That assignment began in April and ended with her return to Newport in October. Abbot spent the next 19 months operating out of Newport engaged in training evolutions — antisubmarine warfare (ASW) exercises, independent ship's exercises, and refresher training.
On 1 June 1954, the destroyer departed Newport in company with Destroyer Division 242 (DesDiv 242) on what proved to be a seven-month circumnavigation of the globe. Steaming via the Panama Canal, San Diego, Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
, and Midway
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
, she joined the 7th Fleet at Yokosuka, Japan, and operated in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
and in the Taiwan Strait
Taiwan Strait
The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, is a 180-km-wide strait separating Mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast...
until October. On 18 October, she headed back to the United States, via the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, making numerous port calls along the way. The destroyer arrived back at Newport on 18 December 1954 and remained in the Newport area through January 1955. In February and March of that year, the warship participated in the annual "Springboard" exercise conducted near Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She returned to Newport in March and began normal operations — independent ship's exercises and hunter/killer antisubmarine warfare exercises — out of her home port. Save for a three-week midshipman cruise to St. Johns, Newfoundland, in August, she busied herself with normal operations for the remainder of the year.
Early in 1956, Abbot entered the Boston Naval Shipyard for a 19-week repair period. Leaving the yard on 19 May, the destroyer conducted refresher training in Cuban waters through most of June. In July, she was reassigned to Destroyer Squadron 10 (DesRon 10) along with her entire division, DesDiv 242, which became DesDiv 102. The warship spent the period from September to November either alongside a tender or in the Boston Naval Shipyard undergoing preparations for a deployment to the Mediterranean. That assignment began in November 1956 and lasted until February 1957. The destroyer returned to Newport on 22 February and, after an availability period, resumed normal exercises and type training. That summer, she made a two-month midshipman cruise that took her to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and to the West Indies. In the fall, Abbot participated in Operation Strikeback
Operation Strikeback
Operation Strikeback was a major naval exercise of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that took place over a ten-day period in September 1957....
, a NATO exercise conducted in the northeastern Atlantic. During that mission, she made port visits to Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and to Chatham
Chatham, Medway
Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Upon her return to the New England coast late in October, the ship resumed type training and exercises out of Newport and continued such duty for the rest of 1957.
On 15 January 1958, Abbot entered the Boston Naval Shipyard for her regular overhaul. After three months of repairs and modifications, she spent another month conducting refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She then returned to Newport where she spent June and the first week of July. On 11 July, she stood out of Newport bound for Annapolis, Md.
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
, where she embarked Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
midshipmen for their summer cruise. Not long thereafter, President Camille Chamoun
Camille Chamoun
Camille Nimr Chamoun was President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958, and one of the country's main Christian leaders during most of the Lebanese Civil War ....
of Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
— whose country had been gripped by steadily intensifying civil strife
Lebanon crisis of 1958
The 1958 Lebanon crisis was a Lebanese political crisis caused by political and religious tensions in the country. It included a U.S. military intervention.-Background:...
— requested United States help in restoring order. Forces already in the Mediterranean were dispatched to his aid. Abbot and the rest of DesRon 10 escorted amphibious forces to Vieques Island and, after a stop at San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, headed across the Atlantic to bolster those units. She made brief stops at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
before joining TF 66 — the 6th Fleet fast carrier force — off the Levantine coast. Two weeks later, she anchored at Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, the Lebanese capital, to serve as gunfire support ship for the Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
and Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
troops operating ashore. By the end of summer, the crisis had subsided, and Abbot took up routine 6th Fleet duty until returning to Newport on Veterans Day 1958.
1959–1965
Her return to Newport brought a resumption of hunter/killer exercises in New England coastal waters. On 1 May 1959, the destroyer was transferred from DesRon 10 to Escort Squadron 14 (CortRon 14) as the squadronSquadron (naval)
A squadron, or naval squadron, is a unit of 3-4 major warships, transport ships, submarines, or sometimes small craft that may be part of a larger task force or a fleet...
flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
. Her mission, however, remained antisubmarine warfare though in a more defensive rather than offensive mode. Later that month, she began an overhaul at the Boston Naval Shipyard. She completed repairs at the end of the summer and spent the month of September engaged in refresher training near Guantanamo Bay and at Culebra Island, Puerto Rico. In October, she returned north to Newport and resumed her antisubmarine warfare exercises.
That employment occupied her for the remainder of 1959 and throughout 1960. On 5 May 1961, Abbot briefly entered the race for space. Supporting the sub-orbital flight of Freedom 7, Abbot was detailed to help recover the Mercury capsule after splash-down roughly 300 miles (482.8 km) east of Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission was designated MR-3, or Mercury-Redstone 3, and it was America’s answer to the successful flight of Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet cosmonaut who became the first human in space. In September 1961, Abbot became the school ship for the Destroyer Officer's School located at Newport. Her routine of service along the east coast and in the West Indies training naval officers in their future duties on board destroyer-type warships was broken twice in 1962. In August, she was ordered to Guantanamo Bay where she served as a base defense ship during disorders in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
. Then, in October, she participated in operations enforcing the quarantine of Cuba
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
established by President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
after he learned that Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
offensive missiles had been based on that island. She was released from that duty in mid-November and returned to Newport on the 24th to resume her training missions.
Abbot continued her role as a training platform for prospective destroyer officers until April 1964. On the 14th, she departed Newport for Philadelphia for her last active duty assignment. At Philadelphia, she served as a Naval Reserve training ship for almost a year and as flagship for Reserve Destroyer Squadron 30. She was decommissioned
Ship decommissioning
To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....
on 26 March 1965 at Philadelphia and, for the next decade, was berthed with the Philadelphia Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Struck from the Navy list
Navy List
A 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 authorities of a country....
on 1 December 1974, she was sold for scrapping to the Boston Metals Company of Baltimore, Md., in August 1975.
External links
- history.navy.mil: USS Abbot
- navsource.org: USS Abbot
- hazegray.org: USS Abbot
- USS Abbot homepage A collection of photographs, documents and memories of those who served aboard the USS Abbot DD629