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USS Cooper (DD-695)
Encyclopedia
USS Cooper (DD-695), a , is the only ship 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...
to be named for Elmer Glenn Cooper
Elmer Glenn Cooper
Elmer Glenn Cooper was an officer in the United States Navy.Born in Monticello, Arkansas, Cooper graduated from the Naval Academy 2 June 1927. A naval aviator, he served on board several carriers. He died 2 February 1938 as the result of a seaplane crash off the coast of southern California. was...
, a naval aviator who died in a seaplane accident in 1938. The Cooper was launched 9 February 1944 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard, active from 1917 to 1949. During World War II, it built ships as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Operated by a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, the shipyard was located at...
, Kearny, N.J.; sponsored by Mrs. Elmer G. Cooper; and commissioned 27 March 1944, Commander J. W. Schmidt in command.
Cooper cleared Boston 23 July 1944 for Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
arriving 4 September. After operational training, she sailed 23 October for Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
, arriving 5 November, and put to sea at once to screen carriers in air attacks on Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, Ormoc Bay
Ormoc Bay
Ormoc Bay is a bay on the island of Leyte in the Philippines. The bay is an inlet of the Camotes Sea. The city of Ormoc lies at the head of the bay and exports rice, copra and sugar. The World War II Battle of Ormoc Bay took place from November 11 until mid-December in Ormoc Bay during late 1944....
, and Manila Bay
Manila Bay
Manila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...
until 19 November.
After repairs at Ulithi, she entered 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...
, Philippines, 29 November and joined in patrols in Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
until 2 December, when she sailed with Allen M. Sumner (DD-692)
USS Allen M. Sumner (DD-692)
USS Allen M. Sumner , the original Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, was named for Allen Melancthon Sumner, a USMC captain, who was killed in action during World War I....
and Moale (DD-693)
USS Moale (DD-693)
USS Moale was the second Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer of the United States Navy. She was named for Lieutenant Edward Moale, Jr. , who performed heroic duty during the Spanish-American War....
to destroy shipping in Japanese-held Ormoc Bay. Here the ships engaged two small enemy destroyers and numerous small craft. At about 00:13 on 3 December, Cooper was torpedoed by the Japanese destroyer Take.
Reports state that she suffered an explosion on her starboard side, then it broke in two, and sank within a minute. The presence of enemy forces prevented rescue of survivors until about 14:00, when "Black Cat" airplanes were able to save 168 of Cooper's crew; 191 were lost.
In the Battle of Ormoc Bay
Battle of Ormoc Bay
The Battle of Ormoc Bay was a series of air-sea battles between Imperial Japan and the United States in the Camotes Sea in the Philippines between 11 November and 21 December 1944, part of the Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II. The battles resulted from Japanese operations to...
, Kuwa was sunk and Take was damaged by the American destroyers. In addition to the loss of Cooper, Allen M. Sumner and Moale were both damaged.
A documentary TV film, USS Cooper: Return to Ormoc Bay
USS Cooper: Return to Ormoc Bay
USS Cooper: Return to Ormoc Bay is a 2001 Philippine documentary film produced by Bigfoot Entertainment and directed by Daniel Foster. The film documents the fate of an American destroyer that was torpedoed during World War II.- Synopsis :...
, was produced by Bigfoot Entertainment
Bigfoot Entertainment
Bigfoot Entertainment is the parent company of Bigfoot Films, Bigfoot Productions, Bigfoot Production Services, Bigfoot Partners, the International Academy of Film and Television, and New Cebu Films...
and made its debut in mid-2006. It featured deep-sea diver Rob Lalumiere and survivors of the Cooper sinking.
Cooper was awarded one battle star for World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service.