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USS Dent (DD-116)
Encyclopedia
USS Dent (DD–116) was a Wickes class
destroyer
in the United States Navy
during the World War I
and later served as APD-9 in World War II
. She was named for Captain
John H. Dent
.
Dent was launched 23 March 1918 by William Cramp and Sons
, Philadelphia, Pa.; sponsored by Miss A. W. Collins, great-granddaughter of Captain Dent; and commissioned 9 September 1918, Commander
B. C. Allen in command.
between 19 September and 8 November 1918, and then carried out training at Guantanamo Bay
. On 1 May 1919 she got underway from New York to serve on station off Trepassey Harbor, Newfoundland
, during the historic first aerial crossing of the Atlantic, a feat accomplished by a Navy seaplane
. She returned to Newport
on the 24th, and on 20 June she joined the escort for the yacht Imperator, carrying the President of Brazil
from New York to Newport.
Dent arrived at San Pedro, California, 6 August 1919 to join the Pacific Fleet. She cruised to Hawaii
as escort for with the Secretary of the Navy embarked in August, then steamed to Seattle for a Fleet Review
in September. She returned to San Diego 22 September and went into reserve. She was placed in active commission again 14 December 1920, and operated with 50 percent of her complement on gunnery and torpedo practice, and in fleet maneuvers. She made a cruise to South America
from 7 January to 11 March 1921, visiting Valparaíso
, Chile
; Costa Rica
; and various ports in Mexico
. Dent was placed out of commission in reserve 7 June 1922.
Recommissioned 15 May 1930, Dent acted as plane guard for carrier operations, trained reservists, and sailed for a fleet problem in the Caribbean
and a visit to the East Coast from April to November 1934. On 18 December, she entered the Rotating Reserve at San Diego and tested ordnance until returning to active commission 10 June 1935. Dent operated along the West Coast and in the Hawaiian Islands until the United States
entered World War II. At San Diego on 7 December 1941, she got underway the next day to screen in her high speed run to Pearl Harbor
.
n waters. From 8 May she operated out of Dutch Harbor on convoy and patrol duty, escorting transports for the invasion of Adak
1 September. She returned to Seattle 30 January 1943 for repairs and conversion to a high-speed transport. She was reclassified APD-9, 7 March 1943.
Dent arrived at Noumea
, New Caledonia
20 April 1943. She operated from this base and Espiritu Santo
, landing troops in the assaults on New Georgia
, Rendova, Vella Lavella
, and Cape Torokina
, Bougainville
. After overhaul at Sydney
, Australia
, in November, she returned to Milne Bay
, New Guinea
on 17 December. While training at Cape Sudest
5 days later, she grounded on an uncharted shoal. Serious structural damage necessitated her return to Australia for repairs through January 1944.
Dent arrived at Nouméa 7 February 1944 and landed men of the 4th Marines on Emirau Island
20 March. From Milne Bay
, New Guinea, she carried soldiers to the Aitape
landings 22 April. Sailing from New Guinea 9 May, she returned to the Solomons to train an underwater demolition team for the invasion of the Marianas. She carried her team to Roi where they were transferred for transportation to Guam
, then escorted to Saipan
to carry emergency supplies of ammunition to the bombardment ships. Dent patrolled off Saipan and Tinian
until early July when she escorted transports to Eniwetok and sailed for overhaul at San Diego, arriving 3 August.
From 8 November 1944 until the end of the war, Dent served with the Amphibious Training Force, Pacific Fleet, at San Diego. She sailed 20 October 1945 for the East Coast, arriving at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, 6 November. Dent was decommissioned there 4 December 1945 and sold 13 June 1946.
As of 2004, no other ships of this name have served in the United States Navy.
Wickes class destroyer
The Wickes-class destroyers were a group of 111 destroyers built by the United States Navy in 1917-1919. Along with the 6 preceding Caldwell class and 155 subsequent Clemson-class destroyers, they formed the "flush-deck" or "four-stack" class. Only a few were completed in time to serve in World...
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 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...
during the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and later served as APD-9 in 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...
. She was named for Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
John H. Dent
John H. Dent
John Herbert Dent was an officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War, the First Barbary War, and the War of 1812. He was acting Captain on the USS Constitution" during the attacks on Tripoli in 1804.-Early years:Born in Charles County, Maryland, Dent was the son of Congressman George...
.
Dent was launched 23 March 1918 by William Cramp and Sons
William Cramp and Sons
thumb | upright | 1899 advertisement for William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1825 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder in the 19th century. The American Ship & Commerce Corporation bought the yard in 1919 but closed...
, Philadelphia, Pa.; sponsored by Miss A. W. Collins, great-granddaughter of Captain Dent; and commissioned 9 September 1918, 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...
B. C. Allen in command.
Service history
Dent escorted a convoy to IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
between 19 September and 8 November 1918, and then carried out training at 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...
. On 1 May 1919 she got underway from New York to serve on station off Trepassey Harbor, Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
, during the historic first aerial crossing of the Atlantic, a feat accomplished by a Navy seaplane
NC-4
The NC-4 was a Curtiss NC flying boat which was designed by Glenn Curtiss and his team, and manufactured by Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. In May 1919, the NC-4 became the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, starting in the United States and making the crossing as far as Lisbon,...
. She returned to Newport
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
on the 24th, and on 20 June she joined the escort for the yacht Imperator, carrying the President of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
from New York to Newport.
Dent arrived at San Pedro, California, 6 August 1919 to join the Pacific Fleet. She cruised to 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...
as escort for with the Secretary of the Navy embarked in August, then steamed to Seattle for a Fleet Review
Naval Review
A Naval Review is an event, where the whole of the US Navy is paraded to be reviewed by the president or the Secretary of the Navy. It often includes delegates from other national navies. It is more regular and frequent than its British equivalent, the Fleet Review, and often occurs on a Navy...
in September. She returned to San Diego 22 September and went into reserve. She was placed in active commission again 14 December 1920, and operated with 50 percent of her complement on gunnery and torpedo practice, and in fleet maneuvers. She made a cruise to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
from 7 January to 11 March 1921, visiting Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
; Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
; and various ports in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Dent was placed out of commission in reserve 7 June 1922.
Recommissioned 15 May 1930, Dent acted as plane guard for carrier operations, trained reservists, and sailed for a fleet problem in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and a visit to the East Coast from April to November 1934. On 18 December, she entered the Rotating Reserve at San Diego and tested ordnance until returning to active commission 10 June 1935. Dent operated along the West Coast and in the Hawaiian Islands until the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entered World War II. At San Diego on 7 December 1941, she got underway the next day to screen in her high speed run to 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...
.
World War II
Returning to San Francisco 29 December 1941, Dent had duty with the Sound School at San Diego and operated along the West Coast on convoy duty until 27 April 1942 when she sailed for AlaskaAlaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
n waters. From 8 May she operated out of Dutch Harbor on convoy and patrol duty, escorting transports for the invasion of Adak
Adak Island
Adak Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost town, Adak, is located on the island...
1 September. She returned to Seattle 30 January 1943 for repairs and conversion to a high-speed transport. She was reclassified APD-9, 7 March 1943.
Dent arrived at Noumea
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
20 April 1943. She operated from this base and 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....
, landing troops in the assaults on New Georgia
New Georgia
New Georgia is the largest island of the Western Province of the Solomon Islands.-Geography:This island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of the other larger islands in the province...
, Rendova, Vella Lavella
Vella Lavella
Vella Lavella is an island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It lies to the west of New Georgia, but is considered one of the New Georgia Group...
, and Cape Torokina
Cape Torokina
Cape Torokina is a promontory at the north end of Empress Augusta Bay, along the central part of the southeastern coast of Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea....
, Bougainville
Bougainville campaign (1944-45)
The Bougainville campaign was fought by the Allies in the South Pacific during World War II to regain control of the island of Bougainville from the Japanese forces who had occupied it in 1942. During their occupation the Japanese constructed naval aircraft bases in the north, east, and south of...
. After overhaul at Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, in November, she returned to 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....
, 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...
on 17 December. While training at 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....
5 days later, she grounded on an uncharted shoal. Serious structural damage necessitated her return to Australia for repairs through January 1944.
Dent arrived at Nouméa 7 February 1944 and landed men of the 4th Marines on Emirau Island
Emirau Island
Emirau Island, also called Emira, is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago located at . It is currently part of the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. The local language is a dialect of the Mussau-Emira language...
20 March. From 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....
, New Guinea, she carried soldiers to the Aitape
Aitape
Aitape is a small town of about 8,000 people on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun Province. It is a coastal settlement that is almost equidistant from the provincial capitals of Wewak and Vanimo, and marks the midpoint of the highway between these two capitals...
landings 22 April. Sailing from New Guinea 9 May, she returned to the Solomons to train an underwater demolition team for the invasion of the Marianas. She carried her team to Roi where they were transferred for transportation to 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...
, then escorted to 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...
to carry emergency supplies of ammunition to the bombardment ships. Dent patrolled off Saipan and Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
until early July when she escorted transports to Eniwetok and sailed for overhaul at San Diego, arriving 3 August.
From 8 November 1944 until the end of the war, Dent served with the Amphibious Training Force, Pacific Fleet, at San Diego. She sailed 20 October 1945 for the East Coast, arriving at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, 6 November. Dent was decommissioned there 4 December 1945 and sold 13 June 1946.
Awards
Dent received five battle stars for World War II service.As of 2004, no other ships of this name have served in the United States Navy.