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USS Kane (DD-235)
Encyclopedia
USS Kane (DD-235/APD-18) was a Clemson-class
destroyer
in the United States Navy
during World War II
. She was the first ship named for Elisha Kent Kane
.
Kane was laid down 3 July 1918 and launched 12 August 1919 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation; sponsored by Miss Florence Kane, cousin of Elisha Kent Kane; and commissioned 11 June 1920, with Commander
William Hall in command.
20 August 1920 for her shakedown cruise to Gibraltar
, Brest
, Copenhagen
, Danzig, and the Gulf of Riga
. She was just outside the Gulf in the Baltic Sea
1 October 1920 and supposedly well clear of the minefields laid in World War I
when a mine exploded, bending her port engine shafts and port propeller struts. After repair at Landskrona
, Sweden, and overhaul at Chatham
, England, she sailed 21 May 1921 for the Mediterranean.
On 22 June 1921, Kane rescued an Italian torpedo boat
drifting upon the rocks off Cape Spartivento. On 3 July, she reached Constantinople
for relief work in Turkish
waters. She returned to Newport 23 August. She sailed 2 October with Destroyer Squadron 14 to evacuate refugees and perform other relief work in Asia Minor
. She arrived in Constantinople 22 October, and was constantly used to carry supplies, medical aid, refugees and relief officials between ports of the Black Sea
and the Eastern Mediterranean. She departed Constantinople 18 May 1923, and spent the next 5 years with the Scouting Fleet
operating along the East Coast and in the Caribbean
. She departed New York 13 February 1925 for a fleet training cruise to San Diego, California
, and from there she sailed to Pearl Harbor
and returned 17 July. In the spring of 1927 the destroyer patrolled off bandit-plagued Nicaragua
and the Honduras
. She decommissioned in the Philadelphia Navy Yard 31 December 1930.
Kane recommissioned 1 April 1932, and departed Philadelphia 29 June for San Diego, her base for the next 4 years. She got underway from San Diego 27 April 1936 for fleet exercises
in the Caribbean before entering the New York Navy Yard to prepare for special service.
Kane departed New York 17 August 1936 for Spain to evacuate American citizens whose lives were endangered by the civil war
in Spain. On 30 August, en route to Bilbao
, she had to open fire three times to drive off a tri-motored monoplane dropping bombs within a hundred yards of the destroyer. A strong protest to both Spanish Civil War factions was made, and this forestalled similar incidents. She called at Bilbao and Gijon
, embarking refugees who were taken to St. Jean de Luz, France.
arrived at Gibraltar
27 September 1936 as flagship of Squadron Forty-T commanded by Rear Admiral
Arthur P. Fairfield
. This special squadron, initially comprising Raleigh, Kane and , , saved hundreds of American and other nationals from the dangers of the war in Spain. Kane and Hatfield were relieved by and 9 November 1937 and sailed for home. Kane entered the Charleston Navy Yard 22 November, and decommissioned 28 April 1938.
in the North Atlantic. On 7 August she took up inshore defensive patrol along both coastlines of Panama
. She then steamed to San Diego, arriving 4 November 1940, to patrol off the coast of California
. She overhauled in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
from 4 January to 3 March 1941, she was based at Seattle for patrols north to Alaska, and along the western seaboard. After the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor
, she departed Seattle, Washington
for Kodiak, Alaska
, and escorted troop transports back to Seattle 23 December. Following a similar escort voyage, she arrived at Seward 19 April 1942 for inter-island convoy and submarine
patrols among Alaskan ports.
On 11 June, Kane rescued 11 survivors of the torpedoed SS Arcata. The morning of 3 August 1942, she found her antiaircraft guns of little use against two attacks by high-altitude Japanese bombers. High-altitude attacks against shipping were rarely effective; evasion tactics and speed saved the destroyer from bombs which fell in her wake. She continued patrol and escort duty in Alaskan and Aleutian sectors until February 1942, then was converted to a high speed transport by Todd's Dry Docks, Seattle, Washington, and reclassified APD-18. Conversion was completed by 3 April 1943, when she departed for amphibious training with the Army
's 7th infantry in Monterey Bay, California.
Kane departed San Francisco 24 April and arrived in Cold Bay 30 April to prepare for the recapture of Attu
, Aleutian Islands. The morning of 11 May, and landed 100 Army Scouts northwest of Holtz Bay
. Several hours later, Kane was coached in through very dense fog by 's radar to land 400 reconnaissance troops, who then joined the scouts.
During the ground fighting on Attu, Kane served as evacuation hospital transport and shuttled medical supplies between Holtz and Massacre Bay
. Off the entrance to Dutch Harbor 17 July, she received 12 survivors of the Russian Seiner No. 2. Following amphibious exercises off Amchitka Island, she landed elements of the Army's 1st Special Service Force on Kiska 14 August and later on Little Kiska Island
. But the Japanese had evacuated under cover of fog, leaving a few mongrel dogs as sole inhabitants. This marked the end of the last Japanese hold in the Aleutians. Kane remained on duty between Alaskan and Aleutian ports until 20 November 1943, then steamed south for an overhaul in the Mare Island Navy Yard until 7 January 1944.
Kane arrived in Pearl Harbor 18 January 1944 to join the 5th Amphibious Force for the capture of the Marshall Islands
. Her Marine
escort secured the channel islets at the entrance of Majuro Lagoon on the night of 30 to 31 January 1944 and later took the islands on the east side of Kwajalein Lagoon. She sailed 25 February to help screen amphibious landing ships for the invasion of Milne Bay
, New Guinea
, then entered Seeadler Harbor
, Manus
, as the 7th Cavalry Regiment took the remaining strong point in the Admiralty Islands
. The high speed transport landed men of the 163d Infantry at Aitape 22 April 1944, and bombarded enemy positions before withdrawing to shell Ali Island. After escorting a convoy to the Solomon Islands
she returned to Pearl Harbor 23 May 1944.
After training out of Pearl Harbor and preparations at Eniwetok, Kane landed Marines for the invasion of Saipan
15 June 1944. After the fast carriers of the 5th Fleet destroyed Japan's carrier-based airpower in the Battle of the Philippine Sea
, the transport supported Underwater Demolition Team 4 in operations off Saipan. On 23 June, she dodged an aerial bomb that sprayed her with shrapnel and wounded three men. She replenished at Eniwetok, then entered Agat Bay
, Guam
, the afternoon of 17 July. The Japanese had planted three lines of palm-log cribs filled with coral rocks, linked each to the other by wire cables as antiship defences. Her "naked warriors" of Underwater Demolition Team 4, assisted by other teams, blew up hundreds of these obstacles, clearing the way for the marines, who landed 21 July 1944. On 24 July, as the frogmen worked into the night, Japanese mortar fire in Agat Bay barely missed Kane. She returned to Pearl Harbor 10 August 1944, but entered Leyte Gulf
18 October carrying 100 tons of demolition explosives to be used in clearing the way for the Leyte Invasion landings 2 days later. She carried her demolition teams to the Admiralty Islands, then set course for home and an overhaul arriving San Pedro, California, 4 December.
Kane departed San Diego 20 April 1945 to train Underwater Demolition Team 24 in Hawaiian waters until 4 May, then arrived off Kerama Retto 12 June. After escorting out of the combat zone, she patrolled the southwest anchorage of Ilinawa and fought off two kamikaze
s 21 June. A week later she sailed with a convoy bound for Leyte. She became a unit of the Philippine Sea Frontier
on 4 July and patrolled the shipping lanes leading eastward guarding against submarines until the end of hostilities.
Kane departed San Pedro Bay
, Leyte, 13 September escorting occupation troops to Korea, arriving Jinsen 17 September. Thereafter, she became an unofficial receiving ship and handled communications for the Jinsen representative of the 7th Amphibious Force. Relieved 12 November 1945, she headed for home arrived San Diego 13 December 1945.
After sending 149 Navy veterans ashore, she transited the Panama Canal
for the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she decommissioned 24 January 1946. She was sold for scrapping 21 June 1946 to Northern Metals Company, Philadelphia.
Clemson class destroyer
The Clemson class was a series of 156 destroyers which served with the United States Navy from after World War I through World War II.The Clemson-class ships were commissioned by the United States Navy from 1919 to 1922, built by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, New York Shipbuilding...
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 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 the first ship named for Elisha Kent Kane
Elisha Kane
Elisha Kent Kane was a medical officer in the United States Navy during the first half of the 19th century. He was a member of two Arctic expeditions to rescue the explorer Sir John Franklin...
.
Kane was laid down 3 July 1918 and launched 12 August 1919 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation; sponsored by Miss Florence Kane, cousin of Elisha Kent Kane; and commissioned 11 June 1920, with 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...
William Hall in command.
Service history
Kane departed Newport, Rhode IslandNewport, 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...
20 August 1920 for her shakedown cruise to 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...
, Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Danzig, and the Gulf of Riga
Gulf of Riga
The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. According to C.Michael Hogan, a saline stratification layer is found at a depth of approximately seventy metres....
. She was just outside the Gulf in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
1 October 1920 and supposedly well clear of the minefields laid in 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...
when a mine exploded, bending her port engine shafts and port propeller struts. After repair at Landskrona
Landskrona
Landskrona is a locality and the seat of Landskrona Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 28,670 inhabitants in 2005.-History:The city of Landskrona was founded at the location of Scania's best natural harbour, as a means of King Eric of Pomerania's anti-Hanseatic policy, intended to compete...
, Sweden, and overhaul at Chatham
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
, England, she sailed 21 May 1921 for the Mediterranean.
On 22 June 1921, Kane rescued an Italian torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
drifting upon the rocks off Cape Spartivento. On 3 July, she reached Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
for relief work in Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
waters. She returned to Newport 23 August. She sailed 2 October with Destroyer Squadron 14 to evacuate refugees and perform other relief work in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
. She arrived in Constantinople 22 October, and was constantly used to carry supplies, medical aid, refugees and relief officials between ports of the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
and the Eastern Mediterranean. She departed Constantinople 18 May 1923, and spent the next 5 years with the Scouting Fleet
Scouting Fleet
The Scouting Fleet was part of the United States Fleet in the United States Navy, and renamed the Scouting Force in 1930.Established in 1922, the fleet consisted mainly of older battleships and initially operated in the Atlantic...
operating along the East Coast and 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...
. She departed New York 13 February 1925 for a fleet training cruise to San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, and from there she sailed 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...
and returned 17 July. In the spring of 1927 the destroyer patrolled off bandit-plagued Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
and the Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
. She decommissioned in the Philadelphia Navy Yard 31 December 1930.
Kane recommissioned 1 April 1932, and departed Philadelphia 29 June for San Diego, her base for the next 4 years. She got underway from San Diego 27 April 1936 for fleet exercises
Fleet Landing Exercises
The Fleet Landing Exercises, or FLEX were a series of annual large-scale amphibious landings exercises conducted to test the United States Marine Corps' legitimation of the Fleet Marine Force...
in the Caribbean before entering the New York Navy Yard to prepare for special service.
Kane departed New York 17 August 1936 for Spain to evacuate American citizens whose lives were endangered by the civil war
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
in Spain. On 30 August, en route to Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
, she had to open fire three times to drive off a tri-motored monoplane dropping bombs within a hundred yards of the destroyer. A strong protest to both Spanish Civil War factions was made, and this forestalled similar incidents. She called at Bilbao and Gijon
Gijón
Gijón , officially Gijón / Xixón, is a coastal industrial city and a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain. Early mediaeval texts mention it as "Gigia". It was an important regional Roman city, although the area has been settled since earliest history...
, embarking refugees who were taken to St. Jean de Luz, France.
arrived 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...
27 September 1936 as flagship of Squadron Forty-T commanded by Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Arthur P. Fairfield
Arthur P. Fairfield
Arthur Philip Fairfield was an vice admiral in the United States Navy.-Biography:Born in Saco, Maine, Fairfield served on the protected cruiser during the Spanish–American War, before graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1901.In World War I, Commander Fairfield commissioned the...
. This special squadron, initially comprising Raleigh, Kane and , , saved hundreds of American and other nationals from the dangers of the war in Spain. Kane and Hatfield were relieved by and 9 November 1937 and sailed for home. Kane entered the Charleston Navy Yard 22 November, and decommissioned 28 April 1938.
World War II
Kane recommissioned 23 September 1939 to serve in the Neutrality patrolNeutrality Patrol
At the beginning of World War II, when Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 started the hostilities in Europe, President Franklin D...
in the North Atlantic. On 7 August she took up inshore defensive patrol along both coastlines of Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. She then steamed to San Diego, arriving 4 November 1940, to patrol off the coast of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. She overhauled in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington...
from 4 January to 3 March 1941, she was based at Seattle for patrols north to Alaska, and along the western seaboard. After the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, she departed Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
for Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak is one of 7 communities and the main city on Kodiak Island, Kodiak Island Borough, in the U.S. state of Alaska. All commercial transportation between the entire island and the outside world goes through this city either via ferryboat or airline...
, and escorted troop transports back to Seattle 23 December. Following a similar escort voyage, she arrived at Seward 19 April 1942 for inter-island convoy 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...
patrols among Alaskan ports.
On 11 June, Kane rescued 11 survivors of the torpedoed SS Arcata. The morning of 3 August 1942, she found her antiaircraft guns of little use against two attacks by high-altitude Japanese bombers. High-altitude attacks against shipping were rarely effective; evasion tactics and speed saved the destroyer from bombs which fell in her wake. She continued patrol and escort duty in Alaskan and Aleutian sectors until February 1942, then was converted to a high speed transport by Todd's Dry Docks, Seattle, Washington, and reclassified APD-18. Conversion was completed by 3 April 1943, when she departed for amphibious training with the 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...
's 7th infantry in Monterey Bay, California.
Kane departed San Francisco 24 April and arrived in Cold Bay 30 April to prepare for the recapture of Attu
Attu Island
Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...
, Aleutian Islands. The morning of 11 May, and landed 100 Army Scouts northwest of Holtz Bay
Holtz Bay
Holtz Bay is an inlet on the northeast coast of the island of Attu in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.Holtz Bay was among the landing sites of United States Army troops in the Battle of Attu on 11 May 1943, which led to the recapture of the island from the Japanese during World War...
. Several hours later, Kane was coached in through very dense fog by 's radar to land 400 reconnaissance troops, who then joined the scouts.
During the ground fighting on Attu, Kane served as evacuation hospital transport and shuttled medical supplies between Holtz and Massacre Bay
Massacre Bay
Massacre Bay is an inlet on the southeast coast of the island of Attu in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.Massacre Bay was among the landing sites of United States Army troops in the Battle of Attu in May 1943, which led to the recapture of the island from the Japanese during World War...
. Off the entrance to Dutch Harbor 17 July, she received 12 survivors of the Russian Seiner No. 2. Following amphibious exercises off Amchitka Island, she landed elements of the Army's 1st Special Service Force on Kiska 14 August and later on Little Kiska Island
Little Kiska Island
Little Kiska Island is an island off east coast of the island of Kiska in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. It lies immediately east of Kiska Harbor.-References:...
. But the Japanese had evacuated under cover of fog, leaving a few mongrel dogs as sole inhabitants. This marked the end of the last Japanese hold in the Aleutians. Kane remained on duty between Alaskan and Aleutian ports until 20 November 1943, then steamed south for an overhaul in the Mare Island Navy Yard until 7 January 1944.
Kane arrived in Pearl Harbor 18 January 1944 to join the 5th Amphibious Force for the capture 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...
. Her Marine
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...
escort secured the channel islets at the entrance of Majuro Lagoon on the night of 30 to 31 January 1944 and later took the islands on the east side of Kwajalein Lagoon. She sailed 25 February to help screen amphibious landing ships for the invasion 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....
, 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...
, then entered Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor, also known as Port Seeadler, is located on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea and played an important role in World War II...
, Manus
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...
, as the 7th Cavalry Regiment took the remaining strong point 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...
. The high speed transport landed men of the 163d Infantry at Aitape 22 April 1944, and bombarded enemy positions before withdrawing to shell Ali Island. After escorting a convoy to the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
she returned to Pearl Harbor 23 May 1944.
After training out of Pearl Harbor and preparations at Eniwetok, Kane landed Marines for the invasion of 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...
15 June 1944. After the fast carriers of the 5th Fleet destroyed Japan's carrier-based airpower in the 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...
, the transport supported Underwater Demolition Team 4 in operations off Saipan. On 23 June, she dodged an aerial bomb that sprayed her with shrapnel and wounded three men. She replenished at Eniwetok, then entered Agat Bay
Agat Bay
Agat Bay is a bay on the west coast of Guam. It is located immediately south of the Orote Peninsula, and stretches south past the village of Agat to Facpi Point. With a length of some seven kilometres, the bay stretches for nearly one fifth of the west coast of Guam...
, 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...
, the afternoon of 17 July. The Japanese had planted three lines of palm-log cribs filled with coral rocks, linked each to the other by wire cables as antiship defences. Her "naked warriors" of Underwater Demolition Team 4, assisted by other teams, blew up hundreds of these obstacles, clearing the way for the marines, who landed 21 July 1944. On 24 July, as the frogmen worked into the night, Japanese mortar fire in Agat Bay barely missed Kane. She returned to Pearl Harbor 10 August 1944, but entered 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...
18 October carrying 100 tons of demolition explosives to be used in clearing the way for the Leyte Invasion landings 2 days later. She carried her demolition teams to the Admiralty Islands, then set course for home and an overhaul arriving San Pedro, California, 4 December.
Kane departed San Diego 20 April 1945 to train Underwater Demolition Team 24 in Hawaiian waters until 4 May, then arrived off Kerama Retto 12 June. After escorting out of the combat zone, she patrolled the southwest anchorage of Ilinawa and fought off two 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....
s 21 June. A week later she sailed with a convoy bound for Leyte. She became a unit of the Philippine Sea Frontier
Philippine Sea Frontier
The Philippine Sea Frontier was a United States Navy Sea Frontier active in 1941, and reformed in 1944.On 8 December 1941 it was part of the 16th Naval District, a component of the United States Asiatic Fleet....
on 4 July and patrolled the shipping lanes leading eastward guarding against submarines until the end of hostilities.
Kane departed 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, 13 September escorting occupation troops to Korea, arriving Jinsen 17 September. Thereafter, she became an unofficial receiving ship and handled communications for the Jinsen representative of the 7th Amphibious Force. Relieved 12 November 1945, she headed for home arrived San Diego 13 December 1945.
After sending 149 Navy veterans ashore, 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...
for the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she decommissioned 24 January 1946. She was sold for scrapping 21 June 1946 to Northern Metals Company, Philadelphia.
External links
- http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/235.htm