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USS Manley (DD-74)
Encyclopedia
USS Manley (DD-74/AG-28/APD-1), a , served in the United States Navy
. She was the second Navy ship named for Captain John Manley
(c.1733–1793).
Manley was laid down on 22 August 1916 by the Bath Iron Works
, Bath, Maine
; launched
on 23 August 1917; sponsored by Miss Dorothy S. Sewall; and commissioned
on 15 October 1917, Commander Robert L. Berry in command. She was redesignated DD-74 on 17 July 1920.
, Manley sailed on 25 November 1917 to join the convoy
escort and patrol forces based at Queenstown, Ireland
. On the morning of 19 March 1918, while Manley escorted a convoy, a violent explosion, caused by the accidental detonation of her depth charges practically destroyed her stern, killing her executive officer, Lt. Comdr. Richard M. Elliot
, Jr., and 33 enlisted men. Fragments pierced two 50-gallon drums of gasoline and two tanks containing 100 gallons of alcohol. The leaking fluids caught fire as they ran along the deck and enveloped the ship in flames which were not extinguished until late that night.
Then HMS Tamarisk edged up to the shattered destroyer and unsuccessfully tried to put a towline on board. Manley remained adrift until British tugs Blazer and Cartmel took her in tow after daylight on 20 March. She reached Queenstown at dusk the following day with more than 70 feet of her hull awash or completely under water.
and sailed on 22 December 1918 for operations along the eastern seaboard of the United States. She got underway on 11 April 1919 to join U.S. Naval Forces in the Adriatic Sea
transporting passengers, carrying mail, and performing diplomatic missions. In June 1919 she began carrying, mail and members of the U.S. Food Commission among Turkish
ports in the Black Sea
. The destroyer returned from the Mediterranean to New York on 1 August 1919 and decommissioned at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
on 14 June 1922.
The destroyer recommissioned on 1 May 1930 for service as an experimental torpedo-firing ship at Newport, Rhode Island
. On 19 August 1930 she joined the Scouting Fleet
in battle practice along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean
. She performed similar duty on the coast of California
out of San Diego during 1932. She returned to the Atlantic early in 1933 for operations which continued until she sailed for the Panama Canal Zone
on 10 September 1935 and joined the Special Service Squadron
that patrolled the Caribbean.
Manley sailed for Norfolk, Virginia
on 1 February 1937 to join DesRon 10 in training midshipmen. On 26 October 1937 she sailed from Boston, Massachusetts with to serve with Squadron 40-T in protecting American interests in the Mediterranean during the Spanish Civil War
. She operated principally from Villefranche
, Naples
, Algiers
, and Tangiers until she departed Gibraltar
on 29 October 1938, arriving Norfolk on 11 November 1938. Reclassified a miscellaneous auxiliary on 28 November, she was redesignated AG-28.
in Target Bay, Culebra Island in the first of many landing exercises on the Virginia
and North Carolina
beaches and in the Caribbean that would prove of great benefit to the United States in the vast oversea conflict then just over the horizon. Manley briefly visited the California coast in the spring of 1940 for marine landing force drills off Coronado Roads
. Back in the Atlantic, Manley was officially designated the Navy's first high-speed transport on 2 August 1940 when she became APD-1.
the following day. On 13 July 1942 Manley transited the Panama Canal for duty with the Pacific Fleet
. Touching the Society
and Fiji Islands, she reached Espiritu Santo
, New Hebrides
on 14 August, and loaded special cargo for Guadalcanal
, invaded only one week earlier.
Carrying bombs, ammunition, and gasoline, Manley and got underway on 16 August. After exchanging their cargo for wounded marines, they returned to Espiritu Santo on the 19th. Manley was ordered to take torpedoed in tow for Tulagi
harbor before nightfall. Since a Japanese
surface force was approaching, it was necessary to scuttle the destroyer. Manley took 99 survivors on board. Only two hours of fuel remained when the ship made it back to Espiritu Santo on the 26th.
Ordered to cut out all topside weight on the ship, her crew removed everything not essential to survival, painted the ship jungle green and covered her with camouflage nets. Thus arrayed, the high-speed transport made another trip to Guadalcanal on 3 September 1942. After and were sunk at night of 5 September, she rescued five survivors the next morning.
On 8 September 1942 Manley took part in a surprise landing on Taivu Point, Guadalcanal, by the 1st Marine Raider Battalion. The leathernecks were put ashore at 05:00, and were reinforced by paratroopers from Manley at 11:30. During the operation she bombarded Tasimboko village. The raid was a great success, and played an important role in final victory. Stores, ammunition, and equipment were destroyed and many 75 mm guns were pulled off into deep water by Higgins boats. Larger guns were dynamited, and their ammunition sunk. Reembarkation was completed by 18:30, and Manley returned to Lunga Point
to put the raiders ashore.
As she was unloading, the shore station ordered her to clear out at highest speed, since a raid by Japanese heavy units was expected momentarily. With 200 marines, including wounded and dead, on board, she hoisted all boats and headed out Lengo Channel
with at 21:10. Manley had fuel for only one day's operations and so returned to Tulagi the next day. Taking on enough fuel to reach Espiritu Santo, she was routed onward for voyage repairs at Nouméa
, New Caledonia
.
A company of marine raiders came on board on 31 October 1942 with orders to establish a beachhead at Aola Bay, Guadalcanal. Task Force 65 (TF 65) put the marines ashore on 4 November 1942, and troops from Manley and McKean reinforced them on the 8th.
The versatile fighting ship left Nouméa on 20 November 1942 carrying six torpedoes, towing two PT boat
s, and escorting SS Pomona to Espiritu Santo. Here she embarked another company of raiders and sailed for Lunga Point, Guadalcanal where the raiders debarked. The PT boats and torpedo
es were then delivered to Tulagi, Solomon Islands. In the following months, the high-speed transport was constantly engaged in the risky business of running supplies into Guadalcanal and escorting other ships through the dangerous Solomons.
Manley arrived at San Francisco, California
on 12 June 1943 for overhaul at Hunters Point Navy Yard. Then, on 1 August 1943, Manley set sail for Hawaii
. From Pearl Harbor
, the veteran four-piper escorted a convoy south to Funafuti
to resume her former duties in the Solomon Islands
.
Manley arrived at Pearl Harbor on 14 December 1943 and joined the 5th Amphibious Force to prepare for Operation Flintlock, the invasion of the Marshall Islands
. She sortied on 22 January 1944 with TF 52. On the 30th she and were detached to make a dawn strike on Carter and Cecil Islands of Kwajalein Atoll. All boats and troops were launched shortly before sunrise on 31 January 1944, and by 09:00 reported that they had killed 13 of the enemy on the island at a cost of one American killed and one wounded.
The two high-speed transports were ordered to land reconnaissance troops on Bennett Island
before dawn on 5 February, and Manley was designated fire support ship. The area was well-covered, and the operation went off on schedule.
Three days later Manley got underway as part of a transport screen for Hawaii, arriving Pearl Harbor on the 15th to train Army troops for future landings.
On 30 May Manley joined Task Group 52.15 (TG 52.15) and departed for the invasion of Saipan
. The high-speed transports arrived off Saipan
on the night of 14 June and landed their marines on established beaches south of Garapan
on 16 June. Thereafter, except for a trip to Eniwetok for supplies and night harassing fire on Tinian Town and airports on the nights of 9, 12, and 18 July Manley operated in the transport screen until 22 July. She returned to Eniwetok on the 22nd and, after a trip to Kwajalein, sailed to Pearl Harbor, arriving on 9 August, she began preparations for the next operation.
On 10 September Manley took on board 50 tons of explosives, slated as reserves for underwater demolition team work in the proposed invasion of Yap
. She left Pearl Harbor on the 15th and proceeded via Eniwetok to Manus, Admiralty Islands
. There word arrived that the operation against Yap had been canceled and that the forces assembled would strike Leyte in the Philippines
. Manley was then assigned to the bombardment and fire support group which arrived in Leyte Gulf
early on 18 October.
After entering Leyte Gulf, Manley was assigned screening stations off the southern transport area at Dulag. On the 19th she picked up casualties from , and transferred them to . After marking a navigational buoy during the early morning hours of the 20th, she headed toward Hollandia
with TransDiv 28, on the evening of 21 October.
En route, part of the convoy, including Manley, was diverted to Seeadler Harbor
, Manus, Admiralty Islands, and anchored there on the 27th. After an escort trip to New Guinea, Manley returned to Seeadler Harbor. In mid-December, she shifted to Noemfoor Island for tactical exercises and training for the liberation of Luzon
.
Manley sailed on 4 January 1945 as part of a reinforcement group for the landings at Lingayen Gulf
, Luzon
, landing her embarked troops on the 11th. Two days later she left Lingayen, escorting an LST
convoy which anchored in Leyte Gulf on 18 January.
Manley was one of four high-speed transports assigned to an assault landing at Nasugbu, Luzon, on 31 January. With elements of the 11th Airborne Division, Manley arrived at Nasugbu Bay on 31 January and landed troops in two waves without resistance. That afternoon Manley returned to Leyte. She proceeded to Mindoro for fueling, and then escorted a convoy to Subic Bay
.
To block retreat by the Japanese into Bataan
, Manley with TransDiv 100 and six LCI(L)'s
, put some 700 assault troops ashore at Mariveles
on 15 February 1945. On the 17th, she landed troops on Corregidor
. Hidden gun emplacements shelled her boats, sinking one and wounding an Army
officer, but the landings succeeded. That evening the transport returned to Subic Bay.
On 2 April the transport joined the screen of escort aircraft carrier
s loaded with the first land-based planes to be sent to Okinawa. The first section of the task group launched planes to land on Okinawa on 7 April 1945. The following day Manley's task group closed the islands to launch the remainder of the aircraft for landing strips on that bitterly contested "last stepping stone" to Japan. Manley dropped depth charges on a submarine contact during the launch. Then she protected escort carriers and to Guam.
attacks, the war ended and Manley departed the Hawaiian Islands on 26 September for San Diego, then via the Panama Canal to Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where she decommissioned on 19 November 1945.
Her name was struck from the Navy list
on 5 December 1945; and she was sold for scrapping to the Northern Metal Company, Philadelphia, on 26 November 1946.
Manley received five battle stars of World War II
service and was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation
.
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 for Captain John Manley
John Manley (naval officer)
John Manley was an officer in the Continental Navy and the United States Navy.-Early life:Tradition holds that John Manley was born in 1733 near Torquay, Devonshire, in south west England. As a young man, he settled in Marblehead, Massachusetts, eventually becoming the captain of a merchant...
(c.1733–1793).
Manley was laid down on 22 August 1916 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...
, 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...
; 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 23 August 1917; sponsored by Miss Dorothy S. Sewall; 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...
on 15 October 1917, Commander Robert L. Berry in command. She was redesignated DD-74 on 17 July 1920.
World War I
After fitting out in Boston Navy YardBoston 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...
, Manley sailed on 25 November 1917 to join the 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 and patrol forces based at Queenstown, Ireland
Cobh
Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island...
. On the morning of 19 March 1918, while Manley escorted a convoy, a violent explosion, caused by the accidental detonation of her depth charges practically destroyed her stern, killing her executive officer, Lt. Comdr. Richard M. Elliot
Richard M. Elliot
Richard McCall Elliot was an officer in the United States Navy in World War I.Elliot, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, graduated from the Naval Academy 10 July 1909...
, Jr., and 33 enlisted men. Fragments pierced two 50-gallon drums of gasoline and two tanks containing 100 gallons of alcohol. The leaking fluids caught fire as they ran along the deck and enveloped the ship in flames which were not extinguished until late that night.
Then HMS Tamarisk edged up to the shattered destroyer and unsuccessfully tried to put a towline on board. Manley remained adrift until British tugs Blazer and Cartmel took her in tow after daylight on 20 March. She reached Queenstown at dusk the following day with more than 70 feet of her hull awash or completely under water.
Inter-war years
Manley completed repairs in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and sailed on 22 December 1918 for operations along the eastern seaboard of the United States. She got underway on 11 April 1919 to join U.S. Naval Forces in the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
transporting passengers, carrying mail, and performing diplomatic missions. In June 1919 she began carrying, mail and members of the U.S. Food Commission among 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...
ports in 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...
. The destroyer returned from the Mediterranean to New York on 1 August 1919 and decommissioned 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,...
on 14 June 1922.
The destroyer recommissioned on 1 May 1930 for service as an experimental torpedo-firing ship at Newport, Rhode Island
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 19 August 1930 she joined 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...
in battle practice along the eastern seaboard 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 performed similar duty on 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...
out of San Diego during 1932. She returned to the Atlantic early in 1933 for operations which continued until she sailed for the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
on 10 September 1935 and joined the Special Service Squadron
Special Service Squadron
The Special Service Squadron was a component of the United States Navy during the 1920s and 1930s.Under the United States Fleet, the squadron patrolled the Caribbean Sea as an instrument of gunboat diplomacy. It was headquartered in Balboa, Panama Canal Zone.-Commanders:* C.H. Hockson 1907 * Henry...
that patrolled the Caribbean.
Manley sailed for Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
on 1 February 1937 to join DesRon 10 in training midshipmen. On 26 October 1937 she sailed from Boston, Massachusetts with to serve with Squadron 40-T in protecting American interests in the Mediterranean during the Spanish 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...
. She operated principally from Villefranche
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera.-Geography:...
, 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...
, Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, and Tangiers until she departed 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...
on 29 October 1938, arriving Norfolk on 11 November 1938. Reclassified a miscellaneous auxiliary on 28 November, she was redesignated AG-28.
As an auxiliary and high-speed transport
Manley was outfitted as a troop transport in the New York Navy Yard by 7 February 1939. Her first marine landing force drill was carried out on 21 February when she landed marinesUnited 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...
in Target Bay, Culebra Island in the first of many landing exercises on the Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
beaches and in the Caribbean that would prove of great benefit to the United States in the vast oversea conflict then just over the horizon. Manley briefly visited the California coast in the spring of 1940 for marine landing force drills off Coronado Roads
Naval Base Coronado
Naval Base Coronado is a consolidated Navy installation encompassing eight military facilities stretching from San Clemente Island, located seventy miles west of San Diego, California, to the La Posta Mountain Warfare Training Facility and Camp Morena, located sixty miles east of San...
. Back in the Atlantic, Manley was officially designated the Navy's first high-speed transport on 2 August 1940 when she became APD-1.
World War II
At dusk on 11 April 1942, she picked up 290 survivors from the torpedoed merchant passenger steamer SS Ulysses, and landed them at Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
the following day. On 13 July 1942 Manley transited the Panama Canal for duty with the Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
. Touching the Society
Society Islands
The Society Islands are a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. They are politically part of French Polynesia. The archipelago is generally believed to have been named by Captain James Cook in honor of the Royal Society, the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands;...
and Fiji 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....
, New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
on 14 August, and loaded special cargo for Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
, invaded only one week earlier.
Carrying bombs, ammunition, and gasoline, Manley and got underway on 16 August. After exchanging their cargo for wounded marines, they returned to Espiritu Santo on the 19th. Manley was ordered to take torpedoed in tow for Tulagi
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
harbor before nightfall. Since a Japanese
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
surface force was approaching, it was necessary to scuttle the destroyer. Manley took 99 survivors on board. Only two hours of fuel remained when the ship made it back to Espiritu Santo on the 26th.
Ordered to cut out all topside weight on the ship, her crew removed everything not essential to survival, painted the ship jungle green and covered her with camouflage nets. Thus arrayed, the high-speed transport made another trip to Guadalcanal on 3 September 1942. After and were sunk at night of 5 September, she rescued five survivors the next morning.
On 8 September 1942 Manley took part in a surprise landing on Taivu Point, Guadalcanal, by the 1st Marine Raider Battalion. The leathernecks were put ashore at 05:00, and were reinforced by paratroopers from Manley at 11:30. During the operation she bombarded Tasimboko village. The raid was a great success, and played an important role in final victory. Stores, ammunition, and equipment were destroyed and many 75 mm guns were pulled off into deep water by Higgins boats. Larger guns were dynamited, and their ammunition sunk. Reembarkation was completed by 18:30, and Manley returned to Lunga Point
Lunga Point
Lunga Point is a promontory on the northern coast of Guadalcanal, the site of a naval battle during World War II. It was also the name of a nearby airfield, later named Henderson Field....
to put the raiders ashore.
As she was unloading, the shore station ordered her to clear out at highest speed, since a raid by Japanese heavy units was expected momentarily. With 200 marines, including wounded and dead, on board, she hoisted all boats and headed out Lengo Channel
Lengo Channel
In the Solomon Islands, the waters between the Florida Islands and Taivu Point on the northeast of Guadalcanal are divided by reefs into Nggela Channel, Sealark Channel, and Lengo Channel. They connect Ironbottom Sound to the west with Indispensable Strait to the east....
with at 21:10. Manley had fuel for only one day's operations and so returned to Tulagi the next day. Taking on enough fuel to reach Espiritu Santo, she was routed onward for voyage repairs at Nouméa
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...
.
A company of marine raiders came on board on 31 October 1942 with orders to establish a beachhead at Aola Bay, Guadalcanal. Task Force 65 (TF 65) put the marines ashore on 4 November 1942, and troops from Manley and McKean reinforced them on the 8th.
The versatile fighting ship left Nouméa on 20 November 1942 carrying six torpedoes, towing two PT boat
PT boat
PT Boats were a variety of motor torpedo boat , a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "Devil Boats".The original pre–World War I torpedo boats were...
s, and escorting SS Pomona to Espiritu Santo. Here she embarked another company of raiders and sailed for Lunga Point, Guadalcanal where the raiders debarked. The PT boats and 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...
es were then delivered to Tulagi, Solomon Islands. In the following months, the high-speed transport was constantly engaged in the risky business of running supplies into Guadalcanal and escorting other ships through the dangerous Solomons.
Manley arrived at San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
on 12 June 1943 for overhaul at Hunters Point Navy Yard. Then, on 1 August 1943, Manley set sail for 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...
. From 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...
, the veteran four-piper escorted a convoy south to Funafuti
Funafuti
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...
to resume her former duties in 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...
.
Manley arrived at Pearl Harbor on 14 December 1943 and joined the 5th Amphibious Force to prepare for Operation Flintlock, the invasion 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...
. She sortied on 22 January 1944 with TF 52. On the 30th she and were detached to make a dawn strike on Carter and Cecil Islands of Kwajalein Atoll. All boats and troops were launched shortly before sunrise on 31 January 1944, and by 09:00 reported that they had killed 13 of the enemy on the island at a cost of one American killed and one wounded.
The two high-speed transports were ordered to land reconnaissance troops on Bennett Island
Bennett Island
Bennett Island is the largest of the islands of the De Long group in the northern part of the East Siberian Sea. The area of this island is approximately 150 km² ...
before dawn on 5 February, and Manley was designated fire support ship. The area was well-covered, and the operation went off on schedule.
Three days later Manley got underway as part of a transport screen for Hawaii, arriving Pearl Harbor on the 15th to train Army troops for future landings.
On 30 May Manley joined Task Group 52.15 (TG 52.15) and departed for the invasion of 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...
. The high-speed transports arrived off 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 the night of 14 June and landed their marines on established beaches south of Garapan
Garapan
Garapan is the largest village and the center of the tourism industry on the island of Saipan, which is a part of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands ....
on 16 June. Thereafter, except for a trip to Eniwetok for supplies and night harassing fire on Tinian Town and airports on the nights of 9, 12, and 18 July Manley operated in the transport screen until 22 July. She returned to Eniwetok on the 22nd and, after a trip to Kwajalein, sailed to Pearl Harbor, arriving on 9 August, she began preparations for the next operation.
On 10 September Manley took on board 50 tons of explosives, slated as reserves for underwater demolition team work in the proposed invasion of Yap
Yap
Yap, also known as Wa'ab by locals, is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four...
. She left Pearl Harbor on the 15th and proceeded via Eniwetok to Manus, 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...
. There word arrived that the operation against Yap had been canceled and that the forces assembled would strike Leyte in 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...
. Manley was then assigned to the bombardment and fire support group which arrived 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...
early on 18 October.
After entering Leyte Gulf, Manley was assigned screening stations off the southern transport area at Dulag. On the 19th she picked up casualties from , and transferred them to . After marking a navigational buoy during the early morning hours of the 20th, she headed toward 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....
with TransDiv 28, on the evening of 21 October.
En route, part of the convoy, including Manley, was diverted to 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, Admiralty Islands, and anchored there on the 27th. After an escort trip to New Guinea, Manley returned to Seeadler Harbor. In mid-December, she shifted to Noemfoor Island for tactical exercises and training for the liberation of Luzon
Battle 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...
.
Manley sailed on 4 January 1945 as part of a reinforcement group for the landings 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...
, 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...
, landing her embarked troops on the 11th. Two days later she left Lingayen, escorting an LST
Tank landing ship
Landing Ship, Tank was the military designation for naval vessels created during World War II to support amphibious operations by carrying significant quantities of vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto an unimproved shore....
convoy which anchored in Leyte Gulf on 18 January.
Manley was one of four high-speed transports assigned to an assault landing at Nasugbu, Luzon, on 31 January. With elements of the 11th Airborne Division, Manley arrived at Nasugbu Bay on 31 January and landed troops in two waves without resistance. That afternoon Manley returned to Leyte. She proceeded to Mindoro for fueling, and then escorted a convoy to Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
.
To block retreat by the Japanese into 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...
, Manley with TransDiv 100 and six LCI(L)'s
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...
, put some 700 assault troops ashore at Mariveles
Mariveles, Bataan
Mariveles is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 102,844 people in 19,460 households...
on 15 February 1945. On the 17th, she landed troops on 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...
. Hidden gun emplacements shelled her boats, sinking one and wounding an 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...
officer, but the landings succeeded. That evening the transport returned to Subic Bay.
On 2 April the transport joined the screen of escort aircraft carrier
Escort aircraft carrier
The escort aircraft carrier or escort carrier, also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the USN or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft carrier used by the British Royal Navy , the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, and the...
s loaded with the first land-based planes to be sent to Okinawa. The first section of the task group launched planes to land on Okinawa on 7 April 1945. The following day Manley's task group closed the islands to launch the remainder of the aircraft for landing strips on that bitterly contested "last stepping stone" to Japan. Manley dropped depth charges on a submarine contact during the launch. Then she protected escort carriers and to Guam.
1945 and the end of the war
Manley arrived at San Diego on 23 May for overhaul. She was reclassified DD-74 on 25 June 1945 and sailed on 24 July for the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, where she was fitted with a catapult for target drones. As she was helping train gunners to meet KamikazeKamikaze
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....
attacks, the war ended and Manley departed the Hawaiian Islands on 26 September for San Diego, then via the Panama Canal to Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where she decommissioned on 19 November 1945.
Her name was struck from the Navy list
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 5 December 1945; and she was sold for scrapping to the Northern Metal Company, Philadelphia, on 26 November 1946.
Manley received five battle stars of 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 and was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation
Navy Unit Commendation
The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...
.