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USS McCook (DD-496)
Encyclopedia
USS McCook (DD-496), a Gleaves-class
destroyer
, was the second ship of the United States Navy
to be named for Commander
Roderick S. McCook
(1839–1886), who was an officer in the Union Navy during the American Civil War
.
McCook was laid down 1 May 1941 at the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., Seattle, Washington
; launched 30 April 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Reed Knox, granddaughter of Comdr. McCook; and commissioned 15 March 1943, Lt.Comdr. S. G. Anderson, in command.
for duty in the Atlantic Fleet
, 6 June, and by the end of the month had begun her first escort assignment, a convoy
to Casablanca
, departing Norfolk 26 June and returning 17 July. Before the end of the year she completed two more north Africa
n convoys, one to the United Kingdom
and numerous escort assignments along the northeastern coast. On 15 December, she reported to COTCLANT and spent the next six weeks training destroyer crews out of Norfolk. Detached from training duties, McCook resumed escort work 31 January 1944 when she sailed for Trinidad
with new aircraft carrier
Wasp
(CV-18) on her shakedown cruise
, returning with her to Boston on 27 February.
Further training in antisubmarine and antiaircraft warfare took up much of March as McCook prepared to return to European waters. On 18 April, she joined Task Group 27.8 (TG 27.8) and steamed for the United Kingdom, arriving at Plymouth
, England
on the 28th. The destroyer continued on to Portland
and from there participated in a month of intensive amphibious landing exercises at Slapton Sands and at Belfast
.
At Weymouth Roads 28 May McCook was caught in an air raid in which she suffered damage to her radar
, sound equipment, range finder, and main battery director in addition to having five guns disabled and losing steering control from the bridge. Luckily there were no personnel casualties. The damage threatened to keep her out of the upcoming invasion
for which she had been training for the past month. But the fast and efficient craftsmen on board the destroyer tender
Melville
(AD-2) quickly had her back in fighting trim.
. Early 6 June, she arrived in the Baie de la Seine
and at 03:20 commenced bombardment of the beaches and waterfront of the Pointe du Hoc
–Vierville-sur-Mer
area. By 06:16 she had neutralized her assigned targets (three pillboxes, 13 machine gun nests and three shore guns) and had begun to take on targets of opportunity. By the end of the day, she had added to her score seven pillboxes, eight gun emplacements and ten stone houses, in which enemy machine gun
s and snipers had been placed.
Resupplying and fueling at Portland and Plymouth, McCook continued to operate in the invasion area until 14 July. Four days later she was en route to Bizerte
screening a convoy of LST
s and infantry landing craft. She delivered her charges on the 28th and steamed to Mers-el-Kebir
, where she remained until 4 August. She then sailed to Naples
to join the forces assembling for Operation Anvil, the invasion of southern France
. On the 13th she sailed for France, arriving on the 14th to take up a screening position south of Toulon
. For the next 35 days she remained in the assault area providing gunfire support and screen protection to the Allied combatants and to the supply and reinforcement convoys from Corsica
and Naples.
She departed for the United States via Oran
and Gibraltar
on 21 September. She arrived at New York
3 October, and operated off the east coast until close to the end of the year. She again resumed transatlantic convoy duties on 28 December, completing six by 24 May 1945 when she entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard. There she commenced conversion to a destroyer-minesweeper. She was reclassified DMS-36 on 30 May.
Her conversion completed on 12 July, she conducted minesweeping
exercises until 12 August. She then departed for postwar duties in the western Pacific.
toward the end of October. Working with MinRon 1, she cut 77 of the 500 mines swept by that group during the period 23 October to 15 November.
She arrived at Sasebo
for duty in the coastal waters of Japan on 17 November. Assigned a courier trip to Wakayama, 14 December, she suffered extensive damage in a typhoon on the return voyage. Repairs were begun upon her return to Sasebo on the 18th and finished the next month. She sailed to the Kure
–Hiroshima
area to check the swept channels in the Inland Sea on 3 February 1946. Accomplishing that mission by the 26th she steamed to Shanghai
, returning two weeks later to Japan. She departed Yokosuka on 12 March for the United States, arriving at San Francisco
on 31 March.
McCook remained at San Francisco until 14 January 1947 when she was ordered to San Diego
. Working primarily with the Underwater Training Unit, San Diego, she operated out of that port for the next two years. She also participated in destroyer squadron exercises and battle problems off the California
coast and in the Hawaiian Islands
. A cruise to the Marshalls
and the Marianas
, 7 July to 11 September 1947, was her only oversea deployment during this period.
By January 1949, deactivation had begun aboard McCook and on 27 May she was decommissioned and was berthed at San Diego as a part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Reclassified DD-496 on 15 July 1955, McCook was stricken from the register on 15 January 1972. She would be sold 27 August 1973 and broken up for scrap.
McCook received three battle stars for World War II service.
Gleaves class destroyer
The Gleaves-class destroyers were a class of 66 destroyers of the United States Navy built 1938–1942, and designed by Gibbs & Cox. The first ship of the class was the USS Gleaves . The U.S. Navy customarily names a class of ships after the first ship of the class; hence the Gleaves class...
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...
, was the second ship of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
to be named for 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...
Roderick S. McCook
Roderick S. McCook
Commander Roderick S. McCook was an officer in the United States Navy. He was a member of the famed family of American Civil War soldiers and sailors, the "Fighting McCooks."-Biography:...
(1839–1886), who was an officer in the Union Navy during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
McCook was laid down 1 May 1941 at the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., 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...
; launched 30 April 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Reed Knox, granddaughter of Comdr. McCook; and commissioned 15 March 1943, Lt.Comdr. S. G. Anderson, in command.
Initial operations
After shakedown out of San Diego, McCook sailed for the east coast 22 May 1943. She reported at NorfolkNorfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...
for duty in the Atlantic Fleet
U.S. Atlantic Fleet
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
, 6 June, and by the end of the month had begun her first escort assignment, a 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...
to Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, departing Norfolk 26 June and returning 17 July. Before the end of the year she completed two more north Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
n convoys, one to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and numerous escort assignments along the northeastern coast. On 15 December, she reported to COTCLANT and spent the next six weeks training destroyer crews out of Norfolk. Detached from training duties, McCook resumed escort work 31 January 1944 when she sailed for Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
with new aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
Wasp
USS Wasp (CV-18)
USS Wasp was one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship, the ninth US Navy ship to bear the name, was originally named Oriskany, but was renamed while under construction in honor of the previous , which was sunk 15 September 1942...
(CV-18) on her shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Shakedown cruises are also used to familiarize the ship's crew with operation of the craft....
, returning with her to Boston on 27 February.
Further training in antisubmarine and antiaircraft warfare took up much of March as McCook prepared to return to European waters. On 18 April, she joined Task Group 27.8 (TG 27.8) and steamed for the United Kingdom, arriving at Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on the 28th. The destroyer continued on to Portland
Portland Harbour
Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, off Dorset, on the south coast of England. It is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. Grid reference: .-History:...
and from there participated in a month of intensive amphibious landing exercises at Slapton Sands and at Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
.
At Weymouth Roads 28 May McCook was caught in an air raid in which she suffered damage to her radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
, sound equipment, range finder, and main battery director in addition to having five guns disabled and losing steering control from the bridge. Luckily there were no personnel casualties. The damage threatened to keep her out of the upcoming invasion
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
for which she had been training for the past month. But the fast and efficient craftsmen on board the destroyer tender
Destroyer tender
A destroyer tender is a ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of the 20th century as the roles of small combatants have evolved .Due to the increased size and automation of...
Melville
USS Melville (AD-2)
USS Melville was a United States Navy destroyer tender that saw service in both World Wars.Laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey, on 11 November 1913, she was launched on 2 March 1913, sponsored by Miss Helen W. Neel, granddaughter of Rear Admiral Melville; and...
(AD-2) quickly had her back in fighting trim.
Normandy Landings, Operation Anvil
On 5 June, McCook departed with Destroyer Squadron 18 (DesRon 18) and ships of Assault Force "O" for the coast of FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Early 6 June, she arrived in the Baie de la Seine
Baie de la Seine
The Baie de la Seine or Baie de Seine is a bay in northern France.-Geography:It is a wide, rectangular inlet of the English Channel, approximately 100 kilometres by 45 kilometres, bounded in the west by the Cotentin Peninsula, in the south by the Normandy coast and in the east by the estuary of...
and at 03:20 commenced bombardment of the beaches and waterfront of the Pointe du Hoc
Pointe du Hoc
Pointe du Hoc is a clifftop location on the coast of Normandy in northern France. It lies 4 miles west of Omaha Beach, and stands on 100 ft tall cliffs overlooking the sea...
–Vierville-sur-Mer
Vierville-sur-Mer
-External links:* *...
area. By 06:16 she had neutralized her assigned targets (three pillboxes, 13 machine gun nests and three shore guns) and had begun to take on targets of opportunity. By the end of the day, she had added to her score seven pillboxes, eight gun emplacements and ten stone houses, in which enemy machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s and snipers had been placed.
Resupplying and fueling at Portland and Plymouth, McCook continued to operate in the invasion area until 14 July. Four days later she was en route to Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
screening a convoy of 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....
s and infantry landing craft. She delivered her charges on the 28th and steamed to Mers-el-Kebir
Mers-el-Kébir
Mers-el-Kébir is a port town in northwestern Algeria, located by the Mediterranean Sea near Oran, in the Oran Province.-History:Originally a Roman port, Mers-el-Kébir became an Almohad naval arsenal in the 12th century, fell under the rulers of Tlemcen in the 15th century, and eventually became a...
, where she remained until 4 August. She then sailed to 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...
to join the forces assembling for Operation Anvil, the invasion of southern France
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
. On the 13th she sailed for France, arriving on the 14th to take up a screening position south of Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
. For the next 35 days she remained in the assault area providing gunfire support and screen protection to the Allied combatants and to the supply and reinforcement convoys from Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
and Naples.
She departed for the United States via Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
and 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 21 September. She arrived at New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
3 October, and operated off the east coast until close to the end of the year. She again resumed transatlantic convoy duties on 28 December, completing six by 24 May 1945 when she entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard. There she commenced conversion to a destroyer-minesweeper. She was reclassified DMS-36 on 30 May.
Her conversion completed on 12 July, she conducted minesweeping
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
exercises until 12 August. She then departed for postwar duties in the western Pacific.
Postwar services
McCook arrived at Okinawa 28 September and, after riding out two typhoons, commenced minesweeping operations in the Yellow SeaYellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
toward the end of October. Working with MinRon 1, she cut 77 of the 500 mines swept by that group during the period 23 October to 15 November.
She arrived at Sasebo
Sasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
for duty in the coastal waters of Japan on 17 November. Assigned a courier trip to Wakayama, 14 December, she suffered extensive damage in a typhoon on the return voyage. Repairs were begun upon her return to Sasebo on the 18th and finished the next month. She sailed to the Kure
Kure, Hiroshima
is a city in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 240,820 and a population density of 681 persons per km². The total area is 353.74 km².- History :...
–Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
area to check the swept channels in the Inland Sea on 3 February 1946. Accomplishing that mission by the 26th she steamed to Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, returning two weeks later to Japan. She departed Yokosuka on 12 March for the United States, arriving at San Francisco
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 31 March.
McCook remained at San Francisco until 14 January 1947 when she was ordered to San Diego
Naval Station San Diego
Naval Base San Diego is the largest base of the United States Navy on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of 54 ships and over 120 tenant commands. The base is composed of 13 piers stretched...
. Working primarily with the Underwater Training Unit, San Diego, she operated out of that port for the next two years. She also participated in destroyer squadron exercises and battle problems off the 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...
coast and in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
. A cruise to the Marshalls
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...
and the Marianas
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
, 7 July to 11 September 1947, was her only oversea deployment during this period.
By January 1949, deactivation had begun aboard McCook and on 27 May she was decommissioned and was berthed at San Diego as a part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Reclassified DD-496 on 15 July 1955, McCook was stricken from the register on 15 January 1972. She would be sold 27 August 1973 and broken up for scrap.
McCook received three battle stars for World War II service.