Reacquired:	August 1945

USS Stewart (DD-224) was a Clemson-class

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 second ship named for Rear Admiral Charles Stewart

Charles Stewart (1778-1869)

Charles Stewart was an officer in the United States Navy.Born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Stewart went to sea at the age of thirteen as a cabin boy and rose through the grades to become master of a merchantman. He grew up with Captain Stephen Decatur and Richard Sommers...

. Scuttled in a port, she was later raised by the Japanese and commissioned as Patrol Boat No. 102. She came back under American control in 1945 after the occupation of Japan.

Construction

Stewart was laid down on 9 September 1919 by William Cramp and Sons

William Cramp and Sons

thumb | upright | 1899 advertisement for William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1825 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder in the 19th century. The American Ship & Commerce Corporation bought the yard in 1919 but closed...

, Philadelphia, 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,...

; launched on 4 March 1920; sponsored by Mrs. Margaretta Stewart Stevens, granddaughter of Rear Admiral Stewart; and commissioned on 15 September 1920, Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 S. G. Lamb in command.

United States Navy

After a year of coastal operations with a reserve division, Stewart joined Destroyer Squadron, Atlantic, on 12 October 1921. She participated in fleet exercises 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...

 from 12 January to 22 April 1922; and, after repairs, departed 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 20 June and proceeded, via the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 and the Indian Ocean, to the Philippines for service in the Asiatic Fleet. She was destined not to return to the US for 23 years.

Arriving at Chefoo, China, on 26 August, Stewart entered the routine of the Asiatic Fleet, conducting training exercises from bases at Chefoo and Tsingtao

Qingdao

' also known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city with a population of over 8.715 million in eastern Shandong province, Eastern China. Its built up area, made of 7 urban districts plus Jimo city, is home to about 4,346,000 inhabitants in 2010.It borders Yantai to the...

 in the summer and Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

 in the winter and making calls at Chinese ports during the transit in each direction. Her routine was broken briefly between 6 and 21 September 1923 by a voyage to Yokosuka, Japan, to relieve victims of the Great Kantō earthquake which had heavily damaged that city and Tokyo on 30 and 31 August.

From 25 May to 16 June, Stewart supported the flight of four 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...

 aircraft around the world, operating first in Japan and then at Shanghai.

Between 1924 and 1928, there were outbreaks of anti-foreign disturbances at Shanghai and Canton

Guangzhou

Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...

. Stewart transported marines to Shanghai in January 1925, and during the next years, spent periods augmenting the normal gunboat patrols on the Yangtze River

Yangtze River

The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...

 and on the coast near Canton. She was at Shanghai on 24 March 1927 when Chinese Communist troops attacked foreigners at Nanking, and for the next three and a half months, the destroyer was stationed at Wuhu, Nanking, Shanghai, and Chenglin to protect American nationals and shipping along the Yangtze. She was also on the China coast when the Japanese launched an air and sea attack on Shanghai in late January 1932, and protected Americans at Swatow

Shantou

Shantou , historically known as Swatow or Suátao, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, with a total population of 5,391,028 as of 2010 and an administrative area of...

 and Amoy

Amoy

Xiamen, or Amoy, is a city on the southeast coast of China.Amoy may also refer to:*Amoy dialect, a dialect of the Hokkien lects, which are part of the Southern Min group of Chinese languages...

 from 1 to 3 and 9 to 24 February and at Shanghai from 26 February to 23 May. After full-scale war between Japan and China broke out in 1937 Stewart was again often on station in Chinese ports, at Tsingtao and Shanghai from 15 August to 18 December 1937, from 21 February to 21 March 1938, and from 3 June to 4 September 1939. On the latter date, after the outbreak of war in Europe

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 ordered south for patrol duties in the Philippines, which she continued until entering the Cavite Navy Yard for overhaul on 5 April 1940. Upon leaving the yard on 1 June, Stewart acted as plane guard vessel for seaplane

Seaplane

A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...

s flying between 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...

 and the Philippines and then made a final tour of Chinese Yellow Sea

Yellow 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...

 ports from 7 July to 23 September 1940. During 1941, she remained in the Philippines as the international situation worsened; and, on 27 November, she was ordered, along with the other major surface combatants of the Asiatic Fleet, to the Dutch East Indies

Dutch East Indies

The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....

.

Stewart was at Tarakan Roads, Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

, with other American and Dutch ships, when news of hostilities with Japan arrived on 8 December. During the final weeks of 1941, she escorted naval auxiliaries from the Philippines to Port Darwin, Australia. In January 1942, she escorted convoys within the Dutch East Indies, as Japanese invasion forces drew closer.

On 30 January, Stewart joined and sortied with her from Bunda Roads on 4 February to intercept Japanese forces at the south entrance to the Macassar Strait. However, Marblehead was badly damaged by air attacks during the day, and Stewart escorted her back to the base at Tjilatjap, Java.

Stewart joined Admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

 Karel Doorman

Karel Doorman

Karel Willem Frederik Marie Doorman was a Dutch Rear Admiral who commanded ABDACOM Naval forces, a hastily-organized multinational naval force formed to defend the East Indies against an overwhelming Imperial Japanese attack. Doorman was killed and the main body of ABDACOM Naval forces destroyed...

's striking force under the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command

American-British-Dutch-Australian Command

The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command, or ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia, in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II...

 on 14 February for an attack on Japanese forces advancing along the northern coast of Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

. During the approach, Stewart had to back her engines to avoid a Dutch destroyer ahead of her which had run aground on a reef in Stolze Strait, and, on the following day, 15 February, she survived numerous air attacks in the Bangka Strait

Bangka Strait

Bangka Strait is a strait which separates the island of Sumatra and Bangka Island in the Java Sea, Indonesia.-See also:* Japanese cruiser Ashigara* List of straits...

. Although they damaged no Allied ships, the air attacks convinced Admiral Doorman that further advance without air cover would be foolhardy, and the Allied force retired. Stewart was detached on 16 February to fuel at Ratai Bay in Sumatra.

Admiral Doorman's forces were scattered when the Japanese landed on Bali on 19 February, and he threw his ships against the enemy in three groups on the night of 19 and 20 February in the Battle of Badung Strait

Battle of Badung Strait

The Battle of Badung Strait was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 19/20 February 1942 in Badung Strait between the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command and the Imperial Japanese Navy...

. Stewart was lead ship in the second group and, in several brief but furious night engagements, came under extremely accurate fire from Japanese destroyers. Her boats were shot away, her torpedo racks and galley were hit, and a crippling shot hit the destroyer aft below her water line, opening her seams and flooding the steering engine room. However, the steering engine continued to operate under 2 ft (600 mm) of water; and the destroyer was able to maintain her station in column and return to Surabaya the next morning.

Stewart, as the most severely damaged ship, was the first to enter the floating drydock at Surabaya on 22 February. However, she was inadequately supported in the dock, and as the dock rose, the ship fell off the keel blocks onto her side in 12 ft (4 m) of water, bending her propeller shafts and causing further hull damage. With the port under enemy air attack and in danger of falling to the enemy, the ship could not be repaired. Responsibility for the destruction of the ship was given to naval authorities ashore, and Stewarts last crew members left the embattled port on the afternoon of 22 February.

Subsequently, demolition charges were set off within the ship, a Japanese bomb hit amidships further damaged her, and before the port was evacuated on 2 March, the drydock containing her was scuttled. 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 25 March 1942 and was soon assigned to a new destroyer escort, .

Imperial Japanese Navy

Later in the war, American pilots began reporting an American warship operating far within enemy waters. The ship had a Japanese trunked funnel but the lines of her four-piper hull were unmistakable. After almost a year under water, Stewart had been raised by the Japanese in February 1943 and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy

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...

 on 20 September 1943 as Patrol Boat No. 102. She was armed with two 3" guns and operated with the Japanese Southwest Area Fleet

Southwest Area Fleet

The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy established during World War II.-History:The Southwest Area Fleet was an operational command of the Imperial Japanese Navy established on April 10, 1942 to coordinate naval, air, and ground forces for the invasion, occupation and defense of the...

 on escort duty. On 23 August 1944, under command of Lieutenant Tomoyoshi Yoshima, she operated in consort with the anti-submarine vessel CD-22, which sank 1 with all hands, using depth charges. In November 1944, PB-102 arrived at 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 :...

 for repairs. There her antiaircraft battery was augmented, and she was given a light tripod foremast. She then sailed for the Southwest Pacific, but the American reconquest of the Philippines blocked her way. On 28 April 1945, still under control of the Southwest Area Fleet, she was bombed and damaged by United States Army aircraft at Mokpo

Mokpo

Mokpo is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, on the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula. Mokpo has frequent train service to Seoul and is the terminus for a number of ferry routes serving islands in the adjacent Yellow Sea...

, Korea. She was transferred on 30 April to the control of the Kure Navy District, and in August 1945, was found by American occupation forces laid up in Hiro Bay near Kure.

Return to United States Navy

In an emotional ceremony on 29 October 1945, the ship was recommissioned in the United States Navy at Kure. Although officially called simply DD-224, she was nicknamed by her crew "RAMP-224," standing for "Recovered Allied Military Personnel". On the trip home, her engines gave out near Guam, and she 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...

in early March 1946 at the end of a towline. DD-224 was again struck from the Navy list on 17 April 1946, decommissioned on 23 May 1946, and sunk a day later off San Francisco as a target for aircraft.