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USS Wainwright (DD-419)
Encyclopedia
USS Wainwright (DD-419) was a World War II
-era Sims-class
destroyer
in the service of the United States Navy
. The ship was named to honor Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright, his son, Master Jonathan Wainwright, Jr.
, his cousin, Commander Richard Wainwright, and also Rear Admiral
Richard Wainwright
Wainwright was laid down on 7 June 1938 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
; launched on 1 June 1939; sponsored by Mrs. Henry Meiggs; and commissioned on 15 April 1940, Lieutenant Commander
Thomas L. Lewis in command.
which had been established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
soon after World War II
broke out in Europe early in September 1939 to keep hostilities from spreading to the Western Hemisphere. Just before the opening of hostilities between Japan
and the United States, Wainwright embarked upon a mission which indicated an acceleration in America's gradual drift into the Allied
camp. She departed Halifax, Nova Scotia
, on 10 November, as a unit of the screen for Convoy WS-12X, an all-American ship convoy transporting British
and Commonwealth
troops via the Cape of Good Hope
to Basra
in the Near East. The convoy steamed first to Trinidad
in the British West Indies
, in order that the "short-legged" destroyers might refuel there before beginning the long South Atlantic leg of the voyage to Cape Town
. There, the convoy was to be turned over to the British Admiralty for orders and protection, and the destroyers were to turn around and head home.
The convoy reached Cape Town on 9 December 1941, two days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
and two days before Germany
and Italy
declared war on the United States. This change in the strategic picture caused changes in the destinations of the transports. Some went to Suez
and thence to Australia
while other carried reinforcements to the doomed "fortress" of Singapore. The escorting American destroyers headed back to the United States, but this time they put to sea as full-fledged belligerents.
Upon her return to the east coast, Wainwright resumed her patrols. Her assignment, however, took on a new complexion. No longer simply trying to prevent the spread of hostilities to the Western Hemisphere
, she patrolled instead to protect America's shorelines and sea-going traffic along her coast from Germany's undersea fleet. That duty continued until mid-March 1942, when the warship received orders to join the British Home Fleet
as part of an American force composed of , , , , , and seven other destroyers. On 25 March, she departed Casco Bay, Maine, in company with Wasp, Washington, Wichita, Tuscaloosa and the destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 8 (DesRon 8), with Commander DesRon 8 (ComDesRon 8) embarked. The task unit reached Scapa Flow
, in the Orkney Islands
north of the British Isles
, on 3 April.
Until the fall of 1942, Wainwright participated in convoy operations between Iceland
, Orkney, and northern Russia
. During this period, she had frequent brushes with Luftwaffe
planes and Kriegsmarine
submarines. Her most famous and most successful encounter with the enemy came three months after she arrived in European waters while the destroyer was protecting the North Russia convoys. She was then part of the covering force for the ill-fated Convoy PQ-17, making the run from Iceland to Archangel
. The force, built around , Tuscaloosa, Wichita, , Wainwright, , and seven British destroyers, departed Seydisfjord, Iceland, on 1 July.
PQ-17 suffered Luftwaffe and submarine attacks on 2 and 3 July, but Wainwright did not get involved directly until 4 July. In mid-afternoon, the destroyer joined the convoy to refuel from Aldersdale. On her way to the rendezvous, the warship assisted the convoy in repulsing two torpedo-plane raids. During the first, her long-range fire kept the six enemy planes at a distance sufficient to make their torpedo drops wholly inaccurate. The second was a desultory, single-plane affair in which the warship easily drove off the lone torpedo bomber. During the ensuing dive-bombing attack, she evaded the enemy handily, the nearest bomb landing at least 150 yards (137.2 m) away.
After that attack, a two-hour lull in the action allowed Wainwright to resume her original mission, refueling, but the enemy returned at about 1820. At the sight of 25 Heinkel 111s milling about on the southern horizon, the warship turned to port to clear the convoy. At that juncture, the Heinkels divided themselves into two groups for the attack; one on her starboard quarter and the other on her starboard bow. Wainwright took the group off her quarter under fire at extreme range, about 10,000 yards (9.1 km) distant, and maintained her fire until it endangered the convoy. At that juncture, she shifted her attention to the more dangerous bow attack. Her fire on that group proved so effective that only one plane managed to penetrate her defenses to make his drop between Wainwright and the convoy. All the others prudently dropped their torpedoes about 1000 yards (914.4 m) to 1500 yards (1,371.6 m) from the destroyer. That resulted in a torpedo run to the convoy itself in excess of 4000 yards (3,657.6 m). The ships in the convoy easily evaded the torpedoes approaching from the bow, but the torpedoes coming from the starboard quarter found their marks, and . Wainwright, though, had put up a successful defense. Her antiaircraft gunners damaged three or four enemy planes and generally discouraged the raiders from pressing home their attack with the vigor necessary for greater success.
Not long after that attack, at about 1900, Wainwright parted company with convoy PQ-17 to rejoin her own task unit, then heading off to meet the supposed threat posed by the possible sortie of a German surface force built around , , and . Convoy PQ-17, naked to the enemy after the Support Force withdrew to meet a danger which never materialized, scattered. Each ship tried to make it to northern Russia as best she could. Luftwaffe planes and Kriegsmarine submarines saw that few succeeded. After more than three weeks of individual hide-and-seek games with the Germans, the last groups of PQ-17 ships straggled into Archangel on 25 July. Operation "Rosselsprung" as the Germans dubbed the action, had proved an overwhelming success. It cost the Allies over two-thirds of the ships in PQ-17. However, Wainwrights brief association with the convoy probably saved several others from being added to the casualty list.
Wainwright continued to escort Atlantic convoys through the summer and into the fall of 1942. However, no action like that she encountered on 4 July occurred. It was not until the first large-scale amphibious operation of the European-African-Middle Eastern theater
came along in November that she again engaged the enemy in deadly earnest.
For the invasion of French Morocco
, Wainwright was assigned to the four-destroyer screen of the Covering Group (Task Group 34.1) built around , Tuscaloosa, and Wichita. Assembled at Casco Bay, Maine, that group got underway on 24 October and, two days later, rendezvoused with the remainder of Task Force 34 (TF 34), which had sortied from Hampton Roads. The task force reached the Moroccan coast on the night of 7/8 November. The invasion was scheduled for the pre-dawn hours of the following morning. The Covering Force drew the two-fold mission of protecting the transports in the event of a sortie by French heavy surface units based at Dakar
and of preventing a sortie by the French light forces based at Casablanca
.
For Wainwright, the Naval Battle of Casablanca
opened just before 0700 on 8 November when her antiaircraft gunners joined those of the other ships of the Covering Force in chasing away two Vichy French planes. Later that morning, Casablanca-based submarines, destroyers, and the cruiser Primauget sallied forth to oppose the landings, already in progress at Fedhala. Wainwright joined Massachusetts, Tuscaloosa, Wichita and the other three destroyers in stopping that attack. Their efforts cost the French heavily. Four Vichy destroyers and eight submarines were sunk while the light cruiser and two destroyer-leaders suffered crippling damage. In addition to her part in the engagement with the French warships, Wainwright also participated in the intermittent gun duels with batteries ashore.
For the next three days, Wainwright remained off the Moroccan coast supporting the invasion. The Army
invested Casablanca by the night of 10 November, and the French capitulated late the following morning. On 12 November, the Covering Force, with Wainwright in the screen, sailed for home. The destroyer arrived in New York
on 21 November and immediately began a two-week repair period.
Next, after a brief training period, the warship resumed duty with transatlantic convoys. For the next six months, she busied herself protecting merchant ships making the voyage to North African ports. During her stay in Casablanca after one such voyage, she played host to a group of Moroccan dignitaries including Sidi Mohammed
, the Sultan
of Morocco. During another convoy operation, she helped screen Convoy UGS-6 which lost five of its 45 ships to U-boat torpedoes. When not engaged in Atlantic convoy duty, she trained with other ships of the Atlantic Fleet and underwent brief repairs in various American ports.
In June 1943, Wainwright returned to North Africa for convoy duty between ports along the Mediterranean
coast of North Africa which occupied her until the invasion of Sicily
in July. For that operation, Wainwright was assigned to TG 80.2, the Escort Group. The force arrived off the Sicilian coast on the night of 9/10 July, and the assault troops went ashore the following morning. During the campaign, Wainwright protected the transports from enemy air and submarine activity. While she was patrolling off Palermo on 26 July, a formation of twin-engine Junkers Ju 88
medium bombers attacked her group. Two near misses flooded both main engine rooms in , and Wainwright joined in escorting the stricken warship into port under tow. Later, she supported the "leap-frog" amphibious moves employed by Major General
George S. Patton
in his rampage across northern Sicily to the Strait of Messina
. During her stay in Sicilian waters, the destroyer also supported mine-sweeping operations and conducted antishipping sweeps. In mid-August, she returned to North Africa at Mers-el-Kébir
, Algeria
, where she remained until early September. On 5 September, she resumed convoy duty, this time between North Africa and Sicily, frequently warding off Luftwaffe air raids. Italy proper had been invaded early in September, and late in October, the warship was called upon to bombard enemy installations around Naples
in support of the 5th Army’s advance on that city.
She resumed convoy duty soon thereafter. Her next noteworthy contact with the enemy came on 13 December. While conducting an antisubmarine sweep 10 miles (16 km) north of Algiers
in company with , , and , she made contact with U-593. First Wainwright and then Calpe attacked with depth charges. Those attacks brought the submarine to the surface, and Wainwrights gun crews went to work on her. In less than two minutes, the German crew began to abandon their vessel. Wainwright responded with a boarding party. The American sailors rescued survivors but failed to save the U-boat. After returning to Algiers and delivering her prisoners to British authorities there, she resumed convoy and patrol duties in North African waters. At the beginning of 1944, she provided support for the troops trying to break out of the beachheads at Anzio
and Nettuno
on the Italian mainland. Those duties occupied her until early February when she received orders to return to the United States. She steamed homeward in company with Ariel (AF-22)
and Niblack via Ponta Delgada
in the Azores
, arrived at New York on 12 February, and entered the navy yard there for a three-week overhaul. When that chore was finished on 6 March, the destroyer began 13 months of escort and training duty along the eastern seaboard.
That routine ended on 27 April 1945 when she passed through the Panama Canal
into the Pacific Ocean
. After a stop at San Diego, California
and exercises out of Pearl Harbor
, the warship headed for the western Pacific. She reached Ulithi
on 13 June and for the next two months sailed between various islands in the area. She visited Iwo Jima
, Okinawa, Saipan
, Guam
, and Eniwetok. On 12 August, she departed the last-named atoll in company with TF 49 bound for the Aleutian Islands. While she was at sea, the Japanese capitulation ended hostilities. Four days later, the ship steamed into Adak, Alaska
. She remained there until the last day of the month when she got underway with TF 92, bound for Honshū
, Japan. Wainwright arrived in Ominato Ko on 12 September and began a six-week tour of duty in support of the occupation forces. That duty ended on 30 October, and the warship headed back toward the United States.
and Pearl Harbor, Wainwright pulled into San Diego on 16 December.
The destroyer remained at San Diego in an inactive status until the spring of 1946. At that time, she was designated a target ship for the atomic tests to be conducted at Bikini Atoll
that summer. She survived both blasts at Bikini in July. On 29 August 1946, she was decommissioned. Wainwright remained at Bikini almost two years under intermittent inspection by scientists evaluating the effects of the Operation Crossroads
tests. Finally, she was towed out to sea in July 1948 and sunk as a target on 5 July. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
on 13 July 1948.
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...
-era Sims-class
Sims class destroyer
The Sims-class consisted of 12 destroyers in the United States Navy, built in seven various shipyards, and commissioned in 1939 and 1940. It was the last United States destroyer class completed prior to World War II. All Sims-class ships saw action in World War II, and seven survived the war...
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 service 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...
. The ship was named to honor Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright, his son, Master Jonathan Wainwright, Jr.
Jonathan Wainwright, Jr.
Master Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright, Jr. , son of Commander Jonathan Wainwright, was an officer in the United States Navy....
, his cousin, Commander Richard Wainwright, and also Rear Admiral
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
Richard Wainwright
Wainwright was laid down on 7 June 1938 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Norfolk 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...
; launched on 1 June 1939; sponsored by Mrs. Henry Meiggs; and commissioned on 15 April 1940, Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
Thomas L. Lewis in command.
World War II
Following shakedown, Wainwright began duty with the Atlantic Fleet in conjunction with 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...
which had been established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
soon after 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...
broke out in Europe early in September 1939 to keep hostilities from spreading to the Western Hemisphere. Just before the opening of hostilities between Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the United States, Wainwright embarked upon a mission which indicated an acceleration in America's gradual drift into the Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
camp. She departed Halifax, Nova Scotia
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, on 10 November, as a unit of the screen for Convoy WS-12X, an all-American ship convoy transporting British
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 Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
troops via the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
to Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
in the Near East. The convoy steamed first to 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...
in the British West Indies
British West Indies
The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...
, in order that the "short-legged" destroyers might refuel there before beginning the long South Atlantic leg of the voyage to Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. There, the convoy was to be turned over to the British Admiralty for orders and protection, and the destroyers were to turn around and head home.
The convoy reached Cape Town on 9 December 1941, two days after the Japanese attack on 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...
and two days before Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
declared war on the United States. This change in the strategic picture caused changes in the destinations of the transports. Some went to Suez
Suez
Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...
and thence to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
while other carried reinforcements to the doomed "fortress" of Singapore. The escorting American destroyers headed back to the United States, but this time they put to sea as full-fledged belligerents.
Upon her return to the east coast, Wainwright resumed her patrols. Her assignment, however, took on a new complexion. No longer simply trying to prevent the spread of hostilities to the Western Hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...
, she patrolled instead to protect America's shorelines and sea-going traffic along her coast from Germany's undersea fleet. That duty continued until mid-March 1942, when the warship received orders to join the British Home Fleet
British Home Fleet
The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which operated in the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967.-Pre–First World War:...
as part of an American force composed of , , , , , and seven other destroyers. On 25 March, she departed Casco Bay, Maine, in company with Wasp, Washington, Wichita, Tuscaloosa and the destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 8 (DesRon 8), with Commander DesRon 8 (ComDesRon 8) embarked. The task unit reached Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
, in the Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
north of the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, on 3 April.
Until the fall of 1942, Wainwright participated in convoy operations between Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, Orkney, and northern Russia
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. During this period, she had frequent brushes with Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
planes and Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
submarines. Her most famous and most successful encounter with the enemy came three months after she arrived in European waters while the destroyer was protecting the North Russia convoys. She was then part of the covering force for the ill-fated Convoy PQ-17, making the run from Iceland to Archangel
Archangel
An archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...
. The force, built around , Tuscaloosa, Wichita, , Wainwright, , and seven British destroyers, departed Seydisfjord, Iceland, on 1 July.
PQ-17 suffered Luftwaffe and submarine attacks on 2 and 3 July, but Wainwright did not get involved directly until 4 July. In mid-afternoon, the destroyer joined the convoy to refuel from Aldersdale. On her way to the rendezvous, the warship assisted the convoy in repulsing two torpedo-plane raids. During the first, her long-range fire kept the six enemy planes at a distance sufficient to make their torpedo drops wholly inaccurate. The second was a desultory, single-plane affair in which the warship easily drove off the lone torpedo bomber. During the ensuing dive-bombing attack, she evaded the enemy handily, the nearest bomb landing at least 150 yards (137.2 m) away.
After that attack, a two-hour lull in the action allowed Wainwright to resume her original mission, refueling, but the enemy returned at about 1820. At the sight of 25 Heinkel 111s milling about on the southern horizon, the warship turned to port to clear the convoy. At that juncture, the Heinkels divided themselves into two groups for the attack; one on her starboard quarter and the other on her starboard bow. Wainwright took the group off her quarter under fire at extreme range, about 10,000 yards (9.1 km) distant, and maintained her fire until it endangered the convoy. At that juncture, she shifted her attention to the more dangerous bow attack. Her fire on that group proved so effective that only one plane managed to penetrate her defenses to make his drop between Wainwright and the convoy. All the others prudently dropped their torpedoes about 1000 yards (914.4 m) to 1500 yards (1,371.6 m) from the destroyer. That resulted in a torpedo run to the convoy itself in excess of 4000 yards (3,657.6 m). The ships in the convoy easily evaded the torpedoes approaching from the bow, but the torpedoes coming from the starboard quarter found their marks, and . Wainwright, though, had put up a successful defense. Her antiaircraft gunners damaged three or four enemy planes and generally discouraged the raiders from pressing home their attack with the vigor necessary for greater success.
Not long after that attack, at about 1900, Wainwright parted company with convoy PQ-17 to rejoin her own task unit, then heading off to meet the supposed threat posed by the possible sortie of a German surface force built around , , and . Convoy PQ-17, naked to the enemy after the Support Force withdrew to meet a danger which never materialized, scattered. Each ship tried to make it to northern Russia as best she could. Luftwaffe planes and Kriegsmarine submarines saw that few succeeded. After more than three weeks of individual hide-and-seek games with the Germans, the last groups of PQ-17 ships straggled into Archangel on 25 July. Operation "Rosselsprung" as the Germans dubbed the action, had proved an overwhelming success. It cost the Allies over two-thirds of the ships in PQ-17. However, Wainwrights brief association with the convoy probably saved several others from being added to the casualty list.
Wainwright continued to escort Atlantic convoys through the summer and into the fall of 1942. However, no action like that she encountered on 4 July occurred. It was not until the first large-scale amphibious operation of the European-African-Middle Eastern theater
European Theatre of World War II
The European Theatre of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945...
came along in November that she again engaged the enemy in deadly earnest.
For the invasion of French Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Wainwright was assigned to the four-destroyer screen of the Covering Group (Task Group 34.1) built around , Tuscaloosa, and Wichita. Assembled at Casco Bay, Maine, that group got underway on 24 October and, two days later, rendezvoused with the remainder of Task Force 34 (TF 34), which had sortied from Hampton Roads. The task force reached the Moroccan coast on the night of 7/8 November. The invasion was scheduled for the pre-dawn hours of the following morning. The Covering Force drew the two-fold mission of protecting the transports in the event of a sortie by French heavy surface units based at Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
and of preventing a sortie by the French light forces based at 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...
.
For Wainwright, the Naval Battle of Casablanca
Naval Battle of Casablanca
The Naval Battle of Casablanca was a series of naval engagements fought between American ships covering the invasion of North Africa and Vichy French ships defending the neutrality of French Morocco in accordance with the Second Armistice at Compiègne during World War II...
opened just before 0700 on 8 November when her antiaircraft gunners joined those of the other ships of the Covering Force in chasing away two Vichy French planes. Later that morning, Casablanca-based submarines, destroyers, and the cruiser Primauget sallied forth to oppose the landings, already in progress at Fedhala. Wainwright joined Massachusetts, Tuscaloosa, Wichita and the other three destroyers in stopping that attack. Their efforts cost the French heavily. Four Vichy destroyers and eight submarines were sunk while the light cruiser and two destroyer-leaders suffered crippling damage. In addition to her part in the engagement with the French warships, Wainwright also participated in the intermittent gun duels with batteries ashore.
For the next three days, Wainwright remained off the Moroccan coast supporting the invasion. 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...
invested Casablanca by the night of 10 November, and the French capitulated late the following morning. On 12 November, the Covering Force, with Wainwright in the screen, sailed for home. The destroyer arrived in 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...
on 21 November and immediately began a two-week repair period.
Next, after a brief training period, the warship resumed duty with transatlantic convoys. For the next six months, she busied herself protecting merchant ships making the voyage to North African ports. During her stay in Casablanca after one such voyage, she played host to a group of Moroccan dignitaries including Sidi Mohammed
Mohammed V of Morocco
Mohammed V was Sultan of Morocco from 1927–53, exiled from 1953–55, where he was again recognized as Sultan upon his return, and King from 1957 to 1961. His full name was Sidi Mohammed ben Yusef, or Son of Yusef, upon whose death he succeeded to the throne...
, the Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
of Morocco. During another convoy operation, she helped screen Convoy UGS-6 which lost five of its 45 ships to U-boat torpedoes. When not engaged in Atlantic convoy duty, she trained with other ships of the Atlantic Fleet and underwent brief repairs in various American ports.
In June 1943, Wainwright returned to North Africa for convoy duty between ports along the Mediterranean
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...
coast of North Africa which occupied her until the invasion of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
in July. For that operation, Wainwright was assigned to TG 80.2, the Escort Group. The force arrived off the Sicilian coast on the night of 9/10 July, and the assault troops went ashore the following morning. During the campaign, Wainwright protected the transports from enemy air and submarine activity. While she was patrolling off Palermo on 26 July, a formation of twin-engine Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
medium bombers attacked her group. Two near misses flooded both main engine rooms in , and Wainwright joined in escorting the stricken warship into port under tow. Later, she supported the "leap-frog" amphibious moves employed by Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
George S. Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
in his rampage across northern Sicily to the Strait of Messina
Strait of Messina
The Strait of Messina is the narrow passage between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria in the south of Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea with the Ionian Sea, within the central Mediterranean...
. During her stay in Sicilian waters, the destroyer also supported mine-sweeping operations and conducted antishipping sweeps. In mid-August, she returned to North Africa at Mers-el-Kébir
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...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, where she remained until early September. On 5 September, she resumed convoy duty, this time between North Africa and Sicily, frequently warding off Luftwaffe air raids. Italy proper had been invaded early in September, and late in October, the warship was called upon to bombard enemy installations around 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...
in support of the 5th Army’s advance on that city.
She resumed convoy duty soon thereafter. Her next noteworthy contact with the enemy came on 13 December. While conducting an antisubmarine sweep 10 miles (16 km) north of 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...
in company with , , and , she made contact with U-593. First Wainwright and then Calpe attacked with depth charges. Those attacks brought the submarine to the surface, and Wainwrights gun crews went to work on her. In less than two minutes, the German crew began to abandon their vessel. Wainwright responded with a boarding party. The American sailors rescued survivors but failed to save the U-boat. After returning to Algiers and delivering her prisoners to British authorities there, she resumed convoy and patrol duties in North African waters. At the beginning of 1944, she provided support for the troops trying to break out of the beachheads at Anzio
Anzio
Anzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene...
and Nettuno
Nettuno
Nettuno is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy, 60 kilometers south of Rome. It is named in honour of the Roman god Neptune...
on the Italian mainland. Those duties occupied her until early February when she received orders to return to the United States. She steamed homeward in company with Ariel (AF-22)
USS Ariel (AF-22)
USS Ariel , a , was in the service of the United States Navy. She was named after the "airy and playful spirit" Ariel in William Shakespeare's play, The Tempest.- Construction & Commissioning :...
and Niblack via Ponta Delgada
Ponta Delgada
Ponta Delgada is a city and municipality on the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. It includes 44,403 residents in the urban area, and approximately 20,113 inhabitants in the three central parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro,...
in the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
, arrived at New York on 12 February, and entered the navy yard there for a three-week overhaul. When that chore was finished on 6 March, the destroyer began 13 months of escort and training duty along the eastern seaboard.
That routine ended on 27 April 1945 when she passed through 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...
into the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. After a stop at 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 exercises out of 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 warship headed for the western Pacific. She reached Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
on 13 June and for the next two months sailed between various islands in the area. She visited Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
, Okinawa, 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...
, 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 Eniwetok. On 12 August, she departed the last-named atoll in company with TF 49 bound for the Aleutian Islands. While she was at sea, the Japanese capitulation ended hostilities. Four days later, the ship steamed into Adak, Alaska
Adak, Alaska
Adak , formerly Adak Station, is a city in the Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 326. It is the westernmost municipality in the United States and the southernmost city in Alaska. The city is the former location of the Adak Army Base and Adak...
. She remained there until the last day of the month when she got underway with TF 92, bound for Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
, Japan. Wainwright arrived in Ominato Ko on 12 September and began a six-week tour of duty in support of the occupation forces. That duty ended on 30 October, and the warship headed back toward the United States.
Post-War
After stops at Midway AtollMidway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
and Pearl Harbor, Wainwright pulled into San Diego on 16 December.
The destroyer remained at San Diego in an inactive status until the spring of 1946. At that time, she was designated a target ship for the atomic tests to be conducted at Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
that summer. She survived both blasts at Bikini in July. On 29 August 1946, she was decommissioned. Wainwright remained at Bikini almost two years under intermittent inspection by scientists evaluating the effects of the Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
tests. Finally, she was towed out to sea in July 1948 and sunk as a target on 5 July. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
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 13 July 1948.