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USS Wren (DD-568)
Encyclopedia
USS Wren (DD-568) was a Fletcher-class
destroyer
of the United States Navy
, named for Sergeant Solomon Wren
, USMC
, who took part in Lieutenant
Stephen Decatur
's raid into Tripoli
harbor during the First Barbary War
.
Wren was laid down on 24 April 1943 at Seattle, Wash., by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp.; launched
on 29 January 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Jeanne F. Dockweiler; and commissioned
on 20 May 1944, Commander
Edwin A. McDonald in command.
conducting shakedown training. In August, she reported for duty with the Northern Pacific Force in the Aleutian Islands. Her duties there consisted largely of patrol and escort work between the islands of the Aleutian chain. She did, however, participate in four shore bombardment missions against the Japanese Kuril Islands
with Task Force 92 (TF 92) between November 1944 and April 1945. Her first action occurred on 21 November 1944 when she participated in the shelling of Matsuwa. Her second and third bombardment missions took her to Paramushiro on 5 January and 18 February 1945, respectively. Her final bombardment of the Kurils took place on 15 March 1945, and Matsuwa again served as the target.
On 19 April, she stood out of Kulsk Bay, bound for Hawaii
. The destroyer arrived at Pearl Harbor
on the 25th but soon continued her voyage to the Western Carolines. She stopped at Ulithi
Atoll until 17 May at which time she left the lagoon on her way to join in the six-week old Okinawa campaign
. The ship served in the Ryukyus from 21 May to 18 June, performing antisubmarine patrols and standing antiaircraft radar picket
watch. She came under air attack on several occasions but sustained no major hits while ending the careers of at least four of her airborne attackers.
Departing Okinawa on 18 June, she arrived at Leyte in the Philippines
three days later and remained there until 1 July when she joined units of TF 38 for the final series of carrier
-based aerial attacks on Japan. Wren spent the remaining weeks of the war at sea with TF 38 supporting the carriers while their planes struck the Japan
ese homeland.
On 26 August, Wren entered Tokyo Bay
with other elements of the 3d Fleet to begin the occupation of Japan and to prepare for the formal surrender ceremony at which she was present on 2 September. She departed Japan that same day and, during the next month, visited Iwo Jima
and Eniwetok. The warship returned to Tokyo
on 13 October for a visit of just over a month. She departed Japan on 18 November and arrived at Oahu
on the 28th. Resuming her voyage east on 1 December, she entered San Diego on the 7th. After a two-day visit, she headed—by way of the Panama Canal
—for the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
where she arrived on 23 December. After an inactivation overhaul at Philadelphia, Wren moved to Charleston, S.C., late in March 1946. On 13 July 1946, the destroyer was placed out of commission at Charleston.
and its research facility at Carderock, Md.
, the David Taylor Model Basin
. She returned to Charleston in December and, throughout 1952 and for the first eight months of 1953, performed normal operations and training in the western Atlantic.
In August 1953, Wren was reassigned to Destroyer Division 61 (DesDiv 61) for deployment to the Far East. She stood out of Norfolk, Va.
on 28 August and transited the Panama Canal on 2 September. After stops at San Diego, Pearl Harbor, and Midway
, she arrived in Yokosuka on 3 October. A week later, she put to sea to join Task Force 77 (TF 77) in the Sea of Japan
. The fast carriers conducted air operations there and in the Yellow Sea
, and Wren provided screen and plane-guard services to them between 10 October and 26 November. Following that assignment, she joined the Australian
carrier HMAS Sydney
and provided similar services until mid-December when she returned to Japan at Sasebo for the Christmas holidays.
The destroyed rejoined TF 77 on 3 January 1954 and cruised with the carriers until the 17th when she became a unit of TF 95. She served along the Korea
n coast carrying out cease-fire surveillance missions with TF 95 until 1 February, when she returned to Sasebo to prepare for the voyage home. She departed Japan on 11 February and, taking a westward route through the Indian
and Atlantic Ocean
s, completed a circumnavigation
of the globe when she arrived in Norfolk on 9 April.
For the remainder of her active career, Wren operated out of Norfolk periodically making overseas deployments. Among her 2d Fleet activities were midshipman summer cruises, some to northern Europe
an ports and others to West Indian and American ports. She also served with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea
on several occasions. Annual "Springboard" exercises took her to Puerto Rico
, Cuba
, and Panama
each spring. During her 1957 Mediterranean deployment, the ship served with the Mid East Force in the Indian Ocean and participated in Operation Crescent with units of the Pakistani Navy.
Wren appeared in the 1959 movie, Operation Petticoat
.
The Wren was used by the Naval reserve Unit in Houston, Texas and based in Galveston, Texas
in the early 1960's and made weekend ASW training trips in the Gulf of Mexico.
In December 1963, after almost a decade of duty with the Atlantic Fleet, Wren was placed out of commission, in reserve. She spent the next 11 years in the reserve fleet, berthed at Philadelphia.
.Her name was struck from the Navy list
in December 1974. On 22 October 1975, she was sold to the North American Smelting Co., Wilmington, Del.
, for scrapping.
.
The Wren had 3 blade props instead of 4 making her much faster than most Fletcher class destroyers. 39.9 knots instead of the 35 listed above which was the standard Fletcher speed. (Per Raymond Collins BT2 USS Wren 1952-56)
Fletcher class destroyer
The Fletcher class were a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The class was designed in 1939 as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types...
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...
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...
, named for Sergeant Solomon Wren
Solomon Wren
Solomon Wren—born in 1780 in Loudoun County, Virginia—enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at Alexandria, Virginia, on April 1, 1799. Assigned to the schooner Enterprise, Wren rose in rank and, by the end of 1803, had been promoted to sergeant....
, USMC
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, who took part in 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...
Stephen Decatur
Stephen Decatur
Stephen Decatur, Jr. , was an American naval officer notable for his many naval victories in the early 19th century. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland, Worcester county, the son of a U.S. Naval Officer who served during the American Revolution. Shortly after attending college Decatur...
's raid into Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
harbor during the First Barbary War
First Barbary War
The First Barbary War , also known as the Barbary Coast War or the Tripolitan War, was the first of two wars fought between the United States and the North African Berber Muslim states known collectively as the Barbary States...
.
Wren was laid down on 24 April 1943 at Seattle, Wash., by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp.; 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 29 January 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Jeanne F. Dockweiler; 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 20 May 1944, 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...
Edwin A. McDonald in command.
World War II
Following commissioning, Wren operated out of San Diego, Calif.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...
conducting shakedown training. In August, she reported for duty with the Northern Pacific Force in the Aleutian Islands. Her duties there consisted largely of patrol and escort work between the islands of the Aleutian chain. She did, however, participate in four shore bombardment missions against the Japanese Kuril Islands
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands , in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks. It consists of Greater...
with Task Force 92 (TF 92) between November 1944 and April 1945. Her first action occurred on 21 November 1944 when she participated in the shelling of Matsuwa. Her second and third bombardment missions took her to Paramushiro on 5 January and 18 February 1945, respectively. Her final bombardment of the Kurils took place on 15 March 1945, and Matsuwa again served as the target.
On 19 April, she stood out of Kulsk Bay, bound 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...
. The destroyer arrived at 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...
on the 25th but soon continued her voyage to the Western Carolines. She stopped at 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...
Atoll until 17 May at which time she left the lagoon on her way to join in the six-week old Okinawa campaign
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
. The ship served in the Ryukyus from 21 May to 18 June, performing antisubmarine patrols and standing antiaircraft radar picket
Radar picket
A radar picket is a radar-equipped ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a force to protect it from surprise attack. Often several detached radar units encircle a force to provide increased cover in all directions.-World War II:Radar picket ships...
watch. She came under air attack on several occasions but sustained no major hits while ending the careers of at least four of her airborne attackers.
Departing Okinawa on 18 June, she arrived at 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...
three days later and remained there until 1 July when she joined units of TF 38 for the final series of 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...
-based aerial attacks on Japan. Wren spent the remaining weeks of the war at sea with TF 38 supporting the carriers while their planes struck the 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...
ese homeland.
On 26 August, Wren entered Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
with other elements of the 3d Fleet to begin the occupation of Japan and to prepare for the formal surrender ceremony at which she was present on 2 September. She departed Japan that same day and, during the next month, 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...
and Eniwetok. The warship returned to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
on 13 October for a visit of just over a month. She departed Japan on 18 November and arrived at Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
on the 28th. Resuming her voyage east on 1 December, she entered San Diego on the 7th. After a two-day visit, she headed—by way of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
—for the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
where she arrived on 23 December. After an inactivation overhaul at Philadelphia, Wren moved to Charleston, S.C., late in March 1946. On 13 July 1946, the destroyer was placed out of commission at Charleston.
1951 – 1963
A little over five years later, on 7 September 1951, Wren was placed back in commission at Charleston, Comdr. George M. Hagerman in command. For the next two years, she operated along the eastern seaboard and in the West Indies. During the latter months of 1951, she conducted standardization and vibration tests under the auspices of the Bureau of ShipsBureau of Ships
The United States Navy's Bureau of Ships was established by Congress on June 20, 1940, by a law which consolidated the functions of the Bureau of Construction and Repair and the Bureau of Engineering. The new Bureau was to be headed by a Chief and Deputy-Chief, one selected from the engineering...
and its research facility at Carderock, Md.
Carderock, Maryland
Carderock, Maryland, is located in Montgomery County, Maryland, along the Potomac River. Carderock is just west of Bethesda.It is the location of a division of the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center ....
, the David Taylor Model Basin
David Taylor Model Basin
The David Taylor Model Basin is one of the largest ship model basins — test facilities for the development of ship design — in the world...
. She returned to Charleston in December and, throughout 1952 and for the first eight months of 1953, performed normal operations and training in the western Atlantic.
In August 1953, Wren was reassigned to Destroyer Division 61 (DesDiv 61) for deployment to the Far East. She stood out of Norfolk, Va.
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
on 28 August and transited the Panama Canal on 2 September. After stops at San Diego, Pearl Harbor, and Midway
Midway 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...
, she arrived in Yokosuka on 3 October. A week later, she put to sea to join Task Force 77 (TF 77) in the Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
. The fast carriers conducted air operations there and in the 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...
, and Wren provided screen and plane-guard services to them between 10 October and 26 November. Following that assignment, she joined the Australian
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
carrier HMAS Sydney
HMAS Sydney (1944)
HMAS Sydney was a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier operated by the Royal Australian Navy . She was built for the Royal Navy and launched as HMS Terrible in 1944, but was not completed before the end of World War II...
and provided similar services until mid-December when she returned to Japan at Sasebo for the Christmas holidays.
The destroyed rejoined TF 77 on 3 January 1954 and cruised with the carriers until the 17th when she became a unit of TF 95. She served along the Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n coast carrying out cease-fire surveillance missions with TF 95 until 1 February, when she returned to Sasebo to prepare for the voyage home. She departed Japan on 11 February and, taking a westward route through the Indian
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
s, completed a circumnavigation
Circumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
of the globe when she arrived in Norfolk on 9 April.
For the remainder of her active career, Wren operated out of Norfolk periodically making overseas deployments. Among her 2d Fleet activities were midshipman summer cruises, some to northern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an ports and others to West Indian and American ports. She also served with the 6th Fleet in 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...
on several occasions. Annual "Springboard" exercises took her to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
each spring. During her 1957 Mediterranean deployment, the ship served with the Mid East Force in the Indian Ocean and participated in Operation Crescent with units of the Pakistani Navy.
Wren appeared in the 1959 movie, Operation Petticoat
Operation Petticoat
Operation Petticoat is a 1959 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards, and starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. It was the basis for a television series in 1977 starring John Astin in Grant's role...
.
The Wren was used by the Naval reserve Unit in Houston, Texas and based in Galveston, Texas
in the early 1960's and made weekend ASW training trips in the Gulf of Mexico.
In December 1963, after almost a decade of duty with the Atlantic Fleet, Wren was placed out of commission, in reserve. She spent the next 11 years in the reserve fleet, berthed at Philadelphia.
.Her name was struck from the Navy list
Navy List
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....
in December 1974. On 22 October 1975, she was sold to the North American Smelting Co., Wilmington, Del.
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, for scrapping.
Awards
Wren earned three battle stars during World War IIWorld 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...
.
The Wren had 3 blade props instead of 4 making her much faster than most Fletcher class destroyers. 39.9 knots instead of the 35 listed above which was the standard Fletcher speed. (Per Raymond Collins BT2 USS Wren 1952-56)