USS Brock

	USS Brock
History
United States
Name	USS Brock
Namesake	Navy Cross recipient
Builder	Charleston Navy Yard
Laid down	27 October 1943
Launched	20 January 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. James W. Brock
Commissioned	9 February 1945
Decommissioned	5 May 1947
Reclassified	From destroyer escort (DE-234) to high-speed transport (APD-93) 17 July 1944
Stricken	1 June 1960
Honors and; awards	1 battle star for World War II service
Fate	Sold to power plant January 1962
Notes	Laid down as Rudderow-class destroyer escort USS Brock (DE-234)
General characteristics
Class and type	high speed transport
Displacement	2,130 long tons (2,164 t) full
Length	306 ft (93 m)
Beam	37 ft (11 m)
Draft	12 ft 7 in (3.84 m)
Speed	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Troops	162
Complement	204
Armament	1 × 5 in (130 mm) gun; 6 × 40 mm guns; 6 × 20 mm guns; 2 × depth charge tracks;

USS Brock (APD-93), ex-DE-234, was a

high-speed transport

in commission from 1945 to 1947.

Namesake

John Wiley Brock was born in

basic training at the Naval Training Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia, he reported on board the battleship USS Arkansas

) on 5 February 1937.

Transferred to

Rear Admiral Charles Adams Blakely. Promoted to aviation ordnanceman third class on 16 February 1938, Brock was transferred to Torpedo Squadron 6

soon afterward, on 15 April 1938.

On 13 April 1939, Brock was assigned to

pilot

first class on 30 April 1942.

During the

torpedo planes of Enterprise's attack group became separated from one another. Thus unable to carry out a coordinated attack as doctrine

dictated, Torpedo Squadron 6 went in unsupported by fighters or dive bombers, and 10 of its fourteen planes were shot down.

During the melee, as Japanese

Navy Cross

posthumously.

Construction and commissioning

Brock was laid down as the

Crosley-class high-speed transport and redesignated APD-93 on 17 July 1944. After conversion to her new role, the ship was commissioned

on 9 February 1945.

Service history

World War II

After fitting out, Brock departed Charleston Navy Yard on 2 March 1945 bound for

USS Mathews (AKA-96)

.

Brock transited the

underwater demolition team

.

On 12 May 1945, Brock sailed for the

enlisted men enjoyed liberty at Mog Mog

.

On 31 May 1945, Brock left that Ulitihi Atoll in her

Ie Shima

and Okinawa.

On the evening of 23 June 1945, orders sent Brock 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) to seaward to rescue a downed

Formosa

and uninjured, had been in the water two hours.

On 26 June 1945, Brock encountered the enemy. While steaming independently on

aft opened fire at point-blank range, "positively and unmistakably"^[1] hitting the plane, which observers identified as a Mitsubishi J2M "Jack" single-engine Imperial Japanese Navy fighter. The "Jack" paralleled Brock's course until her forward 40-millimeter guns could no longer depress to fire. When the "Jack" reached a point about 1,500 yards (1,372 meters) ahead of Brock, it started a turn back toward the ship, perhaps intending to crash into her, but then went out of control and crashed, leaving only a burning gasoline

slick to mark its resting place.

On 1 July 1945, Brock departed Okinawa bound for the Philippines in company with three other high-speed transports,

USS Joseph E. Campbell (APD-45) and two submarine chasers, USS SC-1012 and USS SC-1474. Arriving in San Pedro Bay at Leyte on 6 July 1945, Brock reported for duty with the Philippine Sea Frontier's forces and carried out local patrols for the remainder of World War II

, which ended on 15 August 1945.

Postwar

Winding up her Philippine Sea Frontier duty, Brock set course for Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea, on 20 August 1945 and crossed the equator for the first time on 23 August 1945; in the traditional "Neptune Ceremonies," her 33 "shellbacks" duly initiated nearly 200 "pollywogs," including the commanding officer and 10 of the 12 officers on board. Later that day, Brock dropped anchor in Humboldt Bay, New Guinea. On 27 August 1945, she set a return course for the Philippines, and she reached Leyte on 31 August 1945.

Heading for

gray paint

over the "green dragon" camouflage that had become standard for high-speed transports.

Departing Philippine waters on 16 October 1945 with passengers embarked, Brock escorted a second convoy to Tokyo Bay, where she arrived on 27 October 1945. Following duty in the

Bungo Strait

on 11 November 1945 and served in that capacity and on patrol in the Inland Sea until 15 December 1945.

At that point, Brock broke her homeward-bound

Atlantic Reserve Fleet. For the next year, Brock served as one of the "mother ships" for the Florida Group, providing steam and power to various ships of the inactive fleet and furnishing quarters and mess

facilities for men deactivating ships at Green Cove Springs.