USS Dionne

History
United States
Name	USS Dionne
Builder	Boston Navy Yard
Laid down	27 January 1943
Launched	10 March 1943
Commissioned	16 July 1943
Decommissioned	18 January 1946
Stricken	7 February 1946
Honors and awards	6 battle stars (World War II)
Fate	Sold for scrapping, 12 June 1947
General characteristics
Type	Evarts-class destroyer escort
Displacement	1,140 long tons (1,158 t) standard 1,430 long tons (1,453 t) full
Length	289 ft 5 in (88.21 m) o/a 283 ft 6 in (86.41 m) w/l
Beam	35 ft 2 in (10.72 m)
Draft	11 ft (3.4 m) (max)
Propulsion	4 × General Motors Model 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6,000 shp (4,474 kW) 2 screws
Speed	19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Range	4,150 nmi (7,690 km)
Complement	15 officers and 183 enlisted
Armament	3 × single dual purpose guns 1 × quad 1.1"/75 Mk.2 AA gun 9 × 20 mm Mk.4 AA guns 1 × Hedgehog Projector Mk.10 (144 rounds) 8 × Mk.6 depth charge projectors 2 × Mk.9 depth charge tracks

USS Dionne (DE-261) was an

Namesake

Arthur Louis Dionne was born on 6 June 1915 in

Dionne was launched on 10 March 1943 by Boston Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. L. A. Dionne, mother of Ensign Dionne; and commissioned on 16 July 1943.

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

Dionne sailed from Boston, Massachusetts, on 7 September 1943 to escort a convoy to Norfolk, Virginia. She conducted training in the Chesapeake Bay area until 2 October when she got underway for the Pacific Ocean. Arriving at Pearl Harbor on 26 October she was assigned to night radar picket duty and on 15 November she sortied for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands. Dionne screened a group of tankers serving the ships engaged in this operation until her return to Pearl Harbor on 12 January 1944 for repairs.

From 4 February to 1 March 1944 Dionne served in the

Dionne sailed from Pearl Harbor on 1 June 1944 for the invasion of the Marianas. She patrolled by day and screened transports at night, picking up seven Japanese prisoners and a 9-year-old Japanese girl. On 21 June she screened California (BB-44) during her bombardment of Saipan. From 25 June to 16 July she was at Eniwetok to replenish, returning to Guam for a pre-invasion bombardment on 20 and 21 July and to provide fire support for the landings of 21 July. Three days later she bombarded Tinian, off which she patrolled until returning to Pearl Harbor on 3 September.

On 23 September 1944 Dionne departed for

Returning to Pearl Harbor on 15 June 1945 Dionne escorted convoys to Eniwetok and Ulithi. On 25 July she departed Ulithi to join the oilers serving the 3rd Fleet during their strikes on the Japanese mainland, duty which occupied her until the end of the war.

End-of-War activity

From 4 September she screened oilers fueling ships of the

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Dionne (DE-261).

• Photo gallery of Dionne at NavSource Naval History