USS Mitchell
History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Mitchell |
Builder | Puget Sound Navy Yard |
Laid down | 12 January 1943, as BDE-43 for the United Kingdom |
Launched | 1 August 1943 |
Commissioned | 17 November 1943 |
Decommissioned | 29 December 1945 |
Renamed | USS Mitchell, 16 June 1943 |
Stricken | 19 December 1945 |
Honors and awards | 9 battle stars (World War II) |
Fate | Sold for scrapping, 11 December 1946 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Evarts-class destroyer escort |
Displacement |
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Length |
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Beam | 35 ft 2 in (10.72 m) |
Draft | 11 ft (3.4 m) (max) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
Range | 4,150 nmi (7,690 km) |
Complement | 15 officers and 183 enlisted |
Armament |
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USS Mitchell (DE-43) was an
She was originally laid down as BDE-43 on 12 January 1943 by the
Namesake
Albert Edward Mitchell was born on 25 December 1914 in
World War II Pacific Theatre Operations
After
Supporting the Battle of Guam
On 28 July 1944, Mitchell escorted an oiler to Agat Bay, Guam, to aid naval forces in the Battle of Guam (1944). The crew looked on as cruisers and destroyers shelled the beach and ridge, while dive bombers attacked the Orote Peninsula. The American forces would go on to recapture the island, and Mitchell was awarded its first battlestar for its support role.
Crossing the Line Ceremony
August 1944 Mitchell was assigned to the Third Fleet Logistics Group as part of a screen for oilers and escort carriers. On 30 August 1944, Mitchell made its first of many crossings of the Equator. When this happens, a line-crossing ceremony is held on deck to honor both the crew and "Neptunus Rex", also known as King Neptune, ancient Roman god of the sea. Prior to crossing the Equator, a sailor is colloquially referred to as a "pollywog"; during this ceremony, all polliwogs are "promoted" to shellbacks, and formally welcomed into Neptune's realm.
First Visit to Ulithi Atoll
In November 1944, Mitchell made its first of many visits to the naval base at
Collision With a Whale
On 3 December 1944 Mitchell struck a whale while operating northeast of Luzon, screening ships and sinking mines. The collision seriously damaged her underwater sound equipment and forced her to retire back to Ulithi for repairs in floating drydock auxiliary repair dock USS ARD-15. Such an accident was common for Navy ships during World War 2, in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Supporting Iwo Jima and Okinawa Operations
Mitchell was soon back in action; on 21 February 1945 her deck log reported: "Steaming toward rendezvous point southeast of Iwo Jima." As U.S. Marines landed on Okinawa under cover of naval gunfire, Mitchell performed escort and patrol missions.
Invasion of Borneo
A few weeks later she was a screening vessel in Rear Admiral W. D. Sample's Task Group 78.4 which attacked and occupied Balikpapan, Borneo, on 6 July 1945.
End-of-War Operations
As part of Task Group 30.8, she then helped to protect convoys supplying the occupation of
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Complete War History of USS Mitchell, written by Lieutenant Commander JK Carpenter in 1945.
Post-War Inactivation and Decommissioning
Her last time underway as a commissioned naval vessel was on 6 November when she moved to Kaiser's Victory Yard, Richmond, California. Mitchell was decommissioned there and struck from the Navy List on 29 December 1945. She was sold for scrapping and delivered to the purchaser, Puget Sound Navigation Co., Seattle, Washington, on 11 December 1946. Her engines were used to power the MV Evergreen State, operated by Washington State Ferries from 1954 to 2015.
Honors and awards
Mitchell received nine
American Campaign Medal | |
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with nine service stars )
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World War II Victory Medal
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See also
- USS Slater, a museum ship in Albany, NY dedicated to the history of destroyer escorts including Mitchell
References
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
- Photo gallery of USS Mitchell (DE-43) at NavSource Naval History