. She was launched 31 December 1935, sponsored by Mrs Larz Anderson, commissioned 18 September 1936.
Operational history
Assigned first to Destroyers,
San Diego, California and she operated in the eastern Pacific prior to World War II. At Mare Island Naval Shipyard for overhaul, 7 December 1941, she reported for convoy escort duty on the 15th and on the 17th was en route to Pearl Harbor. By 15 January 1942 she was back at Mare Island for the installation of new radar equipment returning on the 25th to Hawaii
.
On 2 February she departed Pearl Harbor with
Pacific. On the 14th she joined Australian, New Zealand and other U.S. ships in the ANZAC Squadron then charged with protecting the eastern approaches to Australia and New Zealand. Through the spring, she continued operations with that squadron, steaming at times with fast carrier forces around the Coral Sea to strike at any enemy encroachments, escorting refuelling units to rendezvous areas and screening larger ships of her own and combined forces as they shelled enemy positions from New Guinea to the Solomon Islands
.
Perkins steaming through heavy seas, 27 August 1937
On 1–2 May, the squadron joined with Task Force (TF) 11 and 17 and screened the carriers as their aircraft struck at
Jomard Passage
. That afternoon the ships were attacked by land-based aircraft and in driving them off, diverted the Japanese force accomplishing the mission without engaging the enemy and setting the stage for the final action of the Battle of the Coral Sea.
The ANZAC squadron continued to patrol to the southeast of
Papua. On the 10th the squadron headed for Australia and for almost two months Perkins escorted convoys and patrolled harbour entrances along the coasts of the Coral and Tasman Seas. Perkins was in Sydney Harbour during the Japanese midget submarine attack of 31 May 1942.[1]
followed and in mid-August, she returned to New Zealand for propeller repairs. On the 20th, she sailed for Pearl Harbor where repairs were completed and additional radar equipment and 20 mm guns installed.
In mid-November Perkins headed west, arriving at
Noumea
followed and by the 13th she was back at Tulagi for further escort and support missions.
At the end of April Perkins joined TF 10 for tactical training and in May she returned to Australia to join the forces gathering to sail up the New Guinea coast to gain control of the Huon Peninsula. On 21 August Perkins, flagship of DesRon 5, led Smith, Conyngham, and Mahan out of Milne Bay to make a sweep of Huon Gulf and shell Finschhafen.
On 4 September Perkins shelled the coast between the Bulu and Buso rivers, covering Allied landings at Red Beach before heading toward Lae. On the 8th, she fired on the isolated garrison and on the 15th, the last enemy soldiers pulled out and Allied forces entered Lae.
Fate
Finschhafen fell on 2 October and the increase in Allied shipping traffic in Huon Gulf, together with the presence of Japanese submarines, brought Perkins back to escort duty. Reinforcements were escorted to
United States
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
