- USS Austin (DE-15)
USS "Austin" (DE-15), was named for Chief Carpenter John Arnold Austin (
1905 -1941 ) who was killed in action on board USS "Oklahoma" (BB-37) during the attack on the Fleet inPearl Harbor by enemy Japanese forces on7 December 1941 and was posthumously awarded theNavy Cross .The second Austin (DE-15) was laid down on
14 March 1942 at theMare Island Navy Yard as HMS Blackwood (BDE-15) for theUnited Kingdom under the terms of theLend-Lease Agreement ; launched on25 September 1942: sponsored byMrs. W. C. Springer ; taken over by theUnited States Navy on25 January 1943 and redesignated DE-15; and commissioned on 13 February 1943,Lt. Comdr. H. G. Claudius , USNR, in command. The destroyer escort was apparently commissioned as simply DE-15 for the name Austin was not assigned to her until19 February 1943, six days after she went into commission.Assigned to
Escort Division (CortDiv) 14, the ship conducted shakedown training out ofSan Diego between23 March and23 April . On the latter day, she put to sea to escort a convoy toCold Bay, Alaska . She returned to San Diego on11 May and beganconvoy escort missions between the West Coast and the Hawaiian Islands. Between mid-May and early September, Austin made two round-trip voyages between San Diego and Oahu and then a single, one-way run from the West Coast back toPearl Harbor . On2 September , she stood out of that base; shaped a course for theAleutian Islands ; and, on 14 September, joined the Alaskan Sea Frontier. For just over one year, Austin the cold waters of the North Pacific escorting ships between Alaskan ports, conducting patrols, performingweather ship duties, and serving as ahoming point for aircraft.The warship departed Alaska on
23 September 1944 ; arrived inSan Francisco , Calif., a week later, and received a regular overhaul which lasted until17 November . On3 December , she once more weighed anchor for Hawaii. Austin operated out of Pearl Harbor as a training ship with the Pacific FleetSubmarine Training Command until20 March 1945 , when she set out for the Central Pacific. On1 April , the destroyer escort reported for duty with forces assigned to theCommander, Forward Areas , and, for a little more than two months, conductedantisubmarine patrols andair/sea rescue missions out ofUlithi Atoll in the WesternCaroline Islands . She finished that assignment on10 June when she shaped a course for theMariana Islands . For the next four months, Austin operated out ofGuam andSaipan . In addition to antisubmarine patrols and air/sea rescue missions, she escorted convoys to such places asIwo Jima ,Eniwetok , andOkinawa . Following the cessation of hostilities in mid-August, she conducted search missions in the northern Marianas for enemy holdouts and for survivors of downed B-29's. The warship also patrolledTruk Atoll briefly before occupation forces arrived there in strength.On
12 October , she departed Guam in company with the other ships of CortDiv 14, bound for San Pedro, Calif., and inactivation. On17 November , she reported to the Commander,Western Sea Frontier , to prepare for decommissioning and, on21 December 1945, was placed out of commission atTerminal Island Naval Shipyard . Austin was berthed with thePacific Reserve Fleet until scrapped. On8 January 1946 , her name was struck from theNaval Vessel Register . The Terminal Island Naval Shipyard completed scrapping her on9 January 1947 .Awards
ource
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/a14/austin-ii.htm
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