- USS Converse (DD-509)
USS "Converse" (DD-509), a sclass|Fletcher|destroyer, was the second ship of the
United States Navy to be named forGeorge A. Converse (1844–1909)."Converse" was launched
30 August 1942 byBath Iron Works Corp.,Bath, Maine ; sponsored by Miss A. V. Jackson; and commissioned20 November 1942 , Commander D. C. E. Hamberger in command.Solomon Islands, May 1943 – March 1944
After training at Guantanamo Bay and
Pearl Harbor , "Converse" arrived atNouméa 17 May 1943 , and through the summer coveredconvoy s carrying men and supplies toNew Georgia , then escorted ships moving betweenEspiritu Santo andGuadalcanal . Arriving atPort Purvis 16 September 1943 , she joinedDestroyer Squadron 23 (DesRon 23), with whom she was to win aPresidential Unit Citation (US) for operations in the northern Solomons between31 October 1943 and4 February 1944 .On the first of those dates, "Converse" sortied with her squadron and
cruiser s to provide cover for amphibious landings on Bougainville, and on the night of31 October –1 November 1943 , bombarded Buka andBonis airfields and targets in theShortlands . The next night her force intercepted a Japanese group of cruisers and destroyers heading for an attack on the transports lying at Bougainville, and opened fire in theBattle of Empress Augusta Bay . The Japanese lost one cruiser and one destroyer in this action, and were was turned back from their intended attack on the transports, although the American defenders came under severe attack by aircraft fromRabaul supporting the Japanese ships."Converse" continued bombardments and escort duty supporting the Bougainville operation, and on the night of 16–
17 November 1943 joined USS|Stanly|DD-478|2 in firing on a surfacedsubmarine , scoring several hits. On the night of 24–25 November , the squadron intercepted five Japanese destroyers attempting to evacuate critically needed aviation troops from Buka to Rabaul. In a skillfully-executedtorpedo attack followed by a persistent chase, during which "Converse" was struck by a torpedo which failed to explode, thesquadron sank three of the enemy ships and caused heavy damage to a fourth, while emerging unscathed themselves.While escorting a group of ships carrying reinforcements and supplies to Bougainville
3 December 1943 , "Converse" came under heavy attack from six waves of Japanese bombers. A near miss caused an electrical failure, putting her radar out of commission and resulting in a loss of power forward. Repairs were quickly made, and the Japanese force fought off, but "Converse" sailed from Port Purvis14 December for complete repairs at Sydney,Australia . She rejoined her squadron at Port Purvis30 January 1944 for bombardments and hunting forays against Japanese shipping through February and March in the northern Solomons.Central Pacific, March – August 1944
"Converse" cleared Port Purvis
27 March 1944 to join theFast Carrier Task Force (then-TF 58) for screening duty during the air strikes on thePalau s from30 March to1 April , and with that force covered the Hollandia landings through preinvasion air attacks and bombardment, continuing their fire during the landings22 April . Carrier attacks onTruk ,Satawan , and Ponape at the close of the month found "Converse" continuing her screening duties.Attacks preparatory to, and covering, the invasion of Saipan began
12 June as targets throughout the Marianas were hit. While the landings themselves were made on15 June , "Converse"'s task force hit at Japanese bases in the Bonins, then returned to the Marianas to continue their close support. When the Japanese fleet challenged the American operations in the Marianas on19 June , "Converse" continued her screening through the resulting aerialBattle of the Philippine Sea , a 2 day engagement which resulted in the sinking of three Japanese carriers and the loss to Japan of many aircraft and their irreplaceable pilots. After joining in shore bombardment ofGuam and Rota at the, close of June, "Converse" replenished atEniwetok , and on4 August , sailed for overhaul atMare Island Naval Shipyard .Philippines and Okinawa, November 1944 – August 1945
The destroyer returned to action
3 November 1944 when she joined the screen of carriers covering the convoy routes to newly invaded Leyte. On21 December , while escorting the first resupply echelon toMindoro , "Converse" came under attack by desperate Japanese suicide planes, and fired to drive them away as well as rescuing 266 survivors of "LST-749". She gave fire support to the landings in Lingayen Gulf on 9 and10 January 1945 , and then joined the task unit assigned to recaptureCorregidor . Her guns destroyed gun emplacements, barges, suicide boats, and entombed about 100 enemy troops by sealing the entrance toMalinta Tunnel .After brief overhaul in
Subic Bay , "Converse" patrolled off Corregidor until mid-March 1945, and from18 March to1 April joined in the invasion ofPanay andNegros . Through the next month she carried out a variety of duties in the development ofIloilo as a staging center for the planned invasion of Japan. On16 May , "Converse" arrived offOkinawa , where she operated on dangerous and demandingradar picket duty until the close of the war. Often firing to drive off suicide-bent Japanese aircraft, she received no damage during the difficult months that followed.On
10 September she sailed from Okinawa for Pearl Harbor, thePanama Canal , andWashington, D.C. , where on19 October , the ceremonial award of the Presidential Unit Citation was made to her squadron. After overhaul at Brooklyn, she was decommissioned and placed in reserve atCharleston, South Carolina ,23 April 1946 .In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, "Converse" received 11
battle star s forWorld War II service."Almirante Valdés" (D23)
On
1 July 1959 "Converse" was transferred under the Mutual Assistance Program toSpain , where she was renamed "Almirante Valdés" (D23).The ship was stricken
17 November 1986 and scraped in 1988.References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c13/converse-ii.htm
External links
* [http://www.destroyerhistory.org/fletcherclass/ussconverse/index.html USS "Converse" home page] at [http://www.destroyerhistory.org/index.html Destroyer History Foundation]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/509.htm navsource.org: USS "Converse"]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd509txt.htm hazegray.org: USS "Converse"]
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