USS Lovering (DE-39)

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USS Lovering (DE-39) at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 25 November 1943.jpg
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Lovering
Laid down7 September 1942
Launched18 June 1943
Commissioned17 September 1943
Decommissioned16 October 1945
RenamedLovering, 14 June 1943
Stricken1 November 1945
Honors and
awards
3 battle stars (World War II)
FateSold for scrapping, 31 December 1946
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
Beam35 ft 2 in (10.72 m)
Draft11 ft (3.4 m) (max)
Propulsion
Speed19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Range4,150 nmi (7,690 km)
Complement15 officers and 183 enlisted
Armament

USS Lovering (DE-39) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy during World War II. She was promptly sent off into the Pacific Ocean to protect convoys and other ships from Japanese submarines and fighter aircraft. She performed dangerous work in major battle areas and sailed home with three battle stars.

Contents

She was originally scheduled for transfer to Great Britain, was laid down as BDE-39 on 7 September 1942 by Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington. Ordered retained for use by the Navy, she was named on 14 June 1943 and reclassified DE-39 on 16 June. Launched on 18 June 1943 by Miss J. Shannon, she commissioned on 11 September 1943.

Namesake

William Bacon Lovering was born on 3 August 1913 at Nahant, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard University and on 2 August 1940 enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve. Appointed a midshipman 22 November, in Illinois- Naval Reserve Midshipmen-s School, he was commissioned an Ensign on 28 February 1941 and assigned to the destroyer USS Hammann. He died during the Battle of Midway when Hammann was torpedoed and sunk on 6 June 1942 while aiding in the salvage of USS Yorktown.

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

Lovering began her 25 months of naval service with a coastal shakedown cruise and an intense training period operating with carriers, destroyers, and submarines. Departing San Francisco, California, on 4 December 1943, she arrived Pearl Harbor on 16 December. She departed four days later on an escort voyage to the Gilbert Islands. Arriving on 28 December she operated out of the Gilberts for the next six months. Sailing mainly from Tarawa, she performed numerous escort assignments to Kwajalein and Majuro in the nearby Marshall Islands after they were declared secure on 7 February 1944. Eniwetok became a terminus after its seizure on the 22nd.

Supporting the Invasion of Iwo Jima and the Ryukyus

Returning to Pearl Harbor on 27 July, Lovering underwent a period in drydock and then served as a target and training vessel for submarines. She continued this duty after returning to the Marshall Islands on 19 September. Late in October she commenced a series of escort missions to Saipan and Guam in the Marianas. These concluded on 10 March 1945 when, having steamed to Ulithi, she began her final assignment as a screening and escort vessel for logistic support groups of the variously designated 3rd and 5th Fleets. The Iwo Jima and Ryukyus invasion areas were her main theaters of action before departing for home on 9 July.

Post-War Decommissioning

Lovering arrived San Pedro, Los Angeles, on 28 July. Her overhaul was prematurely halted on 17 August. Towed to Terminal Island, California, on 6 September, she decommissioned on 16 October. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 November 1945, she was sold to Hugo Neu of New York City on the last day of 1946.

Awards

Combat Action Ribbon.svg Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive)
American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg American Campaign Medal
Bronze-service-star-3d-vector.svg
Bronze-service-star-3d-vector.svg
Bronze-service-star-3d-vector.svg
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with three service stars)
World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg World War II Victory Medal

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