World War II USS William B. Preston (DD-344)

1 world war ii

1.1 1942
1.2 1943
1.3 1944
1.4 1945

world war ii

shortly after 0300 on 8 december 1941, william b. preston picked following radio message: japan has commenced hostilities. govern yourselves accordingly.

japan had launched devastating air strike on pearl harbor while invasion fleets moved southward indochina towards raw-material-rich british , dutch possessions in malaya , east indies. philippines, too, on timetable conquest.

soon after receipt of notification of war, of planes tended destroyer-seaplane tender readied operations. 2 remained behind while rest flew off on first war patrols on celebes sea. ship, meanwhile, shifted anchorage away 2 moored catalinas lessen chance of 1 bomb damaging both ship , planes in 1 fell swoop. bluejackets on william b. preston belted ammunition ship s antiaircraft defense of 4 .50-caliber water-cooled browning machine guns , took down awnings had shielded crew tropical sun.

around 0800, ship s commanding officer, lt. comdr. etheridge grant, went forward check progress of preparations slip anchor chain (should become necessary). lookout called out, aircraft! grant sprinted bridge while japanese planes swept around narrow neck of land shielding malalag bay broad gulf of davao. attacking planes 9 claudes , thirteen vals japanese aircraft carrier ryūjō. first u.s.–japanese combat in philippines of world war ii.

going seaplanes first, claudes made short work of catalinas riding @ mooring buoys. within few short moments, both pby s had been shot pieces , sank waters of bay survivors, carrying 1 dead , 1 wounded comrade them, swam shore.

meanwhile, ship lowered boat pick survivors while got underway open sea. slipping anchor chain, william b. preston zigzagged across bay both claudes , vals attacked fleeing tender. evading bombs, ship managed emerge attack unscathed , returned bay pick boat , survivors 2 lost planes.

later day, upon receipt of orders dispatching moro gulf, william b. preston got underway establish advance base pby s @ police bay. retiring davao gulf, destroyer-seaplane tender slipped past 4 japanese destroyers attention focused on bigger game elsewhere. 1 hour later, snooping japanese plane picked ship s scent , trailed 3 hours, leading on board william b. preston suspect japanese sending out second strike finish job begun earlier. steering close shoreline safe navigation permit, lt. cmdr. grant prepared beach ship should prove necessary, plane departed , left seaplane tender alone.

arriving off mouth of moro bay in afternoon, ship lay until following morning, 9 december, when entered bay. explosion ahead of ship sent american bluejackets general quarters stations before discovered local fishermen out dynamiting catch.

the ship found pby awaiting arrival , commenced tending operations. 3 more catalinas arrived later in afternoon, 2 os2u kingfishers had been attached heron @ balabac. after being informed japanese troops had landed north of gagayan , marching overland police, ship prepared underway , dispatched pby s on patrol on celebes sea. leaving word planes rendezvous ship @ tutu bay, jolo, william b. preston got underway on 10 december.

the ship arrived @ tutu bay later day , found pby s awaiting her, after having found no trace of enemy activity during patrol sweeps. @ sunset, veritable procession of masts , funnels moved across southern horizon; , men on william b. preston guess whom belonged.

the following day, planes again sent out on patrols while ship upped anchor , proceeded tawi tawi, receiving word en route pby s return lake lanao in mindanao , os2u s rendezvous ship @ tawi tawi. although had never hoisted aboard aircraft before, william b. preston s bluejackets rigged crude cradle between 2 50-foot motor-boats aft , provided padding kingfisher s center float mattresses , life jackets. 1 os2u taken aboard , berthed in fashion while other towed astern. smooth seas , 15-knot pace facilitated towing operation, , 2 planes arrived safely @ tarakan, borneo.

met 2 dutch destroyers, kortenaer , witte de with, seaplane tender made port @ tarakanbut underway again, time balikpapan, borneo, joining many ships asiatic fleet (marblehead, holland, langley, gold star, , heron. 2 hours after arrival, ship received orders accompany small fleet makassar , got underway on 13 december.

after arriving @ makassar, william b. preston spent 3 days provisioning , catching on news of progress of war. latter looked bleak, japanese forces swept southward, sweeping before them , forcing allied naval, air, , ground units southward east indies. ship arrived @ sourabaya, java, shortly before christmas but, after further provisioning , fueling, departed dutch naval base there on 27th.

1942

the ship arrived @ darwin, australia, on day after new year s day 1942 , received orders provision capacity , take on large stocks of spare parts, food, , replacement crews decimated ranks of personnel in patwing 10. ship proceeded north ambon, in dutch east indies, crowded 100 men , topside freight.

upon arrival @ ambon, destroyer-seaplane tender found sister ship childs , passed ship enough fuel enable reach darwin. after delivering embarked men , cargo, william b. preston proceeded kendari, camouflaged blend in verdant hillside moored - in fact, camouflaged pbys had trouble locating when returned base.

for remainder of january , february, ship continued tending operations forces combating japanese rapidly dwindled. on 12 february 1942, william b. preston dropped anchor @ darwin commence tending pbys base in northern australia. in week, fuel began running low, forcing lt. comdr. grant go ashore arrange delivery of much-needed fuel , gasoline ship.

at 0955, lookouts called down large formations of planes approaching , ship went general quarters. within minutes, ship underway executive officer, lt. lester o. wood in command. zigzagging way through crowded harbor, william b. preston made open sea.

the first wave of planes attacked town , nearby fuel dumps , docks; second wave went after ships in harbor, transports , cargo ships primary objectives. within minutes of each other, transports tulagi , meigs took hits; , ships alongside docks heavily hit bombs rained indiscriminately on port area.

four bombs exploded off william b. preston s bow, breaking bridge windows. .30- , .50-caliber antiaircraft fire forced of attackers keep distance, others pressed attack vigor. peary, slower in getting underway, enveloped in bomb splashes japanese accuracy marked ship destruction. heavily hit, peary burst flames , rapidly became inferno bomb after bomb tore ship apart , sank down stern.

the preston s turn next, however; , hit aft, forward of after deckhouse. ship lost steering control forward; and, in interim period between regaining control hand-steering aft, lt. wood conned , steered ship using engines and, despite jammed rudder, succeeded in making opening in harbor boom. negotiating judicious use of engines , slight assistance rudder direct hand steering, william b. preston escaped inferno left darwin shattered , ruined base of operations allies.

heading south down western coast of australia, ship took stock of damage. eleven men killed, 2 missing, , 3 wounded bomb hit aft.

note on casualties: kriloff(2000) states 10 deaths. kriloff (2002) states 15 deaths. 8 deaths , 2 missing in action confirmed by. ship s log 19 february lists following casualties gluba, kerns, redfern , simpson not being mentioned on previous “report of changes”.

the after living compartment mass of wreckage; rivets popped , seams sprung; after deck house riddled holes; after 4-inch , machine guns had been put out of action. @ 1445, japanese ( mavis patrol plane attacked ship, bombs splashed harmlessly ship s wake, , plane discontinued attack.

proceeding derby, western australia, william b. preston touched briefly on shoal entered harbor, , reduced effective speed of starboard engine down 8 knots. meanwhile, single remaining pby attached ship returned darwin men had gone ashore , had been caught away ship during attack, including lt. cmdr. grant, had been blown out of motorboat while returning ship.

on 23 february, damaged william b. preston proceeded broome, australia, , joined childs , heron, both assisted damaged seaplane tender in making emergency repairs. java fell, north, 3 of william b. preston s planes served in evacuation of surabaya , tjilatjap. meanwhile, ship received orders proceed fremantle repairs.

upon arrival, however, there not sufficient facilities available effect needed yard work, ship routed on sydney. there, on east coast of australia, william b. preston received much-needed overhaul , repair period. old 4-inch guns replaced 3-inch antiaircraft guns, while 20-millimeter oerlikons added augment close-in antiaircraft capability. following availability, ship proceeded fremantle , reported duty commander, patrol wing 10, in june 1942.

java had fallen, had philippines , malaya. thus, australian sub-continent stood last allied territory in southwest pacific oppose further japanese expansion. operating out of fremantle, destroyer-seaplane tender alternated heron , childs @ such advance bases exmouth gulf , fremantle through summer of 1942.

anchored in vicinity of bay of rest, exmouth gulf, western australia, william b. preston continued operations seaplane tender through july, attached patrol wing 10 , servicing 2 pby-5 planes. 1 plane conducted daily patrol far broome, while other remained @ buoy near ship crew living on board tender. ship s log noted in respects ready slip anchor , underway instantly—-day or night. calm waters of bay , perfect flying weather combined facilitate flight operations.

relieved heron on 14 july, ship cleared exmouth gulf, bound fremantle general upkeep. securing alongside isabel @ north dock, fremantle, commenced yard period, taking on fuel, gasoline, , provisions on next 8 days, departing on 26 july. steamed exmouth gulf , relieved heron on 29th.

1943

for remainder of 1942 , 1943, william b. preston continued general routine, exchanging tender duties heron , childs , undergoing periodic general upkeep @ fremantle. in february 1943, heavy storm hit exmouth gulf, sending 2 pbys onto reef. third catalina took off despite typhoon , made way through sheets of rain , thick clouds safely arrive @ geraldton. within 2 days, replacement planes had arrived; , william b. preston recommenced tender operations.

on 1 april, seaplane tender moved shark s bay, western australia, serve advance base; subsequently tended pbys time @ west lewis island, near enderby island, western australia. later, following month of january 1944, in ship received full overhaul , upkeep, william b. preston operated out of fremantle on submarine exercises serving target vessel submarines operating out of port. continued these activities through spring , summer of 1944.

1944

at darwin, on 18 august, ship embarked deputy commander, fleet air wing 10, , other men unit transportation admiralty islands. after departing australia, proceeded new guinea, arriving @ milne bay on 22 august. pushing on admiralties, ship dropped anchor @ manus on 24th, disembarking passengers , fueling preparatory heading ellice islands. ship made funafuti on 31 august.

attached service force, pacific fleet, , under orders commander, air, pacific fleet (comair-pac), william b. preston headed united states. stopping briefly @ palmyra island , pearl harbor en route west coast, seaplane tender arrived @ san francisco on 18 september. proceeded san pedro, california, , thence terminal island overhaul.

from 1 october 8 november, william b. preston underwent voyage repairs , alterations armament. ship received much-needed drydocking bottom work before getting underway post-repair trials concluded on 16 november. putting out sea on 21 november, newly refitted ship rendezvoused ranger carrier engaged in training operations , carrier qualification flights new pilots.

for remainder of 1944, destroyer-seaplane tender operated plane guard , antisubmarine escort ship out of san diego. alternating in company ranger or matanikau (cve-101), kept lookout planes forced ditch while in hands of student pilots learning nuances of grumman f6f hellcat fighter.

1945

after spending new year s day 1945 @ san diego, william b. preston continued plane guarding , screening duties, clearing home port on 2 january join matanikau off california coast. during flight operations on 3 january, hellcat crashed while taking off, , destroyer-seaplane tender sped rescue. ship s whaleboat, in water, rescued soaked pilot, , william b. preston subsequently returned aviator carrier via highline transfer.

for remainder of january , february, ship s duties continued in same vein, until returned bethlehem steel repair yard @ alameda, california, on 14 february, availability. remained in dockyard hands until 21st, after time rejoined matanikau during further carrier qualification trials.

after returning port hull inspection @ naval repair base, san diego, william b. preston operated succession of carriers engaged in flight training: takanis bay, thetis bay, siboney, , ranger. on 26 july, wave caved in forward port in ship s office, flooding radio room , putting out of commission. detached further duty, returned san diego repairs made.

following completion of work, william b. preston returned further plane guard activities, alternating ranger , puget sound. war s end on 15 august 1945 found venerable destroyer-seaplane tender @ anchor in san diego harbor.

as newer avps joined fleet , end of war made further expansion unnecessary, need older ships william b. preston diminished. ship departed west coast , arrived @ philadelphia on 9 october 1945 preparation disposal.