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USS Sicard (DD-346)
Encyclopedia
USS Sicard (DD-346/DM-21/AG-100) was a Clemson-class
destroyer
in the United States Navy
following World War I
. She was named for Montgomery Sicard
.
; launched on 20 April 1920; sponsored by Mrs. M.H. Sicard, daughter-in-law of Rear Admiral Sicard; and commissioned on 9 June 1920, Lt
. J.K. Davis in temporary command.
On 18 June 1920, her regularly appointed commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr
. G.C. Dichman, took command; and, on 26 June, the ship joined Destroyer Squadrons, Atlantic Fleet
at Newport, Rhode Island
. She operated on the east coast and in the Caribbean
and Panama Canal Zone
areas until 1922, engaging in battle and torpedo
practice and fleet maneuvers and receiving necessary repairs at the New York Navy Yard. On 20 January 1921, she transited the Panama Canal and participated in combined Atlantic and Pacific Fleet war games and maneuvers in the Pacific, cruising to Callao
, Peru
, and returning to the Atlantic on 24 February.
Arriving at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
on 27 April 1922 from spring maneuvers in the West Indies, Sicard was repaired and fitted out for duty on the Asiatic Station. On 15 June, she proceeded to Newport, received torpedo equipment; and, on the 20th, got underway with her squadron for her new station, sailing via the Mediterranean Sea
and the Indian Ocean. The squadron arrived at Chefoo, China, on 26 August, and joined the Asiatic Fleet, with which she operated for seven years, based at Chefoo and Tsingtao
in the summer and Manila
in the winter. She received periodic overhauls at the Cavite Navy Yard. She participated in fleet exercises and maneuvers, protected American interests in China, Japan, and the Philippines, and engaged in escort and patrol duty on the China Coast and on the Yangtze River
during periods of unrest.
On 30 and 31 August 1923, when violent earthquakes destroyed a large part of the cities of Tokyo and Yokohama
, Japan, the Commander in Chief of the Asiatic Fleet, Admiral Edwin Anderson, Jr.
, dispatched all available vessels to that area with emergency supplies to render assistance. Sicard arrived in Yokohama harbor on 11 September and acted as dispatch boat to Tokyo and transported refugees from the city. From 25 September to 3 October, she was stationed in Nagasaki harbor as relay ship, since all radio communications to Yokohama and Tokyo were out of commission. The prompt action of Sicard and other units of the Asiatic Fleet helped save thousands of lives and earned the thanks of the Japanese government. Between 26 April and 30 June 1924, Sicard again saw special duty, in connection with the flight of four United States Army
airplanes around the world. The destroyer cruised from Hong Kong to Rangoon, Burma, and Calcutta, India, guarding the flight and maintaining radio communications. During the next few years, Sicard's patrols in Chinese waters became more frequent due to the fighting which accompanied Chiang Kai-Shek
and the Kuomintang
prevailing over warlords. On 22 July 1929, having been relieved by another squadron, Sicard and her squadron sailed from Yokohama, Japan, for the United States and arrived at San Diego on 17 August.
In October 1929, Sicard joined Destroyer Squadrons, United States Battle Fleet
, and for several years operated principally on the west coast of the United States, with periodic overhauls at the Mare Island Navy Yard. She engaged in fleet concentration problems and battle and torpedo practice; towed targets for submarines and air squadrons; performed plane guard duty and made Naval Reserve training cruises. During the period 15 February to 21 June 1930, Sicard made a cruise to the Atlantic with the Battle Fleet, participating in the United States Fleet
concentration and Fleet Problem X in Caribbean
waters and visiting New York and Hampton Roads
for the Presidential Review on 20 May. She took part in fleet problems conducted in the Canal Zone and Caribbean area from 4 February to 15 April 1931 and in Hawaiian waters from 1 February to 22 March 1932. From 24 March to 1 October 1934, Sicard was attached to Rotating Reserve Squadron 20 at San Diego. On 1 October, she joined Destroyer Squadron 4 and continued operations with the Battle Force in the Pacific.
On 12 May 1935, while engaging in Fleet Problem XVI off Diamond Head
, Oahu
, Sicard was rammed by Lea (DD-118)
and badly damaged. The ship was towed by Rail (AM-26)
to the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, where she received extensive repairs before resuming operations with her squadron in August.
; and, on 20 June, she was reclassified DM-21. Except for a brief trip to the west coast for repairs and training from 20 September to 20 December 1937, Sicard operated in the Hawaiian area through 1941, engaging in division tactics and training exercises, fleet problems and maneuvers, joint Army and Navy exercises, battle, torpedo and mining practice, and reconnaissance missions around Midway and outlying islands. She entered the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard on 21 November 1941 and was under overhaul there when the Japanese attacked
on 7 December. The ship had ammunition only for her .30-caliber machine guns but aided in the defense of the base by sending men to help operate the guns of the cruiser
New Orleans (CA-32)
and the destroyer Cummings (DD-365)
.
On completion of overhaul on 28 January 1942, Sicard left Pearl Harbor for an antisubmarine patrol station southwest of Oahu, where she escorted ships within her area and searched for hostile submarines. Between 1 and 9 April, she helped lay a large defensive minefield at the French Frigate Shoals
, some 500 miles northwest of Oahu; and, between 10 and 18 April, she set up a Marine
radio and surveillance station at Eastern Island in the Midway
group. On 19 June, Sicard sailed from Pearl Harbor with other light minelayers, picked up mines at Seattle, Washington
; and, in July, laid a defensive minefield off Kodiak, Alaska
. On her return to Hawaii on 27 July, she resumed her local patrol assignment. She sailed on 16 September for the Aleutian Islands to lay another minefield and conduct more patrols and then proceeded on 22 November to San Francisco for overhaul.
After completion of repairs on 22 December, Sicard participated in amphibious landing exercises off San Diego; and then sailed on 24 April 1943 from San Francisco with a convoy of troop transports for the assault on Attu
in the Aleutians. Sicard was to have acted as a landing craft control vessel for the operation; but, on the night before the landing, she collided with the destroyer, Macdonough (DD-351)
, in a dense fog. Sicard towed McDonough into Adak
, and then proceeded to San Francisco for repairs, which lasted to 29 July. She was more fortunate during the Kiska
landings and successfully guided the waves of assault boats to the beach there between 15 and 18 August. She performed local patrol and escort duties in the Aleutians, and then escorted a convoy to Pearl Harbor, where she arrived on 15 September.
Sicard left Pearl Harbor on 24 September for a new area of operations, the Southwest Pacific. She escorted ships to Nouméa and Espiritu Santo, and then continued to Purvis Bay where she and her sisters, Gamble (DM-15) and Breese (DM-18), formed a fast mine-laying group. The group sortied on 31 October to plant an offensive minefield off Bougainville Island
. Just as the group completed its mission and began to retire early in the morning of 2 November, it was illuminated by parachute flares from enemy aircraft. Soon a friendly cruiser force steamed by at high speed in the opposite direction and opened fire on an invisible enemy. Sicards group had unknowingly helped bring the opposing forces together for the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
.
Sicard with four other destroyer-minelayers, laid another minefield off Bougainville on 8 November; and, after brief convoy duty, the ship laid a third minefield off the Shortland Islands on 24 November. Between December 1943 and April 1944, she escorted convoys between Espiritu Santo
, Guadalcanal
, Purvis Bay
, Noumea
, Fiji
, New Zealand, and Kwajalein
. On 1 May 1944, she resumed her minelaying role and laid a field off Buka Island in two trips on 2 and 10 May. After additional convoy duty, the ship returned to Alameda, California
, on 11 July 1944 for overhaul.
Sicard completed repairs on 20 September and, after refresher training, sailed for Pearl Harbor on 4 October. Following another period of upkeep from 10 October to 16 November, she commenced duty training submarines. She conducted daily exercises with submarines off Oahu until 9 January 1945, and then performed similar duties at Midway until 2 September 1945. During this period, she was reclassified a miscellaneous auxiliary, AG-100, effective 5 June 1945. On completion of training duty, Sicard arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for inactivation on 21 October.
on 19 December 1945, and sold on 22 June 1946 to Hugo Neu of New York for scrap.
Clemson class destroyer
The Clemson class was a series of 156 destroyers which served with the United States Navy from after World War I through World War II.The Clemson-class ships were commissioned by the United States Navy from 1919 to 1922, built by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, New York Shipbuilding...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. She was named for Montgomery Sicard
Montgomery Sicard
Rear Admiral Montgomery Sicard was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
.
History
Sicard was laid down on 18 June 1919 by the Bath Iron WorksBath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, United States. Since its founding in 1884 , BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy...
; launched on 20 April 1920; sponsored by Mrs. M.H. Sicard, daughter-in-law of Rear Admiral Sicard; and commissioned on 9 June 1920, Lt
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. J.K. Davis in temporary command.
On 18 June 1920, her regularly appointed commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
. G.C. Dichman, took command; and, on 26 June, the ship joined Destroyer Squadrons, Atlantic Fleet
U.S. Atlantic Fleet
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
at Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
. She operated on the east coast and in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
areas until 1922, engaging in battle and torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
practice and fleet maneuvers and receiving necessary repairs at the New York Navy Yard. On 20 January 1921, she transited the Panama Canal and participated in combined Atlantic and Pacific Fleet war games and maneuvers in the Pacific, cruising to Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, and returning to the Atlantic on 24 February.
Arriving at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brooklyn Navy Yard
The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...
on 27 April 1922 from spring maneuvers in the West Indies, Sicard was repaired and fitted out for duty on the Asiatic Station. On 15 June, she proceeded to Newport, received torpedo equipment; and, on the 20th, got underway with her squadron for her new station, sailing via the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
and the Indian Ocean. The squadron arrived at Chefoo, China, on 26 August, and joined the Asiatic Fleet, with which she operated for seven years, based at Chefoo and Tsingtao
Qingdao
' also known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city with a population of over 8.715 million in eastern Shandong province, Eastern China. Its built up area, made of 7 urban districts plus Jimo city, is home to about 4,346,000 inhabitants in 2010.It borders Yantai to the...
in the summer and Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
in the winter. She received periodic overhauls at the Cavite Navy Yard. She participated in fleet exercises and maneuvers, protected American interests in China, Japan, and the Philippines, and engaged in escort and patrol duty on the China Coast and on the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
during periods of unrest.
On 30 and 31 August 1923, when violent earthquakes destroyed a large part of the cities of Tokyo and Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, Japan, the Commander in Chief of the Asiatic Fleet, Admiral Edwin Anderson, Jr.
Edwin Anderson, Jr.
Edwin Alexander Anderson, Jr. was a United States Navy officer who received the Medal of Honor for actions during the 1914 American intervention at Veracruz. He retired from the Navy in 1924 as an admiral....
, dispatched all available vessels to that area with emergency supplies to render assistance. Sicard arrived in Yokohama harbor on 11 September and acted as dispatch boat to Tokyo and transported refugees from the city. From 25 September to 3 October, she was stationed in Nagasaki harbor as relay ship, since all radio communications to Yokohama and Tokyo were out of commission. The prompt action of Sicard and other units of the Asiatic Fleet helped save thousands of lives and earned the thanks of the Japanese government. Between 26 April and 30 June 1924, Sicard again saw special duty, in connection with the flight of four United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
airplanes around the world. The destroyer cruised from Hong Kong to Rangoon, Burma, and Calcutta, India, guarding the flight and maintaining radio communications. During the next few years, Sicard's patrols in Chinese waters became more frequent due to the fighting which accompanied Chiang Kai-Shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
and the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
prevailing over warlords. On 22 July 1929, having been relieved by another squadron, Sicard and her squadron sailed from Yokohama, Japan, for the United States and arrived at San Diego on 17 August.
In October 1929, Sicard joined Destroyer Squadrons, United States Battle Fleet
Battle Fleet
The United States Battle Fleet or Battle Force was part of the organization of the United States Navy from 1922 to 1941.The General Order of 6 December 1922 organized the United States Fleet, with the Battle Fleet as the Pacific presence. This fleet comprised the main body of ships in the Navy,...
, and for several years operated principally on the west coast of the United States, with periodic overhauls at the Mare Island Navy Yard. She engaged in fleet concentration problems and battle and torpedo practice; towed targets for submarines and air squadrons; performed plane guard duty and made Naval Reserve training cruises. During the period 15 February to 21 June 1930, Sicard made a cruise to the Atlantic with the Battle Fleet, participating in the United States Fleet
United States Fleet
The United States Fleet was an organization in the United States Navy from 1922 until after World War II. The abbreviation CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet. This title was disposed of and officially replaced by COMINCH in December 1941 . This...
concentration and Fleet Problem X in Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
waters and visiting New York and Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
for the Presidential Review on 20 May. She took part in fleet problems conducted in the Canal Zone and Caribbean area from 4 February to 15 April 1931 and in Hawaiian waters from 1 February to 22 March 1932. From 24 March to 1 October 1934, Sicard was attached to Rotating Reserve Squadron 20 at San Diego. On 1 October, she joined Destroyer Squadron 4 and continued operations with the Battle Force in the Pacific.
On 12 May 1935, while engaging in Fleet Problem XVI off Diamond Head
Diamond Head, Hawaii
Diamond Head is the name of a volcanic tuff cone on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and known to Hawaiians as Lēahi, most likely from lae 'browridge, promontory' plus ahi 'tuna' because the shape of the ridgeline resembles the shape of a tuna's dorsal fin...
, Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
, Sicard was rammed by Lea (DD-118)
USS Lea (DD-118)
USS Lea was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I and World War II. She was named in honor of Edward Lea, a US Navy officer killed during the Civil War....
and badly damaged. The ship was towed by Rail (AM-26)
USS Rail (AM-26)
USS Rail was a built for the United States Navy during World War I. She was the first U.S. Navy ship named for the rail, a small wading bird, related to the cranes....
to the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, where she received extensive repairs before resuming operations with her squadron in August.
World War II
In May 1937, Sicard entered the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard for conversion to a light minelayerMinelayer
Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...
; and, on 20 June, she was reclassified DM-21. Except for a brief trip to the west coast for repairs and training from 20 September to 20 December 1937, Sicard operated in the Hawaiian area through 1941, engaging in division tactics and training exercises, fleet problems and maneuvers, joint Army and Navy exercises, battle, torpedo and mining practice, and reconnaissance missions around Midway and outlying islands. She entered the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard on 21 November 1941 and was under overhaul there when the Japanese attacked
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
on 7 December. The ship had ammunition only for her .30-caliber machine guns but aided in the defense of the base by sending men to help operate the guns of the cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
New Orleans (CA-32)
USS New Orleans (CA-32)
USS New Orleans was a United States Navy heavy cruiser, the lead ship of her class. The New Orleans-class represented the last of the Treaty Cruisers, built to the specifications and standards of the Washington Naval Treaty. Originally, was the lead ship of this class...
and the destroyer Cummings (DD-365)
USS Cummings (DD-365)
The second USS Cummings was a Mahan-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Andrew Boyd Cummings.-History:...
.
On completion of overhaul on 28 January 1942, Sicard left Pearl Harbor for an antisubmarine patrol station southwest of Oahu, where she escorted ships within her area and searched for hostile submarines. Between 1 and 9 April, she helped lay a large defensive minefield at the French Frigate Shoals
French Frigate Shoals
The French Frigate Shoals is the largest atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Its name commemorates French explorer Jean-François de La Pérouse, who nearly lost two frigates when attempting to navigate the shoals...
, some 500 miles northwest of Oahu; and, between 10 and 18 April, she set up a Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
radio and surveillance station at Eastern Island in the Midway
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
group. On 19 June, Sicard sailed from Pearl Harbor with other light minelayers, picked up mines at Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
; and, in July, laid a defensive minefield off Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak is one of 7 communities and the main city on Kodiak Island, Kodiak Island Borough, in the U.S. state of Alaska. All commercial transportation between the entire island and the outside world goes through this city either via ferryboat or airline...
. On her return to Hawaii on 27 July, she resumed her local patrol assignment. She sailed on 16 September for the Aleutian Islands to lay another minefield and conduct more patrols and then proceeded on 22 November to San Francisco for overhaul.
After completion of repairs on 22 December, Sicard participated in amphibious landing exercises off San Diego; and then sailed on 24 April 1943 from San Francisco with a convoy of troop transports for the assault on Attu
Attu Island
Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...
in the Aleutians. Sicard was to have acted as a landing craft control vessel for the operation; but, on the night before the landing, she collided with the destroyer, Macdonough (DD-351)
USS Macdonough (DD-351)
The third USS Macdonough was a Farragut-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Thomas Macdonough....
, in a dense fog. Sicard towed McDonough into Adak
Adak Island
Adak Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost town, Adak, is located on the island...
, and then proceeded to San Francisco for repairs, which lasted to 29 July. She was more fortunate during the Kiska
Kiska
Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...
landings and successfully guided the waves of assault boats to the beach there between 15 and 18 August. She performed local patrol and escort duties in the Aleutians, and then escorted a convoy to Pearl Harbor, where she arrived on 15 September.
Sicard left Pearl Harbor on 24 September for a new area of operations, the Southwest Pacific. She escorted ships to Nouméa and Espiritu Santo, and then continued to Purvis Bay where she and her sisters, Gamble (DM-15) and Breese (DM-18), formed a fast mine-laying group. The group sortied on 31 October to plant an offensive minefield off Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
. Just as the group completed its mission and began to retire early in the morning of 2 November, it was illuminated by parachute flares from enemy aircraft. Soon a friendly cruiser force steamed by at high speed in the opposite direction and opened fire on an invisible enemy. Sicards group had unknowingly helped bring the opposing forces together for the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
The Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, on 1–2 November 1943—also known as the Battle of Gazelle Bay, Operation Cherry Blossom, and in Japanese sources as the Sea Battle of Bougainville Bay Shore —was a naval battle fought near the island of Bougainville...
.
Sicard with four other destroyer-minelayers, laid another minefield off Bougainville on 8 November; and, after brief convoy duty, the ship laid a third minefield off the Shortland Islands on 24 November. Between December 1943 and April 1944, she escorted convoys between Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
, Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
, Purvis Bay
Purvis Bay
Purvis Bay is located in the Florida Islands, which are part of the Solomon Islands. The bay was used by the US Navy during World War Two....
, Noumea
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, New Zealand, and Kwajalein
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
. On 1 May 1944, she resumed her minelaying role and laid a field off Buka Island in two trips on 2 and 10 May. After additional convoy duty, the ship returned to Alameda, California
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
, on 11 July 1944 for overhaul.
Sicard completed repairs on 20 September and, after refresher training, sailed for Pearl Harbor on 4 October. Following another period of upkeep from 10 October to 16 November, she commenced duty training submarines. She conducted daily exercises with submarines off Oahu until 9 January 1945, and then performed similar duties at Midway until 2 September 1945. During this period, she was reclassified a miscellaneous auxiliary, AG-100, effective 5 June 1945. On completion of training duty, Sicard arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for inactivation on 21 October.
Fate
She was decommissioned on 21 November 1945, struck from the Navy listNaval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 19 December 1945, and sold on 22 June 1946 to Hugo Neu of New York for scrap.