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USS Whipple (DD-217)
Encyclopedia
USS Whipple (DD- 217/AG-117), a Clemson-class
destroyer
was the second ship of the United States Navy
named in honor of Captain
Abraham Whipple
(1733–1819), who served in the Continental Navy
.
Whipple was laid down on 12 June and launched 6 November 1919 from William Cramp and Sons
; sponsored by Mrs. Gladys V. Mulvey, great-great-great granddaughter of Abraham Whipple; and commissioned on 23 April 1920, Lieutenant
Richard F. Bernard in command.
, Whipple returned to Philadelphia for post-shakedown availability. The destroyer sailed for the Near East
on 29 May 1920 and arrived at Constantinople
, Turkey
, on 13 June. For the next eight months, she operated in the region of the Black Sea
and eastern Mediterranean, under the overall command of Admiral
Mark L. Bristol, Commander, U.S. Naval Detachment in Near Eastern Waters. At this time, the entire Near East was in turmoil due to changes caused by, and in the wake of, World War I
.
Whipple delivered mail to at Samsun
, Turkey, on 16 June and landed British American Tobacco
company representatives whom the destroyer had transported from Constantinople. She next visited Sevastopol
, in the Russian Crimea
, and Constanţa
, Romania
. Unexpectedly ordered to Batum, Georgia
, Whipple departed Samsun on 6 July and made 30 knots to reach her destination the next day. There, she attended the peaceful birth of the Georgian Republic
, as British
and French
troops turned over the city to White Russian
forces.
Whipple then shifted south for a brief cruise along the Levant
ine coast during which she visited Beirut
and Damascus
, Syria
and Port Said
, Egypt
, before she returned to Constantinople on 18 August. While she was making this cruise, the sweeping Navy-wide designation of hull numbers took place and Whipple was classified as DD-217 on 17 July 1920. The destroyer next resumed her previous routine on the Black Sea route, carrying mail between ports (including dispatches for consulates and the like), and observing conditions prevailing at the ports visited in Romania, Russia, and Asiatic Turkey.
While underway on 19 October, Whipple sighted distress signals from Greek
steamer Thetis and proceeded to the stricken vessel's assistance, as she lay aground off Constanţa
. After 10 hours, the destroyer succeeded in freeing Thetis from her predicament and earned a commendation from her division commander. The citation lauded Lieutenant Commander
Bernard's display of initiative and his excellent handling of the ship in shoal waters with a heavy sea running. "The whole affair," the citation concluded, "... reflected great credit on the Whipple and the United States Naval Service."
In the meantime, while Whipple conducted her patrols, the situation in the Russian Civil War
was changing. Whipple convoyed the disabled American steamer SS Haddon into Constantinople and later fueled at Constanţa where she learned that Russian Bolshevik
troops were approaching the Crimea. Baron General Pyotr Wrangel
, commanding the White Russian forces in the area, pulled his force back to Sevastopol in a rear-guard action, from where the Whites evacuated to sea in a wide variety of craft to escape the oncoming Bolshevik forces.
Whipple arrived at Sevastopol on the morning of 14 November and reported to Vice Admiral
Newton A. McCully
for orders. Hundreds of boats were present in the harbor, often crammed to the gunwales with evacuating White Russians. In addition to Whipple, cruiser and two destroyers, and , stood by to evacuate selected individuals bearing passes from Admiral McCully.
During the entire time Whipple remained at Sevastopol, her main battery was trained out and manned. Armed boat crews carried evacuees out to the ship while her landing force stood in readiness. As her last boatload pushed off from shore, Bolshevik troops reached the main square and began firing on the fleeing White Russians; Whipple had completed the mission just in time.
Whipple then towed a barge loaded with wounded White Russian troops out of range of the Bolshevik guns and then turned the tow over to Humphreys. As Whipple passed Overton, McCully, on the latter's bridge, called out by megaphone "well done, Whipple." The last American vessel out of Sevastopol, the destroyer headed for Constantinople with her passengers, both topside and below decks. Each carried very few belongings, had no food, and possessed very little money. Many were sick or wounded.
After disembarking the refugees at Constantinople, Whipple resumed her station ship and mail carrying duties with the Near Eastern Naval Detachment and continued the task through the end of 1920 and into the spring of 1921. On 2 May 1921, the destroyer, along with her division mates, sailed for the Far East
, transiting the Suez Canal
and called at Bombay, India
; Colombo
, Ceylon; Batavia
, Java; Singapore
, Straits Settlements
; and Saigon, French Indochina
. She arrived at her new home port, Cavite
, Philippine Islands, near Manila
, on 29 June. For the next four years, the destroyer served in the Asiatic Fleet, "showing the flag" and standing ready to protect American lives and property in strife-torn China
. She operated out of Cavite in the winter months, conducting tactical exercises in the Philippines until heading north to North China ports in the spring for summer operations out of Tsingtao
.
Warfare between local warlords around Shanghai
in late 1924 and early 1925 resulted in Whipple's being called upon to serve as a transport. On 15 January 1925, the Marine
detachment from went ashore to protect American property, while about the same time, an expeditionary force of marines, led by Captain James P. Schwerin, USMC, embarked in Whipple, , and . The three destroyers landed the marines on 22 January, relieving the 28-man detachment from the gunboat at that time.
On 18 May 1925, Whipple and her division sailed for the United States
, via Guam
, Midway
, and Pearl Harbor
, and arrived at San Diego on 17 June. Five days later, the ship got underway for the east coast of the United States; and she arrived at Norfolk
on 17 July. She next operated off the east coast from Maine
to Florida
and cruised to Guantanamo Bay for maneuvers with the Fleet. During this time, Whipple put ashore a landing force in Nicaragua
to protect American lives and property threatened by the banditry and unrest. On four separate instances, in late 1926 and early 1927, a landing party from the destroyer served on shore, earning the ship the Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal.
Whipple departed Norfolk on 26 May 1927 to begin a cruise with her division to northern Europe
an ports. She then steamed south for a brief tour in the Mediterranean before departing Gibraltar
on 29 January 1928 and heading for Cuba. She conducted operations in the Caribbean out of Guantanamo Bay, until 26 March when she set course for the west coast. She operated in the Pacific out of the Destroyer Base at San Diego, California
, until 1 August 1929. Whipple departed the west coast, bound for the Asiatic Station and her second tour with the Asiatic Fleet.
Whipple spent the next decade with the Asiatic Fleet, watching the rising ascendancy of Japan
over China and the Far East. She resumed the routine common to ships of her type with the Fleet: winter exercises in the Philippine Islands and summer maneuvers out of Tsingtao, China, with cruises to Chinese coastal ports in the interim.
While on exercises in Subic Bay
during the spring of 1936, Whipple and collided on 14 April. The latter suffered such serious damage in the accident that she had to be scrapped. As a consequence, Whipple, whose own bow had been bent around until it faced sternward, received Smith Thompsons undamaged bow and soon reentered active service.
Meanwhile, tension between China and Japan continued to worsen, particularly in North China. These long-simmering antagonisms erupted in open fighting near Peking on 7 July 1937, which soon became an all-out war in the vicinity. Two weeks later, a small squadron of Asiatic Fleet units, including Whipple, sailed from Chefoo on 24 July. The destroyer, in company with , Barker, and , rendezvoused with on the 25th, en route to the coast of Siberia
. The five ships arrived at Vladivostok
, USSR
, on the 28th.
The visit, the first by American men-of-war since the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union in 1933, lasted until 1 August when the five ships headed back to China. Within the next fortnight, while the Fleet continued its routine, hostilities broke out between Chinese and Japanese forces at Shanghai, and the Second Sino-Japanese War
entered a new phase.
The Fleet continued its mission of observing the conflict, standing ready to evacuate Americans from Chinese ports should the occasion arise. By mid-1938, when the war had moved inland and up the Yangtze
, the Fleet resumed its former routine. Whipple and her division mates, in company with , visited Bangkok
, Siam, in June 1938.
The Japanese captured most of the major coastal cities and ports and those along the lower Yangtze, and opportunities for trouble multiplied for the western nations still trying to maintain their interests in China. In the spring of 1939, one such occasion came at Amoy
, China, where a Chinese gunman shot a Japanese citizen. The Japanese responded by landing Special Naval Landing Force personnel near the International Settlement of Koolangsu. The British and Americans did likewise, landing bluejackets from and the British light cruiser Birmingham. By September 1939, Whipple was serving as station ship at Amoy, her landing force ashore and Captain John T. G. Stapler, Commander, South China Patrol, embarked on board.
At 2355 on 3 September 1939, Whipples deck log noted that France
had declared war on Germany
, two days after German troops invaded Poland
. World War II
had begun in Europe
, substantially altering the balance of power in the Orient as Britain pulled out much of her China Station fleet to bolster the Home and Mediterranean Fleets. Whipple operated on neutrality patrol
off the Philippines into 1941, as Admiral Thomas C. Hart
prepared the small Asiatic Fleet for war.
ese action in the Pacific was imminent - Admiral Hart
dispatched Whipple's Destroyer Division (DesDiv) 58, along with the tender Black Hawk (AD-9)
, to Balikpapan
, Borneo
, to disperse the surface ships of his fleet from their vulnerable position within the confines of Manila Bay
. There, Whipple awaited the outbreak of war which came on 8 December 1941 (7 December east of the date line
) with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
.
Originally slated to join a British
force based around the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser HMS Repulse
, Whipple's mission was aborted when Japanese land-based torpedo planes and high-level bombers sank both of these capital ships in the South China Sea
off Kuantan
, Malaya
, on 10 December. Whipple arrived at Singapore
on 11 December and departed on the 14th, bound for the Netherlands East Indies.
Fighting a desperate rearguard action in the face of a swift-moving and well-organized enemy, the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
(ABDA) force faced formidable obstacles as they withdrew to the "Malay Barrier". During this time, Whipple conducted important escort and patrol duties into February 1942. On 12 February, the destroyer got underway from Prigi Bay, Java, in a dense fog. As she headed for Tjilatjap, on the south coast of Java, she was struck a glancing blow by the Dutch light cruiser De Ruyter. As the Dutch ship emerged out of the murk, Whipple alertly swung left to avoid a collision, a move that averted more serious damage. Drydocked at Tjilatjap on the 13th, Whipple ascertained the damage to be minor and rejoined the fleet for active service.
At 1640 on 26 February, Whipple and sistership Edsall (DD-219)
departed Tjilatjap to rendezvous with Langley (AV-3) off the south coast of Java. Making contact at 0629, the destroyers took up screening, positions to escort the vulnerable auxiliary - carrying a load of aircraft to bolster the sagging defenses of Java - into Tjilatjap. At 1150, lookouts spotted nine high-level bombers approaching from the east. Four minutes later, a stick of bombs splashed around Langley - clearly the object of Japanese attention. During a second attack shortly after noon, all three ships put up brisk antiaircraft fire.
Langleys evasive maneuvers were not sufficient to prevent the Japanese, at 1212, hitting her with a several bombs, setting the former aircraft carrier on fire.
Whipple broke off firing at 1224 as the attackers veered away in a northeasterly direction. She changed course and closed Langley to evaluate that vessel's damage. Shortly thereafter, four Japanese fighter planes dove on the three-ship convoy; one of these planes was damaged by antiaircraft fire.
Langley was abandoned at 1325, and Whipple proceeded close aboard to rescue survivors; using two of the destroyer's life rafts, a cargo net slung over the side, and a number of lines trailed over the side. Staying some 25 yards off the sinking seaplane tender, Whipple picked up some 308 men from Langley's crew and embarked Army personnel for the P-40 fighter
s carried on the doomed ship's abbreviated flight deck. At 1358, the task at hand completed, Whipple backed off and stood out to destroy the derelict, opening fire at 1429 with her 4-inch main battery. After nine rounds of 4-inch and two torpedoes, Langley settled lower and lower but refused stubbornly to sink. Soon, orders arrived directing Whipple and her sister ship to clear the area prior to any more bombing attacks.
Whipple accordingly vacated the vicinity and subsequently rendezvoused with Pecos (AO-6)
in the lee of Christmas Island
to transfer the Army
pilots to the oiler. At 1020 on 27 February, three Japanese twin-engined bombers attacked Christmas Island. One later singled out Whipple and dropped a stick of bombs which missed the rapidly dodging destroyer.
On 28 February, Whipple began transferring Langley crew members to Pecos, completing the task by 0800. While one destroyer transferred personnel, the other circled and maintained an antisubmarine screen. When the job of transferring survivors from the lost seaplane tender had been completed, the two destroyers parted company with the oiler. Changing course in anticipation of orders to retire from Java, Whipple prepared to send a message relative to these orders when the destroyer's chief radioman heard a cell for help over the radio from Pecos, then under attack by Japanese bombers near Christmas Island.
Whipple sped to the scene to render assistance if possible. Throughout the afternoon, as the destroyer closed the oiler, all hands on board prepared knotted lines and cargo nets for use in picking up survivors. Whipple went to general quarters at 1922 when she sighted several small lights off both bows.
Whipple slowly closed and began picking up survivors of Pecos. After interrupting the proceedings to conduct an unsuccessful attack on a submarine thought to be nearby, she returned to the task and continued the search until she had received 231 men from the oiler. Whipple soon cleared the area, believing that a Japanese aircraft carrier was close. Within a few days, Java fell to the Japanese who were gradually consolidating their expanding "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
." Whipple joined what remained of the Asiatic Fleet in Australian waters.
Subsequently sailing to Melbourne
, Australia
, and arriving on 23 March, Whipple operated with Australian and New Zealand
Navy warships on convoy escort duties along the Great Barrier Reef
until 2 May. She departed Sydney
on that day, bound for the New Hebrides Islands
, American Samoa
and Hawaii
, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 6 June. Together with sister ship Alden, Whipple departed Pearl Harbor on 8 June for San Francisco
, escorting an eastward-bound convoy to the west coast, arriving off the on the 18th.
During a yard availability at Mare Island
, the destroyer's topside weight was cut down as 20-millimeter antiaircraft guns replaced two banks of her torpedo tubes. Thus modified for convoy escort work, Whipple put to sea to commence the first of seven round-trip convoy escort missions from the west coast to Hawaii which lasted into the spring of 1943.
Standing out of San Francisco Bay
on 11 May 1943, Whipple sailed for the Caribbean with a convoy routed through the Panama Canal
for Santa Anna Bay, Curaçao
, Netherlands West Indies. After the cargo ships loaded a petroleum cargo, the convoy pushed on for Cuba
and arrived at Guantanamo Bay
on 29 May. From Guantanamo, the destroyer escorted a convoy to Trinidad
but returned to the Cuban base on 19 June before heading north to the New York Navy Yard for voyage repairs.
Later departing New York on 10 July, Whipple escorted a group of ships which rendezvoused with a convoy bound for Casablanca
, French Morocco
, and Gibraltar. Returning to Charleston
, South Carolina
, on 27 August, the destroyer put to sea on 7 September as a unit in a slow tow convoy bound via the Caribbean to Recife
, Brazil
. Whipple headed north soon thereafter, guarding a convoy to Trinidad
, and then up the eastern seaboard to Charleston, making port on 19 November.
After another convoy escort run from Norfolk
to Guantanamo Bay and the Panama Canal Zone
, Whipple joined three other destroyers in completing the offensive antisubmarine task group based around Guadalcanal (CVE-60)
. Departing Norfolk on 5 January 1944, the group went to sea to hunt German
U-boat
s active in the Atlantic.
On 16 January, aircraft from Guadalcanal sighted three U-boats on the surface, fueling, some 300 miles off Flores
. Carrier-based Avengers
attacked the group and sank U-544 in the ensuing attack. After replenishing at Casablanca, the group returned to the high seas and searched convoy lanes for signs of German submarines until arriving at Norfolk on 16 February. Detached from the antisubmarine group soon thereafter, Whipple underwent voyage repairs at the Boston Navy Yard
. On 13 March, the destroyer departed the east coast in company with USS Convoy (UGS-36), bound for the Mediterranean.
In the early morning darkness of 1 April, German planes - Dornier Do 217
's and Junkers Ju 88
's - came in low and fast to attack the convoy. Keeping up a heavy fire with her 20-millimeter batteries, Whipple sent up a substantial part of the heavy barrage which drove off the 30 German planes and saved the convoy from substantial damage. Arriving at Bizerte
, Tunisia
, on 3 April, the destroyer subsequently returned to Norfolk on the 30th.
For the remainder of 1944 and into the spring of 1945, Whipple performed convoy escort duties off the east coast, across the Atlantic to Casablanca, and occasionally into the Caribbean
.
, Connecticut
, on 6 June 1945, Whipple was redesignated an auxiliary, AG-117. After acting as a target ship for submarines off New London, the erstwhile destroyer entered the New York Navy Yard on 9 July for conversion to a high-speed target vessel.
On 5 August, Whipple departed New York for duty in the Pacific. Transiting the Panama Canal
, the target ship proceeded via San Diego
to Hawaii
and arrived at Pearl Harbor
on 30 August. She subsequently served as a target vessel for submarines of the Pacific training command until 21 September.
The need for her services no longer required, Whipple departed Pearl Harbor and proceeded to the east coast, arriving at Philadelphia
on 18 October. Decommissioned on 9 November 1945, her name was struck from the Navy list
on 5 December. Stripped for scrap, the hulk was sold on 30 September 1947 to the Northern Metals Company of Philadelphia.
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...
was the second ship of 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...
named in honor of Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Abraham Whipple
Abraham Whipple
Abraham Whipple was an American revolutionary naval commander in the Continental Navy. Whipple was born near Providence, Rhode Island and chose to be a seafarer early in his life. He embarked upon a career in the lucrative West Indies trade, working for Moses and John Brown...
(1733–1819), who served in the Continental Navy
Continental Navy
The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War, and was formed in 1775. Through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron, John Adams and vigorous Congressional support in the face of stiff opposition, the fleet cumulatively became relatively...
.
Whipple was laid down on 12 June and launched 6 November 1919 from William Cramp and Sons
William Cramp and Sons
thumb | upright | 1899 advertisement for William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1825 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder in the 19th century. The American Ship & Commerce Corporation bought the yard in 1919 but closed...
; sponsored by Mrs. Gladys V. Mulvey, great-great-great granddaughter of Abraham Whipple; and commissioned on 23 April 1920, Lieutenant
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...
Richard F. Bernard in command.
1920 to World War II
Following shakedown training out of Guantanamo Bay, CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Whipple returned to Philadelphia for post-shakedown availability. The destroyer sailed for the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
on 29 May 1920 and arrived at Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, on 13 June. For the next eight months, she operated in the region of the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
and eastern Mediterranean, under the overall command of Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Mark L. Bristol, Commander, U.S. Naval Detachment in Near Eastern Waters. At this time, the entire Near East was in turmoil due to changes caused by, and in the wake of, 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...
.
Whipple delivered mail to at Samsun
Samsun
Samsun is a city of about half a million people on the north coast of Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Samsun Province and a major Black Sea port.-Name:...
, Turkey, on 16 June and landed British American Tobacco
British American Tobacco
British American Tobacco p.l.c. is a global tobacco company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second largest quoted tobacco company by global market share , with a leading position in more than 50 countries and a presence in more than 180 countries...
company representatives whom the destroyer had transported from Constantinople. She next visited Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
, in the Russian Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
, and Constanţa
Constanta
Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region....
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. Unexpectedly ordered to Batum, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, Whipple departed Samsun on 6 July and made 30 knots to reach her destination the next day. There, she attended the peaceful birth of the Georgian Republic
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, as British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
troops turned over the city to White Russian
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
forces.
Whipple then shifted south for a brief cruise along the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
ine coast during which she visited Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
and Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, before she returned to Constantinople on 18 August. While she was making this cruise, the sweeping Navy-wide designation of hull numbers took place and Whipple was classified as DD-217 on 17 July 1920. The destroyer next resumed her previous routine on the Black Sea route, carrying mail between ports (including dispatches for consulates and the like), and observing conditions prevailing at the ports visited in Romania, Russia, and Asiatic Turkey.
While underway on 19 October, Whipple sighted distress signals from Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
steamer Thetis and proceeded to the stricken vessel's assistance, as she lay aground off Constanţa
Constanta
Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region....
. After 10 hours, the destroyer succeeded in freeing Thetis from her predicament and earned a commendation from her division commander. The citation lauded Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
Bernard's display of initiative and his excellent handling of the ship in shoal waters with a heavy sea running. "The whole affair," the citation concluded, "... reflected great credit on the Whipple and the United States Naval Service."
In the meantime, while Whipple conducted her patrols, the situation in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
was changing. Whipple convoyed the disabled American steamer SS Haddon into Constantinople and later fueled at Constanţa where she learned that Russian Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
troops were approaching the Crimea. Baron General Pyotr Wrangel
Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel
Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel or Vrangel was an officer in the Imperial Russian army and later commanding general of the anti-Bolshevik White Army in Southern Russia in the later stages of the Russian Civil War.-Life:Wrangel was born in Mukuliai, Kovno Governorate in the Russian Empire...
, commanding the White Russian forces in the area, pulled his force back to Sevastopol in a rear-guard action, from where the Whites evacuated to sea in a wide variety of craft to escape the oncoming Bolshevik forces.
Whipple arrived at Sevastopol on the morning of 14 November and reported to Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Newton A. McCully
Newton A. McCully
Vice Admiral Newton Alexander McCully was an officer in the United States Navy.McCully, the son of Newton A. and Caroline Fretwell McCully, was born on 19 June 1867 in Anderson, South Carolina and attended the United States Naval Academy .As a Lieutenant Commander, McCully traveled to Russia...
for orders. Hundreds of boats were present in the harbor, often crammed to the gunwales with evacuating White Russians. In addition to Whipple, cruiser and two destroyers, and , stood by to evacuate selected individuals bearing passes from Admiral McCully.
During the entire time Whipple remained at Sevastopol, her main battery was trained out and manned. Armed boat crews carried evacuees out to the ship while her landing force stood in readiness. As her last boatload pushed off from shore, Bolshevik troops reached the main square and began firing on the fleeing White Russians; Whipple had completed the mission just in time.
Whipple then towed a barge loaded with wounded White Russian troops out of range of the Bolshevik guns and then turned the tow over to Humphreys. As Whipple passed Overton, McCully, on the latter's bridge, called out by megaphone "well done, Whipple." The last American vessel out of Sevastopol, the destroyer headed for Constantinople with her passengers, both topside and below decks. Each carried very few belongings, had no food, and possessed very little money. Many were sick or wounded.
After disembarking the refugees at Constantinople, Whipple resumed her station ship and mail carrying duties with the Near Eastern Naval Detachment and continued the task through the end of 1920 and into the spring of 1921. On 2 May 1921, the destroyer, along with her division mates, sailed for the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, transiting the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
and called at Bombay, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
; Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Ceylon; Batavia
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, Java; Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Straits Settlements
Straits Settlements
The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia.Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under direct British control as a crown colony on 1 April 1867...
; and Saigon, French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
. She arrived at her new home port, Cavite
Cavite
Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...
, Philippine Islands, near 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,...
, on 29 June. For the next four years, the destroyer served in the Asiatic Fleet, "showing the flag" and standing ready to protect American lives and property in strife-torn China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. She operated out of Cavite in the winter months, conducting tactical exercises in the Philippines until heading north to North China ports in the spring for summer operations out of 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...
.
Warfare between local warlords around Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
in late 1924 and early 1925 resulted in Whipple's being called upon to serve as a transport. On 15 January 1925, the 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...
detachment from went ashore to protect American property, while about the same time, an expeditionary force of marines, led by Captain James P. Schwerin, USMC, embarked in Whipple, , and . The three destroyers landed the marines on 22 January, relieving the 28-man detachment from the gunboat at that time.
On 18 May 1925, Whipple and her division sailed for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, via Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, 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...
, and Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, and arrived at San Diego on 17 June. Five days later, the ship got underway for the east coast of the United States; and she arrived at Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
on 17 July. She next operated off the east coast from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and cruised to Guantanamo Bay for maneuvers with the Fleet. During this time, Whipple put ashore a landing force in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
to protect American lives and property threatened by the banditry and unrest. On four separate instances, in late 1926 and early 1927, a landing party from the destroyer served on shore, earning the ship the Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal.
Whipple departed Norfolk on 26 May 1927 to begin a cruise with her division to northern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an ports. She then steamed south for a brief tour in the Mediterranean before departing Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
on 29 January 1928 and heading for Cuba. She conducted operations in the Caribbean out of Guantanamo Bay, until 26 March when she set course for the west coast. She operated in the Pacific out of the Destroyer Base at San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, until 1 August 1929. Whipple departed the west coast, bound for the Asiatic Station and her second tour with the Asiatic Fleet.
Whipple spent the next decade with the Asiatic Fleet, watching the rising ascendancy of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
over China and the Far East. She resumed the routine common to ships of her type with the Fleet: winter exercises in the Philippine Islands and summer maneuvers out of Tsingtao, China, with cruises to Chinese coastal ports in the interim.
While on exercises in Subic Bay
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the United States Navy located in Zambales, Philippines. It was the largest U.S...
during the spring of 1936, Whipple and collided on 14 April. The latter suffered such serious damage in the accident that she had to be scrapped. As a consequence, Whipple, whose own bow had been bent around until it faced sternward, received Smith Thompsons undamaged bow and soon reentered active service.
Meanwhile, tension between China and Japan continued to worsen, particularly in North China. These long-simmering antagonisms erupted in open fighting near Peking on 7 July 1937, which soon became an all-out war in the vicinity. Two weeks later, a small squadron of Asiatic Fleet units, including Whipple, sailed from Chefoo on 24 July. The destroyer, in company with , Barker, and , rendezvoused with on the 25th, en route to the coast of Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. The five ships arrived at Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
, USSR
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, on the 28th.
The visit, the first by American men-of-war since the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union in 1933, lasted until 1 August when the five ships headed back to China. Within the next fortnight, while the Fleet continued its routine, hostilities broke out between Chinese and Japanese forces at Shanghai, and the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
entered a new phase.
The Fleet continued its mission of observing the conflict, standing ready to evacuate Americans from Chinese ports should the occasion arise. By mid-1938, when the war had moved inland and up the Yangtze
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...
, the Fleet resumed its former routine. Whipple and her division mates, in company with , visited Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, Siam, in June 1938.
The Japanese captured most of the major coastal cities and ports and those along the lower Yangtze, and opportunities for trouble multiplied for the western nations still trying to maintain their interests in China. In the spring of 1939, one such occasion came at Amoy
Amoy
Xiamen, or Amoy, is a city on the southeast coast of China.Amoy may also refer to:*Amoy dialect, a dialect of the Hokkien lects, which are part of the Southern Min group of Chinese languages...
, China, where a Chinese gunman shot a Japanese citizen. The Japanese responded by landing Special Naval Landing Force personnel near the International Settlement of Koolangsu. The British and Americans did likewise, landing bluejackets from and the British light cruiser Birmingham. By September 1939, Whipple was serving as station ship at Amoy, her landing force ashore and Captain John T. G. Stapler, Commander, South China Patrol, embarked on board.
At 2355 on 3 September 1939, Whipples deck log noted that France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
had declared war on Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, two days after German troops invaded Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
had begun in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, substantially altering the balance of power in the Orient as Britain pulled out much of her China Station fleet to bolster the Home and Mediterranean Fleets. Whipple operated on neutrality patrol
Neutrality Patrol
At the beginning of World War II, when Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 started the hostilities in Europe, President Franklin D...
off the Philippines into 1941, as Admiral Thomas C. Hart
Thomas C. Hart
Thomas Charles Hart was an admiral of the United States Navy, whose service extended from the Spanish-American War through World War II. Following his retirement from the Navy, he served briefly as a United States Senator from Connecticut.-Life and career:Hart was born in Genesee County, Michigan...
prepared the small Asiatic Fleet for war.
World War II
On 25 November 1941 - two days in advance of the "war warning" which predicted that hostile JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese action in the Pacific was imminent - Admiral Hart
Thomas C. Hart
Thomas Charles Hart was an admiral of the United States Navy, whose service extended from the Spanish-American War through World War II. Following his retirement from the Navy, he served briefly as a United States Senator from Connecticut.-Life and career:Hart was born in Genesee County, Michigan...
dispatched Whipple's Destroyer Division (DesDiv) 58, along with the tender Black Hawk (AD-9)
USS Black Hawk (AD-9)
USS Black Hawk was launched in 1913 as by William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; purchased by the U.S. Navy on 3 December 1917; and commissioned 15 May 1918, Commander R. C...
, to Balikpapan
Balikpapan
Balikpapan is a seaport city on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo, Indonesia, in the East Kalimantan province, a resource-rich region well known for its timber, mining, and petroleum export products. Two harbors, Semayang and Kariangau , and the Sepinggan International Airport are the main...
, Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, to disperse the surface ships of his fleet from their vulnerable position within the confines of Manila Bay
Manila Bay
Manila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...
. There, Whipple awaited the outbreak of war which came on 8 December 1941 (7 December east of the date line
International Date Line
The International Date Line is a generally north-south imaginary line on the surface of the Earth, passing through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that designates the place where each calendar day begins...
) with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
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...
.
Originally slated to join a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
force based around the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser HMS Repulse
HMS Repulse (1916)
HMS Repulse was a Renown-class battlecruiser of the Royal Navy built during the First World War. She was originally laid down as an improved version of the s. Her construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds she would not be ready in a timely manner...
, Whipple's mission was aborted when Japanese land-based torpedo planes and high-level bombers sank both of these capital ships in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
off Kuantan
Kuantan
Kuantan is the state capital of Pahang, the 3rd largest state in Malaysia. It is situated near the mouth of the Kuantan River and faces the South China Sea. If one measures the distance along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, it is located roughly halfway between Singapore and Kota Bharu...
, Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
, on 10 December. Whipple arrived at Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
on 11 December and departed on the 14th, bound for the Netherlands East Indies.
Fighting a desperate rearguard action in the face of a swift-moving and well-organized enemy, the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command, or ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia, in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II...
(ABDA) force faced formidable obstacles as they withdrew to the "Malay Barrier". During this time, Whipple conducted important escort and patrol duties into February 1942. On 12 February, the destroyer got underway from Prigi Bay, Java, in a dense fog. As she headed for Tjilatjap, on the south coast of Java, she was struck a glancing blow by the Dutch light cruiser De Ruyter. As the Dutch ship emerged out of the murk, Whipple alertly swung left to avoid a collision, a move that averted more serious damage. Drydocked at Tjilatjap on the 13th, Whipple ascertained the damage to be minor and rejoined the fleet for active service.
At 1640 on 26 February, Whipple and sistership Edsall (DD-219)
USS Edsall (DD-219)
USS Edsall , named for Seaman Norman Eckley Edsall , was a Clemson-class destroyer of the United States Navy....
departed Tjilatjap to rendezvous with Langley (AV-3) off the south coast of Java. Making contact at 0629, the destroyers took up screening, positions to escort the vulnerable auxiliary - carrying a load of aircraft to bolster the sagging defenses of Java - into Tjilatjap. At 1150, lookouts spotted nine high-level bombers approaching from the east. Four minutes later, a stick of bombs splashed around Langley - clearly the object of Japanese attention. During a second attack shortly after noon, all three ships put up brisk antiaircraft fire.
Langleys evasive maneuvers were not sufficient to prevent the Japanese, at 1212, hitting her with a several bombs, setting the former aircraft carrier on fire.
Whipple broke off firing at 1224 as the attackers veered away in a northeasterly direction. She changed course and closed Langley to evaluate that vessel's damage. Shortly thereafter, four Japanese fighter planes dove on the three-ship convoy; one of these planes was damaged by antiaircraft fire.
Curtiss P-40
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational...
s carried on the doomed ship's abbreviated flight deck. At 1358, the task at hand completed, Whipple backed off and stood out to destroy the derelict, opening fire at 1429 with her 4-inch main battery. After nine rounds of 4-inch and two torpedoes, Langley settled lower and lower but refused stubbornly to sink. Soon, orders arrived directing Whipple and her sister ship to clear the area prior to any more bombing attacks.
Whipple accordingly vacated the vicinity and subsequently rendezvoused with Pecos (AO-6)
USS Pecos (AO-6)
thumb|right|300px|USS Pecos in portUSS Pecos was laid down as Fuel Ship No. 18 on June 2, 1920 by the Navy Yard, Boston, Mass.; reclassified AO–6 on July 17, 1920; launched April 23, 1921; sponsored by Miss Anna S. Hubbard; and commissioned August 25, 1921...
in the lee of Christmas Island
Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
to transfer the 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...
pilots to the oiler. At 1020 on 27 February, three Japanese twin-engined bombers attacked Christmas Island. One later singled out Whipple and dropped a stick of bombs which missed the rapidly dodging destroyer.
On 28 February, Whipple began transferring Langley crew members to Pecos, completing the task by 0800. While one destroyer transferred personnel, the other circled and maintained an antisubmarine screen. When the job of transferring survivors from the lost seaplane tender had been completed, the two destroyers parted company with the oiler. Changing course in anticipation of orders to retire from Java, Whipple prepared to send a message relative to these orders when the destroyer's chief radioman heard a cell for help over the radio from Pecos, then under attack by Japanese bombers near Christmas Island.
Whipple sped to the scene to render assistance if possible. Throughout the afternoon, as the destroyer closed the oiler, all hands on board prepared knotted lines and cargo nets for use in picking up survivors. Whipple went to general quarters at 1922 when she sighted several small lights off both bows.
Whipple slowly closed and began picking up survivors of Pecos. After interrupting the proceedings to conduct an unsuccessful attack on a submarine thought to be nearby, she returned to the task and continued the search until she had received 231 men from the oiler. Whipple soon cleared the area, believing that a Japanese aircraft carrier was close. Within a few days, Java fell to the Japanese who were gradually consolidating their expanding "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was a concept created and promulgated during the Shōwa era by the government and military of the Empire of Japan. It represented the desire to create a self-sufficient "bloc of Asian nations led by the Japanese and free of Western powers"...
." Whipple joined what remained of the Asiatic Fleet in Australian waters.
Subsequently sailing to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and arriving on 23 March, Whipple operated with Australian and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Navy warships on convoy escort duties along the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
until 2 May. She departed Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
on that day, bound for the New Hebrides Islands
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
, American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 6 June. Together with sister ship Alden, Whipple departed Pearl Harbor on 8 June for San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, escorting an eastward-bound convoy to the west coast, arriving off the on the 18th.
During a yard availability at Mare Island
Mare Island
Mare Island is a peninsula in the United States alongside the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay. Mare Island is considered a peninsula because no full...
, the destroyer's topside weight was cut down as 20-millimeter antiaircraft guns replaced two banks of her torpedo tubes. Thus modified for convoy escort work, Whipple put to sea to commence the first of seven round-trip convoy escort missions from the west coast to Hawaii which lasted into the spring of 1943.
Standing out of San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
on 11 May 1943, Whipple sailed for the Caribbean with a convoy routed through the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
for Santa Anna Bay, Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, Netherlands West Indies. After the cargo ships loaded a petroleum cargo, the convoy pushed on for Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and arrived at Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
on 29 May. From Guantanamo, the destroyer escorted a convoy to Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
but returned to the Cuban base on 19 June before heading north to the New York Navy Yard for voyage repairs.
Later departing New York on 10 July, Whipple escorted a group of ships which rendezvoused with a convoy bound for Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, French Morocco
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...
, and Gibraltar. Returning to Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, on 27 August, the destroyer put to sea on 7 September as a unit in a slow tow convoy bound via the Caribbean to Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Whipple headed north soon thereafter, guarding a convoy to Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
, and then up the eastern seaboard to Charleston, making port on 19 November.
After another convoy escort run from Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
to Guantanamo Bay and the 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...
, Whipple joined three other destroyers in completing the offensive antisubmarine task group based around Guadalcanal (CVE-60)
USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60)
USS Guadalcanal was a Casablanca class escort carrier of the United States Navy. She was the first ship to carry her name.She was converted from a Maritime Commission hull by Kaiser Co., Inc., of Vancouver, Washington...
. Departing Norfolk on 5 January 1944, the group went to sea to hunt German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s active in the Atlantic.
On 16 January, aircraft from Guadalcanal sighted three U-boats on the surface, fueling, some 300 miles off Flores
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...
. Carrier-based Avengers
TBF Avenger
The Grumman TBF Avenger was a torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air or naval arms around the world....
attacked the group and sank U-544 in the ensuing attack. After replenishing at Casablanca, the group returned to the high seas and searched convoy lanes for signs of German submarines until arriving at Norfolk on 16 February. Detached from the antisubmarine group soon thereafter, Whipple underwent voyage repairs at the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
. On 13 March, the destroyer departed the east coast in company with USS Convoy (UGS-36), bound for the Mediterranean.
In the early morning darkness of 1 April, German planes - Dornier Do 217
Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by German Luftwaffe during World War II as a more powerful version of the Dornier Do 17, known as the Fliegender Bleistift . Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber, its design was refined during 1939 and production began in late 1940...
's and Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
's - came in low and fast to attack the convoy. Keeping up a heavy fire with her 20-millimeter batteries, Whipple sent up a substantial part of the heavy barrage which drove off the 30 German planes and saved the convoy from substantial damage. Arriving at Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, on 3 April, the destroyer subsequently returned to Norfolk on the 30th.
For the remainder of 1944 and into the spring of 1945, Whipple performed convoy escort duties off the east coast, across the Atlantic to Casablanca, and occasionally into 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...
.
Post-World War II
Arriving at New LondonNew London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, on 6 June 1945, Whipple was redesignated an auxiliary, AG-117. After acting as a target ship for submarines off New London, the erstwhile destroyer entered the New York Navy Yard on 9 July for conversion to a high-speed target vessel.
On 5 August, Whipple departed New York for duty in the Pacific. Transiting the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, the target ship proceeded via San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and arrived at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on 30 August. She subsequently served as a target vessel for submarines of the Pacific training command until 21 September.
The need for her services no longer required, Whipple departed Pearl Harbor and proceeded to the east coast, arriving at Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
on 18 October. Decommissioned on 9 November 1945, her name was struck from the Navy list
Naval 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 5 December. Stripped for scrap, the hulk was sold on 30 September 1947 to the Northern Metals Company of Philadelphia.