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USS Underhill
USS Underhill (DE-682) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy during World War II. Built in 1943, she served in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific until her sinking in a suicide attack by a Japanese Kaiten manned torpedo on 24 July 1945.
Samuel Jackson Underhill was born on 25 August 1917 in Jericho, New York. He received a Bachelor of Science from Yale University and attended Harvard Law School before enlisting in the United States Navy Reserve as a Seaman Second Class on 8 November 1940. After serving briefly at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York, Underhill was appointed an aviation cadet and was transferred on 6 February 1941 to the Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida, for flight training. He subsequently underwent further training at Miami, Florida; was designated a naval aviator on 15 July; and was commissioned an ensign in the Naval Reserve on 6 August. Following advanced flight training at Norfolk, Virginia, he reported to Scouting Squadron 5 (VS-5).
In May 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea Underhill was with VS-5 on board the carrier USS Yorktown. When VS-5 raided Tulagi on the morning of 4 May he flew his Douglas SBD Dauntless dive-bomber against a heavy anti-aircraft barrage and contributed to the sinking or damaging of eight enemy vessels. On the morning of 7 May, a coordinated attack group of 17 SBDs from VS-5 took off from Yorktown and, in clear skies with unlimited visibility, launched a dive bombing attack on the light carrier Shōhō. The American planes scored nine direct hits and two near misses sinking the Shōhō.
On the morning of 8 May, Yorktown launched the SBDs of VS-5, dividing the group to accomplish separate missions. One division flew in the strike that ultimately attacked the Japanese carrier Shōkaku. The other, which included Underhill, remained behind to conduct anti-torpedo plane patrol around Yorktown's formation due to the lack of fighters. At 11:10, the eight SBDs of VS-5's anti-torpedo plane patrol were jumped by a group of six Japanese fighters from Zuikaku. The slower Dauntless dive-bombers quickly found themselves at a disadvantage against the more nimble Japanese attackers. In the ensuing dogfight, the Zeros shot down four SBDs with no loss to themselves (although the American pilots claimed four destroyed) before being driven off by US fighters. Underhill was among those lost in the dogfight. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his extraordinary valor.
Underhills keel was laid down on 16 September 1943 by the Bethlehem Steel Company's Fore River Shipyard at Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 15 October 1943 sponsored by Mrs. David (Bertha) Underhill, aunt and guardian of Ensign Underhill. Underhill was commissioned exactly one month later.
After trial runs and crew training, Underhill moved to the Boston Navy Yard for provisioning and loading of ammunition. On 2 December 1943, she was underway to Bermuda for further training and shakedown, returning to Boston Navy Yard on 10 January 1944 for minor repairs. She got underway from Boston on 17 January 1944 and arrived at Guantanamo Bay on 22 January, reporting to Commander, Caribbean Sea Frontier, for duty. She operated out of Trinidad and Guantanamo escorting convoys until late in May when she escorted SS George Washington from Kingston, Jamaica, to Miami, Florida.
Underhill returned on 30 May 1944 to Boston Navy Yard, where her torpedo tubes were removed and replaced with Bofors 40 mm antiaircraft guns. Additionally two 20 mm anti-aircraft guns were added on the fantail. Her new area of operations was the Mediterranean Sea, where the Junkers Ju 88 dive bombers flying out of Southern France had been converted to torpedo planes and were taking a toll on British and French convoys.
Following training exercises in Casco Bay, Maine, Underhill got underway before dawn on Independence Day and steamed from Hampton Roads to screen UGS 47, a large, slow convoy bound for Mediterranean ports. Underhill conducted battle drills and investigated sonar contacts during the long, uneventful Atlantic voyage. In the Mediterranean Sea on 21 and 22 July, she responded to several air raid warnings, but no enemy action materialized, although the last three convoys to pass along this route had been attacked by German planes.
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USS Underhill
USS Underhill (DE-682) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy during World War II. Built in 1943, she served in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific until her sinking in a suicide attack by a Japanese Kaiten manned torpedo on 24 July 1945.
Samuel Jackson Underhill was born on 25 August 1917 in Jericho, New York. He received a Bachelor of Science from Yale University and attended Harvard Law School before enlisting in the United States Navy Reserve as a Seaman Second Class on 8 November 1940. After serving briefly at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York, Underhill was appointed an aviation cadet and was transferred on 6 February 1941 to the Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida, for flight training. He subsequently underwent further training at Miami, Florida; was designated a naval aviator on 15 July; and was commissioned an ensign in the Naval Reserve on 6 August. Following advanced flight training at Norfolk, Virginia, he reported to Scouting Squadron 5 (VS-5).
In May 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea Underhill was with VS-5 on board the carrier USS Yorktown. When VS-5 raided Tulagi on the morning of 4 May he flew his Douglas SBD Dauntless dive-bomber against a heavy anti-aircraft barrage and contributed to the sinking or damaging of eight enemy vessels. On the morning of 7 May, a coordinated attack group of 17 SBDs from VS-5 took off from Yorktown and, in clear skies with unlimited visibility, launched a dive bombing attack on the light carrier Shōhō. The American planes scored nine direct hits and two near misses sinking the Shōhō.
On the morning of 8 May, Yorktown launched the SBDs of VS-5, dividing the group to accomplish separate missions. One division flew in the strike that ultimately attacked the Japanese carrier Shōkaku. The other, which included Underhill, remained behind to conduct anti-torpedo plane patrol around Yorktown's formation due to the lack of fighters. At 11:10, the eight SBDs of VS-5's anti-torpedo plane patrol were jumped by a group of six Japanese fighters from Zuikaku. The slower Dauntless dive-bombers quickly found themselves at a disadvantage against the more nimble Japanese attackers. In the ensuing dogfight, the Zeros shot down four SBDs with no loss to themselves (although the American pilots claimed four destroyed) before being driven off by US fighters. Underhill was among those lost in the dogfight. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his extraordinary valor.
Underhills keel was laid down on 16 September 1943 by the Bethlehem Steel Company's Fore River Shipyard at Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 15 October 1943 sponsored by Mrs. David (Bertha) Underhill, aunt and guardian of Ensign Underhill. Underhill was commissioned exactly one month later.
After trial runs and crew training, Underhill moved to the Boston Navy Yard for provisioning and loading of ammunition. On 2 December 1943, she was underway to Bermuda for further training and shakedown, returning to Boston Navy Yard on 10 January 1944 for minor repairs. She got underway from Boston on 17 January 1944 and arrived at Guantanamo Bay on 22 January, reporting to Commander, Caribbean Sea Frontier, for duty. She operated out of Trinidad and Guantanamo escorting convoys until late in May when she escorted SS George Washington from Kingston, Jamaica, to Miami, Florida.
Underhill returned on 30 May 1944 to Boston Navy Yard, where her torpedo tubes were removed and replaced with Bofors 40 mm antiaircraft guns. Additionally two 20 mm anti-aircraft guns were added on the fantail. Her new area of operations was the Mediterranean Sea, where the Junkers Ju 88 dive bombers flying out of Southern France had been converted to torpedo planes and were taking a toll on British and French convoys.
Following training exercises in Casco Bay, Maine, Underhill got underway before dawn on Independence Day and steamed from Hampton Roads to screen UGS 47, a large, slow convoy bound for Mediterranean ports. Underhill conducted battle drills and investigated sonar contacts during the long, uneventful Atlantic voyage. In the Mediterranean Sea on 21 and 22 July, she responded to several air raid warnings, but no enemy action materialized, although the last three convoys to pass along this route had been attacked by German planes.