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USS ''Gainard'' (DD-706), an ''Allen M. Sumner''-class destroyer, was named for Joseph Gainard, who was awarded the Navy Cross for distinguished service while Master of American merchant steamer ''City of Flint'' during 1939. ''Gainard'' was laid down on 29 March 1944 by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, in Kearney, New Jersey; launched on 17 September 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Joseph A. Gainard, widow of Captain Gainard; and commissioned at New York on 23 November 1944, with Commander Francis J. Foley in command. ==World War II== After shakedown training off Bermuda, ''Gainard'' departed New York on 1 February 1945 for operations out of San Diego, California, and Pearl Harbor. She departed Pearl Harbor on 12 March and staged at Saipan for the forthcoming invasion of Okinawa, acting as a part of a decoy task force that made feints against the southeastern coast between 1 and 2 April while the landings were effected on the western beaches. ''Gainard'' operated as radar picket and fighter director ship throughout the bloody Okinawa Campaign, detecting enemy air raids, providing early and continuous information to friendly forces, and initiating interception with a Combat Air Patrol unit that found her controlling an average of 10 planes from dawn to dusk with the assistance of a fighter director team on board. In 39 days on picket stations, she was instrumental in the destruction of at least 27 kamikazes, 5 of which were shot down by her gunners. On 27 occasions, enemy aerial strikes of 50 or more planes attacked ''Gainard'' and ships in her immediate vicinity. Seventeen of these attacks were close aboard the destroyer, and four nearby ships were hit by suicide planes. She manned the fighter director unit for initial landings at Iheya Shima, Aguni Shima, and Kume Shima. ''Gainard'' also rescued the crew of a Navy patrol bomber which had run out of fuel and landed in the sea, and she directed two other damaged patrol planes back to their base. Though several times narrowly missed by determined runs of suicide planes, her skillful gunners and effective maneuvering prevented damage. She remained on station until 1 July when Okinawa was officially declared secured. After patrol and convoy escort duty in approaches to Okinawa, she sailed on 21 July to the Philippines for logistics and upkeep. The destroyer arrived off Honshū, Japan, on 17 September and served as air-sea rescue ship until 21 February 1946 when she sailed for the United States. ''Gainard'' reached San Pedro, California, on 15 March, then steamed via the Panama Canal to Casco Bay, Maine, arriving there on 16 April. Based out of Newport, Rhode Island, her operations over the next 20 years have included nine deployments as an anti-submarine warfare specialist with the "Steel Gray Diplomats" of the 6th Fleet; several cruises to northern Europe for the training of midshipmen; amphibious warfare exercises along the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina; plane guard duty for aircraft carriers off Mayport, Florida; and combined 2nd Fleet exercises and anti-submarine tactics along the Atlantic seaboard and in the Caribbean. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Gainard」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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