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USS ''Wedderburn'' (DD-684), a ''Fletcher''-class destroyer, was a ship of the United States Navy named for lieutenant (j.g.) Charles F. Wedderburn, a destroyerman who was killed during World War I. ''Wedderburn'' (DD-684) was laid down on 10 January 1943 at San Francisco by the Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched on 1 August 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Gertrude F. Wedderburn; and commissioned on 9 March 1944, Commander John L. Wilfong in command. == 1944 == Following shakedown training along the west coast and post-shakedown availability back at the Bethlehem Steel Co., ''Wedderburn'' departed San Francisco on 21 June in company with ''Fieberling'' (DE-640). The two warships arrived in Pearl Harbor six days later, and ''Wedderburn'' joined Task Unit (TU) 19.3.2 with which she served briefly on plane guard and anti-submarine duty. On 1 July, the destroyer continued her voyage west to Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands where she joined Task Force (TF) 53 for the second assault of the Marianas operation, the battle of Guam. She stood out of Eniwetok on 17 July in company with Task Group (TG) 53.4, the Southern Transport Group. She arrived off Guam on 22 July, the day after the initial assault on that island and, for the next three weeks, performed yeoman service protecting the invasion fleet—upon which the battle ashore depended—from the threat of Japanese submarine attack. Her service in the Marianas ended on 10 August when she shaped a course back to Eniwetok. ''Wedderburn'' reentered the lagoon at Eniwetok on 14 August. There, she was reassigned to the antisubmarine screen of a fast carrier task group, TG 38.2, built around ''Intrepid'' (CV-11), ''Hancock'' (CV-19), ''Bunker Hill'' (CV-17), ''Cabot'' (CVL-28), and ''Independence'' (CVL-22). She sailed from Eniwetok on 29 August in company with the entire fast carrier task force (TF 38) to conduct a major sweep of Japanese-held islands including the Philippines, the Palaus, and Yap Island. ''Wedderburn'' screened the carrier from enemy submarine attacks while they sent their planes against targets on Mindanao and Leyte and, later, the Visayas sub-group. They also provided initial aerial bombardment for the Palau invasion and for the Morotai operation. Those missions took up almost the entire month of September, and the destroyer did not enter a "port" until the 28th when TG 38.2 arrived at Saipan. On 1 October, she and TG 38.2 moved on to recently captured Ulithi where the ships arrived the next day. ''Wedderburn'', however, soon returned to sea. Task Force 38 rendezvoused about 375 miles west of the Marianas on 7 October to open the preliminaries to the invasion of Leyte. ''Wedderburn'' continued her antisubmarine vigil while the carriers she protected launched their aircraft first against Okinawa, then Formosa, and finally Philippine targets, striking enemy air bases on Luzon and the Visayas to give the United States dominance in the air over Leyte when the invasion began on 20 October. ''Wedderburn'' continued to guard the fast carriers while they operated off the northeastern shore of Luzon providing distant air support for the Leyte invasion. By the 24th, it had become apparent that the Japanese planned to dispute the landing with some variety of naval force. The result was the four-phase Battle for Leyte Gulf. That same day, planes from ''Wedderburn''-protected carriers opened the battle striking at the enemy's Center Force, commanded by Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita—while it traversed the Sibuyan Sea toward the San Bernardino Strait. Late that evening, after having sunk battleship ''Musashi'' and damaged other Japanese ships, the fast carriers raced northward to take the bait offered by a force of almost plane-less aircraft carriers which Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa was using as a decoy force. Thus, ''Wedderburn'' was far north when the Surigao Strait and Samar phases were fought on the night of 24–25 October and the morning of the 25th, respectively. Instead, she participated in the final phase of the battle, against Ozawa's force, though her role remained one of support for the carriers which she screened against submarine attack while she rescued their downed aviators. After the Battle for Leyte Gulf, the destroyer continued to operate off Luzon with TG 38.2 while the carriers' planes provided additional air cover for the troops fighting to capture Leyte. That duty lasted until 5 November when engine trouble forced her to set a course for Ulithi. The warship arrived at that advanced base on 10 November, quickly completed repairs, and rejoined TG 38.2 off Luzon just after mid-month. Her return, however, proved brief; for, on 23 November, she received orders to return to Ulithi to join TG 38.1. At Ulithi, she conducted exercises until 10 December when she departed the atoll with TG 38.1 to support the landings on Mindoro. During that operation, TF 38 passed through the infamous typhoon of December 1944 which damaged many ships in the force and sank three. ''Wedderburn'', however, suffered only minor damage and participated in the search for survivors of ''Hull'' (DD-350), ''Monaghan'' (DD-354), and ''Spence'' (DD-512) though she did not engage in any actual rescue operations. The damage caused by the typhoon necessitated a return to Ulithi for repairs. The destroyer and the other ships of TF 38 entered the lagoon on Christmas Eve and remained there six days, resuming operations on 30 December 1944. 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 Wedderburn (DD-684)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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