U.S.S. AMICK
AND
U.S.S. ATHERTON
LAUNCHING
MAY 28, 1943

U.S.S. Amick (DE-168)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Career

Laid down: 7 January 1943
Launched: 27 May 1943
Commissioned: 26 July 1943
Decommissioned: 16 May 1947
Struck: 15 June 1975
Fate: Transferred to Japan 14 June 1955

General characteristics

Class: Cannon class destroyer escort
Type: DET (diesel-electric tandem motor drive, long hull)
Displacement: 1,240 tons (std) 1,620 tons (full)
Dimensions: 306' (oa), 300' (wl) x 36' 10" x 11' 8" (max)
Range: 10,800 nm at 12 knots
Speed: 21 knots
Complement: 15 officers, 201 enlisted
Armament: 3 x 3''/50 Mk22 (1x3), 1 twin 40mm Mk1 AA, 8 x 20mm Mk 4 AA, 3 x 21'' Mk15 TT (3x1), 1 Hedgehog Projector Mk10 (144 rounds), 8 Mk6 depth charge projectors, 2 Mk9 depth charge tracks.
Propulsion: 4 GM Mod. 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6000 shp, 2 screws

U.S.S. Amick (DE-168) was a Cannon class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and then the Pacific Ocean and provided escort service against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. She was laid down on 30 November 1942 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newark, New Jersey; launched on 27 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Mary R. Amick, widow of Ens. Amick, who died at Guadalcanal and for whom the ship was named; and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 26 July 1943, Lt. Commander Francis C. B. McCune in command.

World War II North Atlantic Ocean operations
Amick left the east coast early in September for shakedown training out of Bermuda. During this cruise, the ship was also engaged in operations testing experimental defensive devices intended to protect American ships against acoustic torpedoes.

In early November, Amick became a member of Task Force 62 and began duty as an escort for transatlantic convoys. The ship also acted as flagship for Escort Division (CortDiv) 15. From November 1943 through May 1945, she completed nine round trip voyages across the Atlantic. These terminated in several different ports: Casablanca, Morocco; Gibraltar; Bizerte, Tunisia; Palermo, Sicily; and Oran, Algeria. Only one of her convoys was ever harassed by enemy forces. On 1 August 1944, German planes attacked the convoy while it was sailing in the Mediterranean off Cape Bengut, Algeria, but failed to damage any ship.

During her 18 months of wartime operations in the Atlantic, Amick entered either the New York Navy Yard or the Boston Navy Yard for short availabilities at the completion of each westward crossing. As a rule, she then proceeded to Casco Bay, Maine, or Montauk Point, New York, for training exercises before joining another convoy.

World War II Pacific Theatre operations
On 28 May 1945, Amick sailed from Boston, Massachusetts, with CortDiv 15, bound for the Pacific. They paused at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for one week of training and then proceeded to the Panama Canal Zone. The destroyer escorts transited the Panama Canal on 10 June and sailed on to San Diego, California. From that port, Amick and her sister ships headed for the Hawaiian Islands and moored at Pearl Harbor on the 29th. After a fortnight of exercises out of Pearl Harbor, CortDiv 15 got underway for Eniwetok. Amick sailed for the Mariana Islands and, at Saipan, reported to Task Unit (TU) 94.7.2 for duty. The destroyer escort completed one voyage to Okinawa and back before sailing for the Western Caroline Islands. On 15 August, while en route to Ulithi, she received word of Japan's capitulation.

End of War activity
Amick touched at Ulithi on the 16th; and, three days later, she reached Peleliu in the Palau Islands and joined Task Unit 94.6.1. On 23 August, several Navy and Marine Corps officials embarked in Amick for passage to the northern Palau Islands. There, they held a series of conferences with Japanese officers which culminated on 1 September in the unconditional surrender of all Japanese forces in the northern Palaus, which was received by the Americans in the wardroom on board Amick. On 3 November, Amick departed Peleliu, bound for the United States. She made brief stops at Saipan and Pearl Harbor before arriving back at San Diego, California, on 22 November.

Post War inactivation
The destroyer escort was reassigned to the Atlantic Fleet on 1 December and, shortly thereafter, got underway for the east coast. She reached Jacksonville, Florida, on 3 January 1946, and entered a shipyard there for repairs. After this work was completed, she was assigned to CortDiv 12 and berthed at Green Cove Springs, Florida, to undergo preservation work prior to deactivation. The warship remained semi-active at Green Cove Springs, serving as a receiving ship for sailors from other ships completing the inactivation process, until herself decommissioned on 16 May 1947. After eight years in reserve, Amick was loaned to Japan on 14 June 1955 under the terms of the Mutual Defense Assistance Program. She served in the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force as Asahi (DE-262) until returned to the Navy early in 1975. On 6 January 1975, she was reclassified a frigate and redesignated FF-168. Not long thereafter, she was determined to be unfit for further service, and her name was struck from the Navy list on 15 June 1975. She was sold to the Republic of the Philippines in September of 1976 and was renamed Datu Sikatuna. She was scrapped in 1989.

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U.S.S. Atherton (DE-169)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Career

Ordered: 1942
Laid down: 14 January 1943
Launched: 27 May 1943
Commissioned: 29 August 1943
Decommissioned: 10 December 1945
To JMSDF: 14 June 1955
Stricken: 15 June 1975
To Philippine Navy: 13 September 1976
Fate: As of 2008, currently serving in the Philippine Navy.

General characteristics

Displacement: 1240 tons
Length: 306 ft. (93.6 m)
Beam: 36 feet 8 inches
Draft: 8 feet 9 inches
Propulsion:
Speed: 21 knots
Range: 10,800 nmi at 12 knots
Complement: 186 officers and enlisted men
Armament: 3 - 3 in./50, 4 - 1.1 in. AA guns, 8 - 20 mm, 3 - 21 in. torpedo tubes, 8 x depth charge projectors, 1 x hedgehog projector, 2 x depth charge tracks.

U.S.S. Atherton (DE-169), a Cannon class destroyer escort, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lt. (jg) John McDougal Atherton, who died when the U.S.S. Meredith (DD-434) sank near Guadalcanal during World War II. U.S.S. Atherton (DE-169) was laid down on 14 January 1943 at Newark, New Jersey, by the Federal Drydock & Shipbuilding Co.; launched on 27 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Cornelia A. Atherton, the mother of Lt. (jg.) Atherton; completed at the Norfolk Navy Yard; and commissioned there on 29 August 1943, Lt. Comdr. Paul L. Mansell, Jr., USNR, in command.

U.S.S. Atherton began shakedown in September. During this time, conducted exercises in Chesapeake Bay and made two cruises to Bermuda. On 13 November, she got underway for Puerto Rico. Upon her arrival there, the destroyer escort assumed antisubmarine warfare (ASW) patrol duties in waters between St. Croix, Virgin Islands, and the Anegada Passage. On 24 November, she attacked a submarine contact, but observed no evidence of damage. The ship was relieved three days later and returned to Norfolk on 30 November. There, she began making daily cruises in Chesapeake Bay to train prospective crew members for destroyer escorts. Atherton left Norfolk on 11 December to escort a convoy bound for the Panama Canal but was back in Hampton Roads on 27 December.

From January 1944 to May 1945, Atherton operated under the control of Task Force 62 on escort duty for transatlantic convoys. She escorted convoys from Norfolk and New York City to various ports in the Mediterranean. These ports included Casablanca, Morocco; Bizerte, Tunisia; and Oran, Algeria. Atherton periodically reported to the Boston Navy Yard for overhaul. On 9 May 1945, while en route from New York to Boston, Atherton encountered a U-boat. After four depth charge attacks, pieces of broken wood, cork, mattresses, and an oil slick broke the surface. Atherton, in conjunction with Moberly (PF-63), was later credited with destroying the German submarine U-853.

On 28 May, Atherton sailed for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She arrived on 1 June and held a week of exercises with Escort Division 13 before sailing on 6 June for the Pacific. Proceeding via the Panama Canal and San Diego, Atherton arrived at Pearl Harbor on 29 June. There, the ship underwent a tender availability and carried out a series of exercises before getting underway on 15 July for the Marianas. She reached Saipan on 26 July and conducted antisubmarine patrols off Saipan. On 5 August, she got underway for Ulithi, where she operated on picket station until 18 August. Between 19 August and 16 September, Atherton made two round trip voyages escorting convoys to Okinawa. She was then assigned to rescue station duties out of Saipan which lasted through the end of the war.

On 1 November, Atherton headed back toward the United States. After stops at Pearl Harbor and San Diego, she transited the Panama Canal and arrived at Jacksonville, Florida, in December. On 10 December 1945, she was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Green Cove Springs, Florida. On 14 June 1955, Atherton was transferred to Japan; and, her name was struck from the Navy list. Atherton was awarded one battle star for her World War II service.

Fate
U.S.S. Atherton and U.S.S. Amick were transferred to Japan in 1955 and commissioned in the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force as Hatsuhi (DE-263) and Asahi (DE-262) respectively. Retired in 1975 and reverted to U.S. Navy. Transferred to Philippines in 1978. Commissioned in PN service 1980 after refit in South Korea as BRP Rajah Humabon (PF-11).