- USS La Vallette (DD-448)
USS "La Vallette" (DD-448) was a
World War II -era "Fletcher"-classdestroyer in the service of theUnited States Navy . She was the second Navy ship named afterRear Admiral Elie A. F. La Vallette ."La Vallette" was laid down
27 November 1941 byFederal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company ,Kearny, New Jersey ; launched21 June 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. Lucy La Vallette Littel, great-granddaughter of Rear Admiral LaVallette; and commissioned12 August 1942 ,Lieutenant Commander H. H. Henderson in command.History
After training and escort duty in the
Caribbean andAtlantic , "La Vallette" departedNew York 16 December 1942 for thePanama Canal andPacific duty. First contact with the enemy came29 January 1943 as she screened Task Force 18 (TF18) offGuadalcanal , when "La Vallette"’s guns splashed three of a wave of attacking planes.Attacked again
30 January while guarding "Chicago" (CA-29), she shot down sixJapan eseMitsubishi G4M “Bettys”, but was struck by a torpedo. With 22 dead, she was towed to drydock atEspiritu Santo for temporary repairs, then sailed toMare Island Navy Yard , arriving1 April .Completely repaired, "La Vallette" left
6 August forPearl Harbor , where she joined a carrier force for a strike onMarcus Island 31 August before returning to patrol duty in theSolomon Islands . On the nights of 1 and2 October , she contacted Japanese troop barges offKolombangara , of which she sank four and damaged two. "La Vallette" carried out escort and screening assignments during the Gilbert landings, and in strikes againstKwajalein andWotje , during which she splashed another enemy aircraft. Brief repairs at San Francisco followed, after which she returned to the South Pacific.On
1 February 1944 she fired in the preinvasion bombardment of Roi, part of the Kwajalein complex; in April she hitAitape , and on2 July supported the landings onNoemfoor , offNew Guinea . Constant patrol and escort operations were conducted between these invasions.Assigned to escort convoys during the first assaults on the
Philippines , "La Vallette" had already leftLeyte Gulf with a convoy bound to reload atHollandia before the vast and decisiveBattle of Leyte Gulf erupted; but she returned to the Philippines by5 December , when she splashed akamikaze inSurigao Strait . She covered five more landings. in the Philippines during December and January1945 , then joined the screen for minesweepers clearingManila Bay . On14 February inMariveles Harbor , "La Vallette" was extensively damaged by a mine. With six dead and 23 wounded, she was towed to drydock at Subic Bay, then sailed forHunters Point Navy Yard where she was completely repaired. On7 August she sailed forSan Diego, California , where she decommissioned16 April 1946 , and entered the Reserve Fleet, where she remained at least into 1969. In 1974 she was sold toPeru for parts.Honors
"La Vallette" received 10
battle star s forWorld War II service.References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l1/la_vallette-ii.htm
External links
* [http://www.destroyerhistory.org/fletcherclass/usslavallette/index.html USS "La Vallette" website] at [http://www.destroyerhistory.org/index.html Destroyer History Foundation]
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