- USS Hissem (DE-400)
USS "Hissem" (DE-400/DER-400) was an
Edsall class destroyer escort of theUnited States Navy . She was named forJoseph Hissem ."Hissem" was constructed in 1943 as DE-400. In 1955, the vessel was equipped with modern radars, and the designation was changed to DER-400. The special purpose of DER (Destroyer Escort Radar picket) ships was the detection of aircraft. Their chief role was to extend the DEW line out into the N. Atlantic and the N. Pacific oceans.
"Hissem" was launched by
Brown Shipbuilding ,Houston, Texas , 26 December 1943; sponsored by Miss Elizabeth D. Hissem, sister of Ensign Hissem; and commissioned 13 January 1944, Lieutenant Commander W. W. Low in command.Following a shakedown cruise to
Bermuda , "Hissem" steamed viaCharleston, South Carolina to New York, where she arrived 20 March 1944. Her first combat duty was as an escort ship with convoy UGS-37, carrying vitally needed troops and supplies to the Mediterranean. The convoy departedNorfolk, Virginia 23 March and entered theMediterranean Sea without attack. Then nearAlgiers the night of 11-12 April theLuftwaffe attacked. About 35 bombers and torpedo planes struck in a coordinated attack, and were repulsed by accurate gunnery and evasive chemical smoke. "Hissem's" gun crews splashed one torpedo plane and damaged another, as the escorts prevented damage to the huge convoy of transports. The only ship struck was escort ship USS|Holder|DE-401, torpedoed but able to make port.Subsequently, "Hissem" performed regular escort duty across the Atlantic interspersed with anti-submarine and anti-aircraft training on the East Coast of the United States. The ship transported over 500 paratroopers in March 1945, taking them on board in the
Azores , transferring them to SS "Althone Castle", and escorting the ship through submarine waters to Liverpool. Braving both the Germans and the heavy weather of the North Atlantic. "Hissem" made a total of seven convoy voyages from June 1944 until she returned to New York 28 May 1945.With the war in
Europe over, the destroyer escort prepared to join thePacific Fleet in dealing the death blows to theJapanese Empire . She sailed 20 June from New York and after operations in theCaribbean arrivedPearl Harbor 26 July 1945. "Hissem" remained at Hawaii until after the surrender of Japan, and steamed 30 August forEniwetok andUlithi . The ship then continued to Japan, arrivingTokyo 7 October 1945 to assist occupation operations. Sailing toGuam 29 October, the ship transported occupation troops to nearby islands, acted as air-sea rescue ship, and steamed as a weather ship through the western Pacific."Hissem" sailed for the United States 9 January 1946. Arriving San Pedro 25 January, she got underway 2 days later for the
Panama Canal andPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania , where she arrived 11 February. After repairs the ship steamed toGreen Cove Springs, Florida , 23 March and decommissioned 15 June 1946."Hissem" was brought out of reserve in 1955 and converted for use as a radar picket ship at
Boston Navy Yard . Equipped with the latest electronic detection devices, she recommissioned at Boston 31 August 1956. After shakedown the ship joined the Atlantic Barrier, cruising as a sea extension of the DEW line to strengthen the northern defenses ofCanada and the United States. In the years that followed, first out of Boston and later Newport, "Hissem" alternated 1 month of lonely picket duty with a month of in-port or training time, often experiencing the characteristic heavy weather of the North Atlantic. In 1959 and 1962 she made visits to Northern European and Mediterranean ports."Hissem" saw varied duty in 1963. After two tours of picket duty she acted as command ship during the search for lost submarine USS|Thresher|SSN-593 16-21 April. A month as school ship for sonar training at
Key West, Florida was followed by two more days of duty on "Thresher" search operations 27-28 June. Taking up new duties, "Hissem" sailed 12 August for New Zealand and Operation Deepfreeze, the Navy's continuing effort at exploration and scientific work inAntarctica . The radar picket ship operated between the continent and New Zealand as a navigational beacon and rescue ship for flights to and from the Navy's air facility at McMurdo Sound."Hissem" remained a member of Operation "Deep Freeze" from 19 September to 28 February 1964. She then returned to the Atlantic Fleet by way of the Mediterranean, arriving 15 May. Early in 1965 "Hissem" was transferred to the Pacific Fleet. After a 5-month training period at Pearl Harbor, she sailed for
Vietnam 2 September. From January 1966 to March "Hissem" was a member of TF-115 operating in theTonkin Gulf to prevent the infiltration of supplies to theViet Cong . On 8 March "Hissem" sailed for Pearl Harbor, where she underwent repairs and training. Once again ordered to Vietnam, "Hissem" left Hawaii 2 September and arrived Subic Bay 23 September. She resumed her previous duties and operated off Southeast Asia into 1967."Hissem" was decommissioned on
15 May 1970 and struck from theNaval Vessel Register on1 June 1975 . She was sunk as a target offCalifornia on24 February 1982 ."Hissem" received one battle star for
World War II service.External links
* [http://www.usshissem.org/ USS "Hissem"]
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