View source for USS Stafford

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Stafford (DE 411).jpg
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1946}}
|Ship name=''Stafford''
|Ship namesake=Richard Y. Stafford
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Brown Shipbuilding]], [[Houston]], Texas
|Ship laid down=29 November 1943
|Ship launched=11 January 1944
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=19 April 1944
|Ship decommissioned=16 May 1946
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=15 March 1972
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrapping, 13 June 1973
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship class={{sclass|John C. Butler|destroyer escort}}
|Ship displacement={{cvt|1350|LT|0|lk=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|306|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|36|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|9|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, {{convert|12000|shp|abbr=on}}; 2 propellers
|Ship speed={{convert|24|kn|km/h}}
|Ship range={{convert|6000|nmi|km}} at {{convert|12|kn|km/h}}
|Ship complement=14 officers, 201 enlisted
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament= {{John C. Butler class destroyer escort armament}} 
|Ship notes=
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'''USS ''Stafford'' (DE-411)''' was a {{sclass|John C. Butler|destroyer escort}} in the [[United States Navy]]. She was named after Richard Y. Stafford (1916–1942), a [[United States Marine Corps]] [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]] who died during the [[Battle of Guadalcanal]].

''Stafford''{{'}}s [[keel]] was laid down on 29 November 1943 at [[Houston]], [[Texas]], by [[Brown Shipbuilding]]. The ship was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 11 January 1944, sponsored by Miss Flora Stafford; and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 19 April 1944.

==History==
Upon completion of fitting out in the [[Galveston]]-Houston area, ''Stafford'' sailed in company with {{USS|La Prade|DE-409|2}} on 7 May for [[Bermuda]] for [[shakedown cruise|shakedown]] training. Her shakedown cruise was interrupted from 17 to 19 May, when she rendezvoused with [[convoy]] GUS-38 and escorted {{USS|Merrimack|AO-37|2}} into Bermuda. She completed training and post-shakedown availability early in June and, on 9 June, joined {{Ship|Italian submarine|Vortice}} off Bermuda to escort that Italian submarine north. Three days later, at the entrance to [[Casco Bay, Maine]], {{USS|YMS-169}} relieved ''Stafford'' of her charge, and the destroyer escort stood into [[Boston Harbor]] and moored at [[Charlestown, Massachusetts]]. She underwent post-shakedown overhaul at the [[Boston Navy Yard]] from 13 to 22 June. The next day, she headed south and moored at [[Norfolk, Virginia]], two days later.

On the afternoon of 27 June, Stafford joined ''La Prade'' and {{USS|Wasatch|AGC-9|2}} off the [[Virginia Capes]] to form Task Unit (TU) 29.6.6 which shaped a course for the [[Panama Canal]]. The three ships transited the canal on 3 July, and ''Stafford'' moored at [[Balboa, Panama|Balboa]]. The following day, [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]] 1944, she reported to the [[U.S. Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]] for duty and sailed for [[San Diego]]. Following repairs at the Destroyer Repair Base there, she got underway with ''La Prade'' for [[Hawaii]] and reached [[Pearl Harbor]] on 25 July. For almost a month, she engaged in [[anti-submarine warfare]] (ASW) training in the [[Hawaiian Islands]].

On 18 August, ''Stafford'' and {{USS|Fieberling|DE-640|2}} steamed out of Pearl Harbor escorting TU 16.8.1 to the [[Marshall Islands]]. The ships arrived at [[Kwajalein]] on 25 August, and ''Stafford'' escorted {{SS|Coast Skipper}} to [[Majuro]] the following day. On 29 August, she joined {{USS|Dionne|DE-261|2}} in the screen of {{USS|Thetis Bay|CVE-90|2}}. The three warships made Pearl Harbor on 3 September, and the destroyer escort operated out of that base for just under two months. During that time, she joined in several anti-submarine warfare exercises. On 31 October, she departed Pearl Harbor with Task Group (TG) 12.3 to find and destroy an enemy [[submarine]] known to be prowling the sea lanes between Hawaii and the West Coast. Over the following two weeks, the task group made several contacts, attacked them with [[depth charge]]s, but failed to locate and sink the elusive enemy. On 14 November, the task group received word that another unit had sunk its quarry; and it was ordered back to Pearl, where it arrived on 19 November.

Five days later, ''Stafford'' departed Pearl as an element of TG 12.4, bound for the central and western Pacific. The task group reached [[Eniwetok]] on 2 December, reported for duty to the Commander, [[United States Third Fleet|Third Fleet]], and was redesignated TG 30.6. The next day, the ships continued west, stopping over at [[Ulithi]] on the night of 7 and 8 December and at [[Saipan]] on 10 and 11 December. By 17 December, she reached [[Kossol Passage]] in the [[Palau]]s. The task group made an anti-submarine sweep {{convert|60|mi|km}} in radius around [[Peleliu]] before heading for Ulithi, where it arrived on 22 December. On 28 December, the group, redesignated TU 77.4.13, exited the [[lagoon]] and returned to the Palaus the following day.

On [[New Year's Day]] 1945, ''Stafford'' sailed with the task unit from [[Kossol Roads]] screening units of [[Task Force 77 (U.S. Navy)|Task Force 77]] steaming toward [[Luzon]]. From [[Leyte (island)|Leyte]], the task force sailed south through the [[Surigao Strait]], then west along the northern coast of [[Mindanao]], before turning north to skirt the coasts of [[Negros Island|Negros]], [[Panay]], [[Mindoro]], and Luzon. Although air alerts were called from the second day out and {{HMAS|Australia|D84|6}} reported an unidentified plane's splashing close aboard, the [[kamikaze]]s did not succeed in crashing a ship until late on 4 January, when one hit {{USS|Ommaney Bay|CVE-79|2}}. The [[escort aircraft carrier]] had to be finished off by American [[torpedo]]es. By 5 January, the Japanese had determined that TF 77 was headed for [[Lingayen Gulf|Lingayen]]; and they intensified their air attacks accordingly. Late that afternoon, the task force, located just northwest of [[Manila Bay]], came under moderately heavy kamikaze attacks.

At 1747, eight Japanese planes, probably [[Mitsubishi Zero|Zeros]], came in low and out of the sun. ''Stafford'', {{USS|Goss|DE-444|2}}, and {{USS|Ulvert M. Moore|DE-442|2}} were screening {{USS|Tulagi|CVE-72|2}}. The three escorts quickly brought their [[anti-aircraft]] batteries to bear and opened fire at targets approximately {{convert|8000|yd}} away. At about the same point, four of the enemies peeled off to the right. The remaining four bore down on the carrier and her three protectors. Each of the escorts splashed a plane, but the fourth kamikaze crashed into ''Stafford''{{'}}s starboard side, amidships, just abaft the stack. The stricken destroyer escort lost way rapidly, and she began taking on water. All crew members, save a nucleus crew, were transferred to ''Ulvert M. Moore''; and all topside depth charges, K guns, and loading machines were jettisoned to improve her stability. ''Stafford'' remained in the vicinity of Lingayen until 11 January, when, after receiving the rest of her crew, save casualties, she departed with a slow convoy for Leyte.

She arrived at [[San Pedro Bay (Philippines)|San Pedro Bay]], Leyte, on 16 January, went into [[drydock]] for hull repairs on 19 January, and departed on 27 January with a convoy bound for [[Jayapura|Hollandia]]. ''Stafford'' and the tug {{USS|Apache|ATF-167|2}} were detached from the convoy on 30 January, and the two ships put into [[Seeadler Harbor]], [[Manus Island|Manus]], five days later. After five days of additional repairs, she headed northeast for the United States. The destroyer escort stopped at Majuro from 13 to 15 February and at Pearl Harbor from 21 to 25 February on her way to the [[Mare Island Navy Yard]]. She underwent two months of repairs, from 4 March to 6 May, before rendezvousing with {{SS|Philippa}} off the entrance to [[San Francisco Bay]] to head west once again. She arrived in Pearl Harbor on 14 May and spent the next 10 days in the local operating area. On 24 May, she joined TU 16.8.12 and escorted that formation to the Marshalls. She reached Eniwetok on 1 June and sailed with TU 96.6.9 the following day. The task unit made Ulithi Atoll on 6 June. A week later, she shaped course for [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]].

''Stafford'' arrived off the [[Hagushi]] beaches on 17 June and moved into the anchorage at [[Kerama Retto]] the next day. Her arrival at Okinawa came very near the end of the struggle for that island. On 19 June, organized resistance on the island ceased, and operations were confined to mopping up the remnants of the Japanese defense force. With their loss of Okinawa, the Japanese concentrated upon readying planes and pilots for the expected invasion of the home islands. Consequently, ''Stafford'' suffered no kamikaze attacks during her tour of duty in the [[Ryukyu]]s. She served on antisubmarine screen station, and her only scrape with the enemy occurred on 27 July when she evaded an airdropped torpedo.

Two months after her arrival in the Ryukyus, the fighting ended. ''Stafford'' continued anti-submarine patrols until 14 September, then rendezvoused with {{USS|LST-792||2}} and escorted the tank landing ship to Japan. They reached [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]] on 15 September. She embarked ex-[[POW]]s and departed on 18 September. The destroyer escort made [[Machinato Anchorage]] at Okinawa on 20 September and discharged her passengers the following day. She then moved to [[Buckner Bay]] and remained in that area until 11 October, when she headed back toward Japan. She operated in Japanese waters, visiting Nagasaki, [[Sasebo, Nagasaki|Sasebo]], [[Wakayama, Wakayama|Wakayama]], and [[United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka|Yokosuka]] until November.

''Stafford'' got underway from Yokosuka on 4 November, stopped in Pearl Harbor on the night of 13 and 14 November, and then continued on to San Francisco. On 22 November, she joined {{USS|Corregidor|CVE-58|2}} at [[Alameda, California]], and operated with the escort carrier as plane guard until 9 December. On 12 December, she reported to the Commander, [[19th Fleet]], at [[San Pedro Bay (California)|San Pedro Bay]], for duty pending inactivation. ''Stafford'' began inactivation overhaul at [[Standard Shipbuilding Corporation]], [[San Pedro, Los Angeles]], on 3 January 1946.

==Fate==
In January 1947, she was decommissioned and joined the [[Pacific Reserve Fleet]], berthed at San Diego. ''Stafford'' was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register|Navy List]] on 15 March 1972; and, on 13 June 1973, her hulk was sold to [[National Metal and Steel Corporation]], [[Terminal Island]], [[Los Angeles]], California, for scrapping.

==Honors==
''Stafford'' earned two battle stars during World War II.

== References ==
*{{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/stafford.html}}

==External links==
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/411.htm NavSource.org – DE-411]

{{John C. Butler class destroyer escort}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stafford}}
[[Category:John C. Butler-class destroyer escorts]]
[[Category:Ships built in Houston]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States]]