Newman K. Perry DD- 883

Newman K. Perry
(DD-883: dp. 2,425; 1. 390' 6"; b. 40' 10", dr. 18' 6"; s. 35 k.; cpl. 345, a. 6 5", 12 40mm., 10 21" tt., 6 dcp., 1 dep (hh.), 2 dct.; cl. Gearing)

Newman K. Perry (DD-883) was laid down by the Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Texas, 10 October 1944; launched 17 March 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Laura P. Gunter, sister of Ens. N. K. Perry; and commissioned 26 July 1945, Comdr. Norman E. Smith in command

Following shakedown, Newman K. Perry served briefly with the Atlantic Fleet. On 7 November 1945, she got underway for Pearl Harbor, whence she sailed to Japan for three month's occupation duty. She returned to Pearl Harbor 28 March 1946 and was assigned to Joint Task Force 1 for operation "Crossroads", the 1946 atomic bomb test series at Bikini. Sailing for the Marshalls 27 May, she witnessed tests "Able" and "Baker" and, in August, steamed for the United States.

On 18 August she arrived at San Diego whence she operated until 25 August 1947. Then with DesDiv 132, she headed west, arriving at Yokosuka i3 September. Three days later she sailed to Tsingtao to commenee a series of patrol, escort, search and rescue, ASW, and hydrographie survey missions and exercises along the China coast and off Taiwan and Okinawa. Relieved 5 May 1948, she returned to San Diego, trained naval reservists through the summer and in October entered the Mare Island shipyard for overhaul.

The destroyer departod San Francisco 15 January 1949 and until April conducted exercises off the west coast. On 4 April, she departed San Diego with DesDiv 182 for Newport her new homeport, arriving 21 April.

After her return to Destroyer Forces, Atlantic Fleet, she rotated tours with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean and midshipmen and reservist training cruises, and fleet, squadron and type training exercises with the 2nd Fleet. Redesignated a radar picket destroyer in 1950, she conducted her scheduled operations as DDR 883 until 1964 when she resumed the designation DD-883. A change in operations in 1959 took her to Charleston, S. C., which served as her homeport for several years before she resumed operations out of Newport.

A second change in operations took her to the Western Pacifie for her overseas deployment in 1966. Departing Newport with DesDiv 201, 4 October, she transited the Panama Canal, stopped in Hawaii, Japan, Okinawa and the Philippines, and

arrived on station in the Mekong Delta of South Viet Nam 23 November. Assigned to fire support duties, she shelled enemy coastal storage areas until the 28th. She then shifted to Phu Quoe island, off the Cambodian-South Viet Namese border to support Viet Namese and Special Forces units for five days returning to the Delta area in December. Other assignments on that tour with the 7th Fleet took her along the coast to the DMZ and then to the Gulf of Tonkin for planeguard and search and rescue missions. On 8 March 1967, she departed the combat zone for Hong Kong before returning to Subic Bay for the last time. On the 27th she departed the Philippines for the Mediterranean and Newport, arriving 8 May.

After overhaul at Boston Newman K. Perry began 1968 with Caribbean exercises and on 4 April departed Newport for the Mediterranean to resume her annual deployments with the 6th Fleet. She has maintained that schedule into 1970.