USS CLARK DD-361

USS CLARK DD-361 Ship History

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, March 2016

Clark (DD-361) was launched 15 October 1935 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, Mass.; sponsored by Mrs. S. Robinson; and commissioned 20 May 1936, Commander H. Thebaud in command.

Clark’s prewar service included operations on the Atlantic coast, in the Caribbean, and from Pearl Harbor, her home port from 1 April 1940. From 3 March to 10 April 1941, she joined in a cruise to Samoa, Australia, and Fiji. At the outbreak of the war, she lay in overhaul at San Diego. Clark departed the west coast 27 December, escorted two convoys to Pearl Harbor, then took up antisubmarine patrol off Pago Pago, Samoa, and in February and March 1942 joined a carrier task force for air raids on New Guinea.

From April through May 1942, Clark escorted four convoys on their passage between Pearl Harbor and San Francisco, continuing to Midway on the last. She returned to San Diego and Balboa, where she joined the escort of a convoy bound for Wellington, New Zealand. Between 12 August and 8 September, she sailed out of Noumea, New Caledonia, screening oilers fueling carrier task forces, then returned to Auckland for a month of duty escorting convoys from New Zealand to South Pacific island bases. After a final month of local escort and patrol duty at Noumea, Clark sailed 11 December 1942 to report at Balboa as flagship for Commander, Southeast Pacific Force.

Until 10 August 1944, Clark patrolled out of various South American ports, sailing then for an east coast overhaul. Between 4 September 1944 and 11 April 1945, she guarded the passage of six transatlantic convoys to ports in the United Kingdom and France. On 15 June 1945, she arrived at Philadelphia, where she was decommissioned 23 October 1945 and scrapped 29 March 1946.

Clark received two battle stars for World War II service.

A Tin Can Sailors Destroyer History

USS CLARK DD-361

The Tin Can Sailor, October 1996

The second flotilla leader to be built at Bethlehem’s Quincy, Massachusetts, yard was laid down on January 2, 1934 and launched on October 15, 1935. Her commissioning followed in May of 1936.

USS CLARK was named after Charles E. Clark, who gained national fame as captain of the battleship OREGON (BB-3) during the Spanish-American War. Steaming in the Pacific at the outbreak of the war, USS OREGON raced around Cape Horn in time to engage the Spanish fleet around Cuba. Captain Clark broke records during the cruise and helped to convince America of the need for a Panama Canal.

After participating in operations off the Atlantic coast and in Caribbean waters, the newly completed USS CLARK transferred to the Pacific fleet, like many of her sisters. DD-361 lay in the San Diego yard, being overhauled when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The big, new leader would be assigned one of the most difficult jobs in the Pacific.

For the next year, USS CLARK would defend the fleet’s logistical support facilities. From Pago Pago to San Francisco, from San Diego to Wellington, wherever important convoys ventured into hostile waters, DD-361 led the way. Sailing out of Noumea, USS CLARK helped to protect fleet oilers charged with resupplying the nation’s fast carrier task forces. By December 1942, DD-361 had earned the role for which she had been designed. USS CLARK became flagship for the Commander, Southeast Pacific Force.

The Southeast Pacific Force was assigned to protect the western coast of South America, along with the approaches to the Panama Canal. USS CLARK’s methodical dedication to duty once again defended the vital choke points of American Pacific commerce. Records do not show a single ship lost to Japanese submarines in DD-361’s patrol area while the flotilla leader was on watch.

After an overhaul in Charleston, USS CLARK was assigned to protect north Atlantic convoys in the final months of the Allied drive to Berlin. New generations of U-boats now stalked the American merchants, so DD-361’s services were particularly valued. Six convoys were escorted across the North Atlantic battle zone by the big destroyer.

By the time USS CLARK returned to American waters in June 1945, the war was winding down. In the summer of 1945, the tin can operated out of Philadelphia, where she was decommissioned on October 23, 1945. DD-361 was scrapped in March of 1946.