USS CONNER DD-582

A Tin Can Sailors Destroyer History

USS CONNER DD-582

The Tin Can Sailor, April 1984

Tin Can Sailors Salutes the
USS CONNER (DD-582) and Her Crew

July 19, 1940 was the day the bill was signed authorizing the building of CONNER. Her keel was laid April 16, 1942, launched Sept. 9, 1942 and commissioned June 8, 1943. The ship was sponsored by Miss Tamsin Lee Conner, who, incidentally, was only three years old at the time. Her first CO was Lt. Cdr. W. E. Kaitner.

CONNER was a Fletcher class DD built by the Boston Navy Yard at a cost of $6,256,000. She was named for Commodore David Conner who was born at Harrisburg, Pa. in 1792 and died at Philadelphia in March 1856.

At the ships commissioning dinner, chief steward J. T. Pickren served grilled T-bone steak as the main course. After shakedown and much training, the CONNER arrived at Pearl Harbor on 24 September 1943. She had her first taste of war by participating in the Wake Island attack. Next came the Gilberts where she assisted in shooting down one plane. She joined the famous Task Force 58 in January 1944. The ship was a part of the force that attacked Truk in mid February. On 30 March, CONNER shot down one Jap plane. In April she participated in strikes against Hollandia, Wakde and Sawar. Next came strikes against Guam, Rota, Haha and Chichi Jima. She was a rescue ship for downed pilots during the Battle of the Philippine Sea. September saw strikes against Palau and Mindanao.

Friday, October 13, 1944 was CONNER’s worst day of the war. During the day her group was attacked by 129 planes, at night a torpedo bomber made a run on the cruiser CANBERRA. In the cruiser’s desperate attempt to save herself, the CONNER was caught in the anti-aircraft barrage. The ship sustained minor structural damage on the port side, but in the performance of their duty 27 men were wounded. The next day four of the seriously wounded were transferred to the USS WASP for treatment.

CONNER next took part in the Battle of Surigao Strait from 24 to 26 October 1944. In December she covered the invasion of Mindoro and January found the CONNER at the landings at Lingayen Gulf and at Subic Bay at the end of the month. In February 1945, she headed for Puget Sound Navy Yard for overhaul, this after 16 months of continuous war duty. Lt. Cdr. Sissons relieved Cdr. Kaitner on 18 Feb. 1945. April found her at Pearl again followed by landings at Brunie Bluff and Victoria Town. CONNER was ordered to take the Jap hospital ship Tachibana Maru as prize in July.

The ship was found to be carrying firearms and ammunition in boxes marked with red crosses, also aboard were 1562 soldiers posing as patients. This was a blatant violation of international laws. CONNER escorted her prize into Morotai Harbor on 6 August 1945.

Lt. Robert Austin took command of the ship on 30 August after Capt. Sissons fell and was injured. Austin was XO. Lt. Cdr. A. Hooper took command on 17 September. CONNER remained in the China Theater until year’s end. She returned to San Francisco on January 20, 1946 and decommissioned at Long Beach July 5, 1946.

CONNER earned 12 Battle Stars for WW II service. The ship rested in reserve until October 1959 when she was transferred to the Greek Navy taking the name ASPIS.

USS CONNER DD-582 Ship History

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, June 2015

The second Conner (DD-582) was launched 18 July 1942 by Boston Navy Yard; sponsored by Miss T. L. Conner; and commissioned 8 June 1943, Lieutenant Commander W. E. Kaitner in command.

Conner arrived in Pearl Harbor from the east coast 19 September 1943, and joined the task force for the raid on Wake Island of 5 and 6 October. She put to sea again from Pearl Harbor 10 November for the invasion of the Gilberts, during which she screened carriers, and protected assault shipping as it unloaded. She bombarded Nauru Island on 8 December, and sailed to Efate, New Hebrides, from which she screened the air strikes on Kavieng, New Ireland, arriving at Funafuti 21 January 1944 to join the huge carrier TF 58.

Between 23 January and 26 February 1944, Conner operated in the Marshalls assaults. She screened carriers during air strikes on Kwajalein and Majuro and in the raids on Truk and the Marianas in February. Between 28 February and 20 March she guarded a convoy to Pearl Harbor, then rejoined the carriers for the raids on the Palaus, Yap, Ulithi, and Woleai from 30 March to 1 April. Returning to the Southwest Pacific, she joined in the shore bombardment of New Guinea as the Hollandia landings were prepared, and returned at the close of April to the carriers for the strikes on Truk, Satawan, and Ponape.

During the Marianas operation, Conner continued screening the carriers for the preliminary air strikes on Saipan, Tinian, and Guam, and the raids in the Bonins from 12 to 16 June 1944. As the massive air Battle of the Philippine Sea was fought on 19 and 20 June, she continued her screening, and at the close of the action acted as rescue ship for the carrier planes as they returned from their extreme range strikes on the retiring Japanese fleet. Her force then returned to strike from the air at Iwo Jima on 23 and 24 June and 3 and 4 July.

After repairs at Eniwetok, Conner put to sea with a carrier task group from 29 August to 28 September 1944, screening while her carriers launched strikes on the Palaus, Yap, Ulithi, Mindanao, and the Visayans, covering the landings on Morotai, and returning to the screen for air assaults on Luzon and the Visayans once again. On 2 October, she sailed from Manus to screen the carriers as they neutralized Japanese ‘bases on Okinawa, northern Luzon, and Formosa in the final preparations for the assault on Leyte. On 13 October, in a furious attack by Japanese aircraft, Canberra (CA-70) was torpedoed, and Conner protected the dam aged cruiser as she left the action area, splashing several enemy planes which tried to finish Canberra off. She rejoined the carriers for strikes on Luzon and Yap, and screened them in the Battle of Surigao Strait on 25 and 26 October as they launched strikes after Japanese ships fleeing from the epic Battle for Leyte Gulf.

Conner remained in the Philippines, patrolling the Camote Sea and Ormoc Bay against Japanese shipping and covering the landings at Mindoro until she put in to Manus for replenishment 23 December. She returned to patrol the entrance to Lingayen Gulf covering the invasion landings of 9 and 10 January 1945, and on 29 January, cleared for overhaul at Puget Sound Navy Yard.

Returning to San Pedro Bay, Leyte, 16 May 1945, Conner sailed 6 June to guard minesweepers and underwater demolition teams at work in Brunei Bay, Borneo, in preparation for invasion. Conner joined in bombarding Brunei, and provided pinpoint gunfire support on call from the invading Australian troops from 10 to 17 June. From 1 to 9 July, she gave the same service in the invasion of Balikpapan. Returning to the Philippines 17 July, she joined another destroyer for a patrol in the Netherlands East Indies. On 2 August they sighted a Japanese hospital ship Tachibana Maru, which they stopped for inspection. Discovering contraband and a large number of troops on board, they took the ship prize, and escorted her into Morotai 6 August.

A week later Conner sailed for Okinawa, and with the war at an end, arrived at Jinsen, Korea, 8 September 1945, Until 21 December, she served in the occupation of the Far East, cruising between Jinsen and Tsingtao and Shanghai. Returning to San Francisco 20 January 1946, she was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Long Beach 5 July 1946.

Conner received- 12 battle stars for World War II service.