World War II Database

Contributor: David Stubblebine

ww2dbaseThe United States Navy Mahan-class destroyer Shaw was laid down 1 Oct 1934 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard alongside sister-ship Cassin and both were launched 28 Oct 1935. Shaw was named for Commodore John Shaw, a Naval hero from the War of 1812 and was christened by his great-great-granddaughter, Dorothy Van Tuyl Lynch Tinker. Shaw was commissioned 18 Sep 1936 with Lt. Cmdr. Edward A. Mitchell in command. She made a shakedown cruise across the Atlantic and back before laying up at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for a year to correct some production deficiencies. Shaw transited to the Pacific at the end of 1938 where she promptly entered Mare Island Navy Yard for another overhaul lasting four-months.

ww2dbaseShaw spent the next year and a half taking part in several exercises on the west coast and in Hawaiian waters until 21 Nov 1941 when she was involved in a minor collision with fleet oiler USS Sabine off the coast of Hawaii. Shaw entered Pearl Harbor Navy Yard for repairs and was placed in the floating drydock YFD-2.

ww2dbaseShaw was still in the floating drydock on 7 Dec 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese aircraft. Shaw was hit with three bombs in her forward areas. After burning out of control for several minutes, Shaw's forward magazine exploded with tremendous fury at about 10:05 that morning. The fiery explosion was captured in one the attack's most iconic photographs. The blast completely disintegrated Shaw's bow section and caused the drydock to sink.

ww2dbaseAmidst all the damage at Pearl Harbor and the frenzy of post-attack salvage efforts, time was found to fit Shaw with a temporary bow and a temporary bridge. On 9 Feb 1942 was she able to sail for the west coast of the United States under her own power. Shaw emerged from Mare Island with a restored bow and, after a brief shakedown period near San Diego, arrived back at Pearl Harbor 31 Jul 1942. Two months of escort work between Hawaii and the west coast followed.

ww2dbaseOn 16 Oct 1942, Shaw sailed from Pearl Harbor as an escort for the carrier USS Enterprise bound for the South Pacific. Enterprise and her task group met with USS Hornet (Yorktown-class) and her task group and together they sailed to the Santa Cruz Islands north of the Solomon Islands to intercept Japanese shipping headed for Guadalcanal.

ww2dbaseOn 26 Oct 1942, Enterprise and Hornet aircraft engaged the ships of a Japanese task force while aircraft from the Japanese carriers Shokaku, Zuiho, and Junyo in the opposing task force engaged the American ships. Hornet was badly damaged and was scuttled the following day. During the action, a TBF-1 Avenger torpedo bomber from Enterprise made a water landing within the American formation. The airplane's torpedo dislodged upon impact with the water and began an erratic circular run. The destroyer USS Porter stopped to rescue the airplane's crew and was struck by the torpedo. Shaw was first ordered to assist Porter and then was ordered to remove Porter's crew and scuttle the damaged ship.

ww2dbaseShaw spent the next three months escorting ships around Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands and convoys to and from Efate in the New Hebrides. On 10 Jan 1943 while approaching the harbor at Nouméa, New Caledonia, Shaw ran up on the Sournois Reef and became hard aground. She could not be freed for five days. Sustaining damage to her hull, underwater sound gear, and propellers, Shaw received temporary repairs at Nouméa before returning to Pearl Harbor for extensive repairs that lasted seven months.

ww2dbaseBy late Oct 1943, Shaw was back in the South Pacific escorting reinforcement convoys for operations in New Guinea and the Bismarck Islands, duties she performed through late Dec 1943. On 26 Dec 1943, while supporting operations off New Georgia, Shaw was attacked by two Japanese Aichi D3A 'Val' dive bombers. Bracketed by near-miss bombs on both sides of the ship, shrapnel pierced the hull and left Shaw with over 110 holes in her plating. Thirty-six men were injured, 3 of whom would later die of their wounds. Temporary repairs were made at Milne Bay, New Guinea before Shaw departed for Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco, California.

ww2dbaseBack in action during Jun and Jul 1944, Shaw supported the invasions of Saipan and Guam in the Mariana Islands. After three months of patrol and escort duties, Shaw withdrew to Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands for two weeks of tender upkeep. Shaw then sailed in Oct 1944 with the Seventh Fleet to support MacArthur's landings in Leyte Gulf. More escort and patrol duties followed along the supply routes between New Guinea and the Philippines until Jan 1945 when Shaw sailed in direct support of the landing in Lingayen Gulf on Luzon in the Philippines. On 7 Jan 1945 while escorting the northbound Lingayen Gulf attack force off Manila, Shaw, and destroyers USS Charles Ausburne, Braine, and Russel detected 1,250-ton Japanese escort ship Hinoki at night. With deadly accurate radar-directed gunfire, Hinoki was quickly set afire from stem to stern. Without radar, Hinoki offered some return fire but it was random and ineffective. Hinoki sank with all hands and with no damage to the American ships.

ww2dbaseAfter the Luzon offensive, Shaw participated in the assault and occupation of the Philippine island of Palawan that lasted into Mar 1945.

ww2dbaseWhile operating around the Visayan Islands in the central Philippines on 2 Apr 1945, Shaw again struck a submerged rock formation that damaged her port propeller and required even more repairs. On 25 Apr 1945, Shaw left the Philippines on one propeller bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. After stopping briefly at Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor, Shaw arrived at Mare Island in San Francisco Bay on 19 May 1945. Repairs were completed by the end of Jul 1945 but tests revealed Shaw was unacceptably top-heavy and 30 tons needed to be removed from her main deck. Shaw returned to Mare Island where her Number 3 main gun was removed along with some other superstructure. Shaw departed Mare Island on 7 Aug 1945 bound for San Diego but returned to San Francisco five days later for more yard work. On 15 Aug 1945 when the United States accepted the Japanese surrender, Shaw was once more in the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard.

ww2dbaseReassigned to the Atlantic Fleet, Shaw sailed for the Panama Canal on 21 Aug 1945 and transited the canal on 1 Sep 1945. Shaw stopped briefly at Philadelphia before shifting to New York Navy Yard for deactivation overhaul. USS Shaw was decommissioned 2 Oct 1945 and sold for scrap in Jul 1946.

ww2dbaseUSS Shaw was literally blown to pieces in the opening shots of World War II but returned to survive the war and earned 11 battle stars in the interim.

Destroyer Shaw (DD-373) Interactive Map

Photographs

Shaw Operational Timeline