USS Cooner

History
United States
Name	USS Cooner
Namesake	Bunyan Randolph Cooner
Builder	Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Newark, New Jersey
Laid down	22 February 1943
Launched	23 July 1943
Commissioned	21 August 1943
Decommissioned	25 June 1946
Stricken	1 July 1972
Fate	Sold for scrap, 1 November 1973
General characteristics
Class and type	Cannon-class destroyer escort
Displacement	1,240 long tons (1,260 t) standard; 1,620 long tons (1,646 t) full;
Length	306 ft (93 m) o/a; 300 ft (91 m) w/l;
Beam	36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)
Draft	11 ft 8 in (3.56 m)
Propulsion	4 × GM Mod. 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6,000 shp (4,474 kW), 2 screws
Speed	21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range	10,800 nmi (20,000 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	15 officers and 201 enlisted
Armament	3 × single Mk.22 3"/50 caliber guns; 1 × twin 40 mm Mk.1 AA gun; 8 × 20 mm Mk.4 AA guns; 3 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 1 × Hedgehog Mk.10 anti-submarine mortar (144 rounds); 8 × Mk.6 depth charge projectors; 2 × Mk.9 depth charge tracks;

USS Cooner (DE-172) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946. She was sold for scrap in 1973.

Namesake

Bunyan Randolph Cooner was born on 27 February 1914 at Columbia, South Carolina. He enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve on 12 June 1939. After flight training, he was commissioned Ensign on 3 September 1941 and served with Bombing Squadron 3 (VB-3) on the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga. He won the Navy Cross for service in the Battle of Midway, participating in vigorous and repeated attacks against Imperial Japanese Navy warships. He was killed in a plane crash during flight operations out of Pearl Harbor on 16 June 1942.

History

Cooner was launched 23 July 1943 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Kearny, New Jersey; sponsored by Mrs. I. Cooner; and commissioned 21 August 1943.

World War II North Atlantic operations

Between 1 November 1943 and 9 May 1945, Cooner made nine voyages escorting convoys between New York and North African ports.

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

With the winning of victory of Europe, the veteran of the Atlantic Ocean was ordered to the Pacific Ocean, and on 28 June 1945 arrived at Pearl Harbor. She sailed on to Ulithi, where between 8 and 20 August she had patrol and radar picket duty. After escorting a transport to Guam and putting into Okinawa, she returned to Ulithi to load troops, whom she carried to Guam for further transportation to the United States. She herself sailed to Saipan, where from 23 September to 1 November, she stood ready to perform air-sea rescues during the heavy traffic carrying men home from the western Pacific. Homeward bound, she called at Pearl Harbor and San Diego, California, en route to Charleston, South Carolina, where she arrived 4 December.

Post-War decommissioning

There she was decommissioned and placed in reserve 25 June 1946. She was struck on 1 July 1972 and sold on 1 November 1973 and scrapped.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

Photo gallery of USS Cooner at NavSource Naval History