The History of Destroyers Built in Orange, Texas During W. W. II Page: 51
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April 4 by the near miss of a bomb which exploded 50 yards off of her port beam. There were no
casualties. OffHagushi Beach on May 12 she fired sixteen rounds at an enemy plane which burst into
flames and crashed. On May 28 the SPROSTON and WADSWORTH downed two planes within
an hour. With supporting fire from the BRADFORD she splashed another on the 29' and on June
6 she rescued a pilot from the escort carrier GILBERT ISLAND, whose plane had been shot down.
On June 28 while steaming independently towards the United States for overhaul she was
signaled by ANTARES (AKS-3) that she was under submarine attack and required assistance.
Arriving in the vicinity the SPROSTON made sonar contact with the submarine at 500 yards a
periscope was observed passing starboard to port. The destroyer made an unsuccessful attempt to
ram the submarine, which was then identified as a fleet type. The SPROSTON dropped a full pattern
of depth charges and a large oil slick was later observed. After all of her depth charges were
expended a lookout spotted a torpedo wake approaching the SPROSTON which turned hard left and
the torpedo passed along her port side. A periscope was then sighted off the port quarter belonging
to a midget submarine, the main battery commenced firing and salvo found its mark causing a large
secondary explosion which sank the submarine.
The SPROSTON arrived at San Francisco on July 14, 1945, where she underwent overhaul
and prepared for inactivation. She was placed out on commission on January 18, 1946.
After the communist forces invaded Korea, the SPROSTON was recommissioned as DDE
577 on September 15, 1950. In early 1951 she departed to Eniwetok to participate in the atomic
bomb test. When this was over in July she sailed to her new home port, Pearl Harbor, and began a
normal routine of Pacific Fleet destroyers.
On June 15 the SPROSTON was assigned to Task Force 77 operating off the east coast of
Korea in the Hungnam-Simpo area. During the next six months she participated in the Taiwan Patrol
when not assigned to the Task Force. On December 5, 1952, she began regular operating schedule
as a member of the Pearl Harbor Group and for the next decade she made nine cruses to the Far East
for operations with the 7' Fleet.
On January 16, 1966, she arrived at "Dixie Station" off the coast of South Vietnam and was
assigned rescue and anti submarine duties. On the 18' she was directed to proceed to Phuoc Hui Bay
to provide naval guns for fire support. During the night the ships shelled Viet Cong base camps and
assembly areas. On January 19 she rejoined the Carrier Task Group, which moved to Yankee Station
in the Gulf of Tonkin. During February she performed trawler surveillance and blocking.
In March she arrived off the coast of the II Corps area and fired 40 support missions for the
First Calvary Division and South Vietnamese Marines. The most eventful came on March 9, when
during a three hour battle her guns helped repulse a battalion-strength Viet Cong attack against the
Republic of Vietnam Marines near Tam Quan. During 1967 she operated missions in the Vietnam
area and performed trawler surveillance duty at "Yankee Stations". Several times she encountered
Russian ships which entered the area. On August 4, she departed for Sydney, Australia where she51
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Orange County Historical Society (Tex.). The History of Destroyers Built in Orange, Texas During W. W. II, book, October 2002; Orange, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth312850/m1/56/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Orange County Historical Society.