USS Johnston (DD-557)

On 13 January 1944 Johnston set sail for Hawaii with a US Navy squadron led by Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf and arrived 21 January. From there, Johnston sailed to join the ongoing campaign against the Japanese Empire in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands.[2] She arrived by 29 January and was assigned to Fire Support Group 53.5 under Oldendorf.[5] On 30 January, she screened for the cruisers Santa Fe, Biloxi, Indianapolis, and the battleship Maryland as they provided naval gunfire support for American forces in the Wotje Atoll. Johnston sailed for the Kwajalein Atoll,[2] where from 31 January to 3 February she provided gunfire support for American forces attacking Roi-Namur Island.[2][6]

Johnston was reassigned on 5 February 1944 to escort transport ships to the Ellice Islands with destroyers Haraden and Stansbury, and the destroyer-minesweeper Long. The convoy set sail on 6 February but en route Johnston was ordered to return to the Marshalls for resupply. She arrived on 8 February, refueled, and then set sail for Kwajalein on 10 February. Her arrival was delayed until the next day after jellyfish clogged and overheated her condensers.[2]

Almost as soon Johnston arrived, she was tasked with investigating a sighting of a Japanese submarine. No such vessel was detected.[2] Early on 12 February, Japanese bombers attacked Roi-Namur, inflicting heavy casualties to the occupying Americans.[7] In response to their detection on radar, Johnston and the other present American ships laid smoke to obscure their positions. They were not attacked. Over the next three days, Johnston resupplied, took on supplies from New Mexico, 5 in shells from Ringgold, and fuel oil from Suamico.[2] Johnston was then attached to Operation Catchpole, the American attack on Enewetak Atoll.[8][9] From 16 February to 18 February,[2] Johnston screened for Pennsylvania, Colorado, Tennessee, Indianapolis, Portland, and Louisville as they bombarded Engebi Island.[2][9] Then, from 20 February to 25 February, Johnston provided gunfire support for American troops herself and patrolled for submarines.[2]

On 25 February 1944, Johnston was relieved of patrol duty and was assigned to screen the escort carrier Manila Bay with Hoel. The trio was ordered back to the Marshall Islands on 28 February and arrived on 1 March. Johnston resupplied over the next five days. On 7 March the flotilla, joined by Natoma Bay, sailed for Espiritu Santo and arrived on 13 March. Johnston docked in the auxiliary floating drydock Waterford for minor repairs from 18 to 19 March, then set out for the Solomon Islands on 20 March. She arrived at Purvis Bay, near Guadalcanal, the following day and was subsequently assigned to patrol duties around New Ireland. On 27–28 March, Johnston and Franks, Haggard, and Hailey were dispatched to bombard Kapingamarangi Atoll, in the Caroline Islands. Upon their return to the Solomons on 29 March, the destroyers were assigned additional patrol duties. For the rest of March and all of April, they patrolled the northern Solomons, escorted Allied shipping to and from them, and occasionally provided gunfire support for the US Army's XIV Corps.[2]

Johnston began May 1944 moored in Purvis Bay undergoing minor repairs. On May 6, she sailed to New Georgia with Franks, Haggard, Hailey, and Hoel to screen for Montpelier and Cleveland and then for a minelaying operation between Bougainville and Buka Island on 10 May.[2] Two days later, Haggard, Franks and Johnston were alerted by an American scout plane to the presence of Japanese submarine I-176 off Buka. The destroyers immediately began searching for the vessel and, late on 16 May, discovered it. Haggard, then Johnston, and then Franks attacked the submarine with depth charges and sank it after midnight on 17 May.[10] The destroyers resumed their anti-submarine patrols on 18 May, then screened for Montpelier, Cleveland, and Birmingham as they shelled Japanese coastal guns on the Shortland Islands two days later. Johnston thereafter resumed patrol and escort duty, then docked with the destroyer tender Dixie for minor repairs from 27 May to 2 June.[2]

Johnston refueling from Millicoma, 12 August 1944

On 3 June 1944, Johnston joined a convoy of US warships headed to Kwajalein to join a fleet gathering to recapture Guam. The convoy arrived on 8 June, then made for Guam four days later with the invasion force and arrived by 18 June. The ongoing Battle of Saipan, however, delayed the invasion. On 30 June, the fleet was ordered to return to Kwajalein; Johnston arrived on 3 July and returned to patrol duty. When the invasion force was ordered back to Guam on 14 July, Johnston again sailed as part of its screen. The fleet arrived four days later.[11] From 21 July to 1 August,[2] Johnston joined several battleships, cruisers, and destroyers to furnish gunfire support for the 1st Marine Brigade and the 77th Infantry Division.[11][12] Afterwards, from 2 August to 9 August, she screened for American ships. On 9 August, Johnston was ordered, with Franks, Haggard, Haily, Halford, Guest, Minneapolis, Cleveland, and Honolulu to return to the Marshalls.[2]

The flotilla arrived on 12 August, resupplied, and then sailed for Espiritu Santo from 19 August to 24 August. Three days later, after undergoing minor repairs, Johnston set sail for Purvis Bay with Pennsylvania, Idaho, Louisville, Minneapolis, and seven other destroyers. The flotilla arrived on 29 August and joined escort carriers Marcus Island, Ommaney Bay, Petrof Bay, Kalinin Bay, with whom Johnston trained for carrier escort duty. On 4 September, Johnston, Haggard, Hailey, and Welles, escorting Petrof Bay, Kalinan Bay, and Saginaw Bay, set sail for the Palau Islands and the invasions of Peleliu and of Angaur. Johnston escorted these escort carriers until 18 September, when Johnston was reassigned to escort Kitkun Bay, White Plains, and Gambier Bay. Johnston and her charges received orders on 21 September to proceed to Ulithi, an atoll in the Caroline Islands, where they arrived on 23 September.[2]

The flotilla departed Ulithi on 25 September 1944 and arrived in Seeadler Harbor, in the Admiralty Islands on 1 October 1944. There, on 12 October, Johnston was assigned to the US 7th Fleet, which was preparing for the Liberation of the Philippines.[2] Johnston was attached, with Hoel and Heermann and the destroyer escorts Dennis, John C. Butler, and Samuel B. Roberts to the escort carriers Fanshaw Bay, St. Lo, White Plains, Gambier Bay, Kalinin Bay, and Kitkun Bay.[13] These ships formed TU 77.4.3 (call sign "Taffy 3"), a sub-unit of the 7th Fleet's Escort Carrier Group (TG 77.4) commanded by Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague, aboard Fanshaw Bay,[14] and sailed into Leyte Gulf on 17 October.[13] In response, on 18 October, the Imperial Japanese Navy dispatched three fleets to cut off and destroy the American ground forces. The largest fleet was placed under the command of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita and took a path that, on 25 October, led it to TG 77.4.[15]

Though Kurita's fleet, by 25 October numbering four battleships, eight cruisers, and 11 destroyers,[16] had been attacked by US submarines and aircraft over the previous two days,[17] TG 77.4 was not made aware of the Japanese force until Taffy 3's surface radar detected it at 0646.[18] Johnston, 34,000 yards (31,000 m) south-east from the Japanese, was informed of its presence at 0650;[2] eight minutes later, the Japanese opened fire, beginning the Battle off Samar.[19]

Escort ships of Taffy 3 laying smoke while under fire, 25 October 1944

At 0657, Sprague ordered Taffy 3 to head east at top speed.[19] Johnston complied. Finding her at the rear of the formation, however,[20] Commander Evans ordered Johnston to turn northeast to charge the Japanese for a torpedo attack, and to lay smoke to cover the flotilla's escape.[2][21] At 0710, the heavy cruiser Kumano and the column of cruisers she was leading sailed into range of Johnston's 18,000-yard (16,000 m) 5 in main battery. Johnston fired more than 200 main battery shells at the Kumano over the next five minutes,[22][23] striking the cruiser at least 40 times and setting her superstructure on fire.[24] Then, having closed to 10,000 yards (9,100 m), Johnston fired all 10 of her torpedoes at the Kumano and then turned to hide in her own smoke.[22] At least one of Johnston's torpedoes stuck Kumano, blowing the bow off the latter. This damage forced Kumano and the cruiser Suzuya, which pulled alongside Kumano, to retire from the battle.[25]

As Johnston charged and engaged Kumano, the former was in turn engaged by Yamato, Nagato, Haruna, and Suzuya,[2] and sustained three 14 in and three 6 in shell hits,[26] resulting in numerous casualties and immense damage to her bridge and engineering spaces.[27] Johnston lost the use of her gyrocompass, steering engine, and aft 5 in guns, and her speed was reduced to 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph). Hidden in her smoke and a rain squall for the next ten minutes, Johnston's crew restored power to two of the aft main guns and fired on a Japanese destroyer 10,000 yards distant and a cruiser 11,000 yards (10,000 m) distant.[2] Johnston turned south and sailed out of the smoke and rain at 0750.[28] Ten minutes later she encountered Heermann, Hoel, and Samuel B. Roberts, en route to make their own torpedo attacks.[2] Evans turned Johnston around to follow and support them,[29] in the process exchanging gunfire with cruiser Haguro.[30]

After the other escorts had launched their torpedoes, the column turned south to rejoin the carriers.[2] Taffy 3 had reunited by 0840 when Heermann,[31] ordered by Sprague to re-engage the Japanese cruisers, nearly collided with Johnston.[2] Not long thereafter, the battleship Kongō sailed through the smoke screen and appeared 7,000 yards (6,400 m) from Johnston.[31] Johnston fired 30 shells at Kongō, then dove back into its smoke cover. Shortly thereafter, Johnston sighted Gambier Bay, immobile, listing to port, and under fire from a heavy cruiser. Johnston briefly fired on the cruiser,[32] then ceased fire as at 0840 four Japanese destroyers led by light cruiser Yahagi approached the other carriers.[33]

At Evans's command, Johnston engaged the entire squadron.[34] She opened fire on Yahagi from 10,000 yards and closed to 7,500 yards (6,900 m),[35] striking the cruiser 12 times and was in turn struck by several 5 in shells.[34] In response, Yahagi, also being strafed by US aircraft, turned to starboard and disengaged. Johnston turned her fire on the Japanese destroyers, which soon also banked starboard and with Yahagi discharged their torpedoes without effect.[36][37] The squadron, joined by two more cruisers, then focused on Johnston and in short order denuded her of her main mast, last engine, and guns, rendered the bridge uninhabitable, and set much of the ship ablaze. Evans moved his command to the fantail where, at 0945, he ordered the crew to abandon ship. The Japanese continued to pummel Johnston until, at 1010, she rolled over and sank. Of her complement of 327 men, 186 men and officers including Evans died.[38] The remaining 141 men were rescued by American vessels, after 50 hours at sea. Johnston was struck from the Navy Register on 27 November 1944.[2]