USS Cronin

History
United States
Ordered	1942
Builder	Defoe Shipbuilding Company
Laid down	19 October 1943
Launched	5 January 1944
Commissioned	5 May 1944
Recommissioned	9 February 1951
Decommissioned	4 December 1953
Reclassified	13 September 1950 from DE-704 to DEC-704; 27 December 1957 from DEC-704 to DE-704;
Stricken	1 June 1970
Fate	Sunk as target, 16 December 1971
General characteristics
Class and type	Buckley-class destroyer escort
Displacement	1400 tons standard 1740 tons full load
Length	306 ft (93 m)
Beam	37 ft (11 m)
Draft	9.5 ft (2.9 m) standard,; 11.25 ft (3.43 m) full load;
Propulsion	2 boilers, General Electric Turbo-electric drive 2 solid manganese-bronze 3600 lb 3-bladed propellers, 8.5 ft (2.6 m) diameter, 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) pitch 12,000 hp (8.9 MW) 2 rudders
Speed	23 knots (43 km/h)
Range	359 tons oil 3,700 nautical miles (6,900 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h) 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)
Complement	15 officers, 198 men
Armament	3 x 3 in (76 mm) cal. guns (76.2 mm) 4 x 1.1"/75 caliber gun Anti-Aircraft guns (1x4) 8 x 20 mm 3 x 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (1x3) 1 x hedgehog projector 8 x depth charge projectors (K-guns) 2 x depth charge tracks

USS Cronin (DE/DEC-704) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946 and from 1951 to 1953. She was sunk as a target in 1971.

History

Cronin was the second U.S. Navy ship named for Chief Gunner Cornelius Cronin (1838–1912), who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his "coolness and close attention to duty" in the Battle of Mobile Bay.

Cronin was launched on 5 January 1944 at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City, Michigan, sponsored by Mrs. E. B. Cronin, daughter-in-law of the late Chief Gunner Cronin. She was commissioned on 5 May 1944.

World War II

Cronin departed New York on 21 July to escort a convoy to Bizerte, Tunisia, returning to Norfolk, Virginia on 7 September. A second convoy escort voyage from 2 October to 18 November during which she rescued 24 survivors from SS George W. McKnight on 14 October took her to Palermo, Sicily. On 16 December, she departed New York for the Pacific, arriving at Manus Island on 22 January 1945.

Assigned to the Philippine Sea Frontier, Cronin operated out of Leyte on convoy escort duty until the end of World War II. On 30 August, she departed Manila for Okinawa. From this base, she supported the re-occupation of the Chinese mainland, escorted transports to Jinsen, Korea, screened the escort carrier Bougainville (CVE-100) which was delivering planes at Taku and Tsingtao, and escorted an LST convoy to Jinsen. She departed Okinawa on 8 November for Boston, Massachusetts, arriving there on 15 December. Cronin arrived at Green Cove Springs, Florida, on 19 January 1946, and was placed out of commission in reserve there on 31 May 1946. She was reclassified DEC-704, on 13 September 1950.

Cold War

Recommissioned on 9 February 1951, Cronin took part in major exercises in the Atlantic, and operated out of Norfolk on training duty that included exercises at Key West with submarines in March 1953. Cronin returned to Green Cove Springs on 24 September 1953

Decommissioning and fate

Cronin was again placed out of commission in reserve on 4 December 1953. She was reclassified back to DE-704 on 27 December 1957. On 16 December 1971, Cronin was towed out to sea and sunk as an aircraft target. Her final resting place is listed at 31° 43' N., 76° 15' W.

Awards

Cronin was awarded the American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medals for her World War II service. She also received the Navy Occupation Service Medal and the China Service Medal for her operations in the Far East following the close of the war.

References

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