Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War

United States Navy — Destroyer

USS Cassin (DD-372) — service history

This is the full service history. For the vessel's particulars, photograph and specifications, see the entry.

In the words of the US Navy. The account below is reproduced verbatim from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command — a work of the United States Government, in the public domain, and the only text on this site not written here.

Before commissioning

Born in Philadelphia, 16 February 1783, Stephen Cassin entered the Navy as a midshipman in 1800, and served in Philadelphia in the West Indies during the latter part of the war with France. In the war of 1812, he commanded Ticonderoga in the Battle of Lake Champlain and was awarded a gold medal for bravery by Congress. Captain Cassin died in Washington, D.C., 29 August 1857.

Interwar 1919–1938

1935

The second Cassin (DD-372) was launched 28 October 1935 by Philadelphia Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. H. C. Lombard; and commissioned 21 August 1936, Lieutenant Commander A. G. Noble in command.

1937

Cassin underwent alterations until March 1937, then cruised to the Caribbean and Brazil. In April 1938 she joined forces at Pearl Harbor for the annual fleet exercises in the Hawaiian Islands and the Panama Canal Zone. During 1939, she operated on the west coast with torpedo and gunnery schools, and on 1 April 1940 was assigned to the Hawaiian Detachment. Cassin sailed on maneuvers and patrol in the Pacific, cruising from February to April 1941 to Samoa, Australia, and Fiji. Fall of 1941 found her calling at west coast ports.

Second World War 1939–1945

1941

USS Cassin (DD-372)
The wrecked destroyers USS Downes (DD-375) and USS Cassin (DD-372) in Dry Dock No. 1 at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, soon after the end of the Japanese air attack. Cassin has capsized against Downes . USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) is astern, occupying the rest of the drydock. The torpedo-damaged cruiser USS Helena (CL-50) is in the right distance, beyond the crane. Visible in the center distance is Photographer's Mate Harold Fawcett, U.S. Navy (photo 80-G-19943) — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons

Cassin was in drydock with Downes (DD-375) and Pennsylvania (BB-38) at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. In the Japanese attack, an incendiary bomb exploded Dowries' fuel tanks, causing uncontrollable fires on board both Downes and Cassin. Cassin slipped from her keel blocks and rested against Downes. Both ships were considered lost, and Cassin was decommissioned as of 7 December 1941. However, superb salvage saved Cassin to play an outstanding role in World War II, and she was towed to Mare Island Navy Yard for rebuilding.

1944 Leyte

USS Cassin (DD-372)
The U.S. Navy desroyer USS Cassin (DD-372) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California (USA), 26 February 1944. The ship, which had been wrecked in the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, has just completed a total reconstruction, with her original machinery and main battery installed in a new hull and superstructure. U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships; — Official U.S. Navy photo 19-N-62324 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons

Recommisisoned 5 February 1944, Cassin reported at Pearl Harbor 22 April, and was assigned escort duty from Majuro until August. By shooting out caves and bombarding Aguijan Island, she aided in the consolidation of Tinian from 15 to 25 August, and then assumed escort duties out of Saipan. Her guns took revenge on the Japanese once more when she took part in the bombardment of Marcus Island on 9 October. This was part of the preparations for the Leyte assault, and was an attempt to convince the Japanese that the main attack they sensed was coming would be directed at the Bonins. With the same force which had struck at Marcus, Cassin sailed on to join TG 38.1 on 16 October, as the carriers of that group prepared the air strikes designed to neutralize the Japanese airfields in the Manila area prior to the assault landings on Leyte. Cassin steamed northeast of Luzon during the Leyte landings, and when the landings had been successfully launched, was dispatched with her group to refuel and replenish at Ulithi. However, when TF 38 made contact with the Japanese Center Force rounding the southern cape of Mindoro, bound for its part in the decisive Battle for Leyte Gulf, Cassin's group was recalled to join the approaching action. In the afternoon of 25 October, her group at last reached position to launch aircraft which attacked the Japanese ships in one of the longest-range carrier strikes of the war. These strikes continued as the Japanese fleet retired north, diminished and battered.

Cassin's next assignment was to the preparations for the assault on Iwo Jima. On the night of 11-12 November 1944, and again on 24 January 1945, she bombarded the island as part of the preassault softening up, and otherwise engaged in patrol, escort, and radar picket duties around Saipan. On 23 February, she sailed from Saipan to escort an ammunition ship to newly invaded Iwo Jima, returning to Guam 28 February with a hospital ship laden with some of the many men wounded on the fiercely contested island. She returned to Iwo Jima in mid-March for radar picket and air-sea rescue duty. With periods at Guam and Saipan for replenishment and repairs, she continued on this duty through most of the remainder of the war.

1945

As vivid proof that hazards of war come not only from the enemy, Cassin endured the violence of a typhoon on 6 June 1945, losing one of her men overboard, as well as a motor whaleboat. On 20 July, she bombarded Kita, Iwo Jima, and on 7 August, she boarded and searched a Japanese hospital ship to insure compliance with international law. Since there were no violations, she allowed the Japanese ship to proceed on its way. With the war over, she continued air-sea rescue off Iwo Jima, guarding the air evacuation of released prisoners of war from Japan. She returned to Norfolk, Va., 1 November 1945, and was decommissioned there 17 December 1945. Cassin was sold 25 November 1947.

Other photographs

Held for this vessel, and not tied to any part of the account above.

USS Cassin (DD-372)
80-G-32431: Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941. USS Cassin (DD-372) burned out and capsized against USS Downes (DD-375), in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard drydock on 7 December 1941, after the Japanese attack. Also at NHHC. (9/15/15). National Museum of the U.S. Navy — 80-G-32431 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Cassin (DD-372)
80-G-32763: Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Wreckage of USS Cassin (DD 372) and USS Downes (DD 375) in Drydock Number 1. USS Pennsylvania (BB 38) is in the background. (9/9/2015). National Museum of the U.S. Navy — 80-G-32763 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Cassin (DD-372)
These records include detailed muster rolls listing all personnel assigned to ships based at Pearl Harbor, 1939-47, as well as reports of changes for sailors transferred to other ships or locations, and those missing or dead. Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Bureau of Naval Personnel. 9/18/1947-1982 — This file was contributed to Wikimedia Commons by National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference as part of a cooperation project. The donation was facilitated by the Digital Public Library of America , via its partner Digital Public Library of America . Record in source catalog DPLA identifier: 1825cc830667a442a32bd11306ed905b National Archives Identifier: 112288185 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Cassin (DD-372)
These records include detailed muster rolls listing all personnel assigned to ships based at Pearl Harbor, 1939-47, as well as reports of changes for sailors transferred to other ships or locations, and those missing or dead. Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Bureau of Naval Personnel. 9/18/1947-1982 — This file was contributed to Wikimedia Commons by National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference as part of a cooperation project. The donation was facilitated by the Digital Public Library of America , via its partner Digital Public Library of America . Record in source catalog DPLA identifier: 8b8170417deccc78b91b90c3f9df3b91 National Archives Identifier: 112287863 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Cassin (DD-372)
Scene in the crew's mess of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cassin (DD-372), circa Autumn 1941. Note crewmen's attire, tattoo on the man seated second from left, soup bowls, galvanized pitcher and details of mess tables. USN — Official U.S. Navy photo 80-PR-1663 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Cassin (DD-372)
Scope and content: The wartime censor has removed Pennsylvania ´s CXAM radar antenna General notes: Use War and Conflict Number 1138 when ordering a reproduction or requesting information about this image. Unknown author or not provided — U.S. National Archives and Records Administration — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Cassin (DD-372)
Unknown author or not provided — U.S. National Archives and Records Administration — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Cassin (DD-372)
LC-USZ62-136130: Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. The wrecked destroyers USS Downes (DD-375) and USS Cassin (DD-372) in Drydock One at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, soon after the end of the Japanese air attack. Cassin has capsized against Downes. USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) is astern, occupying the rest of the drydock. The torpedo-damaged cruiser USS Helena (CL-50) is in the right di National Museum of the U.S. Navy — LC-USZ62-136130 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Cassin (DD-372)
Original caption: Damaged ships after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7 1941. The USS Cassin (DD372) and the USS Downes (DD375) in Drydock No. 1. Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Naval Photographic Center. (12/1/1959 - ca. 1998) — This file was contributed to Wikimedia Commons by National Archives and Records Administration as part of a cooperation project. The donation was facilitated by the Digital Public Library of America , via its partner Digital Public Library of America . Record in source catalog DPLA identifier: bdfc761fbea780b707ec21b67819948a National Archives Identifier: 12008994 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Cassin (DD-372)
Unknown author or not provided — U.S. National Archives and Records Administration — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Cassin (DD-372)
Unknown author or not provided — U.S. National Archives and Records Administration — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Cassin (DD-372)
USS Cassin (DD-372), at left, and USS Downes (DD-375) Under salvage in Drydock Number One at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, 23 January 1942. They had been wrecked during the 7 December 1941 Japanese air raid. Photographed from the foremast of USS Raleigh (CL-7), which was undergoing battle damage repairs in the drydock. tormentor4555 — USS Cassin (DD-372) and USS Downes (DD-375) — PDM-owner — Wikimedia Commons
USS Cassin (DD-372)
The U.S. Navy destroyers USS Cassin (DD-372) (capsized, right) and USS Downes (DD-375) (left) in Drydock No. 1 at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard on 7 December 1941, immediatly following the Japanese attack. Both ships had been severely damaged by bomb hits and the resulting fires. In the background, also in Drydock No. 1, is USS Pennsylvania (BB-38), which had received relatively light damage in the r USN — Official U.S. Navy photograph NH 64482 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Cassin (DD-372)
The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cassin (DD-372) at Sydney, Australia, in 1941. Australian armed forces — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Cassin (DD-372)
The U.S. Navy destroyers USS Cassin (DD-372), at right, and USS Downes (DD-375) under salvage in Drydock Number One at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard on 5 February 1942, the day Cassin was righted from her previous position capsized against Downes . They had been wrecked during the 7 December 1941 Japanese air raid. Also in the drydock is the light cruiser USS Raleigh (CL-7), which was under repair fo USN — Official U.S. Navy photo NH 54564 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
USS Cassin (DD-372)
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, circa in March 1942. Note the hulks of the destroyers USS Cassin (DD-372) and USS Downes (DD-375) in the left background. Unknown author — U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships photo 19-N-29690 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons

References

Every work this entry draws on. There are no numbered markers in the text above: what we hold is the provenance of the page — this history, this article, these photographs.

  1. History Cassin II (DD-372) Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval History and Heritage Command. A work of the United States Government, in the public domain — the only text on this site reproduced verbatim.
  2. Facts USS Cassin (DD-372) Structured facts only — dates, dimensions, armament and fate. No wording is taken from it. Harvested 1 August 2026.
  3. Photograph USS Cassin (DD-372) off the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1937 USN — Official U.S. Navy photo NH 97327 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  4. Photograph USS Downes (DD-375), USS Cassin (DD-372) and USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) in Dry Dock No. 1 at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, 7 December 1941 (306533) Photographer's Mate Harold Fawcett, U.S. Navy (photo 80-G-19943) — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  5. Photograph USS Cassin (DD-372) U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships; — Official U.S. Navy photo 19-N-62324 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  6. Photograph 80-G-32431 (21473941621) National Museum of the U.S. Navy — 80-G-32431 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  7. Photograph 80-G-32763 (21287293222) National Museum of the U.S. Navy — 80-G-32763 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  8. Photograph Cassin (DD-372) - Passengers, December 1944 - DPLA - 1825cc830667a442a32bd11306ed905b Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Bureau of Naval Personnel. 9/18/1947-1982 — This file was contributed to Wikimedia Commons by National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference as part of a cooperation project. The donation was facilitated by the Digital Public Library of America , via its partner Digital Public Library of America . Record in source catalog DPLA identifier: 1825cc830667a442a32bd11306ed905b National Archives Identifier: 112288185 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  9. Photograph Cassin (DD-372) - Report of Changes, January 1941 - DPLA - 8b8170417deccc78b91b90c3f9df3b91 Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Bureau of Naval Personnel. 9/18/1947-1982 — This file was contributed to Wikimedia Commons by National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference as part of a cooperation project. The donation was facilitated by the Digital Public Library of America , via its partner Digital Public Library of America . Record in source catalog DPLA identifier: 8b8170417deccc78b91b90c3f9df3b91 National Archives Identifier: 112287863 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  10. Photograph Crew mess of USS Cassin (DD-372) in 1941 USN — Official U.S. Navy photo 80-PR-1663 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  11. Photograph Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Wrecked USS DOWNES at left and USS CASSIN at right. In the rear is the USS... - NARA - 520593 Unknown author or not provided — U.S. National Archives and Records Administration — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  12. Photograph Jumbled mass of wreckage of the U.S. destroyers Downes (left) and Cassin (right) - NARA - 196244 Unknown author or not provided — U.S. National Archives and Records Administration — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  13. Photograph LC-USZ62-136130 (19310825110) National Museum of the U.S. Navy — LC-USZ62-136130 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  14. Photograph Photograph of Damaged Ships after the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor - DPLA - bdfc761fbea780b707ec21b67819948a Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Naval Photographic Center. (12/1/1959 - ca. 1998) — This file was contributed to Wikimedia Commons by National Archives and Records Administration as part of a cooperation project. The donation was facilitated by the Digital Public Library of America , via its partner Digital Public Library of America . Record in source catalog DPLA identifier: bdfc761fbea780b707ec21b67819948a National Archives Identifier: 12008994 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  15. Photograph Photograph of the wreckage of U.S. destroyers Downes and Cassin in Pearl Harbor - NARA - 306533 Unknown author or not provided — U.S. National Archives and Records Administration — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  16. Photograph Photograph of warships damaged at Pearl Harbor - NARA - 306534 Unknown author or not provided — U.S. National Archives and Records Administration — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  17. Photograph USS Cassin (DD-372) and USS Downes (DD-375) (51028783371) tormentor4555 — USS Cassin (DD-372) and USS Downes (DD-375) — PDM-owner — Wikimedia Commons
  18. Photograph USS Cassin (DD-372) and USS Downes (DD-375) wrecked 1941 USN — Official U.S. Navy photograph NH 64482 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  19. Photograph USS Cassin (DD-372) at Sydney in 1941 Australian armed forces — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  20. Photograph USS Cassin (DD-372), USS Downes (DD-375) and USS Raleigh (CL-7) in drydock at Pearl Harbor 1942 USN — Official U.S. Navy photo NH 54564 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons
  21. Photograph USS Enterprise (CV-6) aft view at Pearl Harbor in May 1942 Unknown author — U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships photo 19-N-29690 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons