USS Patterson (DD-392)

The second Patterson (DD–392) was laid down 23 July 1933 at Bremerton, Wash., by the Puget Sound Navy Yard; launched on 6 May 1937; sponsored by Miss Elizabeth P. Patterson; and commissioned on 22 September 1937, Cmdr. Francis T. Spellman in command.

Patterson departed Puget Sound Navy Yard 26 November 1937, calling at San Francisco en route to Pearl Harbor, arriving 7 December. She returned to Puget Sound 22 December, trained in coastal waters until 31 March 1938, then cruised to Hawaii. She arrived at San Pedro from Hawaii 28 April for operations along the western seaboard and combined fleet maneuvers that once took her through the Panama Canal and into the Caribbean Sea. On 3 June 1940 she set course to patrol in the Hawaiian Sea Frontier area from Pearl Harbor to Midway and Palmyra. This duty continued for the next 18 months except for periods on the west coast for overhaul and training.

Patterson was moored at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese carrier-based planes attacked 7 December 1941. Her gunners sped to battle stations, opened fire, and blasted one enemy plane out of the sky. Within an hour the destroyer men were searching for possible enemy submarines off the harbor entrance.

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From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Patterson II (DD-392)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.