USS Turner (DD-834)

The third Turner (DD-834) was laid down on 13 November 1944 at Bath, Maine, by the Bath Iron Works Corp.; launched on 8 April 1945; sponsored by Miss Louise Leahy, granddaughter of Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy; and commissioned on 12 June 1945 at the Boston Navy Yard, Cmdr. Ellis B. Rittenhouse in command.

Immediately following her commissioning, Turner began undergoing conversion to destroyer picket ship at Boston while her crew attended intensive specialized schools in preparation for picket duty. In mid-July, she arrived at Guantanamo Bay and, while she was undergoing shakedown in Cuban waters, Japan capitulated, ending World War II.

Late in August, the ship returned to Boston for post-shakedown availability. In the second week of September, she resumed training exercises in the Caribbean and in Atlantic coastal waters. On 8 October, she departed Norfolk and steamed, via Pensacola, the Panama Canal, and San Diego, to Hawaii, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 28 November. There, she prepared for duty in the Tokyo area and, on 10 December, departed the Hawaiian Islands and proceeded to Japan.

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From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Turner III (DD-834)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.