USS Sicard

{{Short description|Clemson-class destroyer}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=USS Sicard (DD-346) underway in harbour circa the 1930s.jpg |image_caption=USS ''Sicard'', probably during the 1930s. }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country=United States |flag={{USN flag|1945}} |name=USS ''Sicard'' (DD-346) |namesake=[[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Montgomery Sicard]] (1836–1900) |ordered= |builder=[[Bath Iron Works]], [[Bath, Maine|Bath]], [[Maine]] |laid_down=18 June 1919 |launched=20 April 1920 |sponsor= Mrs. M. H. Sicard |acquired= |commissioned=9 June 1920 |reclassified=*Light [[minelayer]] (DM-21) 20 June 1937 *[[Miscellaneous auxiliary]] (AG-100) 5 June 1945 }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header=yes |decommissioned=21 November 1945 |struck=19 December 1945 |reinstated= |honors= |fate=*Sold 22 June 1946 *Scrapped |notes= }}

|section4={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class= [[Clemson class destroyer|''Clemson''-class]] [[destroyer]] |displacement=1,215 tons |length={{convert|314|ft|4+1/2|in|m}} |beam={{convert|30|ft|8|in|m}} |draft={{convert|9|ft|10|in|m}} |propulsion=*{{convert|26,500|shp|0|lk=on|abbr=on}} [[geared turbine]]s, 2 [[Propeller|screws]] |speed={{convert|35|kn|lk=in}} |range=*{{convert|4,900|nmi|sigfig=2|lk=in|abbr=on}} *  at {{convert|15|kn|mph km/h}} |complement=122 officers and enlisted |sensors= |EW= |armament=4 × [[4"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] guns, 1 × [[3"/23 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] gun, 12 × [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s |armour= |armor= |aircraft= |aircraft_facilities= |notes= }} }}

'''USS ''Sicard'' (DD-346/DM-21/AG-100)''' was a [[United States Navy]] {{sclass|Clemson|destroyer|3}} in commission from 1920 to 1945. She was service during [[World War II]]. She was named for [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Montgomery Sicard]].<ref name=danfs>DANFS.</ref>

==Construction and commissioning== ''Sicard'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] on 18 June 1919 by the [[Bath Iron Works]] at [[Bath, Maine|Bath]], [[Maine]]. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 20 April 1920, [[Ship sponsor|sponsored]] by Mrs. M. H. Sicard, daughter-in-law of Rear Admiral Sicard, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 9 June 1920.<ref name=danfs/>

==Service history== ===1920–1929=== On 26 June 1920, ''Sicard'' joined Destroyer [[Squadron (naval)|Squadrons]], [[United States Atlantic Fleet]] at [[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]], [[Rhode Island]]. She operated on the [[United States East Coast]] and in the [[Caribbean]] and [[Panama Canal Zone]] areas, engaging in battle and [[torpedo]] practice and fleet maneuvers and undergoing repairs at the [[New York Navy Yard]] in [[Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]] until 1922. In an excursion from her routine duties, she transited the [[Panama Canal]] on 20 January 1921, and participated in combined U.S. Atlantic Fleet and [[United States Pacific Fleet]] war games and maneuvers in the [[Pacific Ocean]], cruising to [[Callao]], [[Peru]], before returning to the [[Atlantic Ocean]] on 24 February 1921.<ref name=danfs/>

Arriving at the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]] on 27 April 1922 from spring maneuvers in the [[West Indies]], ''Sicard'' underwent repairs and [[Fitting-out|fitted out]] for duty in the [[United States Asiatic Fleet]]. On 15 June 1922, she proceeded to Newport, Rhode Island, where she received torpedo equipment. On 20 June 1922, she got underway with her squadron for her new station, steaming via the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and the [[Indian Ocean]] to [[East Asia]]. The squadron arrived at [[Chefoo]], [[China]], on 26 August 1922, and joined the Asiatic Fleet, with which she operated for seven years, based at Chefoo and [[Qingdao|Tsingtao]], China, each summer and [[Manila]] on [[Luzon]] in the [[Philippines]] each winter. She received periodic overhauls at the [[Cavite Navy Yard]] in [[Cavite]] on Luzon. She participated in fleet exercises and maneuvers, protected American interests in China, [[Japan]], and the Philippines, and engaged in escort and patrol duty on the China coast and on the [[Yangtze River]] during periods of unrest.<ref name=danfs/>

On 30 and 31 August 1923, when the violent [[Great Kantō earthquake]] destroyed a large part of the cities of [[Tokyo]] and [[Yokohama]], Japan, the commander-in-chief of the Asiatic Fleet, [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]] [[Edwin Anderson, Jr.]], dispatched all available vessels to that area with emergency supplies to render assistance. ''Sicard'' arrived in Yokohama harbor on 11 September 1923 and acted as [[dispatch boat]] to Tokyo and transported refugees from the city. From 25 September to 3 October 1923, she was stationed in [[Nagasaki]] harbor as [[radio]] relay ship, since all radio communications to Yokohama and Tokyo were out of commission. The prompt action of ''Sicard'' and other units of the Asiatic Fleet helped save thousands of lives and earned the thanks of the [[Government of Japan|Japanese government]].<ref name=danfs/>

Between 26 April and 30 June 1924, ''Sicard'' again saw special duty, in connection with the flight of four [[United States Army]] airplanes around the world. The destroyer cruised from [[Hong Kong]] to [[Rangoon]], [[Burma]], and [[Calcutta]], [[India]], guarding the flight and maintaining radio communications.

During the next few years, ''Sicard's'' patrols in Chinese waters became more frequent due to the fighting which accompanied [[Chiang Kai-shek]]′s and the [[Kuomintang]]′s [[Northern Expedition]] against Chinese [[warlord]]s. Her service in the [[Yangtze Patrol]] included stints in October 1926, from March to May 1927, in June 1927, and from July to August 1927.<ref name=nhhccampaignmedals>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/n/navy-mc-awards-manual-rev1953/pt4-campaign-service-medals.html#sec2-12 |title=Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual [Rev. 1953] » Pt. 4 - Campaign and Service Medals |author= |date=1953 |website=history.navy.mil |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |access-date=20 December 2023 }}</ref>

On 22 July 1929, having been relieved by another squadron, ''Sicard'' and her squadron sailed from Yokohama, Japan, for the [[United States]]. The squadron arrived at [[San Diego]], [[California]], on 17 August 1929.<ref name=danfs/>

===1929–1941=== In October 1929, ''Sicard'' joined Destroyer Squadrons, United States [[Battle Fleet]], and for several years operated principally on the [[United States West Coast]], with periodic overhauls at the [[Mare Island Navy Yard]] on [[Mare Island]] at [[Vallejo, California|Vallejo]], California. She engaged in fleet concentration problems and battle and torpedo practice, [[Towing|towed]] targets for [[submarine]]s and [[Squadron (aviation)|aviation squadrons]], and performed [[plane guard]] duty and made [[United States Naval Reserve]] training cruises. From 15 February to 21 June 1930, she made a cruise to the Atlantic Ocean with the Battle Fleet, participating in the [[United States Fleet]] concentration and [[Fleet Problem X]] in [[Caribbean]] waters and visiting [[New York City]] and [[Hampton Roads]], [[Virginia]], for the [[Presidential Review]] on 20 May 1930. She took part in [[Fleet Problem XI]], conducted in the Panama Canal Zone and Caribbean area from 4 February to 15 April 1931, and in [[Fleet Problem XII]] in [[Hawaii]]an waters from 1 February to 22 March 1932. From 24 March to 1 October 1934, she was attached to Rotating Reserve Squadron 20 at San Diego. On 1 October 1934, she joined Destroyer Squadron 4 and continued operations with the Battle Force in the Pacific.<ref name=danfs/>

On 12 May 1935, while engaging in [[Fleet Problem XVI]] off [[Diamond Head, Hawaii|Diamond Head]], [[Oahu]], Hawaii, ''Sicard'' was rammed accidentally by the destroyer {{USS|Lea|DD-118}} and badly damaged. The [[minesweeper]] {{USS|Rail|AM-26}} towed ''Sicard'' to the [[Pearl Harbor Navy Yard]] at [[Pearl Harbor]], Hawaii, where she received extensive repairs before resuming operations with her squadron in August 1935.<ref name=danfs/>

In May 1937, ''Sicard'' entered the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard for conversion to a light [[minelayer]], and on 20 June 1937 she was reclassified '''DM-21''' in accordance with her new role. Except for a trip to the U.S. West Coast for repairs and training from 20 September to 20 December 1937, ''Sicard'' operated in the Hawaiian area through 1941, engaging in [[Division (naval)|division]] tactics and training exercises, fleet problems, and maneuvers, joint [[United States Army]] and U.S. Navy exercises, battle, torpedo and mining practice, and reconnaissance missions around [[Midway Atoll]] in the [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]] and outlying islands. She entered the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard on 21 November 1941 for an overhaul.<ref name=danfs/>

==World War II== ''Sicard'' was still under overhaul at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard when the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] took place on 7 December 1941, bringing the United States into [[World War II]] and beginning the war's [[Pacific War|Pacific campaign]]. ''Sicard'' had ammunition only for her .30-caliber [[machine gun]]s but aided in the defense of the base by sending men to help operate the guns of the [[heavy cruiser]] {{USS|New Orleans|CA-32}} and the destroyer {{USS|Cummings|DD-365}}.<ref name=danfs/>

On completion of her overhaul on 28 January 1942, ''Sicard'' left Pearl Harbor for an [[Antisubmarine warfare|antisubmarine]] patrol station southwest of [[Oahu]], where she escorted ships within her area and searched for [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] submarines. Between 1 and 9 April 1942, she helped lay a large defensive [[Naval mine|minefield]] at the [[French Frigate Shoals]] in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, some {{convert|500|nmi|lk=in}} northwest of Oahu, and between 10 and 18 April 1942 she set up a [[United States Marine Corps]] radio and surveillance station on Eastern Island at Midway Atoll.<ref name=danfs/>

On 19 June 1942, ''Sicard'' departed Pearl Harbor with other light minelayers, picked up [[naval mine]]s at [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], and, in July 1942, laid a defensive minefield off [[Kodiak, Alaska|Kodiak]], [[Alaska]]. On her return to Hawaii on 27 July 1942, she resumed her local patrol assignment. She departed Hawaii on 16 September 1942 for the [[Aleutian Islands]] to lay another minefield and conduct more patrols. She then proceeded on 22 November 1942 to [[San Francisco]], California, for overhaul.<ref name=danfs/>

[[File:USS Sicard (DM-21) en route from Alaska to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 19 May 1943.jpg|thumb|''Sicard'' after her collision with {{USS|Macdonough|DD-351}}, 19 May 1943.]]

After completion of repairs on 22 December 1942, ''Sicard'' participated in [[Amphibious warfare|amphibious landing]] exercises off San Diego. She then departed San Francisco on 24 April 1943 with a [[convoy]] of [[Troopship|troop transports]] for [[Battle of Attu|the assault]] on [[Attu Island|Attu]] in the Aleutian Islands, scheduled for 11 May 1943. ''Sicard'' was to have acted as a [[landing craft]] control vessel for the operation, but on 10 May 1943, on the night before the landing, she collided with the destroyer {{USS|Macdonough|DD-351}} in a dense [[fog]]. ''Sicard'' towed ''Macdonough'' into [[Adak, Alaska|Adak]] on [[Adak Island]], and then proceeded to San Francisco for repairs, which lasted until 29 July 1943. She was more fortunate during [[Operation Cottage]], the landings on [[Kiska]] in the Aleutians, and successfully guided the waves of assault boats to the beach there between 15 and 18 August 1943. She performed local patrol and escort duties in the Aleutians, and then escorted a convoy to Pearl Harbor, where she arrived on 15 September 1943.<ref name=danfs/>

[[Image:USS Sicard (DD-346).jpg|thumb|''Sicard'' in 1944.]]

''Sicard'' left Pearl Harbor on 24 September 1943 for a new area of operations, the [[South West Pacific theatre of World War II|Southwest Pacific]]. She escorted ships to [[Nouméa]] on [[Grande Terre (New Caledonia)|Grande Terre]] in [[New Caledonia]] and to [[Espiritu Santo]], and then continued to [[Purvis Bay]] on [[Florida Island]] in the [[Solomon Islands (archipelago)|Solomon Islands]], where she and her [[sister ship]]s {{USS|Gamble|DM-15}} and {{USS|Breese|DM-18}}, formed a fast [[minelaying]] group. The group sortied on 31 October 1943 to plant an offensive minefield off [[Bougainville Island]] in the Solomon Islands, where the U.S. [[III Marine Expeditionary Force|I Marine Amphibious Corps]] landed on 1 November 1943, beginning the [[Battle of Bougainville]]. Just as the fast minelayer group completed its mission and began to retire early on the morning of 2 November 1943, it was illuminated by [[parachute flare]]s from Japanese aircraft. Soon a U.S. [[cruiser]] force steamed by at high speed in the opposite direction and opened fire on Japanese ships invisible to the minelayers. ''Sicard'''s group had unknowingly helped bring the opposing forces together for the [[Battle of Empress Augusta Bay]].<ref name=danfs/>

''Sicard'', with four other destroyer-minelayers, laid another minefield off Bougainville on 8 November 1943 and, after brief convoy duty, ''Sicard'' laid a third minefield off the [[Shortland Islands]] on 24 November 1943. Between December 1943 and April 1944, she escorted convoys between Espiritu Santo, [[Guadalcanal]], Purvis Bay, Nouméa, [[Fiji]], [[New Zealand]], and [[Kwajalein]]. On 1 May 1944, she resumed her minelaying role and laid a minefield off [[Buka Island]] in two trips on 2 and 10 May 1944. After additional convoy duty, she arrived at [[Alameda, California|Alameda]], California, on 11 July 1944 for overhaul.<ref name=danfs/>

''Sicard'' completed repairs on 20 September 1944 and, after refresher training, departed for Pearl Harbor on 4 October 1944. Following another period of upkeep from 10 October to 16 November 1944, she commenced duty training submarines. She conducted daily exercises with submarines off Oahu until 9 January 1945, and then performed similar duties at Midway Atoll. While operating from Midway, she was reclassified a "[[miscellaneous auxiliary]]," '''AG-100''', on 5 June 1945. ''Sicard'' completed her training duties at Midway on 2 September 1945,<ref name=danfs/> the day [[Surrender of Japan|Japan surrendered]], bringing World War II to an end.

==Decommissioning and disposal== ''Sicard'' arrived at the [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]] at [[League Island]] in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], on 21 October 1945 for inactivation. She was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] on 21 November 1945 and struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register|Navy list]] on 19 December 1945. She was sold for scrap on 22 June 1946 to Hugo Neu of New York City.<ref name=danfs/>

==Honors and awards== * [[File:Yangtze Service Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[Yangtze Service Medal]]<ref name=nhhccampaignmedals/> * {{ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with two [[Service star#Other stars|battle star]]s<ref name=nhhccampaignmedals/> * [[File:World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[World War II Victory Medal]]

''Sicard'' received the Yangtze Service Medal for operations on the Yangtze Patrol from 20 to 26 October 1926, from 2 March to 2 May 1927, from 9 to 10 June 1927, and from 4 July to 22 August 1927.<ref name=nhhccampaignmedals/>

''Sicard'' received two battle stars during World War II<ref name=danfs/> for the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] on 7 December 1941 and for the [[landings at Cape Torokina|landings]] and subsequent defense of the landing zone at [[Cape Torokina]] from 1 to 2 and from 7 to 8 November 1943 during the [[Battle of Bougainville]].<ref name=nhhccampaignmedals/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/dafs/BattleStars.html |title=Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual, Department of the Navy, NAVPERS 15,790 (Rev. 1953), (16) Area Campaign Medals and Operation and Engagement Stars, World War II |author= |date=1953 |website=ibiblio.org |publisher=Hyperwar |access-date= 20 December 2023}}</ref>

==References== * {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/sicard.html}} {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{navsource|05/346}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sicard (Dd-346)}} [[Category:Clemson-class destroyers]] [[Category:World War II mine warfare vessels of the United States]] [[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]] [[Category:Ships built in Bath, Maine]] [[Category:1920 ships]] [[Category:Maritime incidents in 1935]] [[Category:Maritime incidents in May 1943]] [[Category:Ships present during the attack on Pearl Harbor]]