Construction, shakedown, and initial Pacific operations Laid down by the
Brown Shipbuilding Company of
Houston, Texas, on 3 January 1944,
Oliver Mitchell (DE-417) was
launched on 8 February of that year,
sponsored by the mother of her namesake,
2nd Lieutenant Oliver Mitchell, a
Marine pilot who posthumously received the
Silver Star for his attack on a Japanese destroyer during the
Guadalcanal campaign. She was
commissioned on 14 June 1944. Following commissioning, the ship completed her fitting out, received ammunition, and moved down the
Houston Ship Channel to
Galveston for gunnery testing during the second half of the month. She sailed for
Bermuda on 2 July and undertook a
shakedown cruise off the island for most of the month and the first days of August, attached to the
Atlantic Fleet. While mooring alongside
Oliver Mitchell on 5 August, her
sister ship collided with her, causing minor damage. For repairs to correct deficiencies found during shakedown,
Oliver Mitchell was ordered to the
Boston Navy Yard, and thence to
Norfolk Navy Yard for further work. Together with her sister , she departed Norfolk on 27 August for the
Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she met the seaplane tender . The three ships departed for the
Panama Canal on the last day of August. Assigned to Escort Division (CortDiv) 72 of the
Pacific Fleet after transiting the canal on 6 September, the two destroyer escorts arrived at
San Diego on 15 September.
Oliver Mitchell steamed to
Pearl Harbor and entered it on 25 September. Operating from Pearl Harbor, she screened while the latter conducted
carrier qualification between 1 and 5 October.
Oliver Mitchell participated in
hunter-killer group exercises with the escort carrier and fellow CortDiv 72 destroyer escorts
Robert F. Keller, , '
, and ' between 8 and 12 October. She departed for
Eniwetok with
Anzio and the four CortDiv 72 escorts on 16 October, arriving there on 24 October.
Anzio departed for
Ulithi with the destroyer escorts on 28 October.
Oliver Mitchell rescued two survivors from the crew of a crashed
TBF Avenger from the escort carrier later that day, and on 29 October picked up four men thrown overboard when a crashed plane sent two others off the
Anzio flight deck. The ships arrived at Ulithi on 1 November.
Hunter-killer operations After arrival at Ulithi,
Anzio and her escorts were designated as
Task Group (TG) 30.7 of the
Third Fleet, and on 4 November departed to serve as a hunter-killer group in the
Philippine Sea. They were diverted later that day to assist the light cruiser , torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. The task group protected the light cruiser while she was towed back to Ulithi until 8 November, when it was tasked with screening the
oilers of TG 30.8.
Lawrence C. Taylor and
Melvin R. Nawman sank a Japanese submarine on 18 November, and the task group returned to Ulithi ten days later. The commander of CortDiv72 transferred his pennant to
Oliver Mitchell on 3 December, before TG 30.7 departed Ulithi on 10 December for an anti-submarine sweep around TG 30.8. Three days later, TG 30.7 left TG 30.8 for an anti-submarine sweep north of the
Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38) as the aircraft of the latter supported the
Mindoro landings with strikes against Japanese airfields on
Luzon.
Oliver Mitchell depth charged a false contact on 14 December and rescued the crew of a crashed
Anzio Avenger on 17 December. When TG 30.7 and the rest of the Third Fleet ran into
Typhoon Cobra on 18 December, she became separated from
Anzio for several hours while weathering the storm. On 21 December,
Anzio,
Oliver Mitchell,
Robert F. Keller, and
Lawrence C. Taylor were sent to search for survivors of destroyers sunk in the typhoon, but
Oliver Mitchell only recovered three corpses. TG 30.7 returned to Ulithi on Christmas morning, and departed on 29 December for an anti-submarine sweep ahead of TG 30.8, with the destroyer ''
replacing Tabberer
and Melvin R. Nawman'', damaged in the typhoon.
Oliver Mitchell and
Lawrence C. Taylor were detached to TG 38.2 of the
Fast Carrier Task Force between 2 and 6 January 1945 to screen the fleet carriers as they launched
strikes on
Formosa and Luzon in support of the
invasion of Lingayen Gulf. While returning to TG 30.7, a broken shaft disabled her sonar, preventing effective anti-submarine operations and relegating her to providing
plane guard duty for
Anzio. As a result, the commander of CortDiv 72 transferred his pennant to
Lawrence C. Taylor on 10 January. On the next day,
Oliver Mitchell was detached from TG 30.7 to return to Ulithi in company with two destroyers and an oiler, arriving two days later. At Ulithi, the ship was drydocked for sonar repairs and remained there for the rest of the month. The commander of CortDiv 72 returned his pennant to her when TG 30.7 returned to Ulithi on 28 January.
Iwo Jima and Okinawa Departing Ulithi for Eniwetok on 2 February with
Anzio and
Robert F. Keller, forming TG 50.7 of the
Fifth Fleet (renamed when Admiral
Raymond Spruance took command of the fleet),
Oliver Mitchell and her task group arrived there four days later. At Eniwetok,
Tabberer and
Melvin R. Nawman rejoined the task group, which departed Eniwetok for
Saipan on 7 February, covering the transports of TG 51.11 and 51.12. Off Saipan, they met the fleet for the
invasion of Iwo Jima, with the task group joining Task Unit (TU) 52.2.2 of the Support Carrier Group (Task Group 52.2), of the Amphibious Support Force (Task Force 52) on 13 February. After reaching station off Iwo Jima on 16 February, the
Anzio aircraft conducted anti-submarine patrol and
combat air patrol in defense of the escort carriers of TU 52.2.2 as the aircraft of the latter struck Iwo Jima.
Oliver Mitchell was detached to screen TU 52.2.1 on 19 February, which was joined by TU 52.2.2 on 23 February. From 25 February to 4 March she conducted nightly anti-submarine sweeps around the escort carriers as part of TG 50.7. The ship expended depth charges on a false contact on 4 March and on 7 March departed for
Leyte with TG 50.7 as land-based aircraft took over anti-submarine patrol duty off Iwo Jima. The task group arrived in
San Pedro Bay, Leyte, on 12 March, remaining there for a brief period of resupply before departing on 21 March for the
invasion of Okinawa with the Support Carrier Group.
Oliver Mitchell initially screened TU 52.1.2, which included the escort carriers and in addition to
Anzio. While the task unit conducted gunnery practice on a target sleeve on the next day, fragments from a stray 20 mm round fired by another ship wounded seven sailors aboard her. The ship sent out a swimmer to rescue a crashed
Marcus Island fighter pilot on 25 March, the first day of strikes against Okinawa, but the latter drowned before he could be rescued. From 26 March,
Oliver Mitchell and her four CortDiv 72 sisters screened TU 52.1.1, centered around , , '
, ', , ''
, and Anzio
, during daytime support operations. At night, she and her sisters were detached to conduct anti-submarine sweeps with Anzio
. The ship picked up the crew of a crashed Anzio'' Avenger on 28 March.
Oliver Mitchell put into
Kerama Retto with
Lunga Point for refueling on 2 April. While anchored that morning, she contributed with her AA guns to flak that helped shoot down a diving Japanese
A6M Zero. While
Oliver Mitchell returned to TU 52.1.1 with
Lunga Point,
Melvin R. Nawman, and the destroyer ''
that night, nearby transports of TU 51.2.1 came under kamikaze attack. AA fire from Oliver Mitchell'' downed a
Ki-45 Nick heading for her and damaged another that crashed into the
high-speed transport '
. She returned to Kerama Retto on 6 April, where she met the damaged escort carrier '.
Oliver Mitchell escorted
Wake Island back to Guam for repairs, arriving there four days later having sunk a
floating mine by gunfire on 7 April. At Guam, the ship entered the Task Force 51 escort pool before departing for Saipan on 14 April. Arriving there on the same day, she departed the next day as part of the escort for a convoy of transports bound for Ulithi. Reaching the destination on 17 April,
Oliver Mitchell departed as part of the escort for Okinawa-bound Convoy UOK-2, consisting of cargo ships and auxiliaries, three days later. After a voyage uneventful except for a submarine scare on 24 April that forced a route change, she put into Kerama Retto for resupply before rejoining TU 52.1.1, whose aircraft were still flying support missions off Okinawa, on 27 April.
Oliver Mitchell joined TU 50.7.3, the hunter-killer group centered around the escort carrier '
, on 1 May, replacing her sister ', which had departed for repairs. The screen also included sister destroyer escorts
, , and ''
. After refueling at Kerama Retto on the next day, the task unit departed for anti-submarine patrol along the shipping lanes to Okinawa. This proved uneventful, although Oliver Mitchell
fired her Hedgehog against a false contact on 4 May and destroyed a floating mine by gunfire on 18 May. Anzio
relieved Tulagi
as the anti-submarine carrier on 21 May and she and the destroyer escorts continued the anti-submarine patrols as TU 50.7.1. On 28 May, after Admiral William Halsey took over from Spruance, the group changed its designation to TG 30.6, Tabberer
and Robert F. Keller
having replaced Goss
and Kendall C. Campbell
. That day, the group received a report of a possible submarine contact from a minesweeper, and changed course to investigate. An Anzio
Avenger spotted a surfaced Japanese submarine, , on the morning of 31 May and sank the latter with a FIDO Homing Torpedo. Reaching the site of the attack, Oliver Mitchell
and Tabberer'' confirmed the sinking by retrieving debris from the submarine. When
Lawrence C. Taylor replaced
Ulvert M. Moore in the task group on 1 June,
Oliver Mitchell transferred the commander of CortDiv 72 to the former. She was detached on 4 June to return to Ulithi, arriving there two days later for a period of replenishment and routine maintenance. The ship departed for San Pedro Bay on 18 June and arrived there after a three-day journey.
Oliver Mitchell departed for Ulithi as part of the screen of TG 30.8, the Third Fleet Logistic Support Group, on 28 June. A 47-day deployment at sea screening carrier task forces operating off the east coast of Japan followed. During the next four months,
Oliver Mitchell escorted forces to
Korea for occupation duty and to and along the China coast trying to assuage postwar unrest in that country. On 26 December, pressed into
Operation Magic Carpet duty,
Oliver Mitchell headed back to the United States. == Fate ==