Case joined in fleet problems in the
Hawaiian area, and in 1938, served as school ship at
San Diego, California. From this, her home port, she carried
midshipmen on an
Alaskan cruise in summer 1939, and in April 1940 returned to
Pearl Harbor to take part in a fleet problem which found her sailing to
Midway,
Johnston Island, and
Palmyra Island. Between February and April 1941, she cruised to
Samoa,
Tahiti, and
Auckland, New Zealand.
Pearl Harbor Case was in a nest of destroyers at
Pearl Harbor Navy Yard on 7 December 1941 during the
attack on Pearl Harbor. From 7 December until 23 May 1942,
Case escorted convoys passing between the
United States West Coast and Pearl Harbor.
Patrols From 31 May to 7 August 1942,
Case patrolled and carried out the usual varied destroyer assignments off
Kodiak, Alaska. On 7 August, she unleashed her guns in the pre-invasion bombardment of
Kiska and on an enemy tanker with undetermined results.
Case continued on patrol off
Adak until mid-October, when she escorted shipping to Pearl Harbor, then proceeded to the States for overhaul. Returning to Pearl Harbor in late November 1942,
Case cleared to escort a convoy to the
Fiji Islands, arriving 20 December. From Fiji she sailed to Guadalcanal to screen a convoy during its unloading period, and on 1 January 1943, arrived at
Espiritu Santo, her base for escort, patrol, and training duty through 23 September. After overhaul at
San Francisco, California,
Case returned to Pearl Harbor in December. For the next eight months,
Case was almost constantly at sea, screening groups of the
3rd and
5th Fleets. From mid-January through mid-March 1944, these strikes were against Japanese bases in the
Marshall Islands, supporting the invasion of these islands.
Palau and the western
Carolines were the targets 30 March-1 April, and
Case next sailed from
Majuro for the late-April air raids on
Hollandia,
Truk,
Satawan, and
Ponape. A month of local screening and escort duty at Majuro preceded
Cases assignment to TG 58.4 for the strikes on Japanese airfields in the
Bonins, designed to neutralize these bases during the invasion of the
Marianas. With this group, she screened carriers in the historic
Battle of the Philippine Sea on 19 and 20 June.
Repairs After a repair period at
Eniwetok,
Case resumed her operations with TG 58.4, screening for air strikes preparing for the landings on
Guam late in July 1944, and the attacks on the Bonins on 4 and 5 August. Through mid-September,
Case served on inter-island escort duty in the Marianas. In September, she rendezvoused with two submarines carrying allied prisoners of war, many of them wounded, rescued after the sinking of a Japanese transport. Since rough seas prevented the submarines from transferring the wounded to
Case, the destroyer put medical officers on board the submarines.
Case participated in the bombardment of
Marcus Island on 9 October 1944 and then joined TG 38.1 for strikes on
Luzon in conjunction with the invasion of
Leyte from 18 to 23 October. She returned to
Ulithi 29 October, putting to sea again 8 November for the bombardment of
Iwo Jima on the night of 11/12 November. Resuming escort duty from Ulithi,
Case was screening
cruisers bound for
Saipan on 20 November, when she rammed and sank a Japanese midget submarine at the entrance to
Mugai Channel. Immediately, she put back to Ulithi for an inspection of damage incurred in the encounter, but was back in action just two days later, bound for off shore patrol at Saipan until 6 December.
Iwo Jima Case joined in a smashing bombardment of Iwo Jima once more on 24 December 1944, during which she and were dispatched to attack a fleeing Japanese transport. A two-hour chase at full speed followed, both destroyers firing as the range closed. At 15:59, the effect of accurate gunfire told as the transport sank, her survivors refusing any assistance from the American destroyers. After repairs at Saipan, she returned to Iwo Jima 24 and 25 January 1945 for antisubmarine patrol during the opening phases of operations ashore. Escort and patrol duty from Saipan occupied her until 19 March, when she began an extended period of
antisubmarine patrol,
air-sea rescue, and
radar picket duty between Saipan and Iwo Jima until the close of the war in August 1945. At 13:50 on 31 March 1945,
Case departed her air-sea rescue station to investigate a surface contact reported by a
patrol aircraft at . At 19:51, she sighted a
submarine on the surface in the
Philippine Sea southeast of
Kagoshima,
Kyushu,
Japan at which did not respond to recognition signals. At 20:09,
Case opened gunfire on the submarine at a range of . She fired fifteen rounds, scoring no hits but straddling the submarine's
conning tower with her third
salvo as it
crash-dived. After the submarine submerged to a depth of ,
Case exchanged recognition signals with it identifying it as friendly, and
Case suspended her attack and headed for Iwo Jima at 20:29. The submarine, , suffered no damage or casualties.
Surrender of the Bonin Islands On 2 September 1945, the Case sailed to
Chichi Jima to accept and supervise the surrender of the Bonins Islands. On 19 September 1945, she took departure from Iwo Jima for
Norfolk, Virginia, arriving 1 November 1945. Here, she was decommissioned 13 December 1945, and sold 31 December 1947. ==Awards==