Conyngham was launched 14 September 1934 by
Boston Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. A. C. G. Johnson; and commissioned 4 November 1936. In the spring of 1937,
Conyngham made her maiden cruise to ports of northern Europe, and after overhaul at
Boston, Massachusetts, sailed for
San Diego, California where from 22 October she conducted training exercises. Operations along the west coast, in the
Hawaiian Islands, and in the
Caribbean continued until 2 April 1940, when she sailed from San Diego for
Pearl Harbor, and duty with the security patrol. In March 1941, she sailed on a cruise to
Samoa,
Fiji, and
Australia, returning to local operations from Pearl Harbor. On 7 December 1941, when the
Japanese
attacked Pearl Harbor,
Conyngham lay moored at berth X-8,
East Loch, Pearl Harbor, on the starboard side of a nest of five destroyers to port of destroyer tender
Whitney (AD-4). To port of
Conyngham lay
USS Reid (DD-369),
USS Tucker (DD-374),
USS Selfridge (DD-357) and
USS Case (DD-370). The nest of destroyers opened fire on the attacking Japanese, and downed several enemy planes.
Conyngham continued to patrol from Pearl Harbor through December, and after a brief overhaul at
Mare Island, had escort duty between the west coast and the
New Hebrides. In June 1942,
Conynghams escort duties were interrupted to screen
carriers in the
Battle of Midway, and fought on 4, 5, and 6 June.
Conyngham returned to escort duties until 16 October 1942, when she put out from Pearl Harbor to screen for action in the Southwest
Pacific. She defended the carriers in the
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on 26 October. On 2 November,
Conyngham bombarded
Kokumbona, a village on the island of
Guadalcanal, and while maneuvering in close quarters, collided with another destroyer. The resulting damage was temporarily repaired at
Nouméa and completed at Pearl Harbor.
Conyngham returned to
Espiritu Santo 4 February 1943 to resume her support of the
Guadalcanal operation. On 7 February she bombarded
Doma Cove, and for the next 5 months, continued patrol and escort duties between bases in the South Pacific and Australia.
Conyngham brought gunfire support to
Operation Chronicle, landings on
Woodlark and
Kiriwina Islands, off
New Guinea from 1 to 3 July 1943, and on 23 August bombarded
Finschhafen, New Guinea. On 4 September she screened landings at
Lae, New Guinea, and was attacked by three bombers, which damaged her with near misses. Quickly repaired, she returned to Finschhafen 22 September to cover landings, and then sailed to
Brisbane, Australia. She was back in action for the landings on
Arawe,
New Britain, on 15 December, on
Cape Gloucester 26 December, and on
Saidor, New Guinea, 2 January 1944. She continued duties in the New Guinea area, aside from a repair period in Australia in January 1944, until she sailed in March for an overhaul at
San Francisco, California. Returning to
Majuro late in May 1944,
Conyngham sailed with TF 58, screening battleships during the
Marianas operation. On 13 June she fired in the bombardment of
Saipan, and remained in the Marianas offering fire support, escort, and patrol services until August. After escorting ships in preparation for the return to the
Philippines,
Conyngham arrived in
Leyte Gulf 4 November screening reinforcements. She was strafed by a float plane on 16 November, which wounded 17 of her men and caused slight damage to the ship. On 7 December she covered the landings in
Ormoc Bay under heavy air attack, and on 11 December, entered Ormoc Bay again with reinforcements. ==Fate==