USS Aulick (DD-569) was an American , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Commodore John H. Aulick (1787–1873).
Construction and commissioning
Aulick was laid down on 14 May 1941 at Orange, Texas, by the Consolidated Steel Corporation; launched on 2 March 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Thaddeus A. Thomson, the wife of Captain Thaddeus A. Thomson who was then the acting commandant of the 8th Naval District; and commissioned on 27 October 1942.
Service history
United States Navy
World War II
Following her commissioning, the destroyer conducted shakedown training between the Gulf of Mexico and Casco Bay Maine. On 14 December 1942 at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay outside of Hampton Roads, VA, near the Thimble Shoals Lighthouse, she hit and sank the sloop Narada (known as the USCGR-2012) on loan to the US Coast Guard for antisubmarine duty. There was no loss of life. Her owner L. Corrin Strong was notified and compensated $6,249.80. She later departed Philadelphia on 23 January 1943, bound for the South Pacific. She transited the Panama Canal and paused at Bora Bora, Society Islands, before making Nouméa, New Caledonia, on 12 February. After a week of antisubmarine patrol off New Caledonia, Aulick joined Task Force 64 (TF 64) in the Coral Sea and stood by to support an American force landing on the Russell Islands.
When TF 64 returned to Nouméa on 25 February, Aulick was detached. She stood out for Espiritu Santo on 1 March as an escort for the aircraft transport . From there, the destroyer steamed to Efate Island, New Hebrides, but on 9 March, she was ordered back to Nouméa. At 0411 on the 10th, Aulick struck a coral reef off the southern tip of New Caledonia while making and suffered extensive damage to her hull, propellers, and engines.
After being briefly drydocked at Nouméa, the ship was taken in tow bound for Hawaii, where she arrived on 10 April after stops at Suva, Fiji Islands, and at Pago Pago, American Samoa. The warship underwent repairs at Pearl Harbor until 8 November when she got underway for Bremerton, Washington Reaching there on 14 November, Aulick entered the Puget Sound Navy Yard for replacement of damaged machinery. She set sail on 23 December to return to Pearl Harbor. Upon reaching that port, the ship received three more weeks of availability.
1944
The destroyer left Hawaii on 22 January 1944, bound for the west coast, and reported to the Fleet Operational Training Command in San Francisco on 3 February. Her duties included serving as a training ship in engineering, ordnance, and deck duties. The highlight of her service during this assignment was her rescue on 11 April of 16 crewmen from a downed United States Navy PBM Mariner flying boat.
The warship was relieved on 18 May and reported to the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, San Francisco, for repairs. At the end of this work, she sailed once again for Pearl Harbor and arrived there on 27 June. After a series of training exercises, Aulick got underway on 9 July in the screen of 12 transports bound for the invasion of Guam. They arrived off that island on 22 July, and the destroyer remained in the area, patrolling and screening units of the 5th Fleet, until 6 August.
After a resupply stop at Eniwetok, Aulick rendezvoused with Task Group 32.4 (TG 32.4) on 21 August and continued on to Guadalcanal where she spent the next three weeks preparing for upcoming operations against the Palaus. The destroyer sailed for that group of islands with TG 32.7 on 8 September, reached her destination on 15 September, and supported the forces landing on Peleliu and on Anguar.
On 30 September, the ship headed for Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, to join the 7th Fleet. She got underway for the Philippines on 12 October and arrived off Leyte on 18 October. The next day, Aulick was assigned to the northern fire support group for shore bombardment, night harassing fire, and close fire support. She entered San Pedro Bay at 0655 and opened fire at 1115. At approximately 1212, Japanese shells scored direct hits on the destroyer, killing one crewman by flying shrapnel. At 1328, she ceased fire and retired for the night. Aulick again rendered fire support on 20 and 21 October. From 22 to 24 October, she stood by but did not fire her guns.