Allied Warships

USS Sampson (DD 394)

Destroyer of the Somers class

Navy	The US Navy
Type	Destroyer
Class	Somers
Pennant	DD 394
Built by	Bath Iron Works (Bath, Maine, U.S.A.)
Ordered
Laid down	8 Apr 1936
Launched	16 Apr 1938
Commissioned	19 Aug 1938
End service	8 Nov 1945
History	Decommissioned 8 November 1945. Stricken 28 November 1945. Sold and broken up for scrap 29 March 1946.

Commands listed for USS Sampson (DD 394)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

	Commander	From	To
1	Cdr. William Granat, USN	19 Aug 1938	29 Jun 1940
2	Cdr. William Kearney Phillips, USN	29 Jun 1940	21 Dec 1940
3	Cdr. Lunsford Yandell Mason, Jr., USN	21 Dec 1940	5 Dec 1941
4	Lt.Cdr. Harman Brown Bell, Jr., USN	6 Dec 1941	4 Sep 1943
5	T/Cdr. Thomas Martin Fleck, USN	4 Sep 1943	9 Dec 1944
6	Samuel Oliver Rush, Jr., USN	9 Dec 1944	8 Nov 1945

You can help improve our commands section
Click here to Submit events/comments/updates for this vessel.
Please use this if you spot mistakes or want to improve this ships page.

Notable events involving Sampson include:

12 Jan 1944

Convoy US 23A.

This convoy departed Wellington on 12 January 1944.

It was made up of the troop transport Mooltan (British, 20952 GRT, built 1923).

On departure from Wellington the convoy was escorted by the destroyer USS Sampson (T/Cdr. T.M. Fleck, USN).

Around 0600L/15, the light cruiser HMAS Adelaide (A/Capt. J.C.D. Esdaile, OBE, RAN) took over the escort duties from the USS Sampson (T/Cdr. T.M. Fleck, USN) which then parted company.

Around 1650H/23 the convoy arrived at Fremantle.

The convoy departed Fremantle for Bombay around 1000H/26. It was now escorted by the heavy cruiser HMS Sussex (A/Capt. M. Everard, RN).

Around 1230FG/4, in approximate position 02°00'S, 73°00'W the convoy was turned over to the destroyer HMS Redoubt (Lt.Cdr. N.E.G. Ropner, DSO, RN). HMS Sussex then parted company to proceed to Colombo.

The convoy arrived at Bombay on 9 February 1944.

13 Jan 1944
Around 1100L/13, HMAS Adelaide (A/Capt. J.C.D. Esdaile, OBE, RAN) departed Port Melbourne to make rendezvous with convoy US 23A.

[For more info on this convoy see the event ' Convoy US 23A ' for 12 January 1944.] (1)