page_title: USS Oliver Mitchell
section_title: Hunter-killer operations
hierarchical_section_title: USS Oliver Mitchell / Construction and service / Hunter-killer operations
caption_attribution_description: English: Oliver Mitchell is seen from the port bow on December 19, 1944 approaching USS Anzio (CVE-57) for a transfer. Oliver Mitchell is wearing camouflage 32/22D with some worn and some repainted patches.
context_page_description: USS Oliver Mitchell was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for 2nd Lieutenant Oliver Mitchell, a pilot who posthumously received the Silver Star for his attack on a Japanese destroyer during the Guadalcanal campaign.
  Post-war, after active participation in the Pacific War, her crew returned home with five battle stars to their credit.
context_section_description: 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 Reno, 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 Kalk 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.
caption: Oliver Mitchell approaching Anzio to return a rescued Avenger crew, 19 December 1944
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