USS Whipple ( DD - 217 ) USS " Whipple " ( DD - 217 / AG - 117 ) , a " Clemson " - class destroyer was the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of Captain Abraham Whipple ( 1733 – 1819 ) , who served in the Continental Navy . " Whipple " was laid down on 12 June and launched 6 November 1919 from William Cramp and Sons ; sponsored by Mrs . Gladys V . Mulvey , great - great - great granddaughter of Abraham Whipple ; and commissioned on 23 April 1920 , Lieutenant Richard F . Bernard in command . Service history . 1920 to World War II . Following shakedown training out of Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , " Whipple " returned to Philadelphia for post - shakedown availability . The destroyer sailed for the Near East on 29 May 1920 and arrived at Constantinople , Turkey , on 13 June . For the next eight months , she operated in the region of the Black Sea and eastern Mediterranean , under the overall command of Admiral Mark L . Bristol , Commander , U . S . Naval Detachment in Near Eastern Waters . At this time , the entire Near East was in turmoil due to changes caused by , and in the wake of , World War I . " Whipple " delivered mail to at Samsun , Turkey , on 16 June and landed British American Tobacco company representatives whom the destroyer had transported from Constantinople . She next visited Sevastopol , in the Russian Crimea , and Constanţa , Romania . Unexpectedly ordered to Batum , Georgia , " Whipple " departed Samsun on 6 July and made 30 knots to reach her destination the next day . There , she attended the peaceful birth of the Georgian Republic , as British and French troops turned over the city to White Russian forces . " Whipple " then shifted south for a brief cruise along the Levantine coast during which she visited Beirut and Damascus , Syria and Port Said , Egypt , before she returned to Constantinople on 18 August . While she was making this cruise , the sweeping Navy - wide designation of hull numbers took place and " Whipple " was classified as DD - 217 on 17 July 1920 . The destroyer next resumed her previous routine on the Black Sea route , carrying mail between ports ( including dispatches for consulates and the like ) , and observing conditions prevailing at the ports visited in Romania , Russia , and Asiatic Turkey . While underway on 19 October , " Whipple " sighted distress signals from Greek steamer " Thetis " and proceeded to the stricken vessel ' s assistance , as she lay aground off Constanţa . After 10 hours , the destroyer succeeded in freeing " Thetis " from her predicament and earned a commendation from her division commander . The citation lauded Lieutenant Commander Bernard ' s display of initiative and his excellent handling of the ship in shoal waters with a heavy sea running . " The whole affair , " the citation concluded , " . . . reflected great credit on the " Whipple " and the United States Naval Service . " In the meantime , while " Whipple " conducted her patrols , the situation in the Russian Civil War was changing . " Whipple " convoyed the disabled American steamer SS " Haddon " into Constantinople and later fueled at Constanţa where she learned that Russian Bolshevik troops were approaching the Crimea . Baron General Pyotr Wrangel , commanding the White Russian forces in the area , pulled his force back to Sevastopol in a rear - guard action , from where the Whites evacuated to sea in a wide variety of craft to escape the oncoming Bolshevik forces . " Whipple " arrived at Sevastopol on the morning of 14 November and reported to Vice Admiral Newton A . McCully for orders . Hundreds of boats were present in the harbor , often crammed to the gunwales with evacuating White Russians . In addition to " Whipple " , cruiser and two destroyers , and , stood by to evacuate selected individuals bearing passes from Admiral McCully . During the entire time " Whipple " remained at Sevastopol , her main battery was trained out and manned . Armed boat crews carried evacuees out to the ship while her landing force stood in readiness . As her last boatload pushed off from shore , Bolshevik troops reached the main square and began firing on the fleeing White Russians ; " Whipple " had completed the mission just in time . " Whipple " then towed a barge loaded with wounded White Russian troops out of range of the Bolshevik guns and then turned the tow over to " Humphreys " . As " Whipple " passed " Overton " , McCully , on the latter ' s bridge , called out by megaphone " well done , " Whipple " . " The last American vessel out of Sevastopol , the destroyer headed for Constantinople with her passengers , both topside and below decks . Each carried very few belongings , had no food , and possessed very little money . Many were sick or wounded . After disembarking the refugees at Constantinople , " Whipple " resumed her station ship and mail carrying duties with the Near Eastern Naval Detachment and continued the task through the end of 1920 and into the spring of 1921 . On 2 May 1921 , the destroyer , along with her division mates , sailed for the Far East , transiting the Suez Canal and called at Bombay , India ; Colombo , Ceylon ; Batavia , Java ; Singapore , Straits Settlements ; and Saigon , French Indochina . She arrived at her new home port , Cavite , Philippine Islands , near Manila , on 29 June . For the next four years , the destroyer served in the Asiatic Fleet , " showing the flag " and standing ready to protect American lives and property in strife - torn China . She operated out of Cavite in the winter months , conducting tactical exercises in the Philippines until heading north to North China ports in the spring for summer operations out of Tsingtao . Warfare between local warlords around Shanghai in late 1924 and early 1925 resulted in " Whipple ' s " being called upon to serve as a transport . On 15 January 1925 , the Marine detachment from went ashore to protect American property , while about the same time , an expeditionary force of marines , led by Captain James P . Schwerin , USMC , embarked in " Whipple " , , and . The three destroyers landed the marines on 22 January , relieving the 28 - man detachment from the gunboat at that time . On 18 May 1925 , " Whipple " and her division sailed for the United States , via Guam , Midway , and Pearl Harbor , and arrived at San Diego on 17 June . Five days later , the ship got underway for the east coast of the United States ; and she arrived at Norfolk on 17 July . She next operated off the east coast from Maine to Florida and cruised to Guantanamo Bay for maneuvers with the Fleet . During this time , " Whipple " put ashore a landing force in Nicaragua to protect American lives and property threatened by the banditry and unrest . On four separate instances , in late 1926 and early 1927 , a landing party from the destroyer served on shore , earning the ship the Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal . " Whipple " departed Norfolk on 26 May 1927 to begin a cruise with her division to northern European ports . She then steamed south for a brief tour in the Mediterranean before departing Gibraltar on 29 January 1928 and heading for Cuba . She conducted operations in the Caribbean out of Guantanamo Bay , until 26 March when she set course for the west coast . She operated in the Pacific out of the Destroyer Base at San Diego , California , until 1 August 1929 . " Whipple " departed the west coast , bound for the Asiatic Station and her second tour with the Asiatic Fleet . " Whipple " spent the next decade with the Asiatic Fleet , watching the rising ascendancy of Japan over China and the Far East . She resumed the routine common to ships of her type with the Fleet : winter exercises in the Philippine Islands and summer maneuvers out of Tsingtao , China , with cruises to Chinese coastal ports in the interim . While on exercises in Subic Bay during the spring of 1936 , " Whipple " and collided on 14 April . The latter suffered such serious damage in the accident that she had to be scrapped . As a consequence , " Whipple " , whose own bow had been bent around until it faced sternward , received " Smith Thompson " s undamaged bow and soon reentered active service . Meanwhile , tension between China and Japan continued to worsen , particularly in North China . These long - simmering antagonisms erupted in open fighting near Peking on 7 July 1937 , which soon became an all - out war in the vicinity . Two weeks later , a small squadron of Asiatic Fleet units , including " Whipple " , sailed from Chefoo on 24 July . The destroyer , in company with , " Barker " , and , rendezvoused with on the 25th , en route to the coast of Siberia . The five ships arrived at Vladivostok , USSR , on the 28th . The visit , the first by American men - of - war since the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union in 1933 , lasted until 1 August when the five ships headed back to China . Within the next fortnight , while the Fleet continued its routine , hostilities broke out between Chinese and Japanese forces at Shanghai , and the Second Sino - Japanese War entered a new phase . The Fleet continued its mission of observing the conflict , standing ready to evacuate Americans from Chinese ports should the occasion arise . By mid - 1938 , when the war had moved inland and up the Yangtze , the Fleet resumed its former routine . " Whipple " and her division mates , in company with , visited Bangkok , Siam , in June 1938 . The Japanese captured most of the major coastal cities and ports and those along the lower Yangtze , and opportunities for trouble multiplied for the western nations still trying to maintain their interests in China . In the spring of 1939 , one such occasion came at Amoy , China , where a Chinese gunman shot a Japanese citizen . The Japanese responded by landing Special Naval Landing Force personnel near the International Settlement of Koolangsu . The British and Americans did likewise , landing bluejackets from and the British light cruiser " Birmingham " . By September 1939 , " Whipple " was serving as station ship at Amoy , her landing force ashore and Captain John T . G . Stapler , Commander , South China Patrol , embarked on board . At 2355 on 3 September 1939 , " Whipple " s deck log noted that France had declared war on Germany , two days after German troops invaded Poland . World War II had begun in Europe , substantially altering the balance of power in the Orient as Britain pulled out much of her China Station fleet to bolster the Home and Mediterranean Fleets . " Whipple " operated on neutrality patrol off the Philippines into 1941 , as Admiral Thomas C . Hart prepared the small Asiatic Fleet for war . World War II . On 25 November 1941 - two days in advance of the " war warning " which predicted that hostile Japan ese action in the Pacific was imminent - Admiral Hart dispatched " Whipple ' s " Destroyer Division ( DesDiv ) 58 , along with the tender " Black Hawk " ( AD - 9 ) , to Balikpapan , Borneo , to disperse the surface ships of his fleet from their vulnerable position within the confines of Manila Bay . There , " Whipple " awaited the outbreak of war which came on 8 December 1941 ( 7 December east of the date line ) with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . Originally slated to join a British force based around the battleship HMS " Prince of Wales " and the battlecruiser HMS " Repulse " , " Whipple ' s " mission was aborted when Japanese land - based torpedo plane s and high - level bombers sank both of these capital ships in the South China Sea off Kuantan , Malaya , on 10 December . " Whipple " arrived at Singapore on 11 December and departed on the 14th , bound for the Netherlands East Indies . Fighting a desperate rearguard action in the face of a swift - moving and well - organized enemy , the American - British - Dutch - Australian Command ( ABDA ) force faced formidable obstacles as they withdrew to the " Malay Barrier " . During this time , " Whipple " conducted important escort and patrol duties into February 1942 . On 12 February , the destroyer got underway from Prigi Bay , Java , in a dense fog . As she headed for Tjilatjap , on the south coast of Java , she was struck a glancing blow by the Dutch light cruiser " De Ruyter " . As the Dutch ship emerged out of the murk , " Whipple " alertly swung left to avoid a collision , a move that averted more serious damage . Drydocked at Tjilatjap on the 13th , " Whipple " ascertained the damage to be minor and rejoined the fleet for active service . At 1640 on 26 February , " Whipple " and sistership " Edsall " ( DD - 219 ) departed Tjilatjap to rendezvous with " Langley " ( AV - 3 ) off the south coast of Java . Making contact at 0629 , the destroyers took up screening , positions to escort the vulnerable auxiliary - carrying a load of aircraft to bolster the sagging defenses of Java - into Tjilatjap . At 1150 , lookouts spotted nine high - level bombers approaching from the east . Four minutes later , a stick of bombs splashed around Langley - clearly the object of Japanese attention . During a second attack shortly after noon , all three ships put up brisk antiaircraft fire . " Langley " ' s evasive maneuvers were not sufficient to prevent the Japanese , at 1212 , hitting her with a several bombs , setting the former aircraft carrier on fire . " Whipple " broke off firing at 1224 as the attackers veered away in a northeasterly direction . She changed course and closed " Langley " to evaluate that vessel ' s damage . Shortly thereafter , four Japanese fighter planes dove on the three - ship convoy ; one of these planes was damaged by antiaircraft fire . " Langley " was abandoned at 1325 , and " Whipple " proceeded close aboard to rescue survivors ; using two of the destroyer ' s life rafts , a cargo net slung over the side , and a number of lines trailed over the side . Staying some 25 yards off the sinking seaplane tender , " Whipple " picked up some 308 men from " Langley ' s " crew and embarked Army personnel for the P - 40 fighter s carried on the doomed ship ' s abbreviated flight deck . At 1358 , the task at hand completed , " Whipple " backed off and stood out to destroy the derelict , opening fire at 1429 with her 4 - inch main battery . After nine rounds of 4 - inch and two torpedoes , " Langley " settled lower and lower but refused stubbornly to sink . Soon , orders arrived directing " Whipple " and her sister ship to clear the area prior to any more bombing attacks . " Whipple " accordingly vacated the vicinity and subsequently rendezvoused with " Pecos " ( AO - 6 ) in the lee of Christmas Island to transfer the Army pilots to the oiler . At 1020 on 27 February , three Japanese twin - engined bombers attacked Christmas Island . One later singled out " Whipple " and dropped a stick of bombs which missed the rapidly dodging destroyer . On 28 February , " Whipple " began transferring " Langley " crew members to " Pecos " , completing the task by 0800 . While one destroyer transferred personnel , the other circled and maintained an antisubmarine screen . When the job of transferring survivors from the lost seaplane tender had been completed , the two destroyers parted company with the oiler . Changing course in anticipation of orders to retire from Java , " Whipple " prepared to send a message relative to these orders when the destroyer ' s chief radioman heard a cell for help over the radio from " Pecos " , then under attack by Japanese bombers near Christmas Island . " Whipple " sped to the scene to render assistance if possible . Throughout the afternoon , as the destroyer closed the oiler , all hands on board prepared knotted lines and cargo nets for use in picking up survivors . " Whipple " went to general quarters at 1922 when she sighted several small lights off both bows . " Whipple " slowly closed and began picking up survivors of " Pecos " . After interrupting the proceedings to conduct an unsuccessful attack on a submarine thought to be nearby , she returned to the task and continued the search until she had received 231 men from the oiler . " Whipple " soon cleared the area , believing that a Japanese aircraft carrier was close . Within a few days , Java fell to the Japanese who were gradually consolidating their expanding " Greater East Asia Co - Prosperity Sphere . " " Whipple " joined what remained of the Asiatic Fleet in Australian waters . Subsequently sailing to Melbourne , Australia , and arriving on 23 March , " Whipple " operated with Australian and New Zealand Navy warships on convoy escort duties along the Great Barrier Reef until 2 May . She departed Sydney on that day , bound for the New Hebrides Islands , American Samoa and Hawaii , arriving at Pearl Harbor on 6 June . Together with sister ship " Alden " , " Whipple " departed Pearl Harbor on 8 June for San Francisco , escorting an eastward - bound convoy to the west coast , arriving off the on the 18th . During a yard availability at Mare Island , the destroyer ' s topside weight was cut down as 20 - millimeter antiaircraft guns replaced two banks of her torpedo tubes . Thus modified for convoy escort work , " Whipple " put to sea to commence the first of seven round - trip convoy escort missions from the west coast to Hawaii which lasted into the spring of 1943 . Standing out of San Francisco Bay on 11 May 1943 , " Whipple " sailed for the Caribbean with a convoy routed through the Panama Canal for Santa Anna Bay , Curaçao , Netherlands West Indies . After the cargo ships loaded a petroleum cargo , the convoy pushed on for Cuba and arrived at Guantanamo Bay on 29 May . From Guantanamo , the destroyer escorted a convoy to Trinidad but returned to the Cuban base on 19 June before heading north to the New York Navy Yard for voyage repairs . Later departing New York on 10 July , " Whipple " escorted a group of ships which rendezvoused with a convoy bound for Casablanca , French Morocco , and Gibraltar . Returning to Charleston , South Carolina , on 27 August , the destroyer put to sea on 7 September as a unit in a slow tow convoy bound via the Caribbean to Recife , Brazil . " Whipple " headed north soon thereafter , guarding a convoy to Trinidad , and then up the eastern seaboard to Charleston , making port on 19 November . After another convoy escort run from Norfolk to Guantanamo Bay and the Panama Canal Zone , " Whipple " joined three other destroyers in completing the offensive antisubmarine task group based around " Guadalcanal " ( CVE - 60 ) . Departing Norfolk on 5 January 1944 , the group went to sea to hunt German U - boat s active in the Atlantic . On 16 January , aircraft from " Guadalcanal " sighted three U - boats on the surface , fueling , some 300 miles off Flores . Carrier - based Avengers attacked the group and sank U - 544 in the ensuing attack . After replenishing at Casablanca , the group returned to the high seas and searched convoy lanes for signs of German submarines until arriving at Norfolk on 16 February . Detached from the antisubmarine group soon thereafter , " Whipple " underwent voyage repairs at the Boston Navy Yard . On 13 March , the destroyer departed the east coast in company with USS Convoy ( UGS - 36 ) , bound for the Mediterranean . In the early morning darkness of 1 April , German planes - Dornier Do 217 ' s and Junkers Ju 88 ' s - came in low and fast to attack the convoy . Keeping up a heavy fire with her 20 - millimeter batteries , " Whipple " sent up a substantial part of the heavy barrage which drove off the 30 German planes and saved the convoy from substantial damage . Arriving at Bizerte , Tunisia , on 3 April , the destroyer subsequently returned to Norfolk on the 30th . For the remainder of 1944 and into the spring of 1945 , " Whipple " performed convoy escort duties off the east coast , across the Atlantic to Casablanca , and occasionally into the Caribbean . Post - World War II . Arriving at New London , Connecticut , on 6 June 1945 , " Whipple " was redesignated an auxiliary , AG - 117 . After acting as a target ship for submarines off New London , the erstwhile destroyer entered the New York Navy Yard on 9 July for conversion to a high - speed target vessel . On 5 August , " Whipple " departed New York for duty in the Pacific . Transiting the Panama Canal , the target ship proceeded via San Diego to Hawaii and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 30 August . She subsequently served as a target vessel for submarines of the Pacific training command until 21 September . The need for her services no longer required , " Whipple " departed Pearl Harbor and proceeded to the east coast , arriving at Philadelphia on 18 October . Decommissioned on 9 November 1945 , her name was struck from the Navy list on 5 December . Stripped for scrap , the hulk was sold on 30 September 1947 to the Northern Metals Company of Philadelphia . Awards . " Whipple " received two battle star s for her World War II service . See also . USS " Whipple " lists other ships of this name .