USS Wyman ( DE - 38 ) USS " Wyman " ( DE - 38 ) was an of the United States Navy during World War II . She was promptly sent off into the Pacific Ocean to protect convoys and other ships from Japanese submarines and fighter aircraft . She performed dangerous work , including participating in the sinking of two Japanese submarines , and sailed home proudly with six battle star s . She was originally laid down as BDE - 38 on 7 September 1942 at Bremerton , Washington , by the Puget Sound Navy Yard for the Royal Navy ; launched on 3 June 1943 ; and sponsored by Mrs . Joe L . Aprill . However , the ship ' s transfer to the United Kingdom was canceled . The destroyer escort was designated DE - 38 on 16 June ; named " Wyman " on the 23rd ; and was commissioned at the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 1 September 1943 , Lt . Comdr . Robert W . Copeland , USNR , in command . World War II Pacific Theatre operations . Following shakedown , " Wyman " departed Puget Sound on 7 November , bound for Hawaii , and arrived at Pearl Harbor on the 14th . Assigned to duty with Submarines , Pacific Fleet , the destroyer escort operated out of Pearl Harbor on submarine exercises from 1 December 1943 through the spring of 1944 . Anti - submarine operations . Detached from this duty on 22 June 1944 , " Wyman " sailed for the Marshall Islands and began anti - submarine warfare ( ASW ) operations in the American convoy routes between Eniwetok and Saipan . Joining Task Group ( TG ) 12 . 2 , based around , " Wyman " departed Eniwetok on 5 July and headed for the ASW operating area . En route , she left her formation to investigate a submarine contact which had been developed and depth - charged by . " Wyman " fired one barrage of depth charge bombs from her " hedgehog " but did not come up with evidence that she had either damaged or destroyed her enemy . The destroyer escort arrived in her patrol zone on 9 July and refueled from on the 11th . She remained in the area from 12 to 18 July before proceeding to investigate a surface radar contact at 0024 on the 19th . The destroyer escort closed the range until she lost radar contact at 0045 and switched immediately to her sonar . " Wyman " picked up a strong metallic echo and , at 0051 , fired a full pattern of " hedgehog " projectiles , with negative results . She reloaded , opened the range , and then closed for a second attack , as closed in the meantime . Sinking of the Japanese Submarine RO - 48 . At 0125 , " Wyman " launched a second full pattern from her hedgehog - dead on the target . A series of violent explosions rocked the destroyer escort , as the depth bombs blew the submarine apart . " Wyman " circled to starboard and passed through her own firing point in order to regain contact but picked up only a " mush " echo — indicative that her contact had been destroyed . Remaining on the scene of the action , " Wyman " lowered a motor whaleboat to recover oil samples from the water and to fish out debris . In the large , spreading , oil slick , men in the boat picked up two five - gallon oil cans , one small gasoline can , and a piece of teak wood . Attacked by friendly forces . As it was gathering this materiel , " Wyman ' s " motor whaler was strafed by two planes from " Hoggatt Bay " , whose pilots had mistaken the boat for a surfaced submarine . Fortunately , there were no fatalities ; and the injured men were soon transferred to " Hoggatt Bay " for medical treatment . Oil from the sunken submarine — later identified by a post - war examination of Japanese records as — continued to bubble up in copious quantities into the next day . Satisfied that the kill was definite , " Wyman " rejoined TG 12 . 2 and arrived at Eniwetok on 22 July . Sinking of Japanese submarine I - 55 . Her respite was short , however , for she again got underway on 26 July . Two days later , at 1733 , lookouts in " Hoggatt Bay " and " Wyman " simultaneously spotted the running on the surface . " Wyman " and " Reynolds " charged after the enemy submersible as she went deep in an effort to escape . " Wyman " picked up the fleeing I - boat by sonar at 1805 . Eight minutes later , the destroyer escort fired a " hedgehog " pattern which struck its target with deadly accuracy . " Wyman ' s " sound operators heard the sounds of heavy explosions from beneath the sea as " I - 55 " began to blow apart . While opening the range at 1819 , a further set of explosions rocked the sea , sounding the death knell for the enemy I - boat . Reynolds then added a " hedgehog " pattern , but her target had already perished . Large quantities of debris and oil , visible evidence of " Wyman ' s " second " kill " , soon came to the surface . Return to escort duty . With the dissolution of TG 12 . 2 on 9 August , " Wyman " joined TG 57 . 3 for escort duty in waters between the Marshalls and Marianas . On 31 August , the destroyer escort escorted fuel ships of Task Unit 30 . 8 . 10 to a rendezvous with TG 38 . 4 and back to link up with TG 38 . 2 and Task Force 34 . After completing this mission on 20 October 1944 , the day of the first landings in the Philippine Islands , " Wyman " resumed escort operations between the Marshalls and Marianas and also participated in hunter - killer operations into early 1945 , supporting the invasion of the strategic island of Iwo Jima . Supporting Okinawa operations . She departed from Ulithi on 13 March 1945 and proceeded to the fueling area for TG 50 . 8 for duty as escort with the Logistics Support Group for the invasion of Okinawa . During this tour of duty , which lasted into the spring of 1945 , she sank three floating Japanese mines by gunfire . Post - War activity . The destroyer escort remained with the 5th Fleet until 10 June , continuing her unglamorous but vital role , screening the important convoys bringing men and munitions to the war zone for the drive against the Japanese homeland . After a stop at Guam , " Wyman " headed for the United States , proceeding via Pearl Harbor and Eniwetok , and arrived at San Francisco , California , on 15 July . End of War decommissioning . The end of the war changed the Navy ' s plans for the ship . On 17 August — while in the midst of her scheduled 42 - day overhaul during which she was to receive her " ultimate approved armament " — all work on the ship " except that necessary to place the ship in safe and habitable condition " was halted . Declared surplus to the needs of the postwar Navy , " Wyman " was decommissioned on 17 December 1945 and struck from the Navy List on 8 January 1946 . Having been stripped prior to her decommissioning , the ship ' s hulk was sold to the National Metal and Steel Company , of Terminal Island , California , on 16 April 1947 for scrapping , a process which was completed by 14 March 1948 .