USS Anderson ( DD - 411 ) USS " Anderson " ( DD - 411 ) was a in the United States Navy . She was named for Rear Admiral Edwin Alexander Anderson , Jr . , a Medal of Honor recipient . " Anderson " was laid down on 15 November 1937 at Kearny , New Jersey , by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company ; launched on 4 February 1939 ; sponsored by Mrs . Mertie Loraine Anderson , the widow of Rear Admiral Anderson ; towed to the New York Navy Yard , and delivered there to the Navy on 18 May 1939 ; and commissioned on 19 May 1939 , Lieutenant Commander William M . Hobby , Jr . , in command . Service history . Inter - War Period . " Anderson " remained at the New York Navy Yard through June , fitting out , during which time she contributed a landing party of sailors to march in the New York City Flag Day parade on 14 June 1939 . Underway from her berth on 5 July , " Anderson " reached Newport , Rhode Island , on 7 July , mooring to the east dock at the Naval Torpedo Station , and taking on board torpedo warheads , exploders , and test equipment before returning to the New York Navy Yard the next day , pausing there only briefly before getting underway later that afternoon for Washington , D . C . Anchoring off Quantico on the night of 9 July , " Anderson " steamed up the Potomac River , rendering the prescribed passing honors abeam of Mount Vernon , and arrived at the Washington Navy Yard at 0721 on 10 July . The next day , a number of high - ranking officers informally inspected the new destroyer , the first of the " Sims " - class to be placed in commission , Admiral Harold R . Stark , the Chief of Naval Operations , accompanied by Captain H . T . Markland ; Rear Admirals Robert L . Ghormley , Director of War Plans , and William R . Furlong , Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance , as well as Charles Edison , the Acting Secretary of the Navy . On 12 July , assisted by and , " Anderson " got underway for Yorktown , Virginia . She loaded depth charges at the mine depot at Yorktown before moving to the Naval Operating Base ( NOB ) at Norfolk before getting underway on 14 July for Wilmington , North Carolina . Wilmington was the hometown of the man for whom the ship had been named , Admiral Anderson ; and it accorded the ship a warm welcome . The local paper editorialized : " It is a pleasure to have you in port and to inspect the magnificent new destroyer named in honor of a distinguished son . The ship and its personnel are a credit to the record and memory of the man for whom your ship is named . . . Therefore , we bid you welcome , and if there is aught that can add to your entertainment while here , you have but to ask any resident and it is yours . . . " " Anderson " gave a tea for Mrs . Anderson , members of the late flag officer ' s family , and the city officials of Wilmington on the afternoon of 17 July . On the next day , assisted out into the stream by the tug " Battler " , the destroyer made departure from Wilmington . Reaching NOB , Norfolk , on 19 July , " Anderson " shifted to the Norfolk Navy Yard that same day to take on board ammunition . After embarking six enlisted Marines for transportation to the Marine Barracks at Guantanamo Bay , " Anderson " got underway on 21 July for Cuban waters and the initial part of her shakedown cruise . Arriving at Guantanamo on 24 July , the destroyer disembarked her passengers before operating locally over the next few days . " Anderson " then visited San Juan , Puerto Rico ( from 1 – 5 August ) ; Coco Solo , Panama Canal Zone ( 8 – 14 August ) ; and Hamilton , Bermuda ( 19 – 21 August ) ; St . John ' s , Newfoundland ( 25 – 28 August ) ; before she reached Montreal , Canada , on the morning of 31 August . Underway on 5 September , the destroyer called briefly at Quebec ( 5 to 6 September ) before she headed for Newport . On 8 September , while en route , " Anderson " sighted a merchantman eight miles ( 13 km ) distant , identifying her as Norwegian by the display of national colors on ship ' s side . Soon thereafter , a plane , identified as " British " ( possibly Royal Canadian Air Force ) by the wing markings , circled " Anderson " at low altitude , obviously scrutinizing the ship thoroughly before banking away and heading for the coast . " Anderson " made arrival at the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport the following day , 9 September , and over the next few days served as the underway " target " for torpedo practice conducted by on the testing range in Narragansett Bay . On 16 September , " Anderson " arrived back at the New York Navy Yard , her shakedown completed , for the installation of her main battery director . After brief periods underway for testing fire control equipment ( 21 – 22 September ) , " Anderson " took departure from New York for NOB , Norfolk , arriving on 24 September . " Anderson " conducted gunnery exercises on the Southern Drill Grounds off the Virginia Capes , firing at a target towed by on 26 September before firing antiaircraft battery practice on 28 September . She arrived at the New York Navy Yard for post - shakedown availability on the morning of 1 October ; these repairs and alterations continuing through the end of January 1940 . The destroyer then touched briefly at the Boston Navy Yard before she ran her final acceptance trials off Rockland , Maine , on 7 February 1940 , with Rear Admiral H . L . Brinser , president of the Board of Inspection and Survey , embarked . " Anderson " then paid a return visit to the Boston Navy Yard on 9 February before returning to New York , via the Cape Cod Canal , Buzzards Bay and Oyster Bay , on 12 February . " Anderson " remained at the Navy Yard through the end of March , after which time she sailed for Newport , for torpedo firing tests on 10 April . At 1130 on 12 April , the destroyer embarked the Honorable John Z . Anderson , a California Congressman and member of the House Naval Affairs Committee , and got underway shortly thereafter , reaching NOB , Norfolk , and mooring to Pier 7 , at 2008 the following day , disembarking her passenger the next morning . Underway in company with , " Anderson " stood out , headed for Guantanamo Bay , on the afternoon of 15 April . The next day , 14 hours out of Norfolk , the ships ran into heavy weather . At 0440 on 16 April , the strongback of the port lifeboat was reported to be cracked . Lieutenant George R . Phelan , the executive officer , gathered men of the deck force in the lee of the galley , amidships , as the ship steered various courses in an attempt to lessen the roll and thereby facilitate efforts to secure the port lifeboat . Between rolls , Lieutenant Phelan and his men attempted to recover the boat and make it fast , but the effort soon became too dangerous , not worth the lives of the men , and the work had to be abandoned , the boat carrying away completely at 0718 . Ultimately , " Anderson " reached Guantanamo Bay at 0618 on 19 April . Underway again nine hours later , " Anderson " , again in company with " Manley " , reached the submarine base at Coco Solo , Panama Canal Zone , on 21 April . Transiting the Panama Canal on 23 April , " Anderson " proceeded independently up the west coast of Central America , reaching Acapulco , Mexico , on the 27th . The next morning , following by nine hours the visit of Commander W . M . Dillon , the naval attaché at the United States Embassy in Mexico City , " Anderson " sent ashore a working party to bring off " naval stores salvaged from the wreck " of ( listed in the 1941 Merchant Vessel Register as " abandoned " during the previous year ) . Underway again four hours later , " Anderson " rejoined " Manley " on 30 April , and reached San Diego at 0900 on 1 May 1940 . After conducting a brief harbor cruise with 85 Army reservists embarked on 18 May , " Anderson " got underway to conduct a neutrality patrol off the coast of southern California . During the course of this operation on 20 May , the destroyer sighted a tug five miles ( 8 km ) away at 0945 and altered course to close and investigate . Closer examination revealed " Ray P . Clark " , towing a barge laden with horses and bales of hay and flying a distress signal . " Anderson " immediately called away her fire and rescue party and stopped to render assistance , help which turned out to be only giving directions to the tug which had become lost and needed the course to San Nicolas Island . The assistance duly rendered , " Anderson " continued on her appointed rounds , arriving back at San Diego on the morning of 23 May . The warship commenced the month of June as plane guard for , as that carrier conducted local operations out of North Island ; she later planeguarded for from 19 – 21 June , interspersed with type training and gunnery practices out of Pyramid Cove , San Clemente Island . At 0900 on 22 June , as the ship prepared to sail for Hawaiian waters , Commander Allan E . Smith reported on board and broke his pennant in " Anderson " as Commander , Destroyer Division 3 ( DesDiv 3 ) ; " Anderson " subsequently took departure from San Diego on the morning of 25 June , sailing in company with " Enterprise " and , , , and . During the passage to Hawaii , " Anderson " alternated with the other destroyers in standing plane guard duty for " Enterprise " and then serving as antisubmarine screen . On 28 June , during morning flight operations , a plane from Scouting Squadron ( VS ) 6 lost power after being catapulted from the flight deck and was forced to ditch . " Hammann " arrived on the scene first and rescued the pilot and his radioman , " Enterprise " later drew alongside the plane and recovered it . Subsequently , " Anderson " covered the arrival of the force at Pearl Harbor and then followed it in , mooring on the morning of 2 July . For the next five months , " Anderson " operated locally put of Pearl Harbor and Lahaina Roads . Her operations within the Hawaiian chain took her to Palmyra ( 22 July ) and Christmas Island ( 23 July ) ; and included such evolutions as antiaircraft and machine gun practices ; battle depth charge practices , and torpedo practices , often operating in company with destroyers , light cruiser s , and battleship s . Interspersed were periods of upkeep back at Pearl Harbor alongside between 26 and 28 October , and drydocking ( 28 to 29 October and again from 30 October to 4 November ) . The ship also patrolled assigned areas adjacent to the Lahaina Roads anchorage , off Maui , and off Honolulu and Pearl Harbor , intercepting and identifying many merchantmen , and local craft , such as fishing boats , as well as noting the movements of American warships . Following this intensive period of operations in Hawaiian waters , " Anderson " took departure from Pearl Harbor on 2 December 1940 , bound for the West Coast in company with the rest of Destroyer Squadron ( DesRon ) 8 . Arriving at San Diego on the afternoon of 8 December , " Anderson " steamed to the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Company , San Pedro , California , the day after Christmas , and underwent an overhaul there through the first week of January 1941 . Then , after operating locally out of Long Beach and San Diego , " Anderson " took departure from San Diego on the morning of 14 January and rendezvoused with " Enterprise " and off San Pedro . The force conducted drills and exercises en route to the Hawaiian Islands , reaching Pearl Harbor on the morning of 21 January . " Anderson " resumed operations in the Hawaiian area on 12 February , conducting such evolutions as depth charge practices , night battle practice runs , and gunnery drills , until returning to Pearl Harbor on 19 February . Underway again two days later she conducted more gunnery runs and damage control problems before returning to port that afternoon to provision from the storeship . Underway again on the morning of 22 February , " Anderson " patrolled off the entrance to Pearl Harbor and encountered a fishing craft trespassing in a security zone ; lowering her motor whaleboat , " Anderson " investigated the craft and warned her owner to keep away from those waters . " Anderson " returned to Pearl Harbor the next morning , 23 February , before resuming the intensive schedule of operations with the other ships in her division that lasted through the end of February . During March 1941 , " Anderson " continued the rapid pace of operations out of Pearl Harbor , operating with the fleet and honing her skills in antisubmarine warfare tactics and in gunnery . She also operated for a time with " Yorktown " as plane guard . During flight operations on the morning of 17 March 1941 , two TBD Devastator s from Torpedo Squadron 5 collided at and crashed into the sea , from the carrier . " Yorktown " s boats recovered the bodies of the pilots , but both planes sank in 2 , 910 fathoms ( 5 , 320 m ) of water , carrying the other four men – two in each aircraft – with them . " Anderson " — detailed to remain in the vicinity and continue the search – found only small parts of the planes and pieces of clothing . These evolutions in Hawaiian waters proved to be the last for some time ; " Anderson " got underway for the West Coast of the United States shortly after noon on 24 March , and reached Mare Island Navy Yard on the last day of the month after first disembarking , at San Francisco , enlisted passengers transported from Pearl Harbor . The destroyer spent all of April 1941 undergoing repairs and alterations at the West Coast yard , and on 16 May got underway for her post - repair trials . After operating briefly in San Francisco Bay , " Anderson " shifted to Long Beach on 21 May , and eight days later , took departure , ostensibly , for the Hawaiian Islands , in company with her division mates , " Hammann " , " Mustin " , and " Rowan " . Interestingly , the ships soon received a change of orders . They rendezvoused with on the afternoon of 30 May , and soon proceeded down the coast , bound for Panama , as another increment of the Pacific Fleet was withdrawn to augment the Atlantic Fleet in its undeclared war with the German Navy in the $ 3 . Atlantic Neutrality Patrols . Transiting the Panama Canal on the night of 8 – 9 June , " Anderson " , her hull number and name painted out for security reasons , passed the Cristobal breakwater at 0125 on 9 June , en route to Guantanamo Bay . Fueling there on 11 June , " Anderson " got underway the same afternoon , quickly taking up antisubmarine screening station off the port bow of , which she escorted up the eastern seaboard to the Philadelphia Navy Yard , arriving there on 15 June . The respite in port proved brief , however , since " Anderson " took departure early on the morning of 19 June . Joined by shortly thereafter , the destroyer stood down the Delaware River , and out into the Atlantic . They joined the following morning , and , later , shortly after noon on 21 June . Together , these ships proceeded out into the central Atlantic on neutrality patrol , cruising almost as far as the Cape Verde Islands , " safeguarding the neutrality of the United States . " Their voyage took them almost to the edge of the zones defined in operations orders of April and June 1941 . " Anderson " served as plane guard for " Wasp " and as antisubmarine screen for the carrier and for " Tuscaloosa " during the patrol that ultimately came to an end at Bermuda on Independence Day , 1941 . After a brief period in Bermudan waters , a break she utilized for a short stint of close range battle practice , " Anderson " took departure on 12 July for Norfolk , reaching her destination the following day . After getting underway from the Tidewater region for torpedo practice on 17 July , the warship sailed north for Boston , and reached the Boston Navy Yard on the afternoon of 19 July . " Anderson " then underwent repairs and alterations into early August ; during her time in the yard , her number three 5 inch ( 127 mm ) mount was removed to save topside weight and allow the fitting of additional . 50 caliber ( 12 . 7 mm ) machine guns , extensions to her depth charge tracks , and a " Y " - gun ( depth charge projector ) , in addition to two dozen additional depth charges . Thus refitted to better perform the escort role needed in the developing Battle of the Atlantic , she participated in intensive antisubmarine exercises out of Provincetown , Massachusetts , during the latter half of August 1941 before returning to Boston on the 30th . " Anderson " s operations now carried her farther north , as she sailed for Casco Bay , Maine , on 2 September , exercising with " Tuscaloosa " en route . Assigned to Task Force 15 ( TF 15 ) , " Anderson " steamed as part of the escort force for the first major reinforcement convoy bound for Iceland , carrying an Army brigade to augment the Marines who had been there since July . The ships reached Reykjavík on the evening of 15 September after a passage enlivened by two " submarine " contacts in " Anderson " s vicinity : one summarily depth - charged by on 8 September , the other by on the 10th . Then , between 26 September and 3 October , " Anderson " escorted a convoy to Placentia Bay , Newfoundland . " Anderson " remained at Placentia Bay for almost a week before getting underway on 10 October as part of the antisubmarine screen for TF 14 , formed around " Yorktown " . This force reached Casco Bay , Maine , on the afternoon of 13 October . Moving down to Provincetown , " Anderson " again conducted antisubmarine exercises , and as in previous practices , the ship ' s performance was " outstanding in detecting the presence of a submarine and carrying out a successful attack . " Later , after a tender availability alongside at Casco Bay , she resumed her operations at sea with TF 14 . Standing out of Casco Bay on the afternoon of 26 October , with Task Group 14 . 3 ( TG 14 . 3 ) , , , , " Yorktown " , and seven destroyers as the escort for a convoy of six British cargo ships bound for the British Isles , " Anderson " , in the inner anti - submarine screen , plane guarded for the carrier as she conducted flight operations covering the convoy as it moved out into the Atlantic . On 30 October , from St . John ' s , Newfoundland , " Yorktown " had just completed recovering planes and was proceeding to refuel when , at 1219 , " Anderson " made an underwater contact , distant . " Anderson " went to general quarters immediately and proceeded ahead to develop the contact dropping a standard pattern of six depth charges at 1225 . Five minutes later , dropped an " embarrassing barrage " . Other ships in the vicinity , however , began sighting porpoises and blackfish , leading Commander Frank G . Fahrion , Commander , DesDiv 3 in " Anderson " , to report over the high - frequency radio ( TBS ) to " Morris " that , in view of the fish sightings , the contact was a false one . Soon thereafter , however , " Anderson " s men saw an oil slick and lowered a bucket that , when drawn up , contained a mixture of oil , water , and burnt TNT . At 1305 , the destroyer picked up a propeller noise and attacked with a second pattern of six depth charges . Soon thereafter , , also in on the " hunt " , picked up a contact and requested " Anderson " to develop it . The latter dropped another pattern at 1409 . " Anderson " secured from general quarters at 1421 , and then , in company with " Hughes " , tried to develop further contacts or to obtain concrete evidence of a " kill . " Unfortunately , it appeared that their quarry had escaped . After securing from the search at 1503 , " Anderson " remained with TF 14 until detached on 6 November . At 1637 on that same day , while steaming in company with " Hammann " , " Anderson " sighted an unidentified ship which instituted radical course changes when she apparently sighted the two American destroyers . As " Hammann " parted company , " Anderson " investigated the stranger , finding her to be , steaming singly from Belfast , Northern Ireland , to Halifax , Nova Scotia . The destroyer then trailed the tanker for a time until securing from the effort at 2246 . Reaching Hvalfjörður on 7 November and fueling from upon arrival , " Anderson " then spent the next month operating in Icelandic waters , out of Hvalfjörður ( " Valley Forge " ) and Reykjavík ( " Rinky Dink " ) . The ship ' s last " peacetime " operations consisted of a sweep , in company with " Idaho " and from Reykjavík across the southern end of the Denmark Strait , between Iceland and Greenland , between 1 and 6 December 1941 . World War II . Atlantic . Underway from Hvalfjörður , Iceland , on the morning of 9 December 1941 , two days after the Japan ese attack upon the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor , halfway across the globe , " Anderson " reached the Norfolk Navy Yard on 17 December , tarrying only a short time before taking departure at 0537 on 18 December for Charleston , South Carolina in company with " Hammann " , " Mustin " , and " Morris " , and reaching their destination the following morning . Unloading ammunition the following day , " Anderson " spent the rest of 1941 undergoing repairs and alterations at the Charleston Navy Yard , including the replacement of her . 50 - caliber ( 12 . 7 mm ) machine guns with 20 mm antiaircraft guns . Three days into 1942 , " Anderson " sailed for Norfolk , Virginia and after calibrating her degaussing gear on the Wolf Trap degaussing range , near Norfolk , the destroyer arrived at NOB , Norfolk , on the morning of 5 January . mi Once again , the respite in port proved brief , and at midday on 6 January , " Anderson " cleared Hampton Roads in company with " Morris " and " Hammann " , ultimately taking a screening position on the port beam of " Mississippi " in the force escorting the battlewagons of BatDiv 3 back to the Pacific Ocean . Pacific . Over the next four days , the destroyers guarded " New Mexico " , " Mississippi " , and as they headed down the East Coast of the United States and across the Gulf of Mexico . Reaching Cristobal on the morning of 11 January , " Anderson " transited the Panama Canal during the day , mooring at Balboa that afternoon . After taking on fuel , the destroyer was underway once more , that evening , bound for San Diego , California . On the second leg of the voyage , all ships remained alert . Within two days of departure from Panama , " Anderson " s lookouts reported a torpedo track at 0113 on 13 January . Over the next four days , the ships sighted , challenged and identified two ships , both of which proved to be friendly : the British - registry " Ocean Voice " and the American - registry " Kishacoquillas " , on 15 and 17 January , respectively . During the passage , the ships honed up their gunnery skills , and OS2U Kingfisher s simulated dive , torpedo , and high - level bombing attacks on the convoy . Off San Francisco Bay , the submarine jitters struck again , this time as " Hammann " reported a contact on the morning of 22 January and depth charged the " contact " with negative results . The odyssey from the East Coast completed , " Anderson " moored in a nest at Pier 54 , San Francisco , at 1250 on 22 January 1942 . " Anderson " subsequently unmoored on the morning of 25 January , after having undergone a brief tender availability in a nest alongside and stood out of San Francisco Bay , bound for a rendezvous with Convoy 2019 . Hampered by the typical foggy conditions surrounding the bay area , assembly took some time , but ultimately , with all units present and accounted for , the convoy set out for the Hawaiian Islands . " Anderson " covered the entry of the ships into the Pearl Harbor channel shortly before noon on 2 February . " Anderson " spent the next two weeks either at , or operating locally from , Pearl Harbor . Her underway periods included a turn at the Pearl Harbor entrance patrol ( 11 – 12 February ) and duty screening as that ship conducted gunnery exercises on 14 February . Underway at 0817 on 16 February , " Anderson " stood out to sea , joining up with Task Force 17 ( TF17 ) , consisting of " Yorktown " , , " Louisville " , " Hammann " , " Sims " , and " Walke " , under Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher , later that afternoon . The next two weeks found the " Yorktown " task force working its way toward the southwest Pacific . On 6 March 1942 , TF 17 rendezvoused with TF 11 under Vice Admiral Wilson Brown , to raid the Japanese stronghold of Rabaul . While Brown ' s and Fletcher ' s ships were en route to that area , however , Australian reconnaissance planes detected a Japanese invasion force moving toward the settlements of Lae and Salamaua , on the eastern coast of New Guinea . Both fell with little resistance , but the incipient enemy base , and the airfields at both places , presented the Allies with a fine new target , and a chance to get back at the enemy at his most vulnerable time – before he had consolidated his beachhead . The raid on Rabaul was shelved . To provide security for the carriers ' operations in the Gulf of Papua , Brown detached a surface force to remain in the waters of the Louisiade Archipelago , near Rossel Island , to intercept any enemy thrust toward Port Moresby and cover the arrival of Army troops scheduled to arrive at about that time at Nouméa , New Caledonia . He placed this force , " Astoria " , , " Louisville " , , " Anderson " , " Sims " , " Hammann " , and " Hughes " , under Rear Admiral John G . Grace , Royal Navy . While the patrol proved uneventful for Grace ' s ships , which rejoined TF 11 on 14 March , the Lae - Salamaua raid carried out by planes from " Yorktown " and " Lexington " forced the Japanese to husband carefully their amphibious resources , already on the proverbial " shoestring " , for their planned operations in the Solomon Islands . " Anderson " , operated with " Yorktown " through late April , patrolling the Coral Sea as the sole barrier against Japanese expansion in that region , putting into Tongatapu , in the Tonga ( or " Friendly " ) Islands , late that month . With intelligence data indicating that the postponed movement against Tulagi , in the Solomons , was imminent — confirmed by the Japanese landing men and supplies there on 29 April and establishing a seaplane base on the heels of the retreating Australian garrison , TF 17 moved north to deal with this threat . Battle of the Coral Sea . On 4 May , " Anderson " , her men " anxious to get a chance to attack " the enemy , screened " Yorktown " as she launched three attacks on the incipient base at Tulagi , the carrier ' s planes sinking a destroyer and some small auxiliaries , at the relatively modest cost of only three aircraft ( whose crews were later recovered ) . Reinforced on 6 May by Rear Admiral Aubrey W . Fitch ' s TF 11 , Fletcher planned to meet the Japanese in the Coral Sea on 7 May , to stop the enemy thrust toward Port Moresby . On that day , each side attempted to strike blows with carrier aircraft ; the Americans enjoying more success in that planes from " Yorktown " and " Lexington " sank . Japanese planes , attempting to strike the Americans , could not find them in the gathering darkness , and a twilight encounter between the returning Japanese air groups and American fighters robbed the enemy of experienced crews as well as virtually irreplaceable aircraft . " Anderson " , assigned to the Air Group ( TG 17 . 5 ) , operated in the screen of " Lexington " . The Japanese Striking Force , however , formed around and was , on 7 May , well south of Guadalcanal . The same day that American planes had dispatched " Shōhō " , planes from the enemy carriers sank " Sims " and damaged so severely that she had to be sunk later . The next morning some separated the two forces . The Americans struck first , crippling " Shōkaku " ; anti - aircraft fire and combat air patrol aircraft soon decimated " Zuikaku " s air group . Meanwhile , the American carriers had taken divergent courses as the incoming Japanese strike neared them , " Yorktown " , " Lexington " , and their respective screens drawing three or four miles apart ; " Anderson " continued to screen " Lexington " . About 1116 on 8 May , the first of the Japanese planes came in on the attack , which lasted until 1200 . During the attack , " Anderson " maintained station on " Lexington " , constantly firing at the enemy , but scoring no hits . With the exception of one burst of machine gun fire , the destroyer was not attacked , the enemy concentrating his attack on " Lexington " . " Lady Lex " took two hits on the port side . Then , Aichi D3A " Val " dive bombers punctured her with near misses and staggered her with two direct hits . A bomb smashed into the port forward gun gallery , and another exploded inside the carrier ' s funnel . During the afternoon her fires were brought under control and her list corrected . But the explosions had ruptured her gasoline pipes , and about 1445 a series of explosions occurred , setting off internal fires . " Anderson " stood by to render assistance and pick up survivors as the big carrier was abandoned , and rescued 377 men . Eventually , had to sink " Lexington " with torpedoes . The first battle fought with neither side sighting the other except from the cockpits of their respective aircraft , the engagement in the Coral Sea stopped the Japanese thrust toward Port Moresby . It was a strategic victory for the Allies , but a tactical one for the enemy , since the Japanese had inflicted heavier damage on the American carriers . Besides the loss of " Lexington " , " Yorktown " had been badly damaged . On 10 May , " Anderson " transferred the 377 " Lexington " sailors to , and , the following day , put into Nouméa , New Caledonia , where she transferred five torpedoes to " Phelps " , which had expended torpedoes in attempting to sink Lexington . She sailed thence to Tongatapu , where she rejoined TF 17 . On 28 May , she reached Pearl Harbor . Her rest , however , was to prove short , for forces were needed to thwart a new Japanese thrust , this one directed at Midway Island to draw out the United States fleet in a decisive battle . " Anderson " sortied again with TF 17 on 30 May , again in the screen for " Yorktown " , which had been hastily repaired . Battle of Midway . On 4 June , Japanese planes struck the island of Midway with little opposition , and returned to their carriers to re - arm for a second strike . Confusion on the Japanese side as to what forces they found themselves facing proved fatal , as the American air attack from " Yorktown " , " Enterprise " , and caught the enemy at a vulnerable moment . While torpedo planes from the three carriers successively drew off the combat air patrols , dive bombers from " Yorktown " and " Enterprise " wrought mortal damage on three of the four enemy carriers engaged . Planes from , the one enemy aircraft carrier that had escaped destruction that morning , soon sought out the Americans and located TF 17 . Although decimated by TF 17 ' s combat air patrol , " Val " dive bombers managed to score damaging hits on " Yorktown " , causing her to go dead in the water . " Anderson " s gunners claimed two Japanese planes downed as they retired from the scene . " Yorktown " , however , was underway again two hours later , her fires put out and power restored , and commencing to launch fighters when a second attack wave , this time composed of Nakajima B5N " Kate " torpedo planes , showed up . In the developing melee , " Anderson " shot down one " Kate " before it had a chance to launch its torpedo , but others managed to penetrate the terrific barrage and drop their ordnance , scoring two hits on the carrier ' s port side amidships . " Anderson " s gunners claimed one of the retiring planes with a direct hit . As " Yorktown " , mortally wounded , slowed to a halt for the second time that day , " Anderson " picked up Ensign Milton Tootle , IV , USNR , a pilot from Fighting Squadron 3 ( VF - 3 ) who had been shot down attacking a Japanese torpedo plane . The destroyer then closed " Yorktown " and picked up 203 more men . While TF 17 gathered " Yorktown " s men and then cleared the area , the ship remained stubbornly afloat . When it became evident that the carrier would not sink immediately and might be saved , Admiral Fletcher ordered a salvage party put on board . Under tow by and with a salvage party on board composed of volunteers from the various ship departments , " Yorktown " appeared to be on the threshold of salvage . The arrival of , however , changed all that , and the gallant carrier was torpedoed on 6 June , along with " Hammann " . The latter sank immediately ; " Yorktown " lingered until the following morning when she , too , sank . " Anderson " returned to Pearl Harbor on 13 June . From 8 – 15 July she escorted to Midway , and from 22 – 27 July , she escorted to Palmyra Island and back to Pearl Harbor . Guadalcanal . On 17 August , " Anderson " sortied from Pearl Harbor with TF 17 , en route to the Solomons area , where she sighted and joined TF 61 on 29 August . " Anderson " was assigned as screen for " Hornet " in TG 61 . 2 . The Battle of the Eastern Solomons , which had taken place on 24 August , had turned back a major Japanese attempt to recapture Guadalcanal . Enemy submarines , however , still lurked in the waters east of Guadalcanal . On 31 August , , in TG 61 . 1 , was torpedoed and damaged , and forced to retire to Tongatapu . On 14 September , six transports carrying reinforcements and supplies for Guadalcanal departed Espiritu Santo , with the task groups formed around and " Hornet " in support . Enemy submarines , however , again made their deadly presence felt . On 15 September , torpedoed " Wasp " . At that time , " Anderson " was screening " Hornet " , about six miles ( 10 km ) northeast of " Wasp " . A few minutes later , torpedoes were spotted racing toward " Hornet " , which maneuvered to avoid them . They passed ahead , one smashing into and the other into . " Anderson " was ordered to stand by the damaged battleship , and escorted her to Tongatapu on 19 September . During the remainder of September 1942 , " Anderson " escorted a Dutch convoy to Dumbea Bay , New Caledonia , then on 3 October sortied with TF 17 en route to launch an air attack against enemy vessels in the Buin - Faisi area . On 3 October , " Anderson " was detached to proceed to the rescue of a downed pilot . The pilot was not found , and since the task force was by that time too far away to enable her to rejoin before the mission was accomplished , she proceeded singly to Nouméa . Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands . She rejoined TF 17 on 8 October , and on 15 October , received orders to proceed north to the Guadalcanal area to strike enemy forces in order to relieve pressure there . " Hornet " launched strikes on 16 October , and on 24 October the force joined with TF 16 to form TF 61 . On 26 October , the American ships engaged a numerically superior Japanese striking force in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands . Contact between the two opposing forces , as at Coral Sea , was almost simultaneous . During the day planes from " Enterprise " and " Hornet " damaged two enemy carriers , a cruiser , and two destroyers . American ship casualties , however , were considerably heavier . At 1010 on that morning some 27 planes attacked " Hornet " . " Anderson " opened fire , scoring hits on two planes , and splashing one . One bomb hit " Hornet " s flight deck , then a " Val " crashed the ship . A moment later two " Kates " swept in , launching torpedoes which hit the carrier ' s engineering spaces . As she slowed to a halt , she was hit by three more bombs and another " Val " . During this melee , " Anderson " succeeded in downing another torpedo plane , scored hits on several others , and took one machine gun bullet hit causing a small crack and dent in her side plating amidships . At noon , attempted to take " Hornet " in tow , but at 1815 , another flock of enemy dive - bombers and torpedo planes roared in to attack the crippled carrier . A veritable sitting duck , she took a torpedo and a bomb hit , and abandoned ship . " Anderson " moved in to pick up survivors , taking on board 247 men . was ordered to sink the hulk , and scored three torpedo hits , but Hornet remained stubbornly afloat . " Anderson " was ordered to finish the job and slammed six torpedoes into the target , but she still remained afloat . " Anderson " and " Mustin " shelled " Hornet " , but the arrival of Japanese destroyers on the horizon forced the two American destroyers to take a hurried departure . On the morning of 27 October , Japanese destroyers performed the final rites for " Hornet " with four torpedoes . During the Japanese attack on Hornet , the " Enterprise " group over the horizon had not gone unscathed . was sunk inadvertently by torpedo from a Japanese submarine while rescuing a downed pilot ; " Enterprise " suffered three bomb hits ; was severely damaged by a suicider ; and both and suffered minor damage from bomb hits . Although the American forces had suffered heavier damage , they had succeeded in stopping the Japanese thrust toward Guadalcanal . In November 1942 , " Anderson " participated in further operations in the waters off Guadalcanal , screening a transport group landing troops in Lunga Roads and providing call fire during landings on 4 to 6 November , and screening " Enterprise " during strikes against enemy shipping at Guadalcanal on 13 – 14 November . From December 1942 to 23 January 1943 , the ship operated with TF 16 out of Espiritu Santo on antisubmarine patrol and training . Between 23 January and 3 February , she escorted Task Unit 62 . 4 . 7 ( TU 62 . 4 . 7 ) , a merchant ship convoy , to Guadalcanal to unload , and returned to Espiritu Santo . While in the Solomons , she conducted a photographic reconnaissance and bombardment of enemy - held beaches on northern coast of Guadalcanal on 29 January in company with . " Anderson " , continued to operate out of the New Hebrides Islands on hunter - killer missions , and escort runs for a fueling rendezvous with TF 67 and TF 68 until 7 March 1943 . She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 22 March and received onward routing back to the United States . From 9 April to 8 June , she lay at San Francisco undergoing overhaul and repairs . Following an escort run to Pearl Harbor and back in June , " Anderson " departed San Francisco on 11 July with TG 96 . 1 en route to Kodiak , Alaska , arriving on 21 July . Joining TG 16 . 17 on 30 July , she participated in bombardments of Kiska on 2 and 15 August 1943 . The ship remained in the Aleutians on patrol duty until 21 September , when she departed for Pearl Harbor . From 14 October to 1 November , " Anderson " lay at Wellington , New Zealand , staging with the transports for the next operation . With TF 53 , she arrived at Tarawa Atoll on 19 November 1943 . As a part of Fire Support Group No . 3 , she took station off the eastern end of Betio on D - day , 20 November , and began conducting bombardments of assigned targets . Betio was captured by 24 November , but " Anderson " remained in the general area on radar picket patrol and rendered intermittent call fire until 29 November , when she departed for Pearl Harbor . Battle of Kwajalein . By 21 December 1943 , she was back in San Diego to escort the 4th Marine Division to Kwajalein . En route , " Anderson " was one of the units designated to conduct a diversionary strike at Wotje on 30 January 1944 . As one of the leading destroyers she opened the bombardment at 0642 and began to maneuver to avoid enemy return fire . At 0646 , a shell hit in her combat information center ( CIC ) , killing the commanding officer , Lieutenant Commander John G . Tennent , III , two ensigns , and three enlisted men , and wounding 14 others . Her executive officer immediately assumed command and kept her firing until she could maneuver to seaward to act as antisubmarine screen until completion of the Wotje bombardment at noon . The next day , " Anderson " approached the objective islands of Roi and Namur , Kwajalein Atoll , and screened to seaward as the heavy units began the bombardment . On 1 February , while transferring her wounded , she struck an uncharted pinnacle and had to be towed to Pearl Harbor . Following the completion of repairs on 15 June , the destroyer sailed to the southwest Pacific . Following an escort run to Oro Bay , New Guinea , " Anderson " arrived off Cape Sansapor , New Guinea , on 1 August with TG 77 . 3 . During the landing operations she operated on antisubmarine station between Amsterdam Island and Cape Opmarai , then conducted patrols off Woendi Harbor , and Cape Sunsapor until 25 August . During the Morotai landings on 15 September 1944 , the ship rendered call fire and conducted patrols off White beach . Battle of Leyte Gulf . On 12 October , " Anderson " departed Seeadler Harbor with TG 78 . 2 for the landing operations at Leyte Gulf . Arriving in the area on 20 October , she took up patrol during the initial assault and until she joined TG 77 . 2 on 25 October . This group was under enemy air attack and " Anderson " fired on several planes without results . On 1 November , enemy air attacks were intense . The ship scored hits on several planes , splashing one . At 1812 on that day , an Nakajima Ki - 43 " Oscar " fighter crashed into the ship ' s port side , aft of the break in the deck . " Anderson " suffered 14 dead and 22 wounded . Two of the wounded later died . Departing Leyte on 3 November 1944 and steaming via Hollandia , Manus , and Majuro , " Anderson " arrived at Pearl Harbor on 29 November 1944 . There she received orders to proceed to San Francisco , where she moored on 9 December to begin repairs . Duty off Japan . On 11 May 1945 , she arrived at Attu Island , Alaska where she was assigned to TG 92 . 2 . Eight days later , " Anderson " took part in a bombardment of Suribachi Wan and a sweep in the Sea of Okhotsk . From 10 – 12 June , she participated in the bombardment of enemy shore installations on Matsuwa To , Kuril Islands , and another anti - shipping sweep in the Sea of Okhotsk . While the remainder of the task group entered that body of water to intercept an enemy convoy headed south from Paramushir from 23 – 25 June , " Anderson " , " Hughes " , and established a patrol east of the Kurils to thwart any attempt of the convoy to escape into the Pacific . From 15 – 22 July , " Anderson " conducted a patrol east of the Kurils , an anti - shipping sweep in the Sea of Okhotsk , and another bombardment of Suribachi Wan , Paramushiru To , Kuriles . Another sweep was made in the Sea of Okhotsk , coupled with another bombardment of Matsuwa To , Kuriles , on 11 – 12 August 1945 . " Anderson " remained with the Northern Pacific Force for the remainder of the war , and departed Alaskan waters for Japan on 27 August . She reached Ominato , Japan , on 8 September , and supported the occupation of northern Honshū through 30 October . She departed Japanese waters on that date , bound for the United States , and arrived at San Diego on 1 December . She was earmarked for retention in an inactive status in view of the experimental tests to which she would be subjected . Two days after Christmas , she got underway for Hawaiian waters . Post - War . Operation Crossroads . Arriving at Pearl Harbor on 3 January 1946 , " Anderson " was assigned to Joint Task Force 1 on 15 May , and was slated to be utilized in the tests of the atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll . She reached her ultimate destination on 30 May 1946 . On 1 July 1946 , the bomb used in Test " Able " Operation Crossroads sank " Anderson " in Bikini lagoon . Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 25 September 1946 . Awards . " Anderson " was awarded ten battle star s for her service in World War II .