USS Zane ( DD - 337 ) USS " Zane " ( DD - 337 / DMS - 14 / AG - 109 ) was a " Clemson " - class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I . She was named for Randolph Zane . History . " Zane " was laid down on 15 January 1919 at the Mare Island Navy Yard , Vallejo , California ; launched on 12 August 1919 ; sponsored by Miss Marjorie Zane , the daughter of Major R . T . Zane ; re - classified DD - 337 on 17 July 1920 ; and commissioned at Mare Island on 15 February 1921 , Lieutenant Commander P . Seymour in command . 1920s . After fitting out and shakedown , " Zane " fueled at Port Costa , California , late in June 1921 and sailed northward to the Puget Sound Navy Yard , Bremerton , Washington , for stores . Returning south to Mare Island once more , " Zane " joined Destroyer Division 14 at San Francisco , California , on 22 June and departed that port the following day , bound for the Asiatic Station . Sailing via Pearl Harbor , Midway , and Guam , " Zane " reached Cavite , Philippine Islands , on 24 August . The destroyer then operated in the Philippines — out of Cavite , Manila , Olongapo , and Lingayen Gulf — on maneuvers and exercises through the spring of 1922 . She departed Manila on 3 June 1922 , bound for Chinese waters . " Zane " reached the Yangtze estuary on 6 June and , while steaming to the mouth of the Whangpoo River , en route to Shanghai , spotted the Chinese river steamer " Tse Kiang " approaching from the starboard quarter . She maintained course and speed , doing nothing to avoid a collision . " Zane " attempted to avoid a fouling when that seemed imminent , but too late . At 1158 , " Tse Kiang " rammed the destroyer aft . Fortunately , the damage was minor ; and " Zane " proceeded on her way , reaching Shanghai two and a half hours later and moored alongside sistership at the American buoys . " Zane " entered the Yangtsepoo drydock on 15 June for repairs and was undocked on the following day . Underway for Chefoo on 5 July , " Zane " reached that North China port on the 7th and remained there until the 30th , when she shifted to Chinwangtao , the seaport at the base of the Great Wall of China , to send leave parties to Peking . She lay at Chinwangtao from 31 July to 5 August , when she got underway to return to Chefoo on the latter day . " Zane " set sail from Chefoo , homeward bound , on 25 August and visited Nagasaki , Japan , on the first leg of her voyage back to the west coast of the United States . Subsequently touching at Midway and Pearl Harbor , the destroyer reached San Francisco on 2 October . Shifting to the Mare Island Navy Yard on 9 October , " Zane " turned in all torpedoes , torpedo gear , and landing force equipment over the three days that ensued . She then fueled at Martinez , California , before reaching San Diego and San Pedro . Decommissioned at San Diego on 1 February 1923 , " Zane " remained on " Red Lead Row " for seven years . 1930s . Recommissioned on 25 February 1930 , Lt . Comdr . C . J . Parrish in command , " Zane " operated actively as a unit of the Battle Force for the next decade , except for one brief period during which time she was attached to Rotating Reserve Squadron 20 in late 1934 . Initially assigned to Destroyer Division 10 , Destroyer Squadron 4 , Destroyers , Battle Force , Destroyer Flotilla 2 , the ship served through the 1930s in a variety of squadrons , but all within the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla . She participated in some of the inter - war fleet problems - the large - scale fleet maneuvers instituted in the early 1920s to develop equipment and tactics . She ranged from the west coast of the United States into the Caribbean and western Atlantic Ocean , as well as off the Panama Canal Zone . However , with the new destroyer construction programs turning out more modern , faster , more heavily armed ships , the need to retain the old " flush - deckers " in the destroyer role diminished . At the same time , there grew a need for high - speed minesweeper s , fast minelayer s , seaplane tender s , and the like to meet the ever - growing demands on the Navy . Destroyer minesweeper ( DMS ) . Converted to a high - speed minesweeper at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard and reclassified as DMS - 14 on 19 November 1940 , " Zane " operated primarily in Hawaiian waters on the eve of World War II . Pearl Harbor . On the morning of 7 December 1941 , she was moored off Pearl City in a nest with her three sisterships of Mine Division 4 — , , and . The crew was just finishing breakfast when , at 0757 , a signalman on watch topside observed a single plane drop a bomb on the southern end of Ford Island after a long gliding approach from the northward . Only then did the men topside realize it was a Japanese plane . With 10 percent of her enlisted men and 25 percent of the officers ashore , " Zane " went to general quarters and , within three minutes of the initial explosion , had manned her . 50 - caliber antiaircraft machine gun battery . Her commanding officer , Lt . Cmdr . L . M . LeHardy , was senior officer afloat in the division and reported : " 0800 Observed Japanese plane gliding low over Ford Island , enemy character now positive . This was not a drill . " Commencing fire at " any and all planes which passed within a reasonable distance of the nest " " Zane " began preparations at 0803 for getting underway , as belting and ammunition supply parties turned to . At 0830 , " Zane " spotted a " strange submarine " 200 yards astern of , anchored in nearby berth K - 23 . " Zane ' s " position in the nest , however , rendered her incapable of opening fire with her after 4 - inch gun : her aim was fouled by " Perry " ( DMS - 17 ) , moored outboard . However , soon made the whole problem academic at 0840 , when she charged down upon the Japanese type " A " midget submarine and destroyed her by ramming and with depth charges . Meanwhile , the fleet gradually began to return fire and , by the time the second wave of Japanese planes arrived , the fleet was at action stations . Gunfire from a nearby ship ( possibly " Medusa " ) brought down one Japanese plane , whose bomb had burst in the water near " Perry " . The enemy aircraft exploded into flames on the way down and crashed on shore near the recently completed deperming station to the loud cheers of all hands topside in " Zane " . Subsequently , the ships of MinDiv 4 got underway individually and stood out to take up patrol offshore . " Zane " had suffered no damage from the enemy during the raid , but the melee of " friendly " antiaircraft fire from a number of ships nearby , including some in the nest itself , had severed a number of strands of rigging and antennae . At 1410 , " Zane " and " Wasmuth " rigged up a twin - ship , moored - mine sweep with 400 fathoms of wire between them and entered the Pearl Harbor entrance channel at 1547 , sweeping up to the vicinity of the gate vessel before the sweep wire parted . Subsequently returning to sea , " Zane " resumed antisubmarine patrols , carrying them out at a time when submarine sightings ( most of them fictitious ) proliferated . 1942 . " Zane " operated locally out of Pearl Harbor into the spring of 1942 . She departed the Hawaiian Islands on 5 April , escorting an convoy ( number 4079 ) to San Pedro , California . The high - speed minesweeper then underwent repairs and alterations at the Mare Island Navy Yard before she returned to Pearl Harbor in early June . Meanwhile , the tide of war was beginning to turn . Eight months after Pearl Harbor , the United States Navy was ready to launch its first amphibious operation , codenamed Operation Watchtower . The target was the Japanese - held Solomon Islands , and the operation was to begin on 7 August 1942 . American intelligence knew that numerous unmined areas existed off the objective beachheads , but invasion planners thought it best to at least determine the exact boundaries of any minefields that existed in the areas . Accordingly , " Zane " and four of her sisterships ( , , ) and " Trever " — were to sweep an area extending from the 100 fathom ( 183 m ) curve toward Port Purvis in the Gavutu Island area before splitting into two groups to head simultaneously toward beach " Red , " clearing a wide stretch through Lengo Channel toward Indispensable Strait . Japanese shore batteries opened up on the ships , but their fire was erratic and did no damage . By 1550 on the day of the first landings , 7 August , the area had been thoroughly swept . No mines were found . Over the ensuing weeks , the Battle of Guadalcanal was fought , with the Japanese maintaining themselves on the island . The Americans were compelled to bring in their reinforcements during the daylight hours when they controlled the skies . At night , the Japanese , with their superior night - fighting capabilities , had command of the situation in the Solomons . " Zane " worked off Tulagi and Guadalcanal , breaking her sweep and patrol operations with periodic upkeep at Noumea , New Caledonia . On 8 September , during one such sweep operation , the minesweeper watched waves of high flying Japanese planes heading toward Guadalcanal . Into the autumn , as the fighting ashore became more intense , the need for supplies - particularly aviation gasoline to keep the Cactus Air Force in the air - multiplied . At Espiritu Santo , " Zane " and her sistership " Trever " piled drums of aviation gasoline on their decks , together with torpedoes , ammunition and stores , and each with two motor torpedo ( PT ) boats in tow , set sail for Guadalcanal . They reached Tulagi Harbor at 0530 on 25 October 1942 . " Trever " completed her unloading by 0700 . At 0809 , the general air raid alarm sounded from ashore . " Trever " cast off and stood into the harbor itself ; " Zane " got underway about the same time and lay to about 700 yards ahead of " Trever " in the shelter of Tulagi , Koko - tambu , and Songoangona Islands . At 0955 , the signal station at Tulagi informed both ships that three enemy ships had been sighted in the straits between Savo and Florida Islands , entering " Iron Bottom Bay . " " Trever ' s " commanding officer , the task group commander , Commander D . M . Agnew , took a dim view of the recommendation that his ships seek shelter up the Maliala River . Not wanting to be , in his words , " trapped like rats , " Agnew elected to run . " Zane " and " Trever " stood out at maximum speed and cleared the channel leading out of Tulagi at 1014 . Lookouts noted the stacks and mast - tops of three ships almost simultaneously at distant and bearing 250 degrees , steering a slightly converging course . Within five minutes , the American lookouts noted that the trio of enemy ships had altered course to close . The three enemy ships ( the destroyers " Akatsuki " , " Ikazuchi " , and " Shiratsuyu " ) comprised the 1st Attack Unit , dispatched to provide naval gunfire support during the day to Japanese land forces who had hoped to capture Henderson Field . Each of the Japanese ships with their 6 × 5 in ( 127 mm ) guns outgunned their American counterparts who were armed with smaller calibre guns . At 1020 , the enemy formation changed course again to close the range still further and bring their heavier batteries to bear . " Zane " and " Trever " , meanwhile , skirted the shoal waters on course for Sealark Channel . Ten minutes later , with the range at approximated 9 , 200 yards , the Japanese destroyers opened fire , and the running sea fight was on . The Japanese - in view of their slated mission - were using bombardment ammunition instead of armor - piercing shells . Soon shells began landing disturbingly close to the zigzagging " Trever " and " Zane " ; the latter , for example , observed one shell land just forward of her bow and one apiece on each side of the forecastle , off the bows . One enemy shell scored a direct hit on " Zane " , hitting the minesweeper ' s number 1 × 3 in ( 76 mm ) gun , forward , killing three men instantly . Other shells cut away rigging , antennae , and every halyard except the one to the gaff . That one appropriately flew the national ensign . Providentially , at 1040 , the Japanese ships turned away to engage and a small patrol craft off Lunga Point . The respite offered the two high - speed minesweepers proved fatal to the fleet tug and the YP as the Japanese ships sank them summarily before retiring , harried by American planes from Henderson Field . " Trever " and " Zane " , meanwhile , continued to retire to the eastward . At 1055 , the two minecraft changed course to the south and west of San Cristobal Island . " Zane " remained in the forward areas of the Southwest Pacific theater through the end of 1942 . Again in company with " Trever " , the high - speed minesweeper towed PT boats of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 2 from Nouméa to Espiritu Santo in mid - November . " Zane " later escorted a convoy from the New Hebrides to Tulagi and Guadalcanal before being sent to Sydney , Australia , in January 1943 for repairs and a rest for her crew . 1943 . While at Sydney , " Zane " was called upon to perform a rescue mission . On 22 January 1943 , the Japanese submarine I - 21 ( a craft with an impressive record of " kills " since scoring her first on Christmas Eve 1941 ) torpedoed and disabled the American steamship " Peter H . Burnett " . The next day , " Zane " received orders to proceed to the last reported position of the crippled steamer . At 1255 on 25 January , " Zane " spotted a Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) Catalina flying boat . She , in turn , led the minesweeper to the location of " Peter H . Burnett ' s " lifeboat number three . Apparently , the steamer ' s crew and passengers had thought the ship would sink as a result of the torpedo damage aft and abandoned her ; their ship , however , was still afloat . " Zane " took on board 14 men ( 12 crewmembers including the Master , Charles Darling , and two U . S . Army passengers ) at 1330 and altered course to head for the last reported position of the ship from which the men had come . The RAAF Catalina then helpfully radioed the position of the derelict , enabling " Zane " to reach the scene at 1735 . She then transferred , via motor whaleboat , 13 of the men back to their ship ; one man had been retained on board " Zane " under medical treatment for his injuries suffered when the steamer had been torpedoed . The minesweeper then took " Peter H . Burnett " in tow and pulled her to Sydney , where they both arrived safely on the 27th . " Zane " returned to Guadalcanal in late February . In her absence , there had been a change in the situation on that once bitterly contested isle - the Japanese had evacuated it on 7 February and 8 February , leaving it in American hands at last . With Guadalcanal finally secured , American planners looked toward the Russells , west northwest of Guadalcanal . These isles were chiefly remembered by visitors for " rain , mud , and magnificent coconuts . " The operation code - named Operation Cleanslate , was the first forward island - jumping movement made in the South Pacific . " Zane " , as part of Task Unit ( TU ) 61 . 1 . 3 , towed four landing craft ( two LCVP ' s , one LCV and an LCM ) to the objective area . As part of the " Spit Kit Expeditionary Force , " the minesweeper thus put into action part of the troops slated to occupy the Russells . On 21 February 1943 , Operation Cleanslate commenced but encountered no opposition from the enemy , who had only recently evacuated the islands . As Vice Admiral George C . Dyer wrote in his biography of Admiral Richmond K . Turner " The Amphibians Came to Conquer " " ' Cleanslate ' went off with precision , but without fanfare or publicity . " For " Zane " , her next amphibious operation was Operation Toenails , the assault and occupation of New Georgia . " Zane " and comprised TU 31 . 1 . 1 , the " Onaiavisi Occupation Unit . " Each picked up a company of the Army ' s 169th Infantry Regiment and an LCVP in the Russells on 29 June and headed for their objective , the two small islands guarding the most direct approach to Zanana Beach on New Georgia Island . That beach was slated to be the jump - off point for the flanking attack on strategic Munda airfield . Bad weather ( low ceilings , moderate showers with corresponding poor visibility , shifting and gusty winds , and choppy seas ) hampered " Toenails " from the start ; but " Zane " and Talbot reached the Onaiavisi channel entrance at around 0225 on 30 June to begin their task . However , shortly before 0300 , " Zane " grounded during a heavy rain squall while disembarking her troops . Nevertheless , the mishap did not hamper the landing process ; for both " Zane " and " Talbot " succeeded in putting both companies of the 169th Regiment ashore without loss on Dume ( later known as Sasavele Island ) and Baraulu Islands to hold the Onaiavisi entrance until the shore - to - shore movement could commence to Zanana Beach . " Zane " remained aground forward until 0523 , when she finally managed to back free . However , the high - speed minesweeper grounded aft almost immediately , damaging her propellers . Again she tried using her own power to get free but , despite aid by " Talbot " , could not do so . " Zane ' s " predicament was far from good : she was a sitting duck , only five miles from Japanese - held Munda airstrip . Providentially , as Admiral Dyer recounts , " no alert Japanese artillery man hauled up a battery to take " Zane " under fire . " After some four hours , pulled " Zane " off the rocks . The fleet tug ( a former minesweeper herself ) then took " Zane " back to the Solomons for repairs , arriving at Tulagi on 2 July . After enough temporary patching to permit the ship to leave Guadalcanal under her own power , " Zane " headed via Espiritu Santo and Pearl Harbor to the Mare Island Navy Yard for permanent repairs and alterations . The high - speed minesweeper again sailed westward on 23 September , departing Mare Island , bound for Pearl Harbor . Reaching Oahu on 30 September , she remained in the Hawaiian operating area for the rest of the year 1943 and through mid - January 1944 . 1944 to 1945 . Departing Pearl Harbor on 22 January 1944 , " Zane " subsequently took part in Operation Flintlock , the invasion of the Marshall Islands . As part of the Southern Attack Force , " Zane " was assigned escort duties in the Southern Transport Screen , TU 52 . 7 . 1 , in company with sistership " Perry " , four destroyers , and two subchasers ( SC ' s ) . She screened transports during the Kwajalein phase of " Flintlock " and subsequently served as " sweep " ship and mine disposal vessel during the invasion and occupation of Eniwetok . In that part of the operation , she suffered minor damage from exploding mines , some of which exploded within 100 yards of the ship . After returning to Pearl Harbor in March for availability , " Zane " during the summer participated in her last major operation , Operation Forager . Again working as mine disposal vessel , " Zane " was part of Task Group 12 . 13 , the Minesweeping and Hydrographic Survey Group . Unit 2 , to which the ship was attached , included three of her sisterships : , , and . During the landing phases of " Forager " , which commenced on 15 June when Vice Admiral Turner ' s Task Force 52 ( the Northern Attack Force ) began sending ashore the marines under the command of Lieutenant General H . M . Smith , USMC , " Zane " laid down buoys and destroyed drifting mines with gunfire , working once more as mine - destruction vessel . She spotted several planes attacking the beachheads , but all were beyond the range of her guns . Subsequently , when marines and Army troops under Major General Roy S . Geiger went ashore on Guam on 22 July under the covering gunfire of Rear Admiral Harry W . Hill ' s task force , " Zane " worked as an antisubmarine escort vessel , steaming in the vanguard of a reserve transport group , TG 53 . 19 . Significantly , the Guam operation proved to be the last front - line tour for the veteran high - speed minesweeper ; for , after remaining in the Marianas until 8 August , she reported to Commander , Service Squadron ( ServRon ) 10 , at Ulithi , in the Carolines , for duty as a target - towing vessel . " Zane " performed target - towing and local escort duties for the remainder of the war , touching in the Palaus , Marianas , Carolines , and Philippines before V - J Day in mid - August 1945 found her at anchor in San Pedro Bay , off Leyte . During those prosaic but necessary duties , she had been reclassified from a high - speed minesweeper to a miscellaneous auxiliary , AG - 109 , on 5 June 1945 . The ship departed the western Pacific in October , beginning her homeward voyage from Leyte on the 13th . After touching at Eniwetok , Pearl Harbor , and San Diego en route , " Zane " transited the Panama Canal on 25 November and ultimately reached Norfolk , Virginia , on 29 November . She was decommissioned there on 14 December 1945 . Struck from the Navy list on 8 January 1946 , the ship was delivered to Luria Brothers and Company , on 22 October 1946 ; her hulk was scrapped on 3 March 1947 . " Zane " ( DMS - 14 ) received six battle star s for her World War II service from Pearl Harbor to the Marianas . In addition , she received the Navy Unit Commendation for her services at Guadalcanal in 1942 and 1943 . Postscript . As of 2012 , no other ship has been named USS " Zane " . Herman Wouk , author of the novel " The Caine Mutiny " , served as an officer aboard " Zane " from February 1943 to February 1945 before becoming executive officer of another DMS , USS " Southard " in May . " Zane " and her campaigns served as the model for many of those of the fictional USS " Caine " ( DMS - 22 ) in the novel . Wouk began writing his first novel , Aurora Dawn , while the Zane was at Tulagi .