World War II
Following shakedown off the west coast, Tingey departed San Francisco for the Pacific theater on 2 February 1944. The destroyer participated in exercises out of Pearl Harbor in February and March before screening a convoy en route to the Marshalls early in April. On 13 April, she sortied Majuro to join Rear Admiral Marc A. Mitscher's Fast Carrier Task Force (then designated Task Force 58). Later that month, while supporting carrier strikes on Eton and Dublon in the Truk Islands, Tingey suffered casualties during an engagement with Japanese aircraft.
Tingey continued on her mission acting as a member of the destroyer screen for Battleship Division 7. On 1 May, Tingey participated in the bombardment of Tumu Point to eliminate the site as a Japanese submarine and air base. On 29 April, Tingey continued screening duties for the task force while one of its cruiser units bombarded Satawan Island.
On 15 May, Tingey sortied Majuro in company with R.Adm. Alfred E. Montgomery's carrier task group and set course for Marcus and Wake Islands. Early in June, she steamed as a member of Task Force 58 (TF 58) for the Philippine Sea. During the following week, she operated in the vicinity of Saipan and Tinian participating in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The carriers of the group launched strike after strike against Guam and Rota and decimated the massed attacks of enemy aircraft flung at them by Japanese Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa in the 19 June battle, later known as "the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". Also in June, Tingey accompanied the group as it conducted air strikes on Pagan Island.
On the last day of June, Tingey sortied from Eniwetok with R.Adm. Ralph E. Davison's carrier task group for air strikes in the Bonins. She then rejoined the 5th Fleet off Saipan to support invasion forces in the Marianas. On 21 July, the carriers launched 10 strikes in support of the assault on Guam. After replenishment at Saipan, Tingey set course for the northern Palaus where she supported carrier air sweeps and strikes. She then assumed screening duties for R.Adm. Gerald F. Bogan's carrier task group as it conducted strikes on enemy concentrations on Guam.
After mooring at Eniwetok for upkeep and inspection, Tingey resumed her duties late in August. During the first two weeks of September, she supported carrier strikes on Leyte, Bulan, and Samar, before proceeding to Luzon. There, the destroyer encountered enemy night attacks while supporting carrier strikes on the Philippines. After replenishment at Tanapag Harbor, Tingey got underway for Ulithi where she conducted antisubmarine patrols.
In October, Tingey continued operations with Mitscher's fast carrier force. On 17 and 18 October, she supported strikes on Visayan Island, and, on the 24th, the carriers launched strikes in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea. Steaming off San Bernardino Strait on the night of 25/26 October, Tingey joined with the battleships and cruisers of the task group to sink the Japanese destroyer Nowaki. This ill-fated ship was a straggler from Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force retiring from the Battle off Samar. Following this engagement, Tingey steamed northward for strikes on Manila Bay; then returned in the first week of November for additional strikes on Luzon and Bicol.
Departing Ulithi on 14 November, Tingey steamed for the Philippines. En route, she weathered a typhoon which swallowed up three destroyers on 18 December. After a fruitless search for survivors, the carrier group aborted planned strikes on Luzon because of bad weather and rough seas and returned to Ulithi.
On 30 December 1944, the task group conducted strikes on Formosa and Luzon. In January 1945, Tingey proceeded to the South China Sea for strikes on French Indochina and Hong Kong before returning to Ulithi. In February, she participated in Operation Jamboree strikes on Tokyo Bay and experienced enemy air attacks as she performed screening duties in support of the Iwo Jima landings. She accompanied carriers making strikes on Kyūshū and Okinawa in March. When enemy aircraft bombed carrier USS Franklin (CV-13) on the 19th, causing fire and extensive damage, Tingey rescued survivors and escorted the battered vessel to Ulithi.
During April and May, enemy air activity was frequent as Tingey screened carriers providing direct air support for ground troops on Okinawa. Tingey made three assists, splashed a Japanese raider, and rescued downed fliers from USS Essex (CV-9) and USS Bunker Hill (CV-17). Under constant enemy air attacks, Tingey continued her duties off Okinawa in May, making one quick run north to Kyūshū on 13 May for air strikes. Tingey spent most of June undergoing upkeep in the Philippines before getting underway for San Francisco. On 9 July, she arrived at Mare Island Naval Shipyard where she remained until the end of the war. Tingey was decommissioned in March 1946.
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