1944
Hutchins departed Cairns 22 February and, after important night tactical drills, sailed 28 February with Admiral Daniel E. Barbey's amphibious group for the Admiralties. Arriving next day, the ship carried out shore bombardment of Manus, the base which was to become so vital in the coming campaigns, and with Rear Admiral Victor Crutchley, RN, in HMAS Shropshire, established a patrol off Manus. During late March and April Hutchins and other destroyers made bombardment sweeps of Wewak and Hansa Bay, encouraging the Japanese in the mistaken belief that the next amphibious assault would be in that area. In reality it was planned for much farther up the coast, at Hollandia.
Steaming from Cape Sudest 18 April, Hutchins arrived Hollandia 22 April and with other fleet units gave close gunfire support to the well-executed initial assault. She then retired to screen escort carriers providing air cover and, near the end of April, bombarded Wakde Island. The versatile destroyer steamed south of Truk 10 May to pick up survivors of a B-24 raid on the Japanese stronghold, returning south for the next step in New Guinea.
Hutchins next took part in the Wakde-Sarmi operation 17 May. After shore bombardment and screening operations she moved on to Biak with its vital airbase site 10 days later. Early in June the destroyer operated with Task Forces 74 and To off Biak, and on the night of the 8th, the ships detected Japanese ships approaching from the northwest. The enemy destroyers cast off their troop-laden barges and with Hutchins and the rest of Adm. Crutchley's force in pursuit, retired rapidly. During a long stern chase the destroyers exchanged gunfire at long range; Allied ships broke off the chase just before 02:30 and returned to the assault area.
In July Hutchins took part in the Noemfoor landings, providing the all-important gunfire support, and operated with the nimble PT boats in the Aitape area 15–25 July in harassing Japanese communications. She also took part 30 July in the landings at Sansapor, completing the brilliant series of amphibious hops along the northern coast of New Guinea.
August 1944 was spent at Sydney and on fleet exercises off New Guinea, and, after a drydock period, Hutchins sailed from Humboldt Bay 12 September to take part in the Morotai landings, an important steppingstone to the Philippines. She bombarded airstrips 16 September and returned to Seeadler Harbor 29 September to prepare for the invasion of the Philippines. The giant invasion fleet sortied to arrive Leyte Gulf 20 October. Hutchins took part in preinvasion bombardment, gunfire support, and patrolled the entrance after the initial phases of the assault.
As the Japanese fleet moved toward the Philippines in a gigantic three-pronged attempt to stop the invasion, Hutchins joined Admiral Jesse Oldendorf's surface forces waiting in Surigao Strait for Adm. Shoji Nishimura's Southern Force. In this major phase of the larger Battle for Leyte Gulf, Hutchins, flagship of Captain K.M. McManes' Destroyer Squadron 24 (DesRon 24), was stationed on the right flank of the powerful array of firepower Oldendorf had assembled. As Nishimura steamed up the strait early 25 October his ships were harassed by PT-boats and then attacked by destroyers on both sides. Hutchins' group steamed south, launched torpedoes at about 03:30, and turned to close the range. As the large Japanese ships began to slow and scatter, the destroyers fired another spread of torpedoes, this time blowing up destroyer Michishio. After exchanging gunfire with the Japanese heavy ships, McManes brought Hutchins and the rest of the squadron out of range, their job done, so that the big guns of the waiting fleet could open fire. Oldendorf won a crushing night victory, and Japanese naval power was dealt a death blow.
After the decisive actions of Leyte Gulf, Hutchins returned to screening. She ran onto an uncharted hulk 26 October and after helping to repel air attacks until 29 October, sailed for San Francisco via Pearl Harbor, arriving 25 November 1944 for repairs.
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