USS Strong (DD-758)

USS Strong (DD-758)

USS Strong (DD-758), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, was the 2nd ship of the United States Navy to be named for James H. Strong, a naval commander for Union forces during the American Civil War. At the Battle of Mobile Bay, he was the first to ram the Confederate ironclad Tennessee and received high commendation for his initiative and valor.

The second Strong was laid down on 25 July 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Co., San Francisco, California; launched on 23 April 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Hobart Olson; and commissioned on 8 March 1945, Comdr. C. M. Howe in command. Strong began her shakedown cruise in the San Diego Bay area on 27 March and on 11 May underwent a short period of post-shakedown availability there. On 31 May she stood out of port en route to Pearl Harbor. Training exercises were held off Oahu from 6 to 20 June when she departed to begin escort duty for convoys between the Marshall and Caroline Islands. From 27 July to 31 August, she served as convoy escort and antisubmarine screen in the Ryukyu Islands. She entered Japanese home waters to patrol air-sea rescue stations on 1 September and later served as courier between Wakayama, Nagoya, and Yokosuka. On 5 December 1945, the destroyer was ordered to sail to the east coast and join the Atlantic Fleet.