The Story of USS Hammann
USS Hammann (DD-412) was a World War II-era Sims-class destroyer in the service of the United States Navy, named after Ensign Charles Hammann, a Medal of Honor recipient from World War I. Hammann was torpedoed and sunk during the Battle of Midway, while assisting the sinking aircraft carrier USS Yorktown. Hammann was launched by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey on 4 February 1939; sponsored by Miss Lillian Hammann; and commissioned on 11 August 1939, Commander Arnold E. True in command. Hammann conducted shakedown off the East Coast and for the next two years participated in training and readiness operations off both coasts. == Service history == === Pre-War === On 10 June 1939, while pulling away from the dock yard in Kearny, New Jersey, Hammann briefly crossed paths with USS Warrington which was sailing from Sandy Hook, New Jersey, to New York, New York, with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth aboard during their royal tour of the United States. On 14 June The Evening Star reported that during Hammann's sea trials off the coast of Fire Island in the Atlantic Ocean, Senator Ernest Lundeen joined a civilian and press delegation aboard the ship which reached a maximum speed of 40 knots, put screws in full reverse, causing the ship to come to a complete stop in 58 seconds, and then the ship travelled in reverse at a top speed nearing 20 knots. === World War II === ==== Transfer from North Atlantic Patrol to Pacific Duty ==== On 7 December 1941, 30 minutes after receiving news of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Hammann and the other ships in the North Atlantic Patrol left Reykjavík and steamed for the United States. On 17 December, she arrived in Norfolk, Virginia, for fuel, supplies, and new crew. Shortly thereafter, she steamed around Cape Hatteras for Charleston, South Carolina. From there, in early January, she rendezvoused with the battleship New Mexico and the troop transport President Hayes to escort the pair through the Panama Canal for San Diego and later San Francisco. On 22 January 1942, she arrived in Pearl Harbor and joined Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher's Task Force 17 for action in the South Pacific.