USN:
Clemson-class destroyer USS Peary (DD-226) at anchor, 1921
Peary was moored at
Cavite,
Philippines, when news of the
Pearl Harbor raid reached her and was caught in the raid on the
Cavite Navy Yard, Philippines, two days later. On the early afternoon of 10 December more than 50 two-engined high level
bombers appeared over Cavite and, cruising leisurely above the range of anti-aircraft fire, destroyed practically the entire base.
Peary, tied up at a small pier, took one bomb forward which damaged the superstructure and stack and killed eight of her crew. She found herself in a precarious position, as fires began to set off torpedo warheads in a torpedo overhaul shop on the wharf next to her.
USS Whippoorwill towed her out.
Whippoorwill and
USS Pillsbury came alongside and their fire hoses extinguished the fire in five minutes. Her commanding officer, Commander H. H. Keith was wounded in this engagement and was relieved by Commander
J. M. Bermingham.
On 26 December 1941,
Peary was underway when the Japanese came over again and dropped several bombs near the ship.
By the morning of 27 December,
Peary was in
Campomanes Bay,
Negros Island, where she decided to put in for the day. Her crew camouflaged her with green paint and palm fronds, hoping to elude Japanese patrol bombers. Five passed overhead without spotting the ship that morning and when darkness fell she set out through the
Celebes Sea for
Makassar Strait.
A Japanese bomber spotted
Peary the next morning, and shadowed her until early afternoon when three other bombers joined her in a two-hour attack. The planes dropped 500-pound (230 kg) bombs and then launched two torpedoes only 500 yards (460 m) from the ship.
Peary quickly backed on one engine and both torpedoes narrowly missed the bow. Seconds later, two more missed the stern by ten yards (9.1 m). The bombers then withdrew.
The New Year found
Peary at
Darwin, Australia. During January and a part of February, she operated out of Darwin, principally on anti-submarine patrol. On 15–16 February,
Peary took part in a mission to transport reinforcements and supplies to
Allied forces in Dutch Timor, but this was aborted after coming under intense air attack. On 19 February 1942 Darwin experienced a
massive Japanese air attack.
Peary was attacked by Japanese
dive bombers, and was struck by five bombs. The first bomb exploded on the fantail, the second, an incendiary, on the galley deck house; the third did not explode; the fourth hit forward and set off the forward ammunition magazines; the fifth, another incendiary, exploded in the after engine room. A .30 calibre machine gun on the after deck house and a .50 calibre machine gun on the galley deck house fired until the last enemy plane flew away.
Lost with the ship were 88 officers and men, including Bermingham. There were 53 enlisted survivors and one officer, LTJG R.L. Johnson. LT W.J. Catlett, who was ashore during
Peary's final battle, was tasked with writing the official US Navy report on the sinking.
Peary was the first destroyer of the Asiatic Fleet to be sunk in World War II. She was struck from the
Navy List on 8 May 1942. In July 2020 an announcement was made by the Northern Territory government that the propellers from the ship had been found some kilometres from the known wreck site, prompting further investigation into
Peary's final battle.
Peary in the Timor Sea, 1942
USS
Peary (DD-226) burning heavily after a Japanese air attack at Darwin, Northern Territories (Australia) on 19 February 1942. The photo was taken from the hopital ship
Manunda.
