| The second USS Drayton, DD 366, was launched 26 March 1936 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; sponsored by Miss B. E. Drayton, great grandniece of Captain Drayton; and commissioned 1 September 1936, Commander R. G. Pennoyer in command.
Percival Drayton was born 25 August 1812 at Charleston, South Carolina and was appointed midshipman in 1827.
During the Civil War, he commanded Pocahontas in the expedition against Port Royal in October 1861. As fleet captain of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, he commanded Admiral Farragut's flagship Hartford during the Battle of Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864.
Chief of the Bureau of Navigation from April 1865, Drayton died in that post 4 August 1866. |
After her shakedown cruise to Europe from B October to 5 December 1936, Drayton underwent final trials and acceptance, then sailed from Norfolk 6 June 1937 to join the Scouting Force, at San Diego 19 June. On 4 July she got underway to take part in the fruitless search for the lost aviatrix Amelia Earhart, participating in maneuvers at Pearl Harbor before her return to San Diego 30 July.
Drayton exercised along the west coast, in the Hawaiian Islands, and in the Caribbean for the next 2 years.
Drayton's home port from 12 October 1939 was Pearl Harbor. With war raging in Europe and tension increasing in the Pacific, Drayton joined Destroyer Squadron 5 in constant exercises and tactical problems preparing the fleet for action.
On 5 December 1941, Drayton, flaghip of DesDiv 9, departed Pearl Harbor with squadron flagship Porter and other ships of her division—Flusser, Lamson and Mahan—as part of Lexington’s Task Force 12 (also including heavy cruisers Chicago, Portland and Astoria) to deliver Marine scout bombers to Midway Island and were at sea when the Japanese attacked on 7 December, returning to Pearl Harbor 13 December after searching for the enemy.
Between 24 December 1941 and 7 January 1942 she escorted a convoy to Christmas Island, making two attacks on submarines en route. Four days later she got underway in the screen of Enterprise (CV-6) for an air strike on Bougainville on 20 February, returning to Pearl Harbor on the 24th. After screening a tanker to Suva Harbor, Fiji Islands Drayton sailed for the United States 25 March and arrived at San Pedro, Calif., 5 April. She joined in training exercises and patrol duty on the west coast until 1 August 1942.
Drayton sailed from Pearl Harbor 17 November 1942 for action in the Solomon Islands. She sortied from Espiritu Santo 29 November with TF 67 to intercept a Japanese naval force guarding transports en route to reinforce Guadalcanal. That night the American ships battled a determined Japanese force off Tassafaronga. When the action was over Drayton picked up 128 survivors including the commanding officer from Northampton (CA-26) and returned to Espiritu Santo 2 December. Drayton continued to operate in the Solomons campaign, bombarding Munda, New Georgia, and protecting transports bound for the Russell Islands. She escorted the unladen transports to Wellington, New Zealand, then returned to Nouméa 7 March 1943 for exercises and patrol with TF 64. (continued) | |
