Allied Warships

USS Whipple (DD 217)

Destroyer of the Clemson class

Navy	The US Navy
Type	Destroyer
Class	Clemson
Pennant	DD 217
Built by	William Cramp and Sons (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)
Ordered
Laid down	12 Jun 1919
Launched	6 Nov 1919
Commissioned	23 Apr 1920
End service	9 Nov 1945
History	Reclassified as Auxiliary AG-117 on 30 June 1945 Decommissioned 9 November 1945 Stricken 5 December 1945 Sold and broken up for scrap on 30 September 1947 to the Northern Metals Co., Philadelphia.

Commands listed for USS Whipple (DD 217)

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	Commander	From	To
1	James Powell Clay, USN	11 Jun 1939	5 Oct 1939
2	Rupert Meyrick Zimmerli, USN	5 Oct 1939	late 1940
3	Lt.Cdr. Charles Stillman Weeks, USN	late 1940	Mar 1941
4	Lt.Cdr. Eugene Simon Karpe, USN	Mar 1941	29 Jun 1942
5	Lt. Vincent James Meola, USN	29 Jun 1942	5 Sep 1943
6	Sanford Elza Woodard, USN	5 Sep 1943	30 Oct 1944
7	Richard Norman Reeves, USNR	30 Oct 1944	3 Sep 1945
8	Joseph William Leimert, USNR	3 Sep 1945	9 Nov 1945

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Notable events involving Whipple include:

9 Feb 1942
Around 0800 hours, HrMs De Ruyter (Cdr. E.E.B. Lacomblé, RNN and flagship of Rear-Admiral K.W.F.M. Doorman, RNN) and HrMs Tromp (Cdr. J.B. de Meester, RNN), were joined by eight US destroyers USS Whipple (Lt.Cdr. E.S. Karpe, USN), USS Pillsbury (Lt.Cdr. H.C. Pound, USN), USS Edsall (Lt.Cdr. J.J. Nix, USN), USS Alden (Lt.Cdr. L.E. Coley, USN), USS Stewart (Lt.Cdr. H.P. Smith, USN), USS John D. Edwards (Lt.Cdr. H.E. Eccles, USN), USS Barker (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Miller, USN) and USS Bulmer (Lt.Cdr. D.A. Harris, USN).

At 1700 hours the Dutch destroyers HrMs Piet Hein (Lt.Cdr. J.M.L.I. Chompff, RNN), HrMs Banckert (Lt.Cdr. L.J. Goslings, RNN) and HrMs Van Ghent (Lt.Cdr. P. Schotel, RNN) also joined. Van Ghent developed engine trouble and was later replaced by HrMs Kortenaer (Lt.Cdr. A. Kroese, RNN). (After repairs Van Ghent re-joined the task force on the 11th.)

Around 2130 hours the US destroyers USS Edsall and USS Alden were detached and sent to Tjilatjap. (1)

12 Feb 1942
At 0200 hours, HrMs Tromp (Cdr. J.B. de Meester, RNN), departed the Prigi Bay on the south coast of Java. Outside the bay she waited for HrMs De Ruyter (Cdr. E.E.B. Lacomblé, RNN and flagship of Rear-Admiral K.W.F.M. Doorman, RNN) which had also fuelled there. While leaving the bay De Ruyter collided with the US destroyer USS Whipple (Lt.Cdr. E.S. Karpe, USN) (or it was the other way round, Whipple colliding with De Ruyter, depending on what sources one reads, Dutch or American, sic.).

At sea the Dutch cruisers made rendes-vous with the Dutch destroyers HrMs Piet Hein (Lt.Cdr. J.M.L.I. Chompff, RNN), HrMs Banckert (Lt.Cdr. L.J. Goslings, RNN), HrMs Van Ghent (Lt.Cdr. P. Schotel, RNN) and HrMs Kortenaer (Lt.Cdr. A. Kroese, RNN). The task force then set course towards the Sunda Strait.

At 1600 hours, HrMS Van Ghent and HrMs Kortenaer departed the formation and at 1830 hours HrMs Piet Hein and HrMs Bankert also left.

Both cruisers then continued their passage towards the Sunda Strait unescorted. (1)