USS Anthony (DD-515)

USS Anthony (DD-515): The Fletcher-Class Destroyer That Fought Across the Pacific

The USS Anthony (DD-515) was a Fletcher-class destroyer whose career reflected the extraordinary operational tempo of the United States Navy during the Second World War. Commissioned in February 1943, she entered service at a time when American naval forces were transforming the balance of power in the Pacific. Over the next two years, Anthony participated in campaigns stretching from the Solomon Islands and the Marianas to Okinawa and the China coast, performing nearly every task expected of a fleet destroyer: escorting transports, screening major warships, conducting shore bombardments, protecting aircraft carriers, hunting submarines, rescuing sailors, and standing exposed on radar picket stations. She survived the war with seven battle stars, and her postwar history continued when she became one of the Fletcher-class destroyers transferred to the newly established West German Navy.

Construction and the Story Behind Her Name

A Destroyer Built for Total War

Anthony was laid down on 17 August 1942 at Bath, Maine, by Bath Iron Works Corporation. She was launched on 20 December 1942 and sponsored by Alice Anthony and Frances Anthony, granddaughters of Sergeant Major William Anthony, the Marine whose actions during the sinking of the battleship USS Maine in Havana Harbor had earned him recognition for exceptional courage. The new destroyer was commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 26 February 1943, with Lieutenant Commander Blinn Van Mater in command.

As a Fletcher-class destroyer, Anthony belonged to one of the most important destroyer families of the Second World War. The class combined high speed, heavy gunfire, torpedo capability, anti-aircraft weapons, and anti-submarine equipment in a hull capable of operating with battleships, cruisers, aircraft carriers, and amphibious forces. The Fletcher design was sufficiently versatile that individual ships could shift rapidly between escort, bombardment, screening, and patrol duties without requiring major changes to their basic configuration.

Entering the Pacific War

Following commissioning, Anthony conducted shakedown training out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before returning to Boston. She subsequently sailed for the Pacific, passing through the Panama Canal and reaching Pearl Harbor on 31 May 1943. Two months of intensive training followed in Hawaiian waters, preparing the new destroyer for the demanding operations that awaited her.

In August, Anthony sailed with a convoy toward the South Pacific, passing through Pago Pago in Samoa before reaching Efate in the New Hebrides on 27 August. Her first combat assignments came in the Solomon Islands campaign, where she helped escort troop transports and participated in the American advance toward Bougainville. On 1 November 1943, she supported the landings at Empress Augusta Bay, firing in the pre-invasion bombardment and remaining nearby as Marines established their beachhead. She returned to Bougainville shortly afterward to reinforce American naval forces and protect transport vessels unloading troops and supplies.

Escort and Combat Operations in the Solomons

The seemingly routine escort work undertaken by Anthony was anything but safe. Japanese aircraft repeatedly attacked American shipping in the Solomons, forcing destroyers to combine their escort duties with anti-aircraft defense and rapid maneuvering. On 20 January 1944, Anthony also conducted an offensive operation in Bougainville Strait, where she encountered small Japanese vessels and destroyed a gunboat and several barges.

In February, the destroyer escorted tank landing ships toward Green Island. She was originally expected to provide naval gunfire support, but the relatively light Japanese resistance meant that her guns were not required for the planned mission. Later that month she participated in the bombardment of Rabaul, the major Japanese base on New Britain, and during March helped cover the invasion of Emirau Island before returning to escort duties between Guadalcanal and the newly secured positions in the northern Solomons.

From Battleship Screens to the Marianas

By April 1944, Anthony had become part of a battleship task force. She screened the battleships USS New Mexico, USS Idaho, and USS Pennsylvania during their voyage to Australia. After reaching Sydney and receiving a period of liberty, the destroyer returned to the Pacific and soon prepared for an even larger operation: the invasion of the Marianas.

Saipan and Guam

On 2 June 1944, Anthony sailed with the invasion force. After stopping at Kwajalein for fuel, she proceeded toward the Marianas and arrived off Saipan in June. On 14 June she opened fire on Japanese positions on Saipan, then helped screen other vessels during the landings the following day. On 16 June she bombarded Guam, and shortly afterward she joined Task Force 58, the famous Fast Carrier Task Force. Her responsibilities now included screening the carriers and rescuing aviators whose aircraft had been shot down or forced into the sea.

The fighting around Guam continued into July. Anthony delivered harassing fire against Japanese positions and subsequently performed anti-submarine patrol duties. These assignments demonstrated one of the defining characteristics of a Fletcher-class destroyer: the ship could transition from heavy surface combat to air defense, submarine patrol, rescue work, and shore bombardment within the same campaign.

After a period in Hawaii, Anthony sailed for Ulithi in September 1944 and subsequently returned to the United States for an overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard. Following repairs and refresher training, she returned to the Pacific at the end of December, ready for the campaigns that would carry the war toward Japan itself.

Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa

Supporting the Iwo Jima Invasion

On 27 January 1945, Anthony sailed with the invasion force bound for Iwo Jima. After intermediate stops at Eniwetok and Guam, she was assigned to screen transports carrying reserve troops. The destroyer performed shore bombardment and nighttime harassing-fire missions while American forces fought to seize the island. She remained in the Iwo Jima area until early March before proceeding to the Philippines.

Her next major assignment was Okinawa, where the scale and intensity of Japanese resistance would make the campaign one of the most dangerous episodes of her career.

Radar Picket Duty and Kamikaze Attacks

Anthony arrived off Okinawa on 1 April 1945, the opening day of the invasion. For much of the next several months she performed fire-support, screening, and radar-picket duties, operating in waters repeatedly threatened by Japanese aircraft and kamikaze attacks. Radar picket stations were particularly hazardous because destroyers assigned to them were positioned far enough from the main fleet to provide early warning of approaching aircraft, placing them directly in the path of Japanese attacks.

On 27 May, Anthony and the destroyer USS Braine came under kamikaze attack. Two Japanese aircraft succeeded in crashing into Braine, badly damaging the sister ship. Anthony immediately took aboard survivors and subsequently towed the damaged destroyer to Kerama Retto. The rescue illustrated the multifaceted nature of destroyer operations: a ship might be firing at enemy aircraft one moment and recovering wounded sailors or towing a crippled warship the next.

The danger returned on 7 June. While on radar-picket duty, Anthony was attacked by Japanese aircraft. A kamikaze aircraft struck the water alongside her port side, producing a large hole in the hull and destroying approximately 25 feet of lifelines and stanchions. Five members of the crew were thrown or jumped into the water, but all five were recovered safely. Despite the damage, Anthony remained on station until 24 June before withdrawing to Leyte for an availability.

The Final Months of World War II

In July 1945, Anthony returned to offensive operations farther west. On 13 July she conducted an anti-shipping sweep along the China coast between Foochow and Wenchow. After returning to Okinawa for replenishment, she sailed again on 26 July for a sweep near the mouth of the Yangtze River. She returned to Okinawa on 1 August and remained there through the end of hostilities in August.

The destroyer’s wartime career did not immediately end with Japan’s surrender. On 7 September 1945, Anthony sailed to support the occupation of Japan. She participated in minesweeping operations around Nagasaki and Sasebo before anchoring at Sasebo on 29 September. In November she began her journey home, stopping at Midway and Pearl Harbor before reaching San Diego. From there she crossed the Panama Canal and proceeded to Charleston, South Carolina.

By the time she reached Charleston, Anthony had accumulated a remarkable operational record. She had fought in amphibious assaults, screened battleships and aircraft carriers, shelled enemy positions, protected convoys, carried out anti-shipping operations, rescued sailors, and survived repeated air attacks. The U.S. Navy ultimately credited her with seven battle stars for her World War II service.

Postwar Service as Zerstörer 1

Transfer to West Germany

The end of World War II brought an extended period in reserve. Anthony was placed out of commission on 17 April 1946 at Charleston. Her story, however, was far from over. On 17 January 1958, more than a decade after she left active U.S. service, the destroyer was transferred to the Federal Republic of Germany. She became Zerstörer 1, commonly designated Z-1 or D170, and entered service with the new West German Navy.

The transfer reflected a broader Cold War development. West Germany was rebuilding naval forces as part of the Western European defense system, and proven American destroyer designs offered an established foundation for this new fleet. Z-1 was the first of six former U.S. Navy Fletcher-class destroyers operated by the Federal German Navy. During German service, the ship received modifications to her armament and equipment to meet changing postwar requirements.

Final Fate

Z-1 remained in German service until 1972. She was decommissioned on 17 March of that year and was subsequently removed from the U.S. Navy list on 15 April. Rather than returning to American service, the ship was sold to West Germany for use as a source of spare parts. Her remaining hull ultimately survived for several more years before being used as a target ship. On 16 May 1979, the former Anthony was sunk by a torpedo in the Mediterranean off Crete, bringing an unusually long career to an end.

USS Anthony’s Place in Naval History

The significance of USS Anthony lies less in a single spectacular battle than in the breadth and persistence of her service. She represented the practical strength of the Fletcher-class concept: a fast destroyer capable of accompanying the fleet, defending larger ships, attacking enemy positions, escorting amphibious forces, and absorbing punishment while continuing to operate. Her career also mirrors the geographic progression of the Pacific War, beginning with the Solomon Islands, moving through the Marianas and Iwo Jima, and culminating at Okinawa and along the Asian mainland.

Her seven World War II battle stars provide a concise measure of the campaigns in which she participated, but the individual episodes tell a richer story. Anthony repeatedly operated in environments where destroyers faced aircraft, shore batteries, submarines, and surface threats simultaneously. Her rescue of the crew of USS Braine and her survival of the June 1945 kamikaze attack are particularly revealing examples of the responsibilities placed upon destroyer crews.

The ship’s postwar transfer to West Germany adds another dimension to her legacy. Rather than disappearing immediately into the scrapyard after 1946, Anthony became part of another navy and continued serving during the Cold War. From her launch at Bath Iron Works in 1942 to her final sinking as a target in 1979, she therefore experienced nearly four decades of naval history.

USS Anthony was ultimately one of many Fletcher-class destroyers, but her career demonstrates why the class became so closely associated with American naval power in the Second World War. She was fast, heavily armed for her size, adaptable, and repeatedly placed where the danger was greatest. Her service from the Solomons to Okinawa and later in the West German Navy makes DD-515 a compelling example of the long operational lives that some wartime destroyers achieved.

Technical Specifications of USS Anthony (DD-515)

The following figures are based primarily on the U.S. Navy’s official DANFS entry. Published references sometimes differ in details such as wartime displacement, anti-aircraft armament, and crew size because equipment and complements changed during the war; the table therefore emphasizes the specifications given in the official U.S. Navy record.

USS Anthony therefore stands as more than a line in a list of Fletcher-class destroyers. Her history encompasses the industrial mobilization of the United States, the major amphibious campaigns of the Pacific War, the desperate air battles around Okinawa, the transition from wartime to Cold War naval power, and the eventual disappearance of a veteran warship nearly four decades after her launch. DD-515 was built for a global conflict, survived some of its most dangerous operations, served a second navy, and remained active in one form or another until 1979—a fittingly long career for one of the most versatile destroyer designs of the twentieth century.