USS Decker (DE-47)

USS Decker (DE-47)
USS Decker (DE-47)
Career (United States)
Name:	HMS Cooke (BDE-47)
Builder:	Philadelphia Navy Yard
Laid down:	1 April 1942
Launched:	24 July 1942
Renamed:	USS Decker (DE-47), 4 March 1943
Namesake:	Ernest Elden Decker
Commissioned:	3 May 1943
Decommissioned:	28 August 1945
Fate:	transferred to Republic of China, 28 August 1945
Struck:	12 March 1948
Career (Republic of China)
Name:	ROCS Tai Ping (F-22)
Acquired:	28 August 1945
Fate:	Sunk by Communist Chinese forces, Tachen Islands, 14 November 1954

USS Decker (DE-47) was an Evarts class destroyer escort constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. She was sent off into dangerous North Atlantic Ocean waters to protect convoys and other ships from German submarines and fighter aircraft. She performed escort and antisubmarine operations in battle areas before sailing home victorious at the end of the conflict.

Originally intended for transfer to Great Britain as BDE-47, Decker was launched on 24 July 1942 by the Philadelphia Navy Yard; retained for use in the USN; redesignated Decker (DE-47) on 4 March 1943; and commissioned on 3 May 1943, Lieutenant Commander A. B. Adams, Jr. in command.

Service history

World War II

After escorting two oilers from Newport, Rhode Island to Galveston, Texas from 9–24 July 1943, Decker reported at Norfolk, Virginia on 20 August for convoy duty. From 26 August 1943 – 26 April 1945, she gave vital support to operations in North Africa, Italy, and Southern France by guarding the passage of nine supply convoys to Casablanca, French Morocco; Bizerte, Tunisia; Palermo, Sicily; and Oran, Algeria. On 11 May 1944, at sea bound for Tunisia, she aided in repelling a heavy torpedo attack by enemy planes.

After overhaul at Charleston, South Carolina, Decker operated in the Florida Keys as a training vessel until the end of the war.

Post-War

On 28 August 1945, she was leased to the Republic of China. Decker was returned from Lend-Lease and transferred permanently to China on 7 February 1948 and renamed ROCS Tai Ping (F-22; Chinese: 太平). ROCS Tai-ping was one of the four warships sent by the Republic of China Navy on 6 November 1946 to secure and reclaim islands within the South China Sea region formerly under Japanese occupation. Taiping Island was renamed after ROCS Tai-ping, the ship which arrived at the island. On 14 November 1954, a Communist Chinese Motor Torpedo Boat sank Tai Ping off the Tachen Islands.

Awards

	Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive)
	American Campaign Medal
	European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (with one service star)
	World War II Victory Medal

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.