World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbasePicking was a destroyed named for WW1-era submariner Sherwood Picking. She had her shakedown cruise off Bermuda. Via the Panama Canal, she arrived at Dutch Harbor, Alaska on 28 Dec 1943 to join the North Pacific Fleet Destroyer Squadron 49. On 4 Feb 1944 she bombarded Paramushiro, on 13 Jun Matsuwa Island, and on 26 Jun again Paramushiro, all in the Japanese-held Kurile Islands. After some time in San Francisco, California for upkeep, she joined the Third Fleet at Pearl Harbor and escorted transports. For the remainder of the war, she escorted transports to various locations in the Pacific and provided anti-aircraft protection for ships and beachheads. On 1 Apr 1945, she also performed bombardment duty against Japanese positions on Okinawa.

ww2dbaseAfter WW2, she was decommissioned on 20 Dec 1945, but was recommissioned on 26 Jan 1951 in response to the Korean War. She arrived at Yokosuka, Japan on 4 May 1953 and operated off Korean waters. She spent time with the Sixth Fleet off Ireland and the 7th Fleet off Taiwan, and then participated in several anti-submarine practices. She screened for carrier Ranger during the Cuban Missile Crisis of Oct 1962. In the 1960s, she served off Vietnam in a naval gunfire support role. She was finally decommissioned on 6 Sep 1969 at Long Beach, California. She was sunk as a target on 27 Feb 1997.

Photographs

Picking Operational Timeline