USS Robinson (DD-562)

Fletcher class destroyer

USS Robinson (DD 562), a , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Captain Isaiah Robinson (died c. 1781), who served in the Continental Navy.

Robinson was laid down on 12 August 1942 by the Seattle Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., Seattle, Wash.; launched 28 August 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Howard M. Sayers; and commissioned 31 January 1944. After shakedown out of San Diego, Robinson, departed Seattle 12 April for Hawaii. Arriving at Pearl Harbor 21 April, she trained until getting underway on 29 May with Task Force 52 (TF 52), headed for Eniwetok and the Marianas.

On the morning of 15 June, Robinson opened fire in the battle of Saipan and her first salvo set off a large explosion, followed by an oil fire. She then silenced four enemy batteries which had been firing on Marines on the southernmost landing beaches, "Beach Yellow One". She then scored a direct hit on an enemy pillbox on Tinian. The destroyer joined the screen of battleship Tennessee (BB 43), at nightfall and in 2 hours fought off five enemy aircraft. She then teamed with destroyers Selfridge (DD 357) and Albert W. Grant (DD 649) in the screen of cruiser Birmingham (CL 62) off the western coast of Tinian, delivering harassing fire throughout the night. At daybreak 16 June, Robinson resumed fire support to the Marines on the southernmost invasion beaches of Saipan. During the morning, she silenced all but one stubborn gun of an enemy artillery emplacement and her fire assisted in turning back enemy tanks. Toward noon, she began safeguarding the transports off Saipan. At nightfall, she turned to call fire duty off "Beach Green One". Throughout the night of 16 June and into the morning of the 17th, Robinson illuminated and fired upon counterattacking Japanese tank divisions twice driving them back from the beachhead. That afternoon, she took fire support station, then spent the night and the next 5 days, protecting troop transports off Saipan. Retiring to Eniwetok with empty transports 26 June, she returned to Saipan on 6 July in the escort screen of a reinforcement convoy. Robinson took antisubmarine patrol station northwest of Saipan that day and closed the shore at night to provide illumination fire and send salvos into enemy troops east of Marpi Point. She shifted her fire to the west, to Tanapag Harbor the following morning and during the afternoon, rescued 17 Marines from a reef north of the harbor where they had been isolated by one of the biggest banzai attacks of the war. Robinson served on antisubmarine patrol off Saipan, in the ocean area northwest of Maniagassa Island, until 20 July, then got underway with Overton (APD 23) to escort 11 LCTs which arrived off Guam the next morning. She resumed fire support off Saipan that evening. On 22 July Robinson shifted her fire to Tinian, hitting caves where the enemy had dug in. She bombarded the western shore of Tinian 25 and 26 July; and, after gunfire support on the 29th, she guarded the minesweepers in Asiga Bay. Departing Tinian on 31 July, she escorted the hospital transport ship, Tryon (APH 1) to Eniwetok; then steamed independently to Nouméa, New Caledonia, where she arrived 9 August.

Robinson cleared Nouméa on 22 August and touched at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides Islands, to rejoin other ships of her division, then arrived at Purvis Bay of Florida, Solomon Islands on the 26th. She stood out from Purvis Bay on 6 September, with Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf's bombardment group, and arrived off Peleliu Island, on the morning of the 12th for pre invasion bombardment. During the Battle of Peleliu, Robinson wiped out enemy machine gun emplacements and tumbled snipers out of trees as she blasted enemy troop concentrations near "White" and "Orange" beaches. At various times, she assisted in screening cruisers Louisville (CA 28) and Portland (CA 33) and battleships Idaho (BB 42) and Mississippi (BB 41). She also raked the beach area during the daylight hours to cover underwater demolition teams, and she carried out call fire missions on enemy troops and gun batteries. On 22 September, she knocked out all guns in her area and disabled two groups of enemy tanks. She continued to hit emplacements, troop areas and supply dumps until the early morning of 24 September 1944 when she teamed with Heywood L. Edwards (DD 663) in destroying enemy barges attempting to land troops and supplies on the north shore. That evening she screened cruiser Louisville to Kossol Passage. She spent the night of 26 September providing illumination and harassing fire on the north end of Angaur Island. She gave the same treatment to Ngesebus Island the next night and bombarded the beaches south of Ngesebus airfields during the day of the 28th. She spent the night of 28–29 September delivering night illumination fire on the northwest corner of Angaur and entered Seeadler Harbor, Manus, Admiralty Islands, 1 October.