Commissioning and Deployment
The USS Leary (DD/DDR-879) was laid down by the Consolidated Steel Corporation at Orange, Texas on 11 August 1944. The ship was launched on 20 January 1945 and was christened by Mrs. Theodore S. Wilkinson, wife of Vice Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson.
The USS Leary was officially commissioned by the United States Navy on 7 May 1945.
On 23 June 1945 Leary completed her shakedown off the US Naval base at Guantanamo Bay and proceeded to her home port of Norfolk.
In 1945 the Navy began converting 24 out of the 98 Gearings to be radar picket ships (designated DDR in 1949) that could provide early warning of massed attack without overwhelming their Combat Information Centers. Leary was overhauled to upgrade her to a radar picket destroyer, which included installing the most advanced radar systems at the time.
She then departed for Boston, Mass where some fire control work was done. This work was interrupted by V-J Day celebrations. Later, the ship steamed on up to Casco Bay where she operated with a Task Force to assigned to develop defenses against Kamikaze attacks.
Upon completion, she returned to Boston Navy Yard again where the ship was painted to participate in a Presidential Review of the Fleet in New York City on Navy Day 1945. After the Presidential review, she returned to Norfolk and joined DESRON 1. While there, she picked up some army troops. The squadron proceeded through the Panama Canal and docked at San Diego, where the army troops disembarked. Soon after, she proceeded to Pearl Harbor, then on to Yokosuka.
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