USS Aulick (DD-569) was an American , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Commodore John H. Aulick (1787–1873). Construction and commissioning Aulick was laid down on 14 May 1941 at Orange, Texas, by the Consolidated Steel Corporation; launched on 2 March 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Thaddeus A. Thomson, the wife of Captain Thaddeus A. Thomson who was then the acting commandant of the 8th Naval District; and commissioned on 27 October 1942. Service history United States Navy World War II Following her commissioning, the destroyer conducted shakedown training between the Gulf of Mexico and Casco Bay Maine. On 14 December 1942 at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay outside of Hampton Roads, VA, near the Thimble Shoals Lighthouse, she hit and sank the sloop Narada (known as the USCGR-2012) on loan to the US Coast Guard for antisubmarine duty. There was no loss of life. Her owner L. Corrin Strong was notified and compensated $6,249.80. She later departed Philadelphia on 23 January 1943, bound for the South Pacific. She transited the Panama Canal and paused at Bora Bora, Society Islands, before making Nouméa, New Caledonia, on 12 February. After a week of antisubmarine patrol off New Caledonia, Aulick joined Task Force 64 (TF 64) in the Coral Sea and stood by to support an American force landing on the Russell Islands. When TF 64 returned to Nouméa on 25 February, Aulick was detached. She stood out for Espiritu Santo on 1 March as an escort for the aircraft transport . From there, the destroyer steamed to Efate Island, New Hebrides, but on 9 March, she was ordered back to Nouméa. At 0411 on the 10th, Aulick struck a coral reef off the southern tip of New Caledonia while making and suffered extensive damage to her hull, propellers, and engines. After being briefly drydocked at Nouméa, the ship was taken in tow bound for Hawaii, where she arrived on 10 April after stops at Suva, Fiji Islands, and at Pago Pago, American Samoa. The warship underwent repairs at Pearl Harbor until 8 November when she got underway for Bremerton, Washington Reaching there on 14 November, Aulick entered the Puget Sound Navy Yard for replacement of damaged machinery. She set sail on 23 December to return to Pearl Harbor. Upon reaching that port, the ship received three more weeks of availability. 1944 The destroyer left