In the summer months each year, the ships were based ay Yantai, known in the Western world as "Chefoo," on the north coast of Shantung (now Shandong) province in China, moving southward to Philippine waters for annual winter exercises.

[1] William B. Preston steamed up the Yangtze on 21 March 1927 and dropped anchor off the city, joining her sister ship USS Noa (DD-343) there.

[1] On 25 March 1927, with the situation much quieter in Nanking, William B. Preston prepared to leave the area in company with the refugee-laden steamer SS Kungwo.

Chinese snipers, firing from concealed positions ashore, sent William B. Preston′s anchor detail scurrying for cover, and ricocheting bullets whined into the pre-dawn darkness.

[1] Three hours later, while proceeding between Silver Island and Xing Shan fort, small arms fire again crackled from the shore, first directed at Kungwo and next at William B. Preston.

[1] William B. Preston and her charges joined the British gunboat HMS Cricket and the steamer SS Wen-chow 52 miles (84 km) below Chinkiang (now Zhenjiang).

[1] Cleared for action with guns trained out and the United States flag flying, William B. Preston rounded the bend, ready for a showdown.

[1] As the U.S. Navy grew in size in the first months following the outbreak of World War II in Europe on 1 September 1939, the need for auxiliary ships to support the fleet multiplied accordingly.

She then anchored at Palmyra Atoll in the northern Line Islands to tend U.S. Navy PBY Catalina flying boats through 4 October 1940, when she returned to Pearl Harbor.

[1] After operating in the Manila area through Christmas in late December 1940, William B. Preston took station in the harbor at Puerto Princessa on the island of Palawan, where she tended PBYs until mid-January 1941.

"[1] Japan had launched a devastating air strike on Pearl Harbor while their invasion fleets moved southward from Indochina towards the raw-material-rich British and Dutch possessions in Malaya and the East Indies.

Bluejackets on William B. Preston belted ammunition for the ship's antiaircraft defense of four .50-caliber water-cooled Browning machine guns and took down the awnings which had shielded the crew from the tropical sun.

Grant sprinted to the bridge while Japanese planes swept around the narrow neck of the land shielding Malalag Bay from the broad Gulf of Davao.

Within a few short moments, both PBY's had been shot to pieces and sank into the waters of the bay as the survivors, carrying one dead and one wounded comrade with them, swam for shore.

Evading the bombs, the ship managed to emerge from the attack unscathed and returned to the bay to pick up her boat and the survivors from the two lost planes.

[1] Later that day, upon receipt of orders dispatching her to Moro Gulf, William B. Preston got underway to establish another advance base for PBY's at Police Bay.

After being informed that Japanese troops had landed north of Gagayan and were marching overland to Police, the ship prepared to get underway and dispatched the PBY's on patrol over the Celebes Sea.

Although she had never hoisted aboard any aircraft before, William B. Preston's bluejackets rigged up a crude cradle between the two 50-foot motor-boats aft and provided padding for the Kingfisher's center float with mattresses and life jackets.

[1] Met by two Dutch destroyers, Kortenaer and Witte de With, the seaplane tender made port at Tarakanbut was soon underway again, this time for Balikpapan, Borneo, joining many ships from the Asiatic Fleet (Marblehead, Holland, Langley, Gold Star, and Heron).

Negotiating it by "judicious use of engines and slight assistance from the rudder with direct hand steering," William B. Preston escaped the inferno that left Darwin shattered and ruined as a base of operations for the Allies.

The after living compartment was a mass of wreckage; rivets were popped and seams sprung; the after deck house was riddled with holes; the after 4-inch and machine guns had been put out of action.

[1] Proceeding to Derby, Western Australia, William B. Preston touched briefly on a shoal as she entered the harbor, and reduced the effective speed of the starboard engine down to eight knots.

[1] Anchored in the vicinity of Bay of Rest, Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, William B. Preston continued her operations as a seaplane tender through early July, attached to Patrol Wing 10 and servicing two PBY-5 planes.

Securing alongside Isabel at north dock, Fremantle, she commenced a yard period, taking on fuel, gasoline, and provisions over the next eight days, departing on 26 July.

Stopping briefly at Palmyra Island and Pearl Harbor en route to the west coast, the seaplane tender arrived at San Francisco on 18 September.

Alternating in company with Ranger or Matanikau (CVE-101), she kept a lookout for planes forced to "ditch" while in the hands of student pilots learning the nuances of the Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter.

[1] After spending New Year's Day 1945 at San Diego, William B. Preston continued plane guarding and screening duties, clearing her home port on 2 January to join Matanikau off the California coast.

The ship's whaleboat, soon in the water, rescued the soaked pilot, and William B. Preston subsequently returned the aviator to his carrier via highline transfer.

[1] As newer AVPs joined the Fleet and the end of the war made further expansion unnecessary, the need for older ships like William B. Preston diminished.

[2] William B. Preston received one battle star for her World War II service for the Philippine Islands Operation for the period from 8 December 1941 to 3 March 1942.