USS Gwin (DD-433)

Last updated
Uss Gwin DD-433.jpg
USS Gwin underway in 1941
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameGwin
Namesake William Gwin
Builder Boston Navy Yard
Laid down1 June 1939
Launched25 May 1940
Commissioned15 January 1941
Honours and
awards
Silver-service-star-3d.png 5 × battle stars
FateSunk at Battle of Kolombangara, 13 July 1943
General characteristics
Class and type Gleaves-class destroyer
Displacement1,630 tons
Length348 ft 3 in (106.15 m)
Beam  36 ft 1 in (11.00 m)
Draft  11 ft 10 in (3.61 m)
Propulsion
  • 50,000 shp (37,000 kW);
  • 4 boilers;
  • 2 propellers
Speed37.4 knots (69 km/h)
Range6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement16 officers, 260 enlisted
Armament

USS Gwin (DD-433), a Gleaves-class destroyer, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant Commander William Gwin, an American Civil War officer who commanded river boats against Confederate forces in Alabama.

Contents

Gwin was launched on 25 May 1940 by the Boston Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. Jesse T. Lippincott, second cousin of Lt.Comdr. Gwin. The destroyer was commissioned at Boston on 15 January 1941. Gwin was sunk by a torpedo launched by a Japanese destroyer during the Battle of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands Campaign in July 1943.

Service history

Gwin completed shakedown training on 20 April 1941 and underwent final alterations in the Boston Navy Yard before conducting a neutrality patrol throughout the Caribbean Sea. On 28 September 1941 she assumed identical service in the North Atlantic from her base at Hvalfjörður, Iceland. At the beginning of February 1942, she returned to the Eastern Seaboard through the Panama Canal to San Francisco, California.

Service in the Pacific Theatre

USS Gwin, alongside USS Hornet during the Doolittle Raid 1942 USS Hornet (CV-8) with USS Gwin (DD-433) during Doolittle Raid 1942.jpg
USS Gwin, alongside USS Hornet during the Doolittle Raid 1942

On 3 April 1942 Gwin stood out of San Francisco Bay as a unit of the escort for the aircraft carrier Hornet, which carried 16 Army B-25 bombers to be launched in a bombing raid on Tokyo. Admiral William F. Halsey in carrier Enterprise rendezvoused with the task force off Midway, and General Jimmy Doolittle's famed raiders launched the morning of 18 April when some 600 miles east of Tokyo. The task force made a rapid retirement to Pearl Harbor, then sped south 30 April 1942, hoping to assist carriers Yorktown and Lexington in the Battle of the Coral Sea. That battle concluded before the task force arrived, and Gwin returned to Pearl Harbor on 21 May for day and night preparations to meet the Japanese in the crucial battle for Midway Atoll.

Battle of Midway

Gwin departed Pearl Harbor 23 May 1942 with Marine reinforcements for Midway and returned to port 1 June. Two days later she raced to join the Fast Carrier Task Force searching for the approaching Japanese fleet off Midway. The battle was all but concluded by the time she arrived on the scene on 5 June 1942. Four large Japanese aircraft carriers and a cruiser rested on the bottom of the sea along with some 250 enemy planes and their crews. Gwin sent a salvage party to assist in attempts to save carrier Yorktown, heavily damaged by two bomb and two torpedo hits in the Battle of Midway. As attempts continued 6 June 1942, a Japanese submarine rocked Yorktown with torpedo hits and sank the destroyer Hammann which was secured alongside the carrier. The salvage party had to abandon Yorktown and surviving men were rescued from the sea, The carrier capsized and sank the morning of 7 June 1942. Gwin carried 102 survivors of the two ships to Pearl Harbor, arriving 10 June 1942.

Guadalcanal

Gwin departed Pearl Harbor 15 July 1942 to operate in the screen of fast carriers who pounded Japanese installations, troop concentrations and supply dumps as Marines invaded Guadalcanal in the Solomons on 7 August 1942. In the following months Gwin convoyed supply and troop reinforcements to Guadalcanal. Joining a cruiser–destroyer task force, she patrolled "the Slot" of water between the chain of Solomon Islands to intercept the "Tokyo Express" runs of supply, troop and warships supporting Japanese bases in the Solomons.

On 13 November 1942, Gwin and three other destroyers formed with battleships South Dakota and Washington to intercept an enemy bombardment–transport force approaching the Solomons. The following night the task group found the enemy off Savo Island: the battleship Kirishima, four cruisers, 11 destroyers, and four transports, The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal was intensely fought. Gwin found herself in a gun duel between the light cruiser Nagara and two Japanese destroyers (Ayanami and Uranami), versus the four American destroyers. She took a shell hit in her engine room. Another shell struck her fantail and enemy torpedoes began to boil around the destroyers.

Though shaken by exploding depth charges, Gwin continued to fire at the enemy as long as any remained within range. In a short time the other three American destroyers were out of action; two sinking and Benham surviving with her bow partially destroyed. Gwin attempted to escort the nose-less Benham to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides Islands. But when all hope was lost, survivors transferred to Gwin who sank Benham's abandoned hulk with gunfire. The survivors were landed 20 November at Nouméa, New Caledonia, and Gwin was routed onward to Hawaii, thence to the Mare Island Navy Yard, arriving 19 December 1942.

Later action in the Solomons

Having been overhauled, Gwin returned to the Southwest Pacific on 7 April 1943 to escort troop reinforcements and supplies throughout the Solomons. On 30 June she served with the massive amphibious assault force converging on New Georgia under the leadership of Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner. She supported the landings of 30 June on the north coast of Rendova Island, 5 miles (8.0 km) across Blanche Channel from Munda. Immediately after the first wave of troops hit Rendova Beach, Munda Island shore batteries opened fire on the four destroyers patrolling Blanche Channel. Gwin was straddled by the first salvo. A moment later a shell exploded on her main deck aft, killing three men, wounding seven and stopping her after engine. The half-dozen enemy shore batteries were soon silenced as Gwin laid down an effective heavy smoke screen to protect the unloading transports. When aerial raiders appeared, her gunners shot down three. Rendova Island was soon in American possession. It served as an important motor torpedo boat base to harass Japanese barge lines and a base for air support in the Solomons.

Sinking

Gwin escorted a reinforcement echelon from Guadalcanal to Rendova, then raced to the "Slot" 7 July to rescue 87 survivors of cruiser Helena, lost in the Battle of Kula Gulf. She then joined a cruiser–destroyer task force under Rear Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth to head off a formidable "Tokyo Express" force headed through the Solomon Islands to land troops at Vila. The Battle of Kolombangara was joined in the early hours of 13 July and Japanese light cruiser Jintsu quickly slid to the bottom, the victim of smothering gunfire and torpedo hits. However, four Japanese destroyers, waiting for a calculated moment when Ainsworth's formation would turn, launched 31 torpedoes at the American formation. His flagship, Honolulu, cruiser St. Louis and Gwin, maneuvering to bring their main batteries to bear on the enemy, turned right into the path of the "long lance" torpedoes. [1] Both cruisers received damaging hits but survived. Gwin received a torpedo hit amidships in her engine room and exploded. The destroyer Ralph Talbot took off Gwin's crew after their damage control efforts failed and she had to be scuttled. Two officers and 59 men perished with the destroyer.

Gwin received five battle stars for service in World War II.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>New Orleans</i> (CA-32) New Orleans class heavy cruiser (1933–1959)

USS New Orleans (CL/CA-32) was the lead New Orleans-class cruiser in service with the United States Navy. The New Orleans-class cruisers were the last U.S. cruisers built to the specifications and standards of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. Such ships, with a limit of 10,000 long tons (10,160 t) standard displacement and 8-inch (203-millimetre) calibre main guns may be referred to as "treaty cruisers." Originally classified a light cruiser, because of her thin armor, she was reclassified, soon after being laid down, a heavy cruiser, because of her 8-inch guns. The term "heavy cruiser" was not defined until the London Naval Treaty in 1930.

USS <i>Hornet</i> (CV-8) Yorktown-class aircraft carrier of the US Navy

USS Hornet (CV-8), the seventh U.S. Navy vessel of that name, was a Yorktown-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. During World War II in the Pacific Theater, she launched the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo and participated in the Battle of Midway and the Buin-Faisi-Tonolai raid. In the Solomon Islands campaign, she was involved in the capture and defense of Guadalcanal and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, where she was irreparably damaged by enemy torpedo and dive bombers. Faced with an approaching Japanese surface force, Hornet was abandoned and later torpedoed and sunk by approaching Japanese destroyers. Hornet was in service for one year and six days, and was the last US fleet carrier ever sunk by enemy fire. For these actions, she was awarded four service stars and a citation for the Doolittle Raid in 1942, and her Torpedo Squadron 8 received a Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism for its performance at the Battle of Midway. Her wreck was located in late January 2019 near the Solomon Islands.

USS <i>Astoria</i> (CA-34) New Orleans class heavy cruiser

The second USS Astoria (CL/CA-34) was a New Orleans-class cruiser of the United States Navy that participated in both the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway, but was then sunk in August 1942, at the Battle of Savo Island. Astoria was the first Astoria-class cruiser to be laid down but launched after and received a hull number higher than New Orleans, which the class was renamed for after Astoria sank.

USS <i>Pensacola</i> (CA-24) Pensacola-class heavy cruiser

USS Pensacola (CL/CA-24) was a cruiser of the United States Navy that was in service from 1929 to 1945. She was the lead ship of the Pensacola class, which the navy classified from 1931 as heavy cruisers. The third Navy ship to be named after the city of Pensacola, Florida, she was nicknamed the "Grey Ghost" by Tokyo Rose. She received 13 battle stars for her service.

USS <i>Portland</i> (CA-33) American lead ship of Portland-class

USS Portland (CL/CA–33) was the lead ship of the Portland class of cruiser and the first ship of the United States Navy named after the city of Portland, Maine. Launched in 1932, she completed a number of training and goodwill cruises in the interwar period before seeing extensive service during World War II, beginning with the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942, where she escorted the aircraft carrier Yorktown and picked up survivors from the sunken carrier Lexington. She screened for Yorktown again in the Battle of Midway, picking up her survivors as well. She then supported the carrier Enterprise during the initial phase of the Guadalcanal Campaign later that year, and was torpedoed during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. The torpedo inflicted heavy damage which put her out of action for six months as she was repaired in Sydney, Australia, and later San Diego, California.

USS <i>Benham</i> (DD-397) Benham-class destroyer

USS Benham (DD-397) was the lead ship of her class of destroyers and the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Andrew Ellicot Kennedy Benham. She missed the Attack on Pearl Harbor, being an escort for the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise on her way to Midway Atoll at the time. She also served off Hawaii during the Doolittle raid, rescued survivors from several ships, and operated during the Battle of Midway and the landings on Guadalcanal, among other missions. She was torpedoed and rendered unusable, for which she was sunk at the end of 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Jack Fletcher</span> USN admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (1885–1973)

Frank Jack Fletcher was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. Fletcher commanded five different task forces through WWII; he was the operational task force commander at the pivotal battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, which collectively resulted in the sinking of six Japanese fleet carriers.

USS <i>Ralph Talbot</i> (DD-390) Bagley-class destroyer

USS Ralph Talbot (DD-390) was a Bagley-class destroyer in the United States Navy, named for USMC Second Lieutenant Ralph Talbot (1897–1918), who was awarded the Medal of Honor during World War I. Talbot served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, from the attack on Pearl Harbor through the battle of Okinawa, earning 14 battle stars for her service.

USS <i>Taylor</i> (DD-468) Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Taylor (DD/DDE-468) was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for Rear Admiral William Rogers Taylor (1811–1889). She was laid down on 28 August 1941 at Bath, Maine, by the Bath Iron Works Corp.; launched on 7 June 1942, sponsored by Mrs. H. A. Baldridge; and commissioned on 28 August 1942 at the Charlestown Navy Yard near Boston, Mass.

USS <i>Monssen</i> (DD-436) Gleaves-class destroyer

USS Monssen (DD-436), a Gleaves-class destroyer, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for Mons Monssen, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions aboard USS Missouri (BB-11) in 1904. Commissioned in 1941, the destroyer saw service during World War II in both Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Monssen was sunk at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942.

USS <i>McCalla</i> (DD-488) Gleaves-class destroyer

USS McCalla (DD-488), a Gleaves-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Bowman H. McCalla, who served during the Spanish–American War and would eventually attain the rank of rear admiral.

USS <i>Worden</i> (DD-352) Farragut-class destroyer

The third USS Worden (DD-352) was a Farragut-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for John Lorimer Worden.

USS <i>Patterson</i> (DD-392) Bagley-class destroyer of the United States Navy

USS Patterson (DD-392), a Bagley-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Daniel Todd Patterson, an officer of the US Navy who served in the Quasi-War with France, First Barbary War, and the War of 1812.

USS <i>Jarvis</i> (DD-393) Bagley-class destroyer

USS Jarvis (DD-393), was a Bagley-class destroyer and the second of three United States Navy ships to be named after James C. Jarvis, a U.S. Navy midshipman who was killed at the age of 13 during the Quasi-War with France. She saw service in the Pacific during World War II and participated in the invasion of Guadalcanal. The destroyer was sunk to the south of Guadalcanal on 9 August 1942, with all hands - one of only two American major surface warships to be lost in World War II with no survivors.

USS <i>Preston</i> (DD-379) Mahan-class destroyer

USS Preston (DD–379) was a Mahan-class destroyer in the United States Navy before and during World War II. She was the fifth Navy ship named for Lieutenant Samuel W. Preston (1840–1865).

USS <i>Maury</i> (DD-401) Gridley-class destroyer

The second USS Maury (DD-401) was a Gridley-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named for Matthew Maury, and was one of the most decorated US Naval vessels of World War II.

USS <i>Sterett</i> (DD-407) Benham-class destroyer

USS Sterett (DD-407) was a Benham-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship named for Andrew Sterett.

USS <i>Woodworth</i> Benson-class destroyer

USS Woodworth (DD-460) was a Benson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Commander Selim E. Woodworth.

USS <i>Farenholt</i> (DD-491) Benson-class destroyer

USS Farenholt (DD-491) was a Benson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the second ship named for Admiral Oscar Farenholt.

Japanese destroyer <i>Samidare</i> (1935) Destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy

Samidare was the fifth of ten Shiratsuyu-class destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy under the Circle One Program.

References

  1. Brown p. 16, 88, 209

Bibliography

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.

Coordinates: 7°41′S157°27′E / 7.683°S 157.450°E / -7.683; 157.450