HMS Churchill, underway, leaving a US Navy yard. | |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Herndon |
Namesake | William Lewis Herndon |
Builder | Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company |
Laid down | 25 November 1918 |
Launched | 31 May 1919 |
Commissioned | 14 September 1920 |
Decommissioned | 6 June 1922 |
Fate | Transferred to USCG, 1930 |
United States | |
Acquired | 13 September 1930 |
Commissioned | 7 March 1931 |
Decommissioned | 28 May 1934 |
Fate | Returned to Navy, 1934 |
United States | |
Acquired | 1934 |
Commissioned | 4 December 1939 |
Decommissioned | 9 September 1940 |
Stricken | 8 January 1941 |
Fate | Transferred to UK, 9 September 1940 |
United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Churchill |
Acquired | 9 September 1940 |
Commissioned | 9 September 1940 |
Identification | Pennant number: I45 |
Fate | Transferred to USSR, 16 July 1944 |
Soviet Union | |
Name | Deyatelny (Деятельный) |
Acquired | 16 July 1944 |
Fate | Sunk in action, 16 January 1945 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Clemson-class destroyer |
Displacement | 1,190 long tons (1,209 t) |
Length | 314 ft (96 m) |
Beam | 31 ft 9 in (9.68 m) |
Draft | 9 ft 4 in (2.84 m) |
Installed power | 26,500 shp (19,800 kW) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 35 kn (40 mph; 65 km/h) |
Range | 4,900 nmi (5,600 mi; 9,100 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) |
Complement | 122 officers and enlisted |
Armament |
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USS Herndon (DD-198) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy. Herndon served in the United States Coast Guard as CG-17. She was later transferred to the Royal Navy as HMS Churchill and still later to the Soviet Navy as Deyatelny.
The first Navy ship named for Commander William Lewis Herndon (1813–1857), Herndon was launched on 31 May 1919 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, sponsored by Miss Lucy Taylor Herndon, niece of Commander Herndon. She was commissioned on 14 September 1920 at Norfolk, Virginia.
After shakedown in New England waters, Herndon was placed in reserve in Charleston, South Carolina on 3 November 1920. She served in reserve for training exercises and maneuvers along the US east coast until she was decommissioned at Philadelphia on 6 June 1922.
Herndon served in the United States Coast Guard from 1930 to 1934 as part of the Rum Patrol.
She was recommissioned into the Navy on 4 December 1939. Following trials and shakedown, she reached Guantanamo Bay on 23 January 1940 to join the Caribbean Neutrality Patrol. In July–August, she operated out of the Panama Canal Zone on tactical and antisubmarine maneuvers.
The Herndon Depot Museum in Herndon, Virginia houses artifacts from USS Herndon.
The Advertiser Gleam, a small town newspaper in Guntersville, AL, reported the ship's bell to be in the possession of a private individual residing in Albertville, AL. [1] The article states Billy Sumner purchased the bell "from someone for just $20." The article also incorrectly identifies the bell as the ship's dinner bell. Based on photos contained in the article, it is very plainly the ship's bell from the USS Herndon launched in 1919. The U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) points out that ship's bells on U.S. Naval Warships are "used for signaling, keeping time, and sounding alarms... bells are an important part of a ship's routine and readiness." [2] Additionally, the NHCC addresses the ownership claim of every bell ever taken from a commissioned naval vessel:
U.S. Navy bells are part of the many artifacts removed from decommissioned vessels and preserved by the Naval History and Heritage Command. They may be provided on loan to new namesake ships, naval commands with an historical mission or functional connection, and to museums and other institutions that are interpreting specific historical themes and displays of naval history. Ship's bells remain the permanent property of the U.S. Government and the Department of the Navy. Bells remain a powerful and tangible reminder of the history, heritage, and accomplishments of the naval service. [2]
Thus, private ownership of the USS Herndon bell may be a violation of Navy regulations and Federal statutes.
Herndon decommissioned and was turned over to Great Britain under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement at Halifax, Nova Scotia on 9 September 1940. As HMS Churchill, she served as leader of the first Town-class flotilla in transatlantic convoys and patrol duty off the Western Approaches to the British Isles. Notable events in her career in the Royal Navy included participation in the search for the German battleship Bismarck after she had sunk the battlecruiser HMS Hood, and a visit by her namesake, the Prime Minister Winston Churchill, on his way home from the Atlantic Conference with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in August 1941. Churchill was assigned to Escort Group B-7 of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force for convoys HX 186 and ON 94. [3] Churchill also served as an escort for the pre- and post-invasion buildup for Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. Churchill was modified for trade convoy escort service by removal of three of the original 4-inch (102 mm)/50 caliber guns and three of the triple torpedo tube mounts to reduce topside weight for additional depth charge stowage and installation of Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar. [4] Churchill was assigned to Escort Group C-4 of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force for convoys SC 112, ON 158, HX 224, ON 177 and HX 235 during the winter of 1942–43 [5]
Transferred to the Soviet Navy 16 July 1944, the destroyer was renamed Deyatelny (Russian : Деятельный, lit. 'Active'). She was sunk while escorting a convoy over the treacherous route from Kola Inlet to the White Sea in the Kara Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) east of Cape Terebirski ( 69°04′N36°10′E / 69.067°N 36.167°E ), either by being torpedoed by U-956, or by accidental explosion of her depth charges while attacking the submarine, with the loss of 117 of her 124 crew. The seven survivors reported a massive explosion at the ship's stern. Survivors were rescued by Derzky. [6] [7]
USS Claxton (DD-140), named for Thomas Claxton, was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy. Entering service in 1919, the destroyer saw intermittent use during the interwar period. During World War II, Claxton was transferred to the Royal Navy and renamed HMS Salisbury. The ship saw service in the Battle of the Atlantic before sold for scrapping in 1944.
HX convoys were transatlantic convoys in the North Atlantic during the First World War and in the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War. HX convoys sailed eastwards from Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada, to Liverpool and other ports in Britain. They were joined the BHX convoys from Bermuda en route. After the United States entered the war, HX convoys began at New York.
USS Fairfax (DD-93) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I, later transferred for World War II service first to the Royal Navy as HMS Richmond (G88), a Town-class destroyer, and then to the Soviet Navy as Zhivuchy.
The first USS Twiggs (DD–127) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I. She was named for Major Levi Twiggs. She was later transferred to the Royal Navy, as HMS Leamington and to the Soviet Navy as Zhguchy, before returning to Britain to star in the film The Gift Horse, which depicts the St. Nazaire Raid.
The second USS Foote (DD–169) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I. She was transferred to the Royal Navy as HMS Roxborough (I07) and later to the Soviet Navy as Zhyostky.
The first USS Kalk (DD–170) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I, later transferred to the Royal Navy as HMS Hamilton (I24) and then into the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Hamilton (I24).
USS Hunt (DD-194) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I. She also served in the United States Coast Guard, as USCGD Hunt (CG-18). She was later transferred to the Royal Navy as HMS Broadway (H90).
USS Welborn C. Wood (DD-195) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She served with the United States Coast Guard as USCGD Wood. She was later transferred to the Royal Navy as HMS Chesterfield.
USS Branch (DD-197) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy that entered service in 1920. After a short active life, Branch was placed in reserve in 1922. The ship was activated again for World War II before being transferred to the Royal Navy in 1940. Renamed HMS Beverley, the destroyer served in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort and was torpedoed and sunk on 11 April 1943.
The second USS Aulick (DD-258) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy and transferred to the Royal Navy where she served as HMS Burnham (H82) during World War II.
The first USS Laub (DD-263) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy and transferred to the Royal Navy where she served as HMS Burwell (H94) during World War II. She was named for Henry Laub.
The third USS Shubrick (DD-268) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy. The destroyer was later transferred to the Royal Navy, where she served as HMS Ripley (G79) during World War II.
The first USS Swasey (DD-273) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy and transferred to the Royal Navy as HMS Rockingham (G58).
HMS Orwell was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that entered service in 1942 and was broken up in 1965.
HMS Escapade was an E-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion in 1934, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–1936 during the Abyssinia Crisis. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 she spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. Escapade was assigned to convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol duties in the Western Approaches when World War II began in September 1939, but transferred back to the Home Fleet at the end of the year.
Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) referred to the organisation of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and Newfoundland, and the British Isles. The allocation of United States, British and Canadian escorts to these convoys reflected preferences of the United States upon United States' declaration of war and the organisation persisted through the winter of 1942–43 despite withdrawal of United States ships from the escort groups. By the summer of 1943, United States Atlantic escorts were focused on the faster CU convoys and the UG convoys between Chesapeake Bay and the Mediterranean Sea; and only British and Canadian escorts remained on the HX, SC and ON convoys.
Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys from North American port cities to the Western Ocean Meeting Point near Newfoundland where ships of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) assumed responsibility for safely delivering the convoys to the British Isles.
Arctic naval operations of World War II were the World War II naval operations that took place in the Arctic Ocean, and can be considered part of the Battle of the Atlantic and/or of the European Theatre of World War II.
HMS Godetia was the second Flower-class corvette with that name built for the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War as part of the Section Belge of the Royal Navy (RNSB). With the liberation of Belgium in late 1944, the vessel was returned to the United Kingdom. In common with other Flower-class corvettes, the ship was named after an eponymous flower.
HMS Ekins (K552) was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy that served during World War II. Originally constructed as a United States Navy Buckley class destroyer escort, she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1945.
Media related to USS Herndon (DD-198) at Wikimedia Commons