USS Lofberg

Last updated

USS Lofberg (DD-759) off San Francisco on 3 May 1945 (19-N-83460).jpg
USS Lofberg at San Francisco on 3 May 1945
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameUSS Lofberg
NamesakeGus Brynolf Lofberg, Jr.
Builder Bethlehem Steel, San Francisco
Laid down4 November 1943
Launched12 August 1944
Commissioned26 April 1945
Decommissioned15 January 1971
Stricken1 February 1973
IdentificationDD-759
FateTo Taiwan 6 May 1974 and cannibalized for spare parts.
General characteristics
Class and type Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer
Displacement2,200 tons
Length376 ft 6 in (114.76 m)
Beam40 ft (12 m)
Draft15 ft 8 in (4.78 m)
Propulsion
  • 60,000 shp (45,000 kW);
  • 2 propellers
Speed34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph)
Range6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement336
Armament

USS Lofberg (DD-759), was an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer of the United States Navy.

Contents

Namesake

Gus Brynolf Lofberg, Jr. was born on 6 April 1903 in Manitou, Michigan. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy on 2 June 1927. He served on board such ships as USS Concord, USS William B. Preston, USS Macleish, USS Arctic and USS California before receiving his first command, USS Little on 27 February 1942. On the night of 4 September 1942 Little challenged a vastly superior Imperial Japanese Navy force then engaged in shelling American-held positions on Guadalcanal. Lieutenant commander Lofberg was listed as missing in action after Little was set afire and sunk. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.

Construction and commissioning

Lofberg was laid down on 4 November 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Co., San Francisco, California and launched on 12 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. G. B. Lofberg, Jr., widow of Lieutenant Commander Lofberg. The ship was commissioned on 26 April 1945.

Service history

After shakedown, Lofberg departed the West Coast for the war zone. Since the formal surrender of Japan occurred almost six weeks before she arrived Tokyo Bay, 13 October, the destroyer was assigned to occupation duty. First came the clearing of mines from Japanese harbors, then a series of shuttle runs between Okinawa and Shanghai, and finally her return to San Francisco on 28 March 1946 with a group of Marines embarked at Tsingtao, China.

Lofberg was now temporarily assigned to the 3rd Reserve Fleet During the next year she restricted her sailing to short two-week coastal cruises to train Naval Reserves. On 1 July 1947 Lofberg resumed operations with the Pacific Fleet as flagship for DesRon 7.

Korean War

Three years later the outbreak of the Korean War tested the Navy's peacetime stress upon continuous training and physical readiness. On 30 September, under the command of Comdr. R. W. McElrath, Lofberg departed San Francisco on the first of three tours of duty in the new war zone. These operations extended over a three-year period.

Upon her initial arrival in Korean waters she became part of the screen for the fast carriers of Task Force (TF) 77. Planes from these carriers played an important part in successful evacuations in November and December of United Nations troops from North Korea in the wake of Chinese Communist intervention. Shifted temporarily to Task Group 96.8, she participated in gunfire support missions first off Korea's west coast and then in company with the battleship Missouri against targets along the eastern coast. As on her two succeeding tours she also took part both in the naval siege of Wonsan, Korea, and the preventive patrolling of the Formosa Straits before returning home on 2 July 1951.

Even after the Korean armistice of July 1953, Lofberg continued to make annual voyages to the Far East to participate in the activities and responsibilities of the 7th Fleet. By the beginning of 1960 she had lost her flagship status to a more modern-type destroyer. Though called upon as a part of the 1961 South China Sea buildup during a new Laotian crisis, this World War II vintage ship soon returned to San Francisco for a FRAM II rehabilitation and modernization.

New duties and the Vietnam War

Refurbished on 23 July 1962, Lofberg steamed forth to undergo a refresher training cruise and exercises designed to teach the effective use of her new helicopter flight deck. On 22 September she joined DesDiv 153, Pacific Fleet, for tactical training as part of an antisubmarine hunter group. The following 19 April, Lofberg departed the west coast to begin a new series of Far Eastern tours of duty. Lofberg completed her first assignment in time to spend Christmas 1963 at home, but her following voyage lasted from 23 October 1964 until 17 May 1965. To the familiar Formosa Strait patrol was added in February new duties off the coast of war ravaged South Vietnam. These duties included participation in the coastal barrier patrol initiated to prevent the infiltration of men and supplies from North Vietnam. During 1964-1965 cruise Lofberg's division surfaced two Russian submarines and escorted them from South China Sea...Lofberg was part of the Destroyer Division and Carrier Hancock that established Station Yankee in Gulf of Tonkin... Lofberg cruised off coast of North Vietnam using ECM to do target designation for Carrier Based Bombers and B52's out of Guam awarded two Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals one for 30 days at Station Yankee and one for 90 days off coast of North Vietnam also awarded ASWA "A" for proven excellence in antisubmarine warfare....because the bombing from Operation Rolling Thunder caused 140,000 civilian casualties President Johnson made Operation secret and no medals were awarded<ref>ETN-2 ECM midwatch in Lofberg CIC</rLofberg Cruise book 1964-1965 16MM movies of Russian Submarines in tow behind Tenderef>

Lofberg's last years

Once home from the newest war zone, Lofberg underwent a three-month drydock period and in October commenced tactical exercises in the southern California operation area. The destroyer reentered the South China Sea 26 April 1966, and during the next six months served first on Yankee Station and then provided gunfire support to allied forces ashore. While assigned to the latter duties she participated in operation "Deck House 11".

Since that time, into 1969, Lofberg had continued to rotate duty with the 1st and 7th Fleets in the Pacific.

Fate

Lofberg was decommissioned 15 January 1971, stricken 1 February 1973 and sold to Taiwan 6 May 1974 for spare parts.

Lofberg received seven battle stars for Korean service.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Arnold J. Isbell</i> Gearing-class destroyer

USS Arnold J. Isbell (DD-869), a Gearing-class destroyer, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Arnold J. Isbell, an aircraft carrier captain during World War II. The ship was laid down on 14 March 1945 at Staten Island, New York, by Bethlehem Mariners Harbor, launched on 6 August 1945 and commissioned on 5 January 1946. Constructed too late to see action in World War II, the vessel initially served as a training ship with the United States Atlantic Fleet, before transferring to the Pacific and deploying to Korea during the Korean War and off the Vietnam coast during the Vietnam War. In 1972 Arnold J. Isbell was made part of the reserve training fleet and in 1974, sold to Greece where the ship was renamed Satchouris and served with the Hellenic Navy until being sold for scrap in 2002.

USS <i>Maddox</i> (DD-731) Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS Maddox (DD-731), was an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer. It was named after Captain William A. T. Maddox of the United States Marine Corps.

USS <i>Hopewell</i> (DD-681) Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Hopewell (DD-681) was a Fletcher-class destroyer in service the United States Navy from 1943 to 1947 and from 1951 to 1970. She was finally sunk as a target in 1972.

USS <i>Wedderburn</i> Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Wedderburn (DD-684), was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy.

USS <i>Agerholm</i> Gearing-class destroyer

USS Agerholm (DD-826) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy. She was the only ship named for Harold Crist Agerholm, a Private First Class (Pfc.) in the 2nd Marine Division of the United States Marine Corps. He was killed during the assault on Saipan, and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

USS <i>Waldron</i> Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS Waldron (DD-699), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for John C. Waldron, a U.S. Naval aviator who led a squadron of torpedo bombers in World War II.

USS <i>Taussig</i> Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS Taussig (DD-746) was an American Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer. It was named for Edward D. Taussig, a rear admiral of the United States Navy whose career spanned over 50 years. Adm. Taussig is remembered for claiming Wake Island for the United States on January 17, 1899 while commanding the gunboat Bennington and for accepting the physical relinquishment of Guam from Spain, ending 300 years of Spanish colonial rule.

USS <i>OBrien</i> (DD-725) Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS O'Brien (DD-725), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, was the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named after Captain Jeremiah O'Brien and his five brothers, Gideon, John, William, Dennis and Joseph, who captured HMS Margaretta on 12 June 1775 during the American Revolution.

USS <i>John A. Bole</i> Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS John A. Bole (DD-755), was an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer of the United States Navy.

USS <i>John W. Thomason</i> Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS John W. Thomason (DD-760), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for John William Thomason, Jr., a USMC officer who was awarded the Navy Cross for bravery during World War I.

USS <i>Ingersoll</i> (DD-652) Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Ingersoll (DD-652) was a Fletcher-class destroyer in the United States Navy, serving from 28 June 1943 through 19 May 1974. Ingersoll saw action mainly in the Pacific Ocean Areas during World War II, and during the Korean War and Vietnam Wars.

USS <i>Black</i> Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Black (DD-666) was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy.

USS <i>Walton</i>

USS Walton (DE-361) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort in the United States Navy. It was named after Merrit Cecil Walton, a Marine Corps platoon sergeant with the U.S. 1st Marine Division, who died on Gavutu during the Battle of Guadalcanal and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for "extraordinary heroism".

USS <i>Herbert J. Thomas</i> Gearing-class destroyer

USS Herbert J. Thomas (DD-833) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy.

USS <i>Hamner</i> Gearing-class destroyer

USS Hamner (DD-718) was a Gearing-class destroyer in the United States Navy during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. She was named for Henry R. Hamner.

USS <i>Hollister</i> Gearing-class destroyer

USS Hollister (DD-788) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for the three Hollister brothers, who were killed in 1943 while serving in the Navy during World War II.

USS <i>Keppler</i> (DD-765) Gearing-class destroyer

The third USS Keppler (DD/DDE-765) was a Gearing-class destroyer in the United States Navy during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. She was named for Boatswain's Mate First Class Reinhardt J. Keppler (1918–1942), who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for "extraordinary heroism" during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.

USS <i>Henderson</i> (DD-785) Gearing-class destroyer

USS Henderson (DD-785) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy, the second Navy ship of that name, and the first named for United States Marine Corps Major Lofton R. Henderson. The previous Henderson was named for Marine Corps Commandant Archibald Henderson.

USS <i>Carpenter</i> Gearing-class destroyer

USS Carpenter (DD/DDK/DDE-825) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for Lieutenant Commander Donald M. Carpenter (1894–1940).

USS <i>Bausell</i> Gearing-class destroyer

USS Bausell (DD-845) was a Gearing-class destroyer in the United States Navy during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. She was named for Marine Corporal Lewis K. Bausell (1924–1944), who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for "conspicuous gallantry" during the Battle of Peleliu.

References