USS McCaffery

Last updated

USS McCaffery (DD-860) underway following her FRAM II modernization.jpg
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS McCaffery
NamesakeJoseph P. McCaffery
Builder Bethlehem Shipbuilding in San Pedro, California
Laid down1 October 1944
Launched12 April 1945
Commissioned26 July 1945
Stricken30 September 1973
IdentificationDD-860
Nickname(s)"Big Mac"
FateSold for scrap, 11 June 1974
General characteristics
Class and type Gearing-class destroyer
Displacement3,460 tons (full)
Length390 ft 6 in (119 m)
Beam40 ft 10 in (12 m)
Draft14 ft 4 in (4 m)
PropulsionTwo-screw General Electric geared turbines, 60,000 shp (45,000 kW)
Speed36.8 knots (68.2 km/h; 42.3 mph)
Range4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement336
Armament

USS McCaffery (DD/DDE-860) was a Gearing-class destroyer in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1973. She was scrapped in 1974.

Contents

Namesake

Joseph P. McCaffery was born on 20 August 1906 in Chester, Pennsylvania. He accepted a commission in the United States Marine Corps Reserves in March 1929, after resigning a commission in the Army Reserve held from 1927 as a graduate of Pennsylvania Military College, now Widener University. A veteran of the Guadalcanal campaign and New Georgia campaign, he was fatally wounded in the Landings at Cape Torokina, Bougainville on 1 November 1943, as he led his Marine Raider battalion against entrenched Japanese positions. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

History

Nicknamed "Big Mac", ironic as its namesake was nicknamed "Little Joe", McCaffery was laid down by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding at San Pedro in California on 1 October 1944, launched on 12 April 1945 by Miss Patricia McCaffery, niece of Lieutenant Colonel McCaffery and commissioned on 26 July 1945.

McCaffery operated with the 7th Fleet in support of United Nations Forces during the Korean War, alternated operations along the east coast and in the Caribbean with the 2nd Fleet with deployments to the Mediterranean with the 6th Fleet, underwent an extensive Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) overhaul at the New York Naval Shipyard in 1961, participated in quarantine operations during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, acted as communications relay ship for the Mercury space shot in May 1963, participated in the recovery missions for the Gemini IX and Gemini XII missions, and participated in Sea Dragon and Market Time operations, patrolled on search and rescue duties and carried out naval gunfire support missions during the Vietnam War.

McCaffery was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 September 1973, and sold for scrap on 11 June 1974.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Floyd B. Parks</i> Gearing-class destroyer

USS Floyd B. Parks (DD-884) was a Gearing-class destroyer in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1973. She was scrapped in 1974.

USS <i>Rogers</i> (DD-876) Gearing-class destroyer

USS Rogers (DD-876) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy. She was named for three brothers — Jack Ellis Rogers Jr., Charles Ethbert Rogers, and Edward Keith Rogers — killed in action aboard USS New Orleans during the Battle of Tassafaronga in the Solomon Islands on 30 November 1942.

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

The second USS Steinaker (DD-863/DDR-863/DD-863) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy.

USS <i>Harold J. Ellison</i> (DD-864) Gearing-class destroyer

USS Harold J. Ellison (DD-864) was a Gearing-class destroyer in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1983. She was then transferred to Pakistan and renamed Shah Jahan (D-164). The ship was finally sunk as a target in 1994.

USS <i>Radford</i> (DD-446) Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Radford (DD-446), named for Rear Admiral William Radford, was a Fletcher-class destroyer in the United States Navy. Entering service in 1942 during World War II the ship also saw action during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The ship was removed from service in 1969 and sold for scrap in 1970.

USS <i>Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.</i> Gearing-class destroyer

USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (DD-850) is a former United States Navy Gearing-class destroyer. The ship was named after Lieutenant Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., a naval aviator, son of the former U.S. Ambassador to Britain, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., and older brother of future President John F. Kennedy. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. served, with interruptions for modernization, until 1973. Among the highlights of her service are the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the afloat recovery teams for Gemini 6 and Gemini 7. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. is on display as a museum ship in Battleship Cove, Fall River, Massachusetts. She was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989 as one of a small number of surviving Gearing-class destroyers.

USS <i>Rudderow</i> Rudderow-class destroyer escort

USS Rudderow (DE-224) was the lead ship of her class of destroyer escorts, in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1947. After spending decades in reserve, she was sold for scrap in 1970.

USS <i>Hart</i> (DD-594) Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Hart (DD-594), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy of that name, in honor of Lieutenant Patrick H. Hart (1912–1942), who posthumously received the Navy Cross for heroism during the Battle of Midway.

USS <i>Childs</i> Clemson-class destroyer

USS Childs (DD-241/AVP-14/AVD-1) was a Clemson-class destroyer in service with the United States Navy from 1920 to 1945. She was scrapped in 1946.

USS <i>Myles C. Fox</i> (DD-829) Gearing-class destroyer

USS Myles C. Fox (DD/DDR-829) was a Gearing-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II and the years following. She was named for Myles C. Fox, a USMC lieutenant who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for actions during World War II.

USS <i>Sicard</i> Clemson-class destroyer

USS Sicard (DD-346/DM-21/AG-100) was a United States Navy Clemson-class destroyer in commission from 1920 to 1945. She was service during World War II. She was named for Rear Admiral Montgomery Sicard.

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

USS Wren (DD-568) was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy.

USS <i>John Hood</i> Fletcher-class destroyer

USS John Hood (DD-655) was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for Rear Admiral John Hood (1859–1919).

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

USS Norris (DD-859) was one of 98 Gearing-class destroyers in the United States Navy during the end of World War II. Norris was active from 9 June 1945 to 4 December 1970. Although built too late to see action during the war, the ship served in the Pacific, Atlantic, Asiatic, and Mediterranean areas.

USS <i>Rich</i> (DD-820) Gearing-class destroyer

USS Rich (DD-820/DDE-820) was a Gearing-class destroyer in the United States Navy during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. She was the second ship named in honor of Lieutenant Ralph McMaster Rich (1916–1942), who was awarded the Navy Cross for his leadership as a naval aviator aboard USS Enterprise during the Battle of Midway.

USS <i>Robert A. Owens</i> Gearing-class destroyer

USS Robert A. Owens (DD/DDK/DDE-827) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy, in service from 1949 to 1982. The ship was named for United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient Robert A. Owens. The ship was then transferred to Turkey through the Security Assistance Program (SAP) and served as TCG Alcitepe (D-346). The destroyer was finally decommissioned in 1999 and scrapped.

USS <i>Power</i> (DD-839) Gearing-class destroyer

USS Power (DD-839) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy, the first Navy ship named for First Lieutenant John V. Power, USMC (1918–1944), who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in the Battle of Kwajalein. This ship was involved in the Project SHAD tests off Newfoundland.

USS <i>Repose</i> (AH-16)

The USS Repose (AH-16) was a Haven-class hospital ship in service with the United States Navy. It was active from May 1945 to January 1950, from October 1950 to December 1954, and from October 1965 to May 1970.

USS <i>Ringness</i>

USS Ringness (APD-100) was a Crosley-class high speed transport that served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. After spending 29 years in reserve, she was sold for scrapping in 1975.

USS <i>Pavlic</i> United States destroyer escort ship

USS Pavlic (APD-70) was built by Dravo Corporation at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a Buckley-class destroyer escort. Pavlic was launched 18 December 1943 and towed to Texas for refitting as a United States Navy high-speed transport. Pavlic was in commission from 1944 to 1946, serving in the Okinawa campaign as a radar picket ship. Pavlic was decommissioned 15 November 1946. After more than 20 years of inactivity in reserve, she was stricken from the Navy List on 1 April 1967. On 1 July 1968, she was sold for scrapping to North American Smelting Company.

References

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