USS Litchfield

Last updated
USS Litchfield (DD-336) underway before World War II.jpg
USS Litchfield (DD-336) underway before World War II
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameLitchfield
NamesakeJohn Litchfield
Builder Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Laid down15 January 1919
Launched12 August 1919
Commissioned12 May 1920
Decommissioned5 November 1945
Stricken28 November 1945
FateSold for scrap, 29 March 1946
General characteristics
Class and type Clemson-class destroyer
Displacement1,215 tons
Length314 ft 5 in (95.83 m)
Beam30 ft 11+12 in (9.436 m)
Draft9 ft 4 in (2.84 m)
Propulsion
Speed35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range4,900  nmi (9,100 km; 5,600 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement126 officers and enlisted
Armament

USS Litchfield (DD-336/AG-95) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I.

Contents

Namesake

John R. Litchfield was born on 7 March 1899 at Flanagan, Illinois. He was a Navy pharmacist's mate serving with the 6th Marine Regiment. He was killed on 15 September 1918 near Thiaucourt, France, while attempting to remove a casualty from a frontline trench. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross Cross as well as the Distinguished Service Cross.

History

Litchfield was laid down on 15 January 1919 by Mare Island Navy Yard. The vessel was launched on 12 August 1919, sponsored by Mrs. Martha D. Litchfield, the mother of Pharmacist's Mate Litchfield. The destroyer was commissioned on 12 May 1920. Litchfield, a flush-decker, sailed to Bremerton, Washington, on her shakedown cruise but her initial tour on the west coast was brief. Before the end of 1921 she had departed San Diego, California and arrived in Charleston, South Carolina. Following the annual fleet maneuvers, Litchfield steamed to Newport, Rhode Island, to join Division 39 for duty in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, arriving at Constantinople on 28 June 1922.

The division served under the direct command of Rear Admiral Mark L. Bristol, U.S. High Commissioner for Turkey. The Allied Commissioners were attempting to end a war between this former ally of Germany and Greece. Litchfield served in humanitarian causes and as an instrument of American foreign policy as Admiral Bristol's destroyers evacuated 262,000 Greek and Armenian refugees from Smyrna, Turkey, 13 September. The destroyers also assisted civilian relief agencies attempting to feed and evacuate additional thousands suffering from famine and war.

Litchfield at the Great Fire of Smyrna. USS Litchfield at Smyrna.jpg
Litchfield at the Great Fire of Smyrna.

Late in 1923, Litchfield returned to the United States, her cargo including the remains of World War I hero George Dilboy which were being returned to the US for reburial after his original grave was desecrated as part of the Greco-Turkish conflict. Litchfield entered the New York Navy Yard on 30 October 1923 for overhaul. Litchfield joined Destroyer Squadron 12 based at San Diego 24 May 1924. During maneuvers and tactical exercises with the battle fleet in October, she was awarded prize money for her competitive short-range firing.

Annual competition and monthly maneuvers were supplemented in 1925 by a training cruise to Australia and New Zealand. On 4 June 1927 she participated in her first presidential review off Newport, Rhode Island. Returning to the Pacific, Litchfield spent most of July off the coast of politically disturbed Nicaragua. She survived both the cutback in naval tonnage agreed upon at the 1930 London Naval Conference and the economy measures of the early years of the great depression.

In April 1937, Litchfield, as part of the Battle Fleet, changed her permanent base from the west coast to Pearl Harbor. On 20 May she became flagship of Submarine Squadron 4, Submarine Force, Pearl Harbor, and continued to operate with submarines as war approached and training drills intensified during 1941. In company with the submarine Thresher, she departed her base 6 December and returned on 9 December to the destruction wrought by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. With the outbreak of war in the Pacific, Litchfield's duties involved the escort of U.S. submarines both in and out of port and anti-submarine patrol off the entrance to Pearl Harbor. Several times she made depth charge runs but no kills were confirmed prior to her departure 6 November 1943 for overhaul at Bremerton, Washington.

Fate

Upon her return to Pearl Harbor on 14 January 1944, she escorted a series of convoys to Midway and Eniwetok. Twice near Midway, she rescued crews of downed patrol planes and she salvaged a Martin PBM Mariner on 8 August. Litchfield also conducted submarine training exercises in the vicinity of each of these two bases. On 17 March 1945 an escort mission brought her to Guam, her furthest wartime penetration of the western Pacific. While performing escort and training duties with U.S. submarines at Guam on 31 March, she was redesignated AG-95, a miscellaneous auxiliary. Ending these duties 21 July, she arrived in San Diego 9 August.

The next week the Board of Inspectors recommended Litchfield be scrapped. Arriving Philadelphia in October, she decommissioned 5 November 1945 and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register 28 November. Scrapping was completed by the Philadelphia Navy Yard 29 March 1946.

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>Farragut</i> (DD-348) Farragut-class destroyer

The third USS Farragut (DD-348) was named for Admiral David Glasgow Farragut (1801–1870). She was the lead ship of her class of destroyers in the United States Navy.

USS <i>Lamberton</i> Wickes-class destroyer

USS Lamberton (DD-119)/(DMS-2) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy in commission from 1918 to 1922 and from 1930 to 1946. She saw service during World War II. She was the only ship named for Benjamin P. Lamberton, a rear admiral who served with Admiral Dewey in the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898 during the Spanish–American War.

USS <i>Philip</i> (DD-76) Wickes-class destroyer

The first USS Philip (DD–76) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I, later transferred to the Royal Navy as HMS Lancaster. She was named for John Woodward Philip.

USS <i>Vammen</i> Buckley-class destroyer escort

USS Vammen (DE-644) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy.

USS <i>Dorsey</i> Wickes-class destroyer

USS Dorsey (DD–117), reclassified DMS-1 on 19 November 1940, was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I. She was named for John Dorsey.

USS <i>Gamble</i> Wickes-class destroyer

USS Gamble (DD–123/DM-15) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I, later converted to a minelayer in World War II.

USS <i>Ramsay</i> Wickes-class destroyer

USS Ramsay (DD-124) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I, reclassified as DM-16 during World War II and again reclassified as AG-98. She was the first ship named for Rear Admiral Francis Ramsay.

USS <i>Stansbury</i> Wickes-class destroyer

USS Stansbury (DD–180) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II.

USS <i>Haraden</i> (DD-585) Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Haraden (DD-585), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Jonathan Haraden (1744–1803), a privateer of the American Revolutionary War.

USS <i>Fox</i> (DD-234) Clemson-class destroyer

USS Fox (DD-234/AG-85) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the fourth ship named for Gustavus Vasa Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy during the Civil War.

USS <i>Williamson</i> Tender of the United States Navy

USS Williamson (DD-244/AVP-15/AVD-2/APD-27) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Commander William Price Williamson.

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

USS Goff (DD-247) was a United States Navy Clemson-class destroyer in commission from 1921 to 1931 and from 1932 to 1945. She saw service during the Second Nicaraguan Campaign and World War II. She was named for Secretary of the Navy Nathan Goff, Jr.

USS <i>Hudson</i> (DD-475) Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Hudson (DD-475), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Captain William L. Hudson (1794–1862).

USS <i>Terry</i> (DD-513) Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Terry (DD-513), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Commander Edward A. Terry (1839–1882).

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

USS Stoddert (DD-302/AG-18) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I. She was named for Benjamin Stoddert.

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>Macdonough</i> (DD-351) Farragut-class destroyer

The third USS Macdonough (DD-351) was a Farragut-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Thomas Macdonough.

USS <i>Whitehurst</i> Buckley-class destroyer escort

USS Whitehurst (DE-634), a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Ensign Henry Purefoy Whitehurst, Jr., a crew member of the Astoria (CA-34) who was killed during the Battle of Savo Island in August 1942.

USS <i>Brackett</i>

USS Brackett (DE-41) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy during World War II. She was sent off into the Pacific Ocean to protect convoys and other ships from Japanese submarines and fighter aircraft. She performed escort and anti-submarine operations in dangerous battle areas and was awarded three battle stars.

References