did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic?

Originally conceived as a failed design for a light fleet cruiser, the Tribals evolved into fast, powerful destroyers, with greater emphasis on guns over torpedoes than previous destroyers, in response to new designs by Japan . Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. The ship had to approach very carefully directly into the current and hold itself in position during this process. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! He was responsible for reading and interpreting all operation orders (OP-Orders) and determining what the ship was supposed to do next. LTJG George Stewart from the 1958 USS Halsey Powell Cruise Book. Transferred to Argentina, 14 August 1961. He died back in 1986. It seemed like there was always something going on out there in those days and port visits were few and far between. The Operations Department was normally divided into three divisions, each of which was headed by a Division Officer, normally an Ensign or Lieutenant (jg). l spent over a year on the USS TINGEY (DD539). Deployments were six months in length followed by a six month period in the US, about half of which was spent underway in various fleet exercises off the West Coast. I am the USS EATON DD/DDE510 REUNION ASSOC. Below this level, the ship was organized into departments. Type: Destroyer: Displacement: 2050 BRT : Length: . Torpedoman (TM) Responsible for operation and maintenance of the ships torpedoes, depth charges, and Hegehogs. Stewards (SD) Ran the Wardroom Mess and provided valet service for the officers. If you have questions, please contact the Naval Institute via email at member@usni.org or by phone at 800-233-8764. Fletcher related story: After being in Baton Rouge, LA when the USS Kidd was put on public display, 15 years later I was living outside of Fort Lauderdale, FL. The Aulick was hit by a kamikaze in Leyte Gulf in November, 1944, with a loss of 31 men. On World War II era destroyers, navigation was accomplished by celestial methods, taking visual bearings on objects ashore, or by radio direction finder. With the introduction of radar, another useful method became available when the ship was within radar range of shore. Communications had previously been a stand alone department and electronics repair had belonged to the Chief Engineer. Nineteen were lost during World War II; six more were damaged and not repaired. while Ross's book is about just one ship that served from 1942 to 1965. But it must be recognized that a naval vessel must remain at sea for extended periods and it has to function as a small self supporting community. The destroyer USS Saufley (DD 465) of the US Navy. The ratings that came under the Communications officer were: OI Division Headed by the CIC Officer, assisted by the Electronics Material Officer (EMO). The job of Mess Treasurer rotated among the junior officers. Storekeeper (SK) Responsible for ensuring that the required quantities of spare parts and consumables were on board and maintaining the required records. This would be followed by Now Set Material Condition Yoke Throughout the Ship followed by The Officer of the Deck is Shifting his Watch from the Quarterdeck to the Bridge. On Nov. 13, 1942, the USS Juneau light cruiser was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine. In September 1941, it requested studies for a destroyer with greater anti-aircraft capability. The need for a separate department responsible for the collection, display, and dissemination of combat information and intelligence became apparent as further use was made of radar and the establishment of a Combat Information Center (CIC) as the central nerve center on the ship. In an emergency program to expand capacity, some shipyards were upgraded and other new ones were brought on line. The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types of the Porter and Somers classes. Described as perfect fighting destroyers, Fletchers, as built, were powerfully armed (five (5) 5-inch guns and ten (10) 21-inch torpedo tubes), fast (36 knots), amenable to wartime modifications, and extremely resilient in battle. May 21, 2022. . These are senior petty officers who function as the ships police force. To achieve 38 knots with a 500-ton increase in displacement, power was increased from 50,000shp (37,000kW) to 60,000shp (45,000kW) compared to the previous Benson and Gleaves classes. Some that we were called upon to perform included: There are probably some others that I have forgotten about. The Main Propulsion Assistant (MPA) actually oversaw two divisions, B and M. Ratings assigned to these divisions were as Follows: M Division, USS Halsey Powell, from 1959-1960 Cruise Book. Here we see the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Cony (DD/DDE-508) off Norfolk in October 1963 as seen from the USS Keppler (DD-765).Though she earned 11 battle stars for World War II service, two for Korean War service and spent five months off Vietnam, it was a little-acknowledged day in 1962 that Cony witnessed what could have been the start of World War III. The ships Master at Arms force reports directly to the Executive Officer. The goal was to have two boilers on line, one in each fire room, and have both engines ready for operation with the plant split (2 independent plant configuration) prior to setting what is referred to as the Special Sea Detail. Together, these classes dominated the US Navys destroyer force over the next 25 years. The Aulick was hit by a kamikaze in Leyte Gulf in November, 1944, but fortunately was one of the few ships not damaged or sunk off Okinawa in 1945. There were also fueling stops at Midway and sometimes Guam. Obviously they were the people who were most likely to take heat from the other crew members for their efforts, or lack thereof. Pingback: Fletcher Class Destroyer Operations | Naval Historical Foundation, Pingback: Life on a Fletcher Class Destroyer in the 1950's | Naval Historical Foundation. The duties of conning officer were rotated around. With this modification, the Oerlikon cannons were rearranged and their number was standardized at seven; four amidships and three in a heart-shaped mount on the fantail. In this article I will attempt to describe how a World War II Destroyer was manned and organized. Indoor & Outdoor SMD Screens, LED Displays, Digital Signage & Video Wall Solutions in Pakistan Hoel was the first to go after suffering 44 direct hits from shells ranging from 5 inch to 14 inch. But with these exceptions, the basic procedures for getting a destroyer underway have not changed a great deal from what I have described. The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types. Went to a Target store (Plantation, FL) to pick up some stuff, and outside I saw an older gentleman with a USS Kidd T-shirt. As the first big ships to appear and because there were so many of them, however, the Fletchers are remembered as the signature US Navy destroyer class of the Pacific war. The Operations Officer billet did not specifically exist at the beginning of World War II. I served on 2 Fletchers as BT during Vietnam. The crew was extremely tight. NHF members are being converted to members of the Naval Institute. Fletcher Class. Again being promoted to Rear Admiral he later took over command of battleship divisions in the Atlantic Fleet. He promulgates the plan of the day and oversees virtually every evolution. The Fletcher class was the first generation of destroyers designed after the series of naval treaties that had limited ship designs heretofore. The First Lieutenant probably came under fire more than any other officer because everything his people did was readily observable and most COs and XOs were very concerned with topside appearance, sometimes overly so. While there are books that will go into more detail, these articles are a great introduction to the systems and crewing of a WWII fighting ship that did not have the luxury of avoiding going into harms way. Your email address will not be published. Three (Pringle, Stevens, Halford) were built (six planned) with aircraft catapults, resulting in the deletion of one 5-inch mount and the after set of torpedo tubes. Three have been preserved as museum ships in the U.S. and one in Greece. These 175 flush-deck "2,100 . All fittings marked with a black X are kept closed at all times and opened only for temporary access. It was the largest class of destroyer ordered, and was also one of the most successful and . Thanks for shedding additional light on my fathers service and that of his comrades-in-arms. George W. Stewart is a retired US Navy Captain. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Naval Historical Foundation 1306 Dahlgren Avenue, SE Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374 1-202-678-4333 info@navyhistory.org. USS Fletcher (DD-445) was commissioned on 30 June 1942, with Lieutenant Commander W. M. Cole in command. With the outbreak of the Korean War many were returned to active duty. It is set when a ship is in the harbor. Naval Documents of the American Revolution, - Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Fletcher Class Destroyer Operations | Naval Historical Foundation, Life on a Fletcher Class Destroyer in the 1950's | Naval Historical Foundation, A History of the Naval Historical Foundation. [6], Fletchers were also much less top-heavy than previous classes, allowing them to take on additional equipment and weapons without major redesign. They were also to carry no fewer than five 5in (127mm) guns and ten deck-mounted torpedo tubes on the centerline, allowing them to meet any foreign design on equal terms. Some went on to serve during the Korean War and into the Vietnam War.. The only ports we got to visit during my deployments were Yokosuka and Sasebo in Japan, Hong Kong, Kaoshung Taiwan, and Subic Bay in the Philippines. yet they served all over the North Atlantic. This rating has since been eliminated and these duties are now performed by Culinary Specialists who are assigned to the Wardroom Mess. 35 knots: Engines: Geared-turbines : Power: 60000 : Notes on class: This was the second class of destroyers, after Benson / Gleaves, built during the war. Note that both the terms is and was are used interchangeably in this discussion because many of these practices still exist today. The answer to your question (if you havent already received it) is 12 depth charges in each of the two racks. The Fletcher-class was a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. In World War II, US destroyers escorted convoys, hunted submarines, fought surface battles, bombarded shore positions, rescued downed airmen and stranded sailors, and served as radar pickets to detect and fight incoming kamikaze flights. Naval philosophy in those days was to man the ships with a large number of personnel and little use was made of automatic controls or other labor saving devices. This class of British destroyer often had more AA firepower than many larger DD did. Christened USS Fletcher, she carried over several design features from the earlier classes, such as a rounded pilot house. This alteration was not a success in service and was not repeated. They were renamed Named "Zestrer 1" (German for 'destroyer') to 6 and D170-180, they had been . The iconic silhouette of a Fletcher is well known to any students of World War II naval history. The design parameters were the armaments desired of the next destroyer. The Navy started my lifes work e.g. ZEBRA is the highest level of protection. From the 1958 Halsey Powell cruise book. I assumed all destroyers had a least one medical officer aboard. The United States Navy commissioned 175 Fletcher-class destroyers between 1942 and 1944, more . Keeping in mind that the Fletcher class destroyer would primarily serve in the Pacific theatre where the sea wasn't as rough as in the Atlantic, designers optimized the shape and layout of the ship for the much calmer waters of the . Pingback: Manning Fletcher Class Destroyers | Naval Historical Foundation, Pingback: Fletcher Class Destroyer Operations - Part II | Naval Historical Foundation. This practice no longer exists today. While at the buoys we were provided with services with some harbor craft which were referred to as fuel, water, and garbage barges operated by the Naval District. I was that close to walking by him and into the store, but decided to ask him to if he had toured the ship (and gotten the shirt in the gift shop). Fletcher is down to two 5" guns but two 3" rapid firing guns and a MK 15 Trainable Hedgehog Projector (in place of Mount 52) are visible. Fletcher-class destroyer - Wikipedia. 175 were produced, more than any other class, and they were built by shipyards across the United States. But by 1956 they were more appropriately assigned to the Ops Department. I made 2 deployments, home ported out of Pearl Harbor. The United States Navy commissioned 175 Fletcher-class destroyers between 1942 and 1944, more than any other destroyer class, and the Fletcher design was generally regarded as highly successful. The Federal-built units were delivered to the Navy without a medium anti-aircraft gun atop the aft deckhouse position. The tenders could then supply us with power, thereby allowing us to shut down and go Cold Iron. There were 6 depth charges for each K-gun. Introduced in 1942, the 2,100-ton Fletcher-class destroyers formed the core of the US Navys destroyer force from 1943. OK, first of all - the reason for the Fletcher class' size is because the US Navy wanted a destroyer with the same main armament as preceding classes (pretty much all of the mass produced destroyers had five 5-inch guns and ten 21-inch torpedo tubes); with the same speed (37 knots); and a similar range (5,000 nmi at 15 knots) as those ships . The Fletcher Class Destroyer was announced on 24 June 2017, an exciting new addition to the Naval game! Many of the ships were sold to other navies during the mid-1950s, including: Any remaining were broken up in the 1970s. She was a rough riding ship with a crew of dedicated men. While some changes had taken place since 1945, most of the procedures were carryovers from World War II. Their flush deck construction added structural strength; however, it did make them cramped, as less crew space was available below decks compared with a raised forecastle. All sailors initially attended Boot Camp where they held the rating of Seaman Recruit (SR). My first 11 years in the Navy were spent in Japan. A Liberty Ship or T-2 Tanker of the same era had a crew of about 40 people, plus a naval armed guard. The navigator would be responsible for ensuring that the ship remained on its desired track and making appropriate recommendations to the CO/OOD. $0.00. Can you point me toward a source for a crew roster of that time period? My dad (Richmond Thomas (RT) Ezzell) was on the TAYLOR DD468 during WWII .Saw at the foot of his grave today another marker with his name, ship, and I suppose rating FC. Not a member of the Naval Institute? Electricians Mates (EM) Were responsible for the entire ships electrical and distribution systems including all power and lighting equipment. All USN ships are worthy of their tails of history while securing the waters they sail and for protecting all of freedoms we so take for granted every day. In the interest of reduced manning levels, did the Radiomen copy fleet broadcast via teletype instead of morse? The Navigator is responsible for determining the ships position and making recommendations as to the appropriate course of action to the commanding officer. The engine room and fire room supervisors would man their stations. Most were assigned to the Deck Force. In May 1942, before the first Fletcher was even commissioned, it approved a six-gun ship in which the Fletchers five 5-inch single mounts were replaced with three 5-inch twinsthe 2,200-ton Allen M. Sumner class, with 20 per cent more firepower on a Fletcher hull widened by 14 inches. The ship was within radar range of shore Fletchers as BT during.! 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