USS Radford (DD-446) - Fletcher - class destroyer of the US Navy . He participated in the Second World War , the wars in Korea and Vietnam . Named after Civil War veteran Admiral William Redford .
| Redford | |
|---|---|
| Radford | |
 | |
| Service | |
 USA | |
| Class and type of vessel | destroyer |
| Organization | US Navy |
| Manufacturer | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company |
| Construction started | October 2, 1941 |
| Launched | May 3, 1942 |
| Commissioned | July 22, 1942 |
| Withdrawn from the fleet | November 10, 1969 |
| Status | sold for scrap in October 1970 |
| Main characteristics | |
| Displacement | 2250 t (standard) 2924 t (full) |
| Length | 114.8 m |
| Width | 12.05 m |
| Draft | 4.19 m |
| Reservation | deck above engine room: 12.7 mm |
| Engines | 2 vocational schools 4 boilers Babcock & Wilcox |
| Power | 60,000 h.p. |
| Mover | 2 screws |
| Speed | 38 knots (maximum) 36.5 knots (full) 15 knots (economic) |
| Sailing range | 6,500 miles (at 15 knots) |
| Crew | 329 people |
| Armament | |
| Artillery | 5 × 1 - 127 mm / 38 AU Mark 12 mod. one |
| Flak | 1 × 4 - 28 mm 4 × 1 - 20 mm ZAU Oerlikon (design) 5 × 2 - 40 mm Bofors , 7 × 20 mm Oerlikon |
| Anti-submarine weapons | 4 bombers 28 depth charges |
| Mine torpedo armament | 2 × 5 533 mm TA Mark 15 |
The destroyer was laid down on October 2, 1941 at the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company shipyard in Kearney , New Jersey , launched on May 3, 1942 and put into operation on July 22, 1942.
Content
History
World War II
In the summer of 1943, Radford participated in the Battle of Colombangar and in the Battle of Kula Bay during the operations of the US Navy against the Tokyo Express . The destroyer was awarded the Presidential mention for saving 468 sailors from the sunken light cruiser Helena .
On November 25, 1943, the destroyer attacked and destroyed the Japanese submarine I-19 .
In December 1944, during the liberation of Luzon, the ship was damaged by running into a Japanese mine. For actions in this operation he was also awarded the Presidential mention.
After the end of hostilities he returned to the United States. In January 1946, it was withdrawn to the reserve at the base in San Francisco .
1949 - 1969
Returned to service on October 17, 1949 and joined the 7th Fleet , which supported the UN forces in Korea . After the end of active hostilities in 1953, he alternated between serving in the western Pacific Ocean with exercises and patrolling off the West Coast and Hawaii. In 1960, at the base in Pearl Harbor , a major overhaul and modernization of the ship was carried out under the FRAM II program.
March 3, 1965 as part of the 252nd destroyer division went to the South China Sea to build up the US military presence in the region. In October and December, he took part in supporting the Gemini mission , as well as in Sea Dragon and Market Time operations in Vietnam.
July 5, 1966 began his eleventh military service in the Far East - participated in anti-submarine operations, covered aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin , patrolled the Taiwan Strait . He was also part of President Lyndon Johnson's escort during his visit to Malaysia . December 16, 1966 returned to Pearl Harbor.
In 1969, it was withdrawn to the reserve, in October 1970 it was sold for scrap.
Rewards
The destroyer was awarded twelve battle stars and two Presidential mentions for service in World War II , five battle stars for participating in the Korean War, and four for the war in Vietnam . In addition, the ship was awarded the Expeditionary Armed Forces Medal .
List of Commanders
- Lieutenant Commander (later Rear Admiral) William Killian Romoser (July 22, 1942 - October 10, 1943)
- Commander (later Rear Admiral) Gail Emerson Griggs (October 10, 1943 - September 10, 1944)
- Commander Gordon Leonard Caswell (September 10, 1944 - December 12, 1944)
- Commander Jack Emerson Mansfield (December 12, 1944 - January 17, 1946)
- Commander Alvin Clinton Ogle (September 10, 1949 - August 15, 1951)
- Commander James Hill Barnard II (August 15, 1951 - October 14, 1953)
- Commander John Henderson Hitchcock (October 14, 1953 - April 1955)
- Commander Leon Karl Klingamen (April 1955 - October 15, 1956)
- Commander Walter Brown Woodson Jr. (October 15, 1956 - July 1958)
- Commander William Chambers Mackey III (July 1958 - June 1960)
- Lieutenant Commander Edward Charles Cline Jr. (June 1960 - August 1960)
- Commander Robert Carey Gibson (August 1960 - August 1962)
- Commander George Pullen Pid (August 1962 - January 27, 1964)
- Commander Warren Hill Wettlofer (January 27, 1964 - December 1965)
- Commander William Livingston Prange (December 1965 - July 1967)
- Commander Charles Culberson Denman Jr. (July 1967 - September 30, 1968)
- Commander John Anthony Maxwell (September 30, 1968 - November 10, 1969)
Memory
Until 2011, an exposition of the National Maritime Museum dedicated to the ship was in Newcomerstown , Ohio . The USS Radford Memorial Exhibition is currently on board the USS Orleck Museum Ship Museum in Lake Charles , Louisiana .
Notes
This article contains text from the public domain of the American Warships Dictionary . The entry can be found here .