USS Charles S. Sperry (DD-697)

USS Charles S. Sperry (DD-697) 1944
Overview
Type	destroyer
Keel laying	October 19, 1943
Launch	March 17, 1944
1. Period of service
Commissioning	May 17, 1944
Decommissioning	15th December 1973
Removed from ship register	15th December 1973
Whereabouts	Sale to Chile
2. Period of service
Commissioning	January 8, 1974
Decommissioning	1990
Whereabouts	scrapped
Technical specifications
length	114.8 m
width	12.2 m
Draft	4.8 m
crew	336
drive	4 oil-fired steam boilers 2 sets of steam turbines, driven by 2 shafts 60,000 WPS
speed	34 kn
Range	6500 nm at 15 kt
Armament	1944 6 × 12.7 cm L / 38 in twin towers 12 × 40 mm flak (two quadruple and two twin guns) 11 × 20 mm Fla- MK 10 torpedo tubes Ø 533 mm 6 × hedgehog

The USS Charles S. Sperry (DD-697) was a destroyer of Allen M. Sumner class . It was named after Rear Admiral Charles Stillman Sperry .

She was laid down on October 19, 1943 at the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Kearny , New Jersey . The launch took place on March 17, 1944, godmother was Miss M. Sperry. The commissioning took place on May 17, 1944 under the command of Commander HH McIlhenny, then the ship was assigned to the US Pacific Fleet.

After training trips near Hawaii, she reached Ulithi on December 28, 1944 and became part of the Fast Carrier Task Force , which, depending on its subordination to the 3rd or 5th Fleet, was alternately designated TF 38 or TF 58. From December 30 to January 26, 1945, she participated as part of this task force in operations against Japanese bases on Formosa and Luzon in preparation for the landing in the Gulf of Lingayen , followed by air strikes against targets in Indochina, on the South China coast and on Okinawa run.

On February 10, 1945, a similar operation took place in preparation for the landing on Iwo Jima. A bold attack was carried out on Tokyo on February 16 and 17, the first since the Doolittle Raid in 1942. She provided fire support during the landing on Iwo Jima and was involved in repelling the air raids on February 19 and 20.

The Charles S. Sperry lies next to the Bunker Hill and supports the fire fighting

During the landing on Okinawa, she was again used for fire support and anti-aircraft defense. After the carriers USS Hancock and Bunker Hill were hit by Kamikaze planes, she assisted the carriers with rescue and repair work. On August 18, she and the combat group reached Tokyo Bay, where the Japanese surrender was signed on September 2.

In the Korean War it was used for fire support. During a mission, she was hit on December 23, 1950 by three projectiles from a coastal battery, which caused only minor damage. The mission off the Korean coast lasted until June 6, 1951. On July 2, 1951, she reached Norfolk and was assigned to the Destroyer Force Atlantic. With the 6th Fleet she was used in the Mediterranean in 1953, 1955, 1956, 1958 and 1958. During the Suez crisis , she accompanied evacuation transports with US citizens.

In June 1960 the FRAM combat value upgrade was completed. The decommissioning took place on December 15, 1973, the deletion from the Naval Vessel Register on the same day.

After it was sold to the Chilean Navy on January 8, 1974, it was named Ministro Zenteno . In 1990 it was scrapped and scrapped.

Web links

Commons : USS Charles S. Sperry (DD-697)  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

• History of USS Charles S. Sperry (DD-697) in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (English)
• Images by Charles S. Sperry at navsource.org