USS Converse (DD-509)

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USS Converse on June 10, 1944
USS Converse on June 10, 1944
Overview
Type destroyer
Shipyard

Bath Iron Works

Keel laying February 23, 1942
Launch August 30, 1942
1. Period of service flag
period of service

November 20, 1942-23. April 1946

Whereabouts
Canceled July 1959 to Spain 1988
Technical specifications
displacement

2,100  ts

length

114.7 meters

width

12.2 meters

Draft

5.4 meters

crew

329

drive
speed

35 kn

Range

6,500  nautical miles (11,700 km) at 15 knots

Armament

When commissioning:

The USS Converse (DD-509) was a destroyer of Fletcher-class and served in the US Navy in World War II . She was given to Spain in 1959 and served as Almirante Valdés (D23) in the Spanish Navy until 1986 . In 1988 the ship was sold for demolition.

Namesake

Rear Admiral George Albert Converse (1844–1909) was an officer in the US Navy and served in the Spanish-American War .

technology

Hull and drive

The hull of the USS Converse was 114.7 m long and 12.2 m wide. The draft was 5.4 m, the displacement was 2,100 tons . The ship was powered by two General Electric steam turbines, and the steam was generated in four Babcock & Wilcox boilers. The power was 60,000 shaft horsepower, the top speed was 35 knots .

Armament and Electronics

The main armament was its five 5 "(127 mm) / 38 Mk.30 single turrets. In addition there were various anti-aircraft guns . The anti-aircraft armament was reinforced in the course of the war.

The USS Converse was equipped with radar . An SG and an SC radar were mounted on the mast above the bridge, with which aircraft could be located at distances between 15 and 30 nautical miles and ships between 10 and 22 nautical miles.

history

The USS Converse was laid down at Bath Iron Works on February 23, 1942 and launched on August 30, 1942. The godmother was AV Jackson. On November 20, 1942, the destroyer was put into service under the command of Commander DCE Hamberger.

1943

After completing the tests and training in Guantanamo Bay on Cuba and Pearl Harbor , the USS Converse reached Nouméa on May 17, 1943 . During the summer she escorted convoys to New Georgia and between Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal . On September 16, 1943 she reached Port Purvis , where she was subordinated to the Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 23 .

On October 31, it shelled Japanese airfields on Buka and coastal batteries on the Shortland Islands as part of the landing on Bougainville . During the landing in Kaiserin Augusta Bay on the morning of November 1, 1943, four Japanese cruisers and six destroyers were reported south of Rabaul . The DesRon 23 destroyers headed north to intercept the Japanese formation. The Japanese ships were located on November 2 at 2:27 a.m. A Japanese light cruiser and a destroyer were sunk in the course of the sea ​​battle at Kaiserin Augusta Bay .

In November and December, the USS Converse operated between the islands of the New Hebrides. They patrolled the sea area off Bougainville , shelled targets on the island and escorted troop transports with reinforcements to the island. On November 16, she and the USS Stanly attacked a Japanese submarine that was presumably sunk by artillery fire. On November 24th, the USS Converse , USS Charles Ausburne , USS Claxton , USS Dyson and USS Spence received orders to intercept a Japanese formation consisting of the transport destroyers Amagiri , Yugiri and Uzuki and the destroyers Onami and Makinami . On November 25, the association was located at 1:45 a.m. off Cape St. George. The American destroyers were able to sink Onami , Makinami and Yuguri in the course of the battle at Cape St. George . The USS Converse was hit by a Japanese torpedo, but it did not detonate.

While escorting a convoy with reinforcements and supplies to Bougainville, she was the target of a heavy air strike on December 3, 1943. A close hit led to the failure of the radar and the loss of electrical energy in the forecastle. Nevertheless, the air attack could be repelled. The USS Converse left Port Purvis on December 14th to have the damage repaired in Sydney .

1944

On January 30, 1944, the USS Converse returned to DesRon 23 and took part in the bombardments of coastal positions and in the operations against Japanese shipping in the northern Solomon Islands . From March 27, 1944, the destroyer belonged to Task Force (TF) 58 to protect the aircraft carriers during the air raids on Palau , Ulithi and Woleai on March 30 and April 1, 1944. In late April it was part of the destroyer screen of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown during the landings at Hollandia and the air strikes on Truk and Ponape .

In June, she was involved in preparatory landing attacks on Saipan and Pagan , as well as diversionary attacks on the Bonin Islands . The USS Converse again protected the aircraft carriers during the battle in the Philippine Sea . Then she took part in the conquest of the Mariana Islands , fought the Japanese shipping traffic coming from Guam and Rota and used her artillery against land targets. After she was supplied to Eniwetok , she set course for the west coast of the United States on August 4, 1944 , to be overtaken in the Mare Island Naval Shipyard .

It returned to the war zone on November 3, 1944 and was used to protect the carriers whose planes covered the convoys to Leyte from the air. From December 19 to 24, she led the first supply convoy from San Pedro Bay in the Philippines to Mindoro. The convoy was repeatedly targeted by air strikes on December 21, which continued while the cargo was being unloaded. The USS Converse rescued 266 survivors of LST-749 that fell victim to the airstrike.

1945

On January 4, 1945, the USS Foote met the amphibious landing party, whose target was the Gulf of Lingayen . Before landing on January 9, she shot at target near the beach. She then belonged to the task force that was supposed to retake Corregidor . Their artillery fought gun emplacements, barges, and explosive vessels and brought down the entrance to the Malinta tunnel .

After a brief overhaul in Subic Bay, the USS Converse patrolled Corregidor until mid-March. At the end of March and April 1945 she supported the landings on Panay and Negros . On May 13th she left San Pedro Bay and again belonged to the 5th US fleet, with which she reached the roadstead of Hagushi on Okinawa on May 16th . Here it was used as a radar outpost until the end of the war. Despite heavy air strikes, the USS Converse was not damaged.

post war period

On 10 September 1945 was the USS Converse of Okinawa over Pearl Harbor and through the Panama Canal to Washington, DC , where she on October 19, the 23 desron awarded Presidential Unit Citation awarded. After an overhaul in Brooklyn , she was decommissioned on April 23, 1946 in Charleston , South Carolina and added to the reserve fleet.

Almirante Valdés (D23)

On July 1, 1959, the ship was handed over to Spain as part of the Mutual Assistance Program . The Spanish Navy christened the destroyer Almirante Valdés (D23) .

In January 1980, the Almirante Valdés accompanied the frigate Asturias (F 74) , which was the remains of Alfonso XIII. transferred from Rome to Cartagena . On June 23, 1985, she collided with the submarine Siroco (S 72) during an exercise off Cartagena . After 27 years of service in the Spanish Navy, the Almirante Valdés became on November 17th. Decommissioned in 1986 and sold for demolition in 1988.

Awards

The USS Converse received in addition to the Presidential Unit Citation eleven battle stars for her service in World War II.

literature

Web links