USS Gamble (DM-15)

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USS Gamble (DM-15)
The USS Hart (DM-8) in Chefoo, China, on September 9, 1928
The USS Hart (DM-8) in Chefoo, China, on September 9, 1928
Ship data
flag United StatesUnited States (national flag) United States
other ship names

ex (DD-123)

Ship type destroyer
class Wickes class
Shipyard Newport News Shipbuilding
Build number 221
Keel laying November 12, 1917
Launch May 11, 1918
Commissioning November 29, 1918
to June 17, 22 Destroyer
June 13, 1930 Minesweeper (12.37-9.39 aD)
Whereabouts Badly damaged by bombs on February 18, 1945
, sunk on July 16
Ship dimensions and crew
length
95.8 m ( Lüa )
94.5 m ( Lpp )
width 9.68 m
Draft Max. 2.64 m
displacement 1090  ts standard
 
crew 113 men
Machine system
machine 4 boilers
2 GE Curtiss - geared turbines
Machine
performance 		27,000 PS (19,858 kW)
Top
speed 		35 kn (65 km / h)
propeller 2
Armament

1942:

The USS Gamble (DM-15) was originally a Wickes-class destroyer of the US Navy with the registration DD-123 . The destroyer, built in 1917/1918 at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. with hull number 221, had been in the reserve since mid-1922 and was converted into a fast mine- layer in 1930 .

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 , the ship was in the American naval base and participated in the defensive fire against the Japanese carrier aircraft. From February 1942, the ship was used in the South Pacific and sank the Japanese submarine I-123 on August 29 .

The mine-layer remained in service in the Pacific during the war that followed. On February 18, 1945, the ship received two bomb hits off Iwo Jima , which put the drive out of action. The ship, towed to Saipan , was decommissioned on June 1, 1945 and sunk off Guam on July 16 .

History of the ship

The USS Gamble (DD-123) 1919

USS Gamble (DD-123) was launched on May 11, 1918 at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. in Newport News , Virginia . The ship was named after Lieutenant Peter Gamble (1793-1814), killed in the Battle of Plattsburgh , and his brother Lieutenant Colonel John Marshall Gamble (1791-1836), the only officer in the Marines who was in command of a ship in the US Navy. The ship's godmother was a relative of the then United States Secretary of the Navy.

The Wickes-class destroyer was commissioned in Norfolk (Virginia) on November 29, 1918. After training drives off Virginia , the new destroyer took part in maneuvers off Cuba and the New England coast .

On May 1, 1919, the Gamble ran together with Wilkes and Sampson of the Sampson class and the Cassin to Ponta Delgada in the Azores to support the first trans-Atlantic flight . Destroyers were stationed at a distance of about 50 nautical miles on the planned flight route in order to serve as a navigation aid for the aircraft and to inform the flight command of which aircraft had passed their location and when. Some destroyers also provided weather data. Gamble arrived in Ponta Delgada on May 7, and the Curtiss NC airboats took off from New York the following day . On the 15th, the Gamble moved from Ponta Delgada to Station No. 5 of the section from the Azores to Portugal . Due to problems and damage on the first leg, the flying boats did not continue their flight to the Azores from Trepassey Bay on Newfoundland until the 17th , of which only NC 4 reached the Azores flying. Gamble left her station on May 22, 1919 on the next stage because of a medical problem on board and had to call at Ponta Delgada again. In the early morning of the 27th the Gamble reached the newly assigned station No. 6 and started emitting more steam at 1:48 pm to attract the airmen's attention. The plane was discovered around 2 p.m. it flew over the destroyer, which had increased its speed to 25 knots, and continued the flight. Gamble wanted to give the remaining flying boat as long support as possible, but turned when she received the message that the NC-4 had flown over the next station. The plane reached Lisbon in the evening , making it the first plane to cross the Atlantic. Gamble had done its job and was walking to Horta via Ponta Delgada . On May 29, the destroyer left this island together with the sister ships Ramsay , Lamberton and Hopewell to a shipyard layover at the Norfolk Navy Yard in Portsmouth (Virginia) . Together with the Hopewell they called at Saint George's (Bermuda) en route and Gamble then arrived at the shipyard on June 6th.

After this first overhaul, the destroyer came to the Pacific Fleet in San Diego on August 7, 1919 . After several missions on the US Pacific coast, the new destroyer came to the reserve in the Mare Island Navy Yard on December 1, 1919. Re-activated from October 1920, the destroyer took part in torpedo firing with units of the destroyer flotilla and the fleet and led exercises with reservists the American west coast through.

On June 17, 1922, the USS Gamble was decommissioned.

Fast mine-layer

On May 24, 1930, the ship was put back into service to be converted into a light minelayer ( DM-15 ). The conversion took place at the Mare Island Navy Yard, where the ship was reclassified on June 13. The US Navy had already received such conversions in 1920/21 when seven ships each from the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy (DDs 96-102) and from the Union Iron Works in San Francisco (DDs 110-112, 171-174) as DM 1 -7 or DM 8-14 were converted. In addition to the Gamble , the sister ship Ramsay was also converted to DM-16 . In 1931 the sister ships Montgomery and Breese were converted accordingly. The six mine-layer destroyers USS Maury (DM 5), Mahan (DM 7), Haret (DM 8), Ludlow (DM 10), Burns (DM 11) and Rizal (DM 14) of the first series between October 1930 and Separated and scrapped in November 1931.

The four DM conversions of the Clemson class in 1939

In July 1930, the converted Gamble in Pearl Harbor became the flagship of Mine Squadron 2 . The mine-layer then served in various functions and trained reservists in the peculiarities of mine warfare in the waters around Hawaii, served seaplanes as a security and radio escort ship and took part in the fleet's annual exercises.

On December 22, 1937, the Gamble came back to San Diego to be decommissioned for the time being. After the start of the war in Europe, the Gamble was put back into service on September 25, 1939 and assigned to Mine Division 5 , which carried out monitoring and training tasks from San Francisco . In April 1941, the ship then moved back to Pearl Harbor to carry out surveillance tasks in the waters around Hawaii as part of Mine Division 2 . In the fall of 1941, the Gamble was the lead ship of Mine Division 14 , to which the sister ships Ramsay , Montgomery and Breese also belonged. The division formed with the four Minelayer destroyers of Division Mine 13 the mine squadron 1 . Its four conversions Tracy , Preble , Sicard and Pruitt belonged to the Clemson class and had replaced the remaining eight mine-layers of the first delivery in 1936/37.

War missions

On December 7, 1941, the Gamble had just returned from a patrol trip when the attack by Japanese carrier planes took place during its Sunday routine ; the ship participated in the defensive fire against the Japanese attackers and believed to have shot down a machine. After the start of the war, the mine-laying (destroying) r then took on various security tasks around the carrier Enterprise (CV-6) and at the approaches to Pearl Harbor.
In mid-February 1942, the mine sweeper then moved to Pago Pago / Samoa to escort a convoy . The ship works there with the sister ship Ramsay , with which some protective minefields were laid off Tutuila and then in March / April near the Fiji Islands . Then the miner returned to Pearl Harbor to be re-armed. The heaviest artillery armament then consisted of four 3-in-L / 50 guns to which four 20-mm-L / 70-MK.4 Oerlikon automatic cannons were added.

The attached President Coolidge is evacuated

From May to July 1942, the Gamble secured important convoys to Midway , but was not involved in the sea ​​battle . In July, the miner moved back to the South Pacific together with the sister ship Breese and the Tracy , where they laid a defensive minefield in the Segond Channel south of Espiritu Santo . This lock was not made sufficiently public; The own mines were the destroyer Tucker of the Mahan class on the same day and on October 26th the steamer SS President Coolidge (21,936 GRT, 1931) with 5000 soldiers on board. The narrowness of the fairway made it possible for the crews and passengers to save themselves, so that only three or two people were killed. However, the entire equipment of the embarked 5,000 soldiers as well as many other urgently needed goods were lost on the Coolidge . On the morning of August 29, the former destroyer spotted a large submarine, which he immediately attacked. The Gamble managed to destroy the submarine. Later research revealed that it was I-123 . The boat was a Japanese further development of the German UE II class from the First World War, completed in 1928 . The Japanese replica was considered obsolete and was only used as a mine layer and utility. After this success, the Gamble was used as a supplier and occasional support from other ships. On September 5, the run-up transporter William Ward Burrows (AP-6) (4576 BRT, 1929 DK) was brought down and directed to Espiritu Santo.

Michishio , who alone escaped the minefield on Blackett Strait

The Gamble's most successful mission was on the night of May 6, 1943, together with the miners Preble and Breese, shortly after midnight, when the three miners were mining Blackett Strait to prevent the Tokyo Express from traveling further from the Kula Gulf to the southwest . Despite heavy rain showers, in which the ships rarely saw each other, the ships brought out over 250 mines. At a cruising speed of 15 knots and the poor visibility, they held their positions to each other almost perfectly and then withdrew to Task Group 36.1 under Rear Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth . The "Tokyo Express" used the sea strait frequently. Japanese Kagero-class destroyers ran into the minefield on the night of May 8 . The Kurashio sank immediately, Oyashio and Kagero were badly damaged. American planes called in severely damaged the Michishio, who was hurrying to help, and sank the two destroyers, which had already been hit by mines. During the reconquest of New Georgia on June 30th, the Gamble secured the Allied landing site with mine barriers. In July the mine-layer was ordered back to the USA to be thoroughly overhauled again. On September 20, 1943, the Gamble ran back into the Pacific to take part in the further fighting. It secured landing operations through mine locks and partly through artillery support and arrived in the Kaiserin-Augusta-Bucht on January 1st / 2nd. November 1943, in the Bougainville Strait between Bougainville and Choiseul on 7./8. November and in Purvis Bay of Florida Islands, today Nggela on 23/24. November. Then the Gamble did primarily escort duties in the Solomon Islands until they returned to San Francisco on October 12, 1944.

The end of the USS Gamble

After overhaul and training, the Gamble left San Diego on January 7, 1945. The ship arrived via Hawaii and the Marshall Islands on February 17th before its next mission: off Iwo Jima , it was supposed to provide fire support to the various mine clearance units and detonate floating mines. During the bombardment of coastal facilities at the foot of Mt. Suribachi , the Gamble unexpectedly hit a pile of ammunition, the explosion of which caused further explosions and set off gigantic fireworks. On February 18, 1945, the Gamble was hit by two 125 kg bombs that penetrated the ship. The boiler rooms immediately filled up through holes and brought the ship to a standstill. Six men lost their lives and eight were seriously wounded. The Gamble was towed to Saipan by the old destroyer Dorsey , then LSM-126 , where the mine-layer arrived on February 24 and the necessary repairs were to be carried out by the tender USS Hamul (AD-20). This was then delayed and finally on June 1, 1945 the severely damaged ship was canceled.

The USS Gamble (DM-15), which had received seven battle stars in the war, was sunk on July 16, 1945 near Apra Harbor / Guam .

The mine layers of the Flush Decker classes

DM Surname Shipyard BNo. Keel laying Launch finished DM from Final fate
1 USS Stribling (DD-96) Fore River , Quincy 302 W 12/14/17 05/29/18 08/16/18 07/17/20     .12.36 out of service,
2 USS Murray (DD-97) Fore River 303 W 12/22/17 6/8/18 08/21/18 07/17/20      1.37 out of service
3 USS Israel (DD-98) Fore River 304 W 01/26/18 06/22/18 13.09.18 07/17/20      1.37 deleted
4th USS Luce (DD-99) ex- Schley Fore River 305 W 02/09/18 06/29/18 09/11/18 07/17/20     1.36 deleted
5 USS Maury (DD-100) Fore River 306 W 4.05.18 4.07.18 23.09.18 07/17/20 10.30 canceled
6th USS Lansdale (DD-101) Fore River 307 W 04/20/18 07/21/18 10/26/18 07/17/20      1.37 deleted
7th USS Mahan (DD-102) Fore River 308 W 4.05.18 4.08.18 10/24/18 07/17/20 10.30 canceled
8th USS Hart (DD-110) Union Iron Works
San Francisco 		188 W 1/8/18 4.07.18 05/26/19 07/17/20 11.31 deleted
9 USS Ingraham (DD-111) Union Iron 189 W 01/12/18 4.07.18 05/15/19 07/17/20     12.36 deleted
10 USS Ludlow (DD-112) Union Iron 190 W 1/7/18 6/9/18 23.12.18 07/17/20 11.30 canceled
11 USS Burns (DD-171) Union Iron 191 W. 04/15/18 08/10/18 8/7/19 07/17/20 11.30 canceled
12 USS Anthony (DD-172) Union Iron 192 W 04/18/18 08/10/18 06/19/19 11/16/20     12.36 deleted
13 USS Sproston (DD-173) Union Iron 193 W 04/20/18 08/10/18 06/19/19 07/17/20     12.36 deleted
14th USS Rizal (DD-174) Union Iron 194 W 06/26/18 09/21/18 05/28/19 07/17/20 11.31 deleted
15th USS Gamble (DD-123) Newport News 221 W. 11/12/17 05/11/18 11/19/18 06/13/30 Damaged February 18, 1945 off Iwo Jima, no longer repaired, sunk off Guam itself on July 16, 1945
16 USS Ramsey (DD-124) Newport News 221 W. 12/21/17 6/8/18 02/15/19 06/13/30 6.45 AG 98 security ship for porters during flight exercises, 1.10.45 out of service, canceled from November 1946
17th USS Montgomery (DD-121) Newport News 219 W October 2, 2017 03/23/18 09/30/18 5.01.31 Badly damaged by floating mine on October 17, 1944, four dead, February 45 in San Francisco, no longer repaired
18th USS Breese (DD-122) Newport News 220 W 11/10/17 05/11/18 23.10.18 5.01.31 last minesweeper between Japan and Korea, 15 January 1946 out of service, from May 1946 demolition
19th USS Tracy (DD-214) Cramp , Philadelphia 480 C 3.04.19 08/12/19 3/9/20 06/30/37 most recently minesweeper in Japanese waters; 1. Allied ship calling at Nagasaki port ; Out of service in February 1946
20th USS Preble (DD-345) Bath Iron Works 82 C 04/12/19 3/8/20 03/19/20 06/30/37 6.45 AG 99 security ship for porters during flight exercises, 19.10.45 out of service, canceled from March 1946
21st USS Sicard (DD-345) Bath iron 83 C 06/18/19 04/20/20 6/9/20 06/20/37 6.45 AG-100 training ship for submarines, 11/21/45 out of service, canceled from June 1946
22nd USS Pruitt (DD-347) Bath iron 84 C 06/25/19 2.08.20 2.09.20 06/30/37 6.45 AG-101 U-Boot-Training, 11/16/45 out of service, 1946 canceled

Pictures of the class

  • USS Maury (DM-5)

  • USS Lansdale (DM-6)

  • USS Mahan (DM-7)

  • USS Hart (DM-8)

  • USS Tracy (DM-19)

  • USS Sicard (DM-21) 1943

  • USS Sicard (DM-21) 1942

  • USS Preble (DM-20) / USS Perry (DMS-17)

  • USS Pruitt

literature

  • John Campbell: Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press, 1985, ISBN 0-87021-459-4 .
  • Bernard Fitzsimons: The Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare. Phoebus (London), 1978.
  • Paul H. Silverstone: US Warships of World War I. Ian Allan 1970.
  • Paul H. Silverstone: US Warships of World War II. Doubleday and Company 1968.

Web links

Commons : USS Gamble (DD-123)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Gamble (Destroyer No. 123) 1918-1945 on Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
  2. ↑ NC 4 had the most problems on the first leg to Newfoundland, the elimination of which had significantly delayed the onward flight.
  3. ↑ a b DM conversions Wickes - and Clemson -class destroyers converted as Stirling -class light minelayers in World War II
  4. ↑ a b c d e f USS Gamble (DD-123m DM-15)
  5. ^ Pacific Wrecks - SS President Coolidge
  6. ↑ I-123 (SS-50)