USS Gleaves (DD-423)

Overview
Type	destroyer
Shipyard	Bath Iron Works
Keel laying	May 16, 1938
Launch	December 9, 1939
period of service	June 14, 1940–8. May 1946
Whereabouts	Sold for scrapping on June 29, 1972
Technical specifications
displacement	1,630 ts
length	106.15 meters
width	11.00 meters
Draft	4.01 meters
crew	276
drive	4 steam boilers from Babcock & Wilcox ; Two steam turbines of Westinghouse ; 50,000 PS (37,000 kW ) on 2 shafts;
speed	37.4 knots
Range	6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km) at 12 knots
Armament	5 × 5 inch / 38 caliber Mk. 30 single turrets; 6 × 12.7 mm flak ; 6 × 20 mm flak; 10 × 21 inch torpedo tubes (2 groups of five); 2 depth charges;

The USS Gleaves (DD-423) was a destroyer of the US Navy and type of ship Gleaves class . She took part in World War II in the Atlantic . After the end of World War II, she was involved in Operation Magic Carpet in the Pacific from June 1945 to January 1946 .

Namesake

Admiral Albert Gleaves (1858–1937) was an officer in the United States Navy. After 1919 he carried out experiments on artillery and torpedoes. He managed to develop the torpedo into a precision weapon. He also published several books.

technology

Hull and drive

The hull of the USS Gleaves was 106.15 m long and 11 m wide. The draft was 3.61 m, the displacement 1,630 tons . The ship was powered by two General Electric steam turbines, the steam was generated in four boilers. The power was 50,000 shaft horsepower, the top speed was 37.4 knots .

Armament and Electronics

The main armament of the USS Gleaves when commissioned were its five 5-inch / 127-mm-Mark-30 single turrets. In addition, there were various anti-aircraft guns , which were reinforced in the course of the war.

history

The USS Gleaves was laid down at Bath Iron Works on May 16, 1939 and launched on December 9, 1940. Godmothers were Miss Evelina Gleaves van Meter and Miss Clothilda Florence Cohen, the granddaughters of Admiral Gleaves. On June 14, 1940, the ship was put into service under the command of Commander EH Pierce.

After training trips in the Caribbean and along the east coast until March 19, 1941, the USS Gleaves was part of TaskForce 19 and took part in the occupation of Iceland from July 1 to July 7, 1941.

From early September 1941, the USS Gleaves began escorting convoys to and from Newfoundland, Iceland and Northern Ireland. It protected the supply line that was important to the UK before and after the USA entered World War II.

Escorted convoys

convoy	Accompanying group	Data	Remarks
ON 18		Sept. 24 - Oct. 2, 1941	from Iceland to Newfoundland, before the US declaration of war
HX 154		September 12-19, 1941	from Newfoundland to Iceland, before the US declaration of war
ON 30		October 2-9, 1941	from Iceland to Newfoundland, before the US declaration of war
HX 164		Dec 10-19, 1941	from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 49		Dec. 27 - Jan. 5, 1942	from Iceland to Newfoundland
HX 171		Jan. 22-30, 1942	from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 62		Feb 7-13, 1942	from Iceland to Newfoundland
HX 178	MOEF group A3	March 6-16 1942	from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 79	MOEF group A3	24 Mar - Apr. 3, 1942	from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 185	MOEF group A3	Apr 18-26, 1942	from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 92	MOEF group A3	May 7-18, 1942	from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
AT 18		Aug 6-17, 1942	Troop transport from New York City to Firth of Clyde

The European theater of war

The Gleaves took part in the Allied landing in Sicily . After auxiliary and accompanying trips, the Gleaves and the Plunkett accepted the surrender of the Italian garrison in Ustica on August 5, 1943. She then shelled mainland Italy and in September helped the landing company in Salerno and the landing in Anzio .

During the invasion of southern France in August 1944, they shelled facilities on land, shielded other units and helped the Rangers land.

On October 1, 1944, scouts discovered German torpedo speedboats in the port of San Remo . During the subsequent bombardment, the Gleaves destroyed at least 3 of these boats, their repair facilities and other facilities in the harbor, including at least one 8.8 cm FlaK 18/36/37 . The following day, with the support of aircraft from the carrier USS Brooklyn , it bombarded the port of Oneglia . During the following night, the Gleaves was able to take out two of three German boats. An attack by 5 kamikaze boats could be repulsed by sinking 4 boats and raising the fifth the next morning.

From December 1944 to February 1945 fire protection was given near the Italian / French front, in order to then return to the USA.

After arming and a training phase in the Caribbean, the Gleaves left Guantanamo Bay on June 30, 1945 and reached Pearl Harbor on August 4, 1945 . From there she took part in the occupation of Nagasaki in September 1945. Afterwards she was employed in the convoy service and helped with the rescue and care after the hurricane of September 29, 1945 in the Philippine Sea .

After the war

In the early evening of November 23, 1945, a person infected with smallpox was discovered on board the Adabelle Lykes , with 2000 people en route from Shanghai to San Francisco. From the nearest port of Adak , the Gleaves left her berth and reached the Adabelle Lykes on November 25, 1945 at 2 p.m. and supplied her with vaccines and penicillin.

With 300 veterans, she left the Aleutians as part of Operation Magic Carpet and reached Seattle on December 10, 1945. She reached San Francisco which she left on January 2, 1946.

Whereabouts

On January 18, 1946, the USS Gleaves reached Charleston, to be decommissioned on May 8, 1946 and assigned to the reserve fleet. On November 1, 1969, she was removed from the Naval Vessel Register .

It was sold on June 29, 1972 and then scrapped.

Awards

The USS Gleaves received five Battle Stars for service during World War II:

1 star for the occupation of Sicily - from July 9th to 15th, 1943 and from July 28th to August 17th, 1943
1 star for landing off Salerno - September 9-21, 1943
1 Star for Operations on the West Coast of Italy - Anzio-Nettuno - January 22-28, 1944
1 Star for the fight against submarines in the Mediterranean Sea - May 14, 1944
1 star for the invasion of southern France - from August 15 to September 25, 1944

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ON convoys . Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
↑ ^a ^b HX convoys . Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
↑ AT convoys . Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved June 20, 2011.

[onconvoy-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ON convoys . Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved June 19, 2011.

[hxconvoy-2] HX convoys . Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved June 19, 2011.

[atconvoy-3] AT convoys . Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved June 20, 2011.