USS Hutchins (DD-476)

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USS Hutchins in January 1943
USS Hutchins in January 1943
Overview
Type destroyer
Shipyard

Boston Navy Yard

Keel laying September 27, 1941
Launch February 20, 1942
1. Period of service flag
period of service

November 17, 1942-30. November 1945

Whereabouts January 1948 sold for demolition
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:
Nickname

The USS Hutchins (DD-476) was a for Fletcher Class belonging destroyer of the US Navy . She took part in World War II between 1942 and 1945 .

Namesake

Carlton Barmore Hutchins (1904–1938) was a naval aviator in the US Navy. In 1938 he was killed in a collision with another aircraft. Fatally injured, he piloted his plane until the entire crew could safely disembark from the plane. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor .

technology

Hull and drive

The hull of the USS Hutchins 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 of the USS Hutchins was its five 5 "/38-Mk.30 single turrets. In addition there were various anti-aircraft guns . The anti-aircraft armament was further strengthened in the course of the war due to the increased threat. In contrast to the standard armament of the Fletcher class , initially between the Guns 53 and 54, two 20 mm Oerlikon flak and the 40 mm Bofors flak on the quarterdeck just before the depth charge drainage rails, where 20 mm guns were otherwise located.

The USS Hutchins 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. A QC sonar was installed for underwater location.

Board aircraft

The USS Hutchins was one of six Fletcher-class destroyers to be equipped with a Mark VI aircraft catapult and a Vought Kingfisher aircraft. The catapult and the crane to pick up the aircraft were to be installed aft of the second funnel in place of the second torpedo tube set, gun # 3 and the second deck of the deckhouse, on which most Fletchers had a 40 mm twin anti-aircraft gun.

The original plan provided that the aircraft on board should serve as a reconnaissance aircraft for the destroyer squadron, to which the USS Hutchins belonged. The launch should be done by catapult, the landing near the destroyer on the water. The aircraft was then lifted back onto the catapult by crane. Due to the changed operational profile of the destroyers, combined with the construction of new cruisers and fast battleships , which were also equipped with on-board aircraft, as well as aircraft carriers, the concept proved to be obsolete. Another reason was the weight reserves used up to the limit by the catapult and aircraft, which no longer permitted an increase in anti-aircraft armament that was recognized as necessary. A fifth 5 "gun was retrofitted during construction.

history

The USS Hutchins was laid down in the Boston Navy Yard on September 27, 1941 . She was baptized on February 20, 1942 by CB Hutchins, widow of the namesake, and put into service on November 17, 1942 under the command of Commander BW Herron. The USS Hutchins was the flagship of Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 24 .

1943

Deckhouse with 20 mm flak instead of the usual 40 mm flak

After completing the test drives, the USS Hutchins escorted two tankers to Galveston on March 17, 1943 . Then she drove through the Panama Canal to San Diego , where she entered on April 11th. After escorting a convoy to New Caledonia and Espiritu Santo , the Hutchins entered Pearl Harbor on May 30 , where changes were made to the armament. An electrical malfunction occurred during test firing and a cannon shot into the funnel. Nine men were killed and twenty injured. During the subsequent repair, the operations center was equipped with new equipment.

On July 11, 1943, she returned to San Diego and, a week later, took a course on Adak Island in the Aleutian Islands with a group of LST . She took part in the occupation of the island group abandoned by the Japanese troops. Until November 18, 1943 she drove on patrol and took part in maneuvers, only to be ordered to New Guinea . The USS Hutchins reached Milne Bay on December 19 and protected the LST while landing at Cape Gloucester on December 26. She and the other ships involved in protecting the landing were the target of several air raids in the days that followed. The USS Hutchins scored one kill and was involved in another.

After escorting a convoy from Buna to Cape Gloucester, she drove to Saidor with another LST group . During a rainstorm , the USS Hutchins collided with another destroyer in the operational area and had to run to Cairns to carry out repairs on the bow.

1944

On February 22, 1944, she left Cairns and drove with the landing party to the Admiralty Islands on February 28 . The USS Hutchins shelled positions on Manus during the invasion and in late March and early April 1944, together with other destroyers, Wewak and Hansa Bay in New Guinea .

On April 18, she ran from Cape Sudest to Hollandia , where she and other units supported the landing on April 22. At the end of April they shelled Wakde Island . On May 10, she rescued the crew of a B-24 Liberator that had crashed at sea .

The USS Hutchins took part in the Battle of Wakde on May 17 , where it again fought off targets near the coast with its artillery and supported the troops arriving. At the beginning of June the destroyer operated together with Task Force (TF) 74 off Biak . During the night of June 8, 1944, the approach of Japanese ships was discovered. The Japanese destroyers released their troop-manned boats and withdrew. The American ships chased the departing Japanese and shot them from a great distance. At about 2:30 a.m. the chase was broken off and the USS Hutchins returned to the combat area.

In July she was involved in the landings on Noemfoor and again supported the invasion with her guns. Together with PT speedboats , it operated in the Aitape area between July 15 and 25 to disrupt Japanese communications. Her next assignment took her to northern New Guinea, where she participated in the landings near Sansapor on July 30th .

The USS Hutchins spent August 1944 with a stay in Sydney and exercises off New Guinea. Before she moved to Humboldt Bay on September 12, the ship was docked. The final phase of Operation Reckless began with the arrival in Humboldt Bay . She shelled airfields on September 16 and ran to Seeadlerhafen on September 29 , where she was prepared for the reconquest of the Philippines . The invasion fleet lifted anchor and reached the Gulf of Leyte on October 20, 1944. The USS Hutchins fired at coastal positions in preparation for the landing. During the sea ​​and air battle in the Leyte Gulf, she patrolled the entrance to the Gulf.

To stop the invasion, the Japanese fleet approached in three groups. The USS Hutchins and the other destroyers of DesRon 24 ran into the Strait of Surigao and awaited there, together with other warships of Task Group (TG) 77.2 under the command of Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf, consisting of two battleships, 1 heavy cruiser and four destroyers existing 1st Combat Group C under the command of Vice Admiral Shōji Nishimura . The USS Hutchins was on the right flank of the American ships. When Nishimura approached, the PT boats first attacked unsuccessfully. The destroyers followed them. The USS Hutchins headed south and fired its torpedoes on the Japanese ships at 3:30 a.m. In a second torpedo attack, the destroyers were able to sink the Japanese destroyer Michishio . After the battle and the early morning air strikes, only one destroyer, the Shigure , remained of Nishimura's group .

After the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the USS Hutchins was again used to protect the aircraft carriers. On October 26th, she collided with an unmapped wreckage and ran, after she remained until October 29, 1944 for air defense with the association, via Pearl Harbor to San Francisco . She arrived there on November 25th and was docked for repairs.

1945

USS Hutchins in February 1945

On January 26, 1945, the USS Hutchins returned to Pearl Harbor to participate in exercises. She set course for Saipan on February 3 to join a support group of Task Force (TF) 58 for the upcoming battle for Iwo Jima . The carrier group reached its destination three days before landing in order to attack Japanese defenses in preparation for the invasion and to support the advancing troops during the landing operations in February and March 1945. The USS Hutchins then returned shortly to Ulithi to set course for Okinawa on March 27 . She protected the transport groups during the landing on Okinawa from April 1st to 3rd, 1945 and helped repel numerous air raids. From April 4, it was used to combat targets near the coast during the day and to protect the heavy units at night. During the heavy air strikes on April 6, she shot down several aircraft and took over survivors of the badly damaged USS Newcomb , which had been hit by three kamikaze . On April 12 and 13, she again fought attacking aircraft.

During the bombardment of coastal positions, the USS Hutchins was attacked by a Japanese explosive device. Her hull was badly damaged when the boat exploded. She returned to the base on the Kerama Islands for temporary repairs and then headed for Portland, Oregon . There she was docked for repairs.

Whereabouts

The repair work had not yet been completed by the end of the war. On September 20, 1945, she was towed to Puget Sound and on November 30, the USS Hutchins was decommissioned in Bremerton . In January 1948 it was sold for demolition.

Awards

The USS Hutchins was awarded six Battle Stars .

literature

Web links

Commons : USS Hutchins (DD-476)  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files