USS Preston (DD-379)
 USS Preston in the late 1930s |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Shipyard | |
| Keel laying | October 27, 1934 |
| Launch | April 22, 1936 |
| 1. Period of service |
.svg){kind=small}
|
| Commissioning | October 27, 1936 |
| Whereabouts | Sunk on November 14, 1942 by enemy action |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
1500 ts (standard) |
| length |
341 ft 4 in (111.97 m) |
| width |
35 ft (11.48 m) |
| Draft |
9 ft 10 in (3.2 m) |
| crew |
158 |
| drive |
4 steam boilers, 2 turbines, 49,000 shp (20 MW); 2 screws |
| speed |
37 knots (68 km / h) |
| Armament |
Originally |
The USS Preston (ID DD-379) was a destroyer of the US Navy in World War II and the fifth ship to bear this name. She belonged to the Mahan class and was named after Samuel W. Preston .
The ship's godmother was Mrs. Edward H. Campbell; The first in command was Commander C. D. Swain.
The shipyard was the Mare Island Navy Yard across from Vallejo (California) .
Mission history
After commissioning, the Preston was briefly subordinate to the Chief of Naval Operations and was then transferred to the Battle Force , (US Fleet), where it was initially used in the Destroyer Squadron 2 (DesRon 2). This was followed by the command to Destroyer Squadron 5 (DesRon 5) with which the ship undertook training trips in the Pacific during the remaining time of peace . After December 7, 1941, coastal defense tasks followed until June 1, 1942 when the Preston was ordered to Hawaii to take over escort tasks in the carrier group of the USS Saratoga (CV-3) . This carrier group (TG 11.1) sailed from Pearl Harbor on June 7th to deliver aircraft, pilots and other material to Task Force 17 (TF 17) with the carriers USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Hornet (CV-8) after they suffered from resource scarcity after the Battle of Midway .
On June 13, 1942, the ship returned to Pearl Harbor to take over training patrol and escort trips in the area of the Hawaiian Islands for the next four months. On October 4, 1942, she was assigned to TF 16 and relocated to the Solomon Islands on October 15, 1942 .
On October 24, 1942, TF 16 and TF 17 were merged to form TF 61. On October 26, 1942, as part of the aircraft carrier's safety shield, the Preston first came into contact with the enemy when it shot down two Japanese planes in the battle of the Santa Cruz Islands . She then returned to Nouméa , initially undamaged .
Freshly equipped, the ship then set sail for its last voyage towards the Solomon Islands.
On the evening of November 14, 1942, the Preston sailed in the formation of the TF 64 in the amount of the western end of the island of Guadalcanal to prevent Japanese forces from bombarding the island and from landing reinforcements. After the TF 64, consisting of two battleships and four destroyers , had circled Savo Island , the radar of the USS Washington (BB-56) recorded the Japanese light cruiser Sendai at 23:00 and the “Third Battle of Savo” began at 23:17 Iceland ". About eight minutes after the first exchange of fire, the destroyer USS Walke (DD-416) was badly hit and shortly afterwards a volley from the Japanese light cruiser Nagara struck the Preston . The fire control equipment was destroyed and the rear chimney torn down. Lying in the crossfire of Japanese warships, the order to leave the ship was issued at 23:36. Immediately afterwards it lay on its side, remained there for about ten minutes, and then sank over the stern into the depths. 116 men of the crew were killed.
Honors
The USS Preston (DD-379) was awarded two Battle Stars for service in World War II .
swell
- History of Preston in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (English)
- USS Preston website at Destroyer History Foundation
- history.navy.mil: USS Preston
- http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/379.htm