USS Radford (DD-446)

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USS Radford (DD-446)
USS Radford (DD-446)
Overview
Type destroyer
Shipyard

Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company

Keel laying October 2, 1941
Launch May 3, 1942
1. Period of service flag
period of service

July 22, 1942 -
November 10, 1969

Whereabouts Sold for scrapping in October 1970
Technical specifications
displacement

2,050  ts

length

114.7 meters

width

12.2 meters

Draft

5.4 meters

crew

329

drive
speed

38 kn

Range

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

Armament

When commissioning:

After FRAM II conversion

  • 2 × 5 in / 38 guns,
  • 1 Mark 108 ASW Rocket Launcher,
  • 6 × Mark 44 18 inch anti-submarine torpedoes,
  • 2 hedgehog throwers,
  • 2 mark 14 21 inch torpedoes,
  • 2 × .50 cal M2 machine guns
Nickname

HUK King

The USS Radford (DD-446) was a destroyer of Fletcher class of United States Navy . It entered service in 1942 and took part in World War II , the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Decommissioned in 1969, it was sold for scrapping in 1970.

Namesake

Rear Adm. William Radford (March 1, 1808 - January 8, 1890) was a US Navy officer during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War .

technology

Hull and drive

The hull of the USS Radford was 114.7 m long and 12.2 m wide. The draft was 5.4 m, the displacement was 2,050 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 38 knots .

Armament and Electronics

The main armament of the USS Radford when it was commissioned were 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. In 1948/49 the ship was converted into a submarine destroyer and received increased anti-submarine armament, including a Mk. 108 anti-submarine rocket launcher in front of the bridge.

The USS Radford 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

USS Radford was laid down at Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Kearny , New Jersey on October 2, 1941 . It was launched on May 3, 1942. Your godmother was François E. Matthes. The destroyer was commissioned on July 22, 1942.

1942

After the test drive along the New England coast , USS Radford towed the burning troop transport USS Wakefield (AP-21) to Halifax, where the fires could be extinguished. After a submarine patrol on the east coast, the ship was ordered to the Pacific on December 5th .

1943

On Noumea , USS Radford became part of Task Group (TG) 67.5 and took part with her on January 19, 1943 in the bombardment of Japanese positions and facilities on Guadalcanal . In the night of January 23rd to 24th, she used her artillery against enemy areas of disposal on Kolombangara . In the following week, the USS Radford succeeded in shooting down three Japanese aircraft. USS Radford was released to Tulagi , from where it set sail to cover the occupation of the Russell Islands by US forces. In the night of March 5th to 6th, they shelled Munda Point airfield and facilities on New Georgia and again on March 15th and 16th at Kolombangara .

The destroyer covered the landing on Rendova on June 29 . They shot down five Japanese planes. On July 1, USS Radford damaged a Japanese submarine from gunfire and depth charges. On the night of July 5-6, 1943, USS Radford took part in the Battle of the Kula Gulf . Together with the USS Nicholas she rescued 468 survivors of the light cruiser USS Helena , which was sunk in the battle, and was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation . On July 12 and 13, the destroyer took part in the Battle of Kolombangara . She left the Solomon Islands on July 17th and escorted the heavily damaged cruiser HMNZS Leander across the New Hebrides to Auckland , New Zealand . Then she went to Nouméa , New Caledonia . On her return to Guadalcanal, the USS Radford sank several enemy barges on September 14. On November 25th, she sank the Japanese submarine I-19 . After the Battle of the Gilbert Islands , the USS Radford drove via Pearl Harbor to San Francisco for overhaul, where it entered on December 15th.

1944

On February 2, the USS Radford returned to Majuro Atoll and on February 18, it shielded the tankers that supplied the units of Task Force 58 with fuel during Operation Hailstone . Then she escorted the supply ships to the New Hebrides. In March, the USS Radford shelled gun emplacements on Bougainville . They shelled the beach at Humboldt Bay during Operation Reckless on April 22nd. She returned to New Guinea via the Solomon Islands and Noumea in early June. Until September, they supported the Allied operations in New Guinea through convoy service and the use of their guns against land targets.

USS Radford sailed to Pearl Harbor on September 12 to make repairs . On November 20, she went to Eniwetok and Ulithi . She escorted a group of merchant ships to the Gulf of Leyte on December 4th .

1945

USS Radford operated in this area and around Mindoro until it sailed to the Gulf of Lingayen on January 4, 1945 . After supporting the landing on Luzon , they shelled the beaches of the Bataan Peninsula . When she entered the port of Mariveles on February 14 to tow the mine-damaged USS La Vallette , the USS Radford was also damaged by a mine. She ran to San Francisco for repairs, where she stayed until the repair work was completed on September 30, 1945.

post war period

USS Radford was decommissioned on January 17, 1946 and assigned to the reserve fleet in San Francisco . She was reclassified as a destroyer escort (DDE-446). On October 17, 1949, USS Radford was returned to service. After the test drive, she drove to her home base in Pearl Harbor. In May 1950 she accompanied the USS Valley Forge to Subic Bay and Hong Kong .

Korean War

When the Korean War broke out, the USS Radford was transferred to the 7th Fleet, which supported the UN forces, in Korea, where it was used until it returned to Pearl Harbor on November 9, 1950. The following year was filled with overhaul work and training trips. On November 19, 1951, she took course again towards Korea, where she was a member of Task Force 77, a rapid aircraft carrier combat group. Furthermore, USS Radford was used together with British units on the west coast of the contested peninsula for land target shelling and to support minesweeping operations. She rescued survivors of the Easton steamship off the coast of Japan. She returned to Pearl Harbor on June 21, 1952.

USS Radford re- launched on September 4, 1952, conducting patrols and drills in the western Pacific. She returned to Pearl Harbor on November 25, 1953, where she completed type-specific training until May 3, 1953. She then belonged again to TF 77 and fired at targets on the east coast of Korea. From July 12 to 22, she and the USS Manchester fought targets in the area of Hode Pando . She returned to Pearl Harbor on November 30, 1953, after patrolling the Taiwan Strait .

1953-1966

Over the next few years, operations in the waters around Hawaii alternated with deployments to the Far East. During this time, the USS Radford was part of the Taiwan Patrol in 1954, 1955 and 1956 and operated in Japanese waters in 1957, 1958 and 1959. On March 25, 1960, Perl Harbor began the seven-month retrofit as part of the FRAM II program . She received a hangar and a flight deck. In 1961, the ship operated in Hawaiian waters, recovered the Discoverer 25 capsule, and rescued five fishermen from distress on November 16.

USS Radford after FRAM II

On February 5, 1962, the USS Radford sailed into the Western Pacific and belonged to ASW Task Group 70.4 consisting of USS Bennington and eight destroyers from Destroyer Divisions 252 and 92. USS Radford took part in SEATO maneuvers and was in the South China Sea and in May posted to the Taiwan Straits in June . She returned to Pearl Harbor on July 18, 1962 and was reclassified back to DD-446 on August 7. On October 3, 1962, the USS Radford was east of Midway during the Sigma 7 flight

In 1963, the ship was equipped with variable depth sonar and a QH-50 -U hunting drone. In 1963, 1965 and 1966 the USS Radford was deployed again in the Western Pacific.

Vietnam War

During 1967, 1968 and 1968 she was deployed at Yankee Station and fired at targets in South Vietnam.

Whereabouts

USS Radford was decommissioned in San Francisco in 1969 and removed from the fleet list on November 10th. In 1970 she was sold for scrapping.

Awards

USS Radford received twelve Battle Stars for service in World War II, five Battle Stars during the Korean War, and four during the Vietnam War. She also received an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal .

literature

  • Stefan Terzibaschitsch: Destroyer of the US Navy . Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1997, ISBN 3-86047-587-8 .
  • Alan Raven: Fletcher Class Destroyers . Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1986, ISBN 0-87021-193-5 .
  • Jerry Scutts: Fletcher DDs (US Destroyers) in action (Warships No. 8) . Squadron / signal publications, Carrollton (Texas) 1995, ISBN 978-0-89747-336-1
  • German Navy Federation, cast off! 4-2011 , ISSN  1432-9069

Web links