USS Reid (DD-369)
_off_the_Mare_Island_Naval_Shipyard,_California_(USA),_on_11_July_1943_(19-N-48259).jpg)
The USS Reid (DD-369) was of the Mahan class and participated in United States Navy operations before and during World War II . The destroyer was named after Samuel Chester Reid , a noted officer in the 1812 War who helped design the American flag in 1818 .
Namesake
Samuel Chester Reid was born in Norwich , Connecticut on August 24, 1783 and joined the military in 1794. In 1803 he became chief of the brigade army and troops and served as an officer during the war of 1812. In 1814 he commanded the USS General Armstrong , fought against the British fleet and was able to hold it back long enough until his own units had fled, but in the end he had to give up his ship. He defended New Orleans and was named Commander in Chief of the Navy in 1844. He died in New York on January 28, 1861.
Technical specifications
Like its sister ships, the USS Reid was initially equipped with five 12.7 cm guns as the main battery and twelve 533 mm torpedo tubes in 3 launchers. The main battery and four 12.7 mm machine guns were used for air defense . The submarine blocking can serve two depth charges -Abrollgestelle. The destroyer had a standard displacement of approx. 1500 t, was 104 m long, 10.60 m wide and had a draft of 5.80 m. It was powered by four boilers acting on two steam turbines , which developed around 48,000 hp and brought the ship to a speed of around 35 knots or 65 km / h. The destroyer had a range of 6,940 nautical miles at 12 knots. The crew consisted of 8 officers and 150 sailors. In 1944 the caliber of the main guns was increased to 13 cm, a torpedo launcher was removed and four 40 mm Bofors Fla cannons and six or eight 20 mm Oerlikon guns were installed. In addition, a new fire control radar was installed that should increase the accuracy of the guns. Four K-gun depth charges were also installed.
history
_at_Dutch_Harbor,_Alaska,_on_6_September_1942.jpg)
The USS Reid was laid down at Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Kearny , New Jersey on June 25, 1934 and launched on January 11, 1936. She was baptized by Beatrice Reid. The destroyer finally entered service on November 2, 1936 under Captain Robert B. Carney .
From 1937 to 1941 she took part in fleet maneuvers and training in the Pacific and Atlantic regions. It was shot down during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . After the attack, she was mainly used on patrols in the waters around Hawaii . After that she was also in the Palmyra Atoll and Johnston Island .
In January 1942, she escorted a convoy to San Francisco until she eventually returned to Pearl Harbor to conduct further patrols.
_and_Mugford_(DD-389)_at_Sydney_c1943.JPG)
The USS Reid was sent on escort service several times after its patrols before it set sail on May 22, 1942 to shell Japanese positions on Kiska Island , Alaska , which happened on August 7, 1942. On August 30, there was finally an American landing in Alaska, with the DD-369 protecting the troops with fire support. USS Reid sank the Japanese submarine RO-61 in the Battle of Alaska on August 31, 1942 . After the fight, the destroyer brought Japanese prisoners to Pearl Harbor to then carry out further patrols in the Fiji Islands.
At Christmas she was sent on a large-scale operation with landing troops to Guadalcanal , in order to accompany other convoys afterwards. In January 1943 she came back to the Guadalcanal theater of war to fire at other targets.
Later in 1943 she began her patrol work in the Solomon Islands , over September of that year she attacked Japanese positions in New Guinea and shot down two aircraft in this area at the end of the month. Further convoy and patrol trips to / from New Guinea followed, and further landings in New Britain and at Cap Gloucester were carried out with her support. On February 29, 1944 she helped landings on the Admiral Islands, and further attacks on Wakde Island, Biak and Noemfoor Island. On August 29, 1944, they supported Allied air strikes and shelled positions on Wake Island.
Her final missions took place near Leyte , where she patrolled and covered a landing on December 7th, after which she helped the damaged destroyer USS Lamson (DD-367) escape the battlefield.
Agony and end
In her last two weeks she carried out missions in the Gulf of Leyte, the crew was permanently on the combat station, as red alarms were given again and again, but on December 11, 1944, they destroyed seven more aircraft in the Strait of Surigao . One day she was in the process of covering amphibious vehicles as she landed when, over several hours, twelve planes attacked her formation. As the USS Reid was the best target, she became the primary target. The first two aircraft were shot down by the anti-aircraft crews, and another aircraft exploded over the starboard side at the height of the propeller shaft. The fourth aircraft hit the starboard main mast, lost a wing and crashed into the ocean, the bomb on board exploded and the blast damaged the hull at the waterline level . Another plane hit the starboard side and crashed into the front sections, the sixth machine hit the bridge and was thrown on the starboard side on the bow , it is important to note that machines five and six did not carry any bombs, otherwise the damage would have been enormous. The last plane came from stern and bored through the superstructure and exploded in the rear ammunition chamber and blew off part of the stern . After the attack, the ship made about 20 knots, but rolled violently from side to side until it finally capsized to starboard and dragged 103 crewmen with it into the depths. The survivors 150 men were picked up by landing craft in their convoy.
swell
- ↑ Master Samuel Chester Reid, USN (1783-1861). Retrieved November 14, 2017 .
.svg){kind=small}