USS Waller (DD-466)
_underway_at_sea,_circa_in_1961.jpg) USS Waller (DD-466) |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Type | destroyer |
| Shipyard | |
| Keel laying | February 12, 1942 |
| Launch | August 15, 1942 |
| 1. Period of service |
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|
| period of service |
October 1, 1942 July 15, 1969 |
| Whereabouts | Sunk as a target ship on June 17, 1970 |
| 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:
|
The USS Waller (DD-466) was a destroyer in the United States Navy . She belonged to the Fletcher class and was in service from 1942 to 1969. USS Waller took part in World War II , the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. In 1970 she was sunk off Rhode Island as a target ship.
Namesake
Major General Littleton Waller (1856–1926) was an officer in the United States Marine Corps . He served in the Spanish-American War , the Caribbean, and Asia . He was said to have participated in more missions than any other USMC officer at the time.
technology
Hull and drive
The hull of the USS Waller 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 Waller when commissioned was its five 5-inch / 127-mm-Mark-30 single turrets. There were also 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 Waller 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
The USS Waller was laid down at Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Kearny , New Jersey on February 12, 1942 . It was launched on August 15, 1942. The godmother was the widow of the namesake, Mrs. Littleton WT Waller. The destroyer entered service on October 1, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Lawrence H. Frost .
1942
By autumn 1942, the USS Waller made its test drive and served at times as an escort vehicle for the training of submarines at the submarine base in New London , Connecticut . In late autumn, the destroyer left the naval shipyard in New York and moved through the Panama Canal and Pearl Harbor to the Pacific battle zone.
1943
USS Waller reached Efate on January 21, 1943. On February 27, she left the island as part of the destroyer screen of Task Force 18 (TF 18) . TF 18 had the task of meeting a ship formation with supplies and reinforcements for Guadalcanal and escorting them to the island. Reports from the naval intelligence service that the Japanese were bringing a formation with large quantities of supplies to Guadalcanal turned out to be false. Instead of reinforcing the troops, the ships were used to evacuate the Japanese soldiers.
Battle of Rennell Island
On January 29, there was TF 18 of the island 50 nautical miles north Rennell , as at dusk Japanese Mitsubishi G4M Betty - torpedo bomber unnoticed anflogen the dressing at low altitude from the east. USS Waller was on the starboard side of the flagship USS Wichita as well as the cruisers USS Chicago and USS Louisville when she was fired at by the lead Betty with on-board weapons. The ships returned fire and were able to shoot down an aircraft. The planes illuminated the formation with flares and at 7:31 p.m. another group of Betties attacked the ships. The attack focused on the heavy cruisers. An airplane could be shot down. At 7.45 p.m. the USS Chicago received a torpedo hit in the forecastle. As a result of the hit, three of its four drive shafts failed. A second torpedo hit boiler room # 3 and the forward engine room full of water. The USS Chicago remained idle.
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After the end of the attack, USS Louisville took the ailing cruiser in tow and in the early morning of January 30, 1943, the formation was on its way to Espiritu Santo at a speed of 4 knots . Shortly after USS Louisville handed over the tow to the tug USS Navajo , twelve "Betties" south of New Georgia were reported heading for Rennell. The F4F Wildcats of Combat Air Patrol from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) shot down three bombers. The remaining nine Betties continued their attack on the USS Chicago . Seven attackers were shot down by the ships' anti-aircraft defenses and the attacking fighter planes. USS Waller claimed one kill and two damages.
USS Chicago received two more torpedo hits and was abandoned by the crew a short time later. At 16:44 she sank over the stern. USS Navajo , USS Sands , USS Edwards, and Waller rescued 1,049 survivors. The USS La Vallette was also damaged during the attack and left the area towed by the USS Navajo . On the way back to Espiritu Santo, the USS Waller caught a submarine, but lost contact again.
The Battle of Rennell Island delayed the orderly withdrawal of Japanese troops from Guadalcanal and allowed American troops to be reinforced and the final phase of the Battle of Guadalcanal to begin.
Battle of Blackett Strait, March 1943
In early March 1943, the commander of Destroyer Division 43 (ComDesDiv 43), Commander Arleigh Burke, placed his division stand on the USS Waller . On March 5, she led USS Conway , USS Montpelier , USS Cleveland , USS Denver and USS Cony in an attack on Japanese airfields near Vila on the south coast of New Georgia . Entrusted with the task of protecting the heavy units, the destroyers were supposed to fight enemy coastal batteries.
Shortly after midnight on March 5, the USS Waller spotted the Japanese destroyers Murasame and Minegumo at the eastern entrance of the Strait of Blackett while entering the Kula Gulf . Without being noticed by the enemy destroyers beforehand, USS Waller opened combat with a torpedo fan made of five tubes from a distance of three and a half nautical miles around 01:00. A minute later the 5 "guns opened fire.
The surprised Japanese destroyers responded with imprecise fire. After six minutes, the Murasame exploded from torpedo and artillery hits from the USS Waller and the other American destroyers.
The Minegumo was then shot incapacitated and unable to maneuver. The American ships turned west at 1:14 a.m. to fire on Vila, leaving the Minegumo behind. TF 68 shelled the airfields for 16 minutes. Then USS Waller was ordered to sink the Minegumo , which sank before the destroyer arrived.
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, in his own understatement, called the attack on Vila and the battle in the Straits of Blackett a remarkable feat . Nimitz mentioned the exemplary way with which the TF 68 detected two enemy ships with radar despite their proximity to land, sank them in an "objective manner" and then carried out the planned bombardment almost within the planned time frame. "The operation had the precision of a well-rehearsed exercise by battle-tested ships that were not them."
June - October 1943
During the night of June 29-30, 1943, the USS Waller and three other destroyers shelled the Vila-Stanmore plantation on Kolombangara and the Shortland Islands . Due to the prevailing weather conditions, the effect of the mission could not be observed.
After the Battle of the Kula Gulf , on July 6, 1943 , USS Waller covered the rescue of survivors of the cruiser USS Helena , which sank in the battle, by the destroyers USS Woodworth and USS Gwin . USS Waller located a submarine on radar and ran towards the position. After a three-hour search, the contact was narrowed down and the destroyer dropped depth charges. Although no visible evidence of the destruction of the submarine could be found, the sinking was recognized.
For the remainder of July, USS Waller escorted troops and supplies. During the voyage of Task Group 31.2, which consists of four destroyers and four rapid transport ships (APD) , to Enogai Inlet on New Georgia , four enemy ships were reported by an aircraft near Kolombangara. USS Waller left the formation to intercept the enemy ships and spotted three vehicles driving just below the coast. Not knowing that the supposed enemies were the American PT boats USS PT-157 , USS PT-159 , and USS PT-160 , which were accidentally north of their assigned area of operation, the destroyer opened it from 20,000 yards away Fire. USS Waller scored no hit. The PT boats, which were now in an unfavorable position, shot torpedoes at the attacking "enemy" and ran southwards. The destroyers did not pursue the fleeing boats, but returned to the unit. In the later battle report, the commander of the USS Waller wrote that it had meanwhile turned out that the ships were probably their own PT boats.
Ten Japanese Aichi D3A Val dive bombers were located by radar during the landings on Vella Lavella on August 15 at 8:00 a.m. The destroyer fought the planes and claimed the downing of two machines. Later that day, she spotted eight torpedo bombers at low altitude. Despite the use of the 5 "guns, none of the approaching Nakajima B5N Kate were shot down. On the evening of August 17, USS Waller and USS Philip collided during an evasive maneuver during an air strike. USS Waller left the combat area to carry out the necessary repairs. She returned in October back again.
On the night of October 1st to October 2nd, the USS Waller was in the waters off Vella Lavella to prevent the evacuation of Japanese troops from the island. That night she sank six ferry frames and another four the next. Then USS Waller was used in escort service. A convoy escorted the advance on Bougainville . The formation, consisting of six destroyers, eight fast transporters, a deep-sea tug and eight LSTs , crossed the Kaiserin Augusta Bay when they were attacked by ten Japanese torpedo bombers. The bandage could shoot two Betties . The USS McKean fast transporter , a Wickes-class ship , was sunk by a torpedo hit. USS Waller rescued eight Japanese shot down.
1944
Together with her sister ships bombarded USS Waller on February 1, 1944 enemy positions on Buka and around the Bay of Choiseul and on February 13, a Japanese radar position at the Cape St. George on Buka and airfields Borpop and Namatanai.
USS Waller returned to Pearl Harbor and sailed again in June. She escorted TG 51.18 via Kwajalein to Saipan . The task of TG 51.18 was to support the occupation of the Mariana Islands and, depending on the situation, to carry out landings on Saipan, Guam or Tinian .
Eventually Saipan was targeted and USS Waller began fighting Japanese positions on the island. On the evening of June 18, she received the order together with USS Pringle (DD-477) to assist the US Marines in repelling an enemy tank attack on two landing sections .
On July 21st the Battle of Guam began and USS Waller covered the landing forces. She was then used for fire support during the landing on Tinian. After these missions, the USS Waller set course for the west coast of the United States , where it was overtaken by the fall of 1944.
As of November 27, the destroyers of DesDiv 43 belonged to the 7th Fleet that carried out the landings in the Philippines . Shortly after noon there was a kamikaze attack on the bandage. USS Waller shot down one of the 15 attacking aircraft and was involved in the downing of another.
In preparation for the landing in Ormoc Bay , the destroyers of DesDiv 43 were on their way to the Gulf of Leyte when they received the order in the Camotes Sea to search for a submarine suspected in this area. On November 28, the surface Japanese submarine I-46 was sighted off Pilar Point , Ponson Island . USS Waller, along with its sister ships USS Renshaw , USS Saufley and USS Pringle, sank the submarine by artillery fire.
USS Waller remained in the Leyte Gulf area until December 2nd. On the night of November 29th to 30th, she was supposed to intercept a reported Japanese convoy consisting of 10 ships. Instead of the convoy she met six ferry frames, which she sank with her artillery. In mid-December, USS Waller participated in the landing on Mindoro . It belonged to an association consisting of battleships , escort aircraft carriers , cruisers and destroyers, whose task was to cover the landing troops. On December 15, there was a kamikaze attack on the association. USS Waller was able to shoot down another attacker and damage another. A twin-engine Betty pounced on the destroyer, but was shot down by the ship's anti-aircraft defenses.
1945
In early January 1945, USS Waller was moving to the Gulf of Lingayén when American troops landed there. During the landing, she was able to score hits on two Shin'yō explosives and fired around 3,000 rounds of different calibers at air and land targets. Although it could not shoot down an aircraft, it damaged numerous machines during the heavy kamikaze attacks.
USS Waller was on escort in February and March, protecting Allied troop carriers and merchant ships. During the American landings on Basilan , she stood as the flagship of the Task Group off the coast and supported the landings on Tawi-Tawi and Jolo in the Sulu Archipelago during April.
During the Allied advance towards Borneo, the USS Waller escorted convoys to Tarakan , Brunei Bay and Balikpapan and protected minesweeping operations from Miri . From the beginning of August she was part of the 3rd Fleet, which was ready for Operation Downfall , the planned invasion of Japan. USS Waller was escorting a convoy to Honshu when she learned of the Japanese surrender.
On September 19, 1945, USS Waller entered Shanghai as one of the first American warships . Two weeks later, a 21-man force from the destroyer helped local authorities disarm an estimated 2,700 Japanese on Tinghai. On the way back to Shanghai she ran into an anchor rope . Three officers and 22 men were injured and the ship was so badly damaged that USS Waller had to be docked in Shanghai for repairs. After the repairs were completed, she supervised minesweeping operations and provided the minesweepers, who cleared around 60 mines, with provisions and water. In addition, she brought Yangtze pilots to the incoming ships and observed the ship traffic. She left Chinese waters on December 12th and reached San Diego on December 30th .
post war period
USS Waller was decommissioned a short time later and was part of the reserve fleet in Charleston , South Carolina until the outbreak of the Korean War . As one of the Fletcher destroyers that were scheduled for conversion to the destroyer escort (DDE) , the USS Waller was reclassified to DDE-466 on March 26, 1949 . The conversion included, among other things, the reduction of artillery and the strengthening of anti-submarine capabilities. On July 5, 1950, USS Waller was put back into service and after the test drive was assigned to the Escort Destroyer Squadron (CortDesRon) 2 on January 28, 1951 as the flagship.
Korean War
On May 14th, USS Waller ran to Korea and was part of Task Force 58 en route to Wnsan . During the ten-day mission, the destroyer fired approximately 1700 5 "grenades on North Korean targets. During the summer, the USS Waller was used as an escort for 7th Fleet exercises off Okinawa . In October it returned to the naval blockade for two weeks and ran then returned to the United States.
1951-1968
From 1951 to 1956 USS Waller took part in various anti -submarine exercises off the east coast of the USA and was relocated twice to the Mediterranean and the Caribbean . In late 1956 she was rebuilt at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and received extensive changes in her anti-submarine armament. After a stay in the Mediterranean Sea in 1957, she was assigned to DesRon 28 as a unit of the ASW Task Force Alpha .
On June 30, 1962, it was reclassified again and received the old code DD-466 back. From July 1, 1964, USS Waller belonged to DesRon 36 and made several trips to the Mediterranean during the next four years.
Vietnam War
On September 6, 1968, the destroyer with the Destroyer Division (DesDiv) 362 left Norfolk , Virginia and set course for Vietnamese waters, which they reached in October. She took over patrol services at Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin off Qui Nhon , South Vietnam and shot at positions of the Viet Cong in front of Phan Thiet . At Yankee Station, she escorted the aircraft carriers USS Intrepid and USS Ranger . On March 2, 1969, she set course for the United States.
Whereabouts
After a brief deployment as a training ship for the United States Navy Reserve on the east coast, the USS Waller was decommissioned on July 15, 1969 and removed from the fleet list. On June 17, 1970, she was sunk as a target ship off Rhode Island.
Awards
USS Waller was awarded twelve Battle Stars during the Second World War and two Battle Stars each for its missions in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
literature
- Stefan Terzibaschitsch : Destroyer of the US Navy . Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1997, ISBN 3-86047-587-8 .
- Jerry Scutts: Fletcher DDs (US Destroyers) in action (Warships No. 8) . Squadron / signal publications, Carrollton (Texas) 1995, ISBN 978-0-89747-336-1
- Robert Cressman: The official chronology of the US Navy in World War II . Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland 2000, ISBN 978-1-55750-149-3
Individual evidence
Web links
- History of the USS Waller (DD-466) in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (English)
- navsource.org: USS Waller (English)
- hazegray.org: USS Waller (English)
- USS Waller website (English)