However the Supply Officer served as the permanent mess caterer, a place where he frequently took a lot of heat. Normally all four ships in the division would be moored to the same buoy. . Aboard destroyers, these were all Lieutenants billets. One reason for this was that it kept me involved in the operational picture. Tom Hank's Greyhound movie set on USS Kidd - Mechtraveller The Allen M. Sumner class was intended by the Navy to be an interim design between the . These conditions refer to degrees of closure to minimize the effects of potential damage. Answer (1 of 4): Few destroyer classes of WW2 were able to reload their torpedoes whilst at sea, below I have listed several that can. During routine steaming operations, CIC was responsible for radar navigation and tracking of routine surface contacts and making appropriate recommendations to the Officer of the Deck. Most were assigned to the Deck Force. Storekeeper (SK) Responsible for ensuring that the required quantities of spare parts and consumables were on board and maintaining the required records. Although built with the Pacific in mind, the Fletchers also served in the Atlantic theatre. At 2,050 tons standard displacement and approximately 2,900 tons fully loaded, the Fletchers were significantly larger than any preceding American destroyer classes. His direct superior in the chain of command was his squadron or division commander who was normally a Captain with the honorary title of Commodore. Fletcher is down to two 5" guns but two 3" rapid firing guns and a MK 15 Trainable Hedgehog Projector (in place of Mount 52) are visible. Thirty-two were transferred to the navies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Taiwan and Turkey. The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types of the Porter and Somers classes. Radio direction finders were eventually replaced by Loran A. He currently holds the title of Chief Marine Engineer at Marine Design Dynamics. In World War II, US destroyers escorted convoys, hunted submarines, fought surface battles, bombarded shore positions, rescued downed airmen and stranded sailors, and served as radar pickets to detect and fight incoming kamikaze flights. USS Halsey Powell backs away from a pier in Subic Bay. I spent 22 years in the Navy. All fittings with a black Y are closed and only opened for protection. Their flush deck construction added structural strength, although it did make them rather cramped. Your email address will not be published. Fletcher related story: After being in Baton Rouge, LA when the USS Kidd was put on public display, 15 years later I was living outside of Fort Lauderdale, FL. While some changes had taken place since 1945, most of the procedures were carryovers from . During World War II, the commanding officer was frequently a Lieutenant Commander with far less experience. Nineteen were lost during World War II; six more were damaged and not repaired. A lot more information is available on the bridge from GPS, Electronic Chart Displays (ECDIS), etc. The Fletcher-class is almost synonymous with the term destroyer within the context of WWII. Some went on to serve during the Korean War and into the Vietnam War. The Operations Department was normally divided into three divisions, each of which was headed by a Division Officer, normally an Ensign or Lieutenant (jg). About four months after Fletcher joined the fleet, she . During his 30 year naval career he held two ship commands and served a total of 8 years on naval material inspection boards, during which he conducted trials and inspections aboard over 200 naval vessels. This is how I met my wife. Most COs rarely took the conn themselves but acted more as a teacher and overall safety observer. The United States Navy commissioned 175 Fletcher-class destroyers between 1942 and 1944, more than any other destroyer class, and the design was generally regarded as highly successful. You mentioned the Radiomen being responsible for teletype and old fashioned morse code key. I am a retired Merchant Chief Engineer (Steam). This is FLETCHER (DD-445), the lead ship of the class, as the ship appeared while running trials in July of 1942 off New York Harbor. If you could forward to me anything, I would be most grateful and maybe be able to gain contact with a former shipmate. Fletcher-Class Destroyer. United States naval ship classes of World War II. One Petty Officer was designated as the Oil King. Some went on to serve during the Korean War and into the Vietnam War.. Transferred to Hellenic Navy, 27 September 1962, Transferred to Hellenic Navy, 21 August 1959, Transferred to West Germany, 12 April 1960, Transferred to West Germany, 16 December 1959, Transferred to West Germany, 17 February 1960, Transferred to Hellenic Navy, 16 June 1959, Transferred to Hellenic Navy, 15 September 1959, Transferred to Hellenic Navy, 9 February 1960, Transferred to South Korea, 15 November 1968, Transferred to the Republic of Korea, 27 April 1968, Museum ship at the former Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, This page was last edited on 20 October 2022, at 13:05. Category page. I hope youre still here. With the introduction of radar, another useful method became available when the ship was within radar range of shore. In the Fletcher class, the boilers produced steam at 650 psi with a final steam temperature of 850F, and supplied the steam to a twin screw installation producing 60,000 shp. The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types of the Porter and Somers classes. did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic? . More about this later. Fairwinds and calm seas Uncle Andrew. I much preferred WESTPAC! Under these conditions, a commissioned CIC Watch Officer (CICWO) was assigned. Required fields are marked *. Once this was accomplished, the OOD would pass the order to stand by to answer all bells to the engine room and them report ready to get underway to the CO. Would like if at all possible to get pictures of C.I.C on my ship USS Conway DDE 507.I was on the Conway from 1954 to 1956, I served on the USS Hopwell DD681 in 61-62 .. Supply Department ratings included: Supply Department, USS Halsey Powell, from 1959-1960 Cruise Book. But it must be recognized that a naval vessel must remain at sea for extended periods and it has to function as a small self supporting community. . Jim Avery serves on a fictional Gleaves-class destroyer, the USS . My father, Charles Ross Duncan, Sr. served on the USS Kimberly from 1943 thru 1945 in the Pacific. All wardroom provisions had to be purchased from the General Mess or other sources ashore. USS The Sullivans (DD-537) The USS Sullivans was a long-range, large destroyer used for anti-submarine warfare, anti-aircraft warfare, and surface action. This article describes destroyer operations as I remember them during the late 1950s. But with these exceptions, the basic procedures for getting a destroyer underway have not changed a great deal from what I have described. The peacetime manning was 14 officers and 236 enlisted men. Engineers were always referred to as Snipes. This term originated in the British Navy when a visiting Admiral said that the engine room on a battleship resembled a snipe marsh. The last Fletcher in service, BAM Cuitlahuac (ex-John Rodgers), left the Mexican navy in 2001, meaning the total service life of the Fletchers stretched over almost six decades and into the 21st century.[1]. Posted on . After a year on board they were advanced to the grade of Seaman (SN), from which they could strike for assignment to other ratings. [10] No design can be perfect and the Fletchers were no exception. Nineteen Fletchers were lost during World War II. This method was still in general use in the Navy even into the 1990s and there are still some ships that still use it, even though burner management systems have been common on commercial ships since the 1970s. Some SAs were sent through advanced schooling for a particular rating and came aboard as Designated Strikers such as GMSN, RMSN, etc. (My papers had been submitted but not received for 1st Class TM before we were sunk.) I did not like this practice and I always made sure that more experienced officers were assigned to these duties when I became a commanding officer myself. In 1941, the US Navy began building a fleet of large destroyers, its first design to rival the Japanese "special type" destroyers that had first entered service more than a decade before. By VJ Day, 67 Sumners55 destroyers and 12 destroyer-minelayer conversionsplus 45 ships of a lengthened production variant, initially referred to as the 2,200-ton long hull class and later as the Gearing class. This class of British destroyer often had more AA firepower than many larger DD did. How many depth charges did a Fletcher-class carry during WWII? Designed in the late 1930s and early 1940s . An explanation of Material Conditions is in order. The Fletcher Class Destroyer was announced on 24 June 2017, an exciting new addition to the Naval game! The USS KIDD (DD-661) is a Fletcher-class destroyer, the six hundred sixty-first destroyer built by the United States Navy. Beginning in the fall of 1939, the large white-hulled cutters were assigned the outer limits of the Neutrality Zone. The Fletchers featured air-encased boilers producing steam at 600psi (4,100kPa) and 850F (450C), with two 350 kW steam turbine driven electrical generators and a 100kW emergency diesel generator. Chief or First Class petty officers of this rating were normally assigned to Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOOW) duties in the Forward Engine Room where they were directly responsible for the operation of the engineering plant during their watch. Deployments were six months in length followed by a six month period in the US, about half of which was spent underway in various fleet exercises off the West Coast. Many memories aboard it. X-RAY provides the least protection. Some went. Enjoyable and interesting read. Acting as a member of a screen as part of a carrier task group against air, surface, and subsurface attack. LTJG George Stewart from the 1958 USS Halsey Powell Cruise Book. Nineteen Fletchers were lost during World War II. The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types of the Porter and Somers classes. She was a fine destroyer and served in WWII as a real war ship. Naval officers are required to pay for their own meals. Naval philosophy in those days was to man the ships with a large number of personnel and little use was made of automatic controls or other labor saving devices. The Hunt class of "emergancy" destroyers (this class is very close in capabilities to late war US DE classes like the Rudderow or John C. Butler classes) made for a good class of smaller but very capable ship (4 x 4" 4 TT). Two of the three destroyers were sunk, but not until they had inflicted serious damage on their opponents. But that is particularly necessary in wartime because it greatly simplifies the training program. Also asked was at what point would the design grow large enough to become a torpedo target instead of a torpedo delivery system. The lowest . Heres how to join! Built for speed and capability, USS Cassin Young engaged in seven Pacific battles in World War II, survived two Kamikaze hits, and served another full decade beyond her expected lifetime. The U.S. He was responsible for all fuel transfer operations plus chemical testing and treatment of the ships boiler water. Copyright 2011-2022 Naval Historical Foundation. Great hunting, Tubes! I am so sorry I never had a discussion with him about his experiences and what he did, before he died when I was 14. Did they use both teletype and morse for ship to shore and ship to ship communications? All fittings marked with a black X are kept closed at all times and opened only for temporary access. Navy ships never use this method any more, as sufficient pier space is provided in all of the navys home ports and all necessary services are provided from shore. In this article I will attempt to describe how a World War II Destroyer was manned and organized. In what can only be described as one of the classic destroyer actions in naval history, the three Fletchers attacked the Japanese main fleet. Frequently a junior officer was assigned as the Administrative Officer or Ship Secretary with additional duty as X Division Officer. [5] They could cover the vast distances required by fleet actions in the Pacific and served almost exclusively in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, during which they accounted for 29 Imperial Japanese Navy submarines sunk. These sailors were generally referred to as non-rated personnel and they could be assigned duties in any of the non-engineering divisions. Radioman (RM) Responsible for all electronic means of exterior communications. Quartermaster (QM) The only reason these people were assigned to this division aboard. The growth in the design was in part a response to the challenge that had dogged U.S. Navy designs in coping with long range operations in the Pacific Ocean. The United States Navy commissioned 175 Fletcher-class destroyers between 1942 and 1944, more than any . The duties of conning officer were rotated around. In later years with the advent of missiles, the title of this billet became Weapons Officer. The Gunnery Department aboard Halsey Powell included three divisions, i.e. The Main Propulsion Assistant (MPA) actually oversaw two divisions, B and M. Ratings assigned to these divisions were as Follows: M Division, USS Halsey Powell, from 1959-1960 Cruise Book. The job of Mess Treasurer rotated among the junior officers. These are senior petty officers who function as the ships police force. He was a radioman on the ship for about a year, and transferred to another ship before the USS Kidd was hit by a kamikaze.the sailor I was talking to lost a few friends in that attack. Hopefully, it will provide some insight as to the duties performed by individual crew members during the war. Did any Fletcher class destroyers serve in the Atlantic? While aboard the Morrison my fellow TM and I dropped 2 patterns set for 350 and sunk the Japanese premier submarine, the Imperial I-8. They were responsible for visual communications between ships by flashing light, flaghoist, or semaphore. Four Fletcher-class destroyers are preserved as museum ships. Actually this provided for a good deal of camaraderie between ships in the division as we all got to know each other and trade experiences. *** I am still a bit amazed at the chain of events that had to take place for him and I to meet each other. Not a member of the Naval Institute? Torpedoman (TM) Responsible for operation and maintenance of the ships torpedoes, depth charges, and Hegehogs. stevens funeral home pulaski, va obituaries. Eventually, eleven shipyards launched 175 ships over the next 32 monthsthe most numerous class of destroyer completed by any navy. Your email address will not be published. [5], The first design inputs were in the fall of 1939 from questionnaires distributed around design bureaus and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. He does not normally stand watch underway. The need for a separate department responsible for the collection, display, and dissemination of combat information and intelligence became apparent as further use was made of radar and the establishment of a Combat Information Center (CIC) as the central nerve center on the ship. yet they served all over the North Atlantic. found: Wikipedia, May 10 2010: under Fletcher class destroyer (the Fletcher class were a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II; some went on to serve during the Korean War and into the Vietnam War; the United States Navy commissioned 175 Fletcher class destroyers between 1942 and 1944; they were built by shipyards across the United States and many were sold to the . Describes destroyer operations as I remember them during the Korean War and into the Vietnam War opened for protection the! Fall of 1939, as a member of a screen as part of a carrier task group against,. 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