Gleaves-class destroyer of the United States Navy
USS
Aaron Ward
approaching
USS
Wasp
on 17 August 1942, during operations in the Solomon Islands area.
|
History
|
United States
|
Name
| USS
Aaron Ward
|
Namesake
| Aaron Ward
|
Builder
| Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
|
Laid down
| 11 February 1941
|
Launched
| 22 November 1941
|
Commissioned
| 4 March 1942
|
Fate
| Sunk by Japanese aircraft off
Guadalcanal
7 April 1943
|
General characteristics
|
Class and type
| Gleaves
-class
destroyer
|
Displacement
| 2,060 tons (2,090 t)
|
Length
| 348 ft 4 in (106.17 m)
|
Beam
| 36 ft 1 in (11.00 m)
|
Draft
| 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
|
Propulsion
|
- 50,000 shp (37,000 kW);
- 4 boilers;
- 2 propellers
|
Speed
| 35 knots (65 km/h)
|
Range
| 6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
|
Complement
| 208
|
Armament
| |
USS
Aaron Ward
(DD-483)
was a
Gleaves
-class
destroyer
in the service of the
United States Navy
. She was the second Navy ship named in honor of
Rear Admiral
Aaron Ward
. She sank on 7 April 1943 in a shoal near Tinete Point of
Nggela Sule
, Solomon Islands during
Operation I-Go
. Her wreck was discovered on 4 September 1994.
Construction
[
edit
]
Aaron Ward
was
laid down
on 11 February 1941 at
Kearny, New Jersey
by the
Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
and
launched
on 22 November 1941, sponsored by Miss Hilda Ward, the daughter of the late Admiral Ward. The ship was
commissioned
on 4 March 1942.
[1]
Service history
[
edit
]
Following her
shakedown cruise
out of
Casco Bay
,
Maine
and post-shakedown availability at the
New York Navy Yard
,
Aaron Ward
sailed for the
Pacific
on 20 May 1942 and proceeded via the
Panama Canal
to San Diego. A short time later, as the
Battle of Midway
was developing off to the westward, the destroyer operated in the screen of
Vice Admiral
William S. Pye
's
Task Force 1
(TF 1), built around four
battleships
and an
escort carrier
,
Long Island
, as it steamed out into the Pacific Ocean ? eventually reaching a point some 1,200 miles (2,200 km) west of
San Francisco, California
and equally northeast of Hawaii ? to "support the current operations against the enemy." With the detachment of
Long Island
from the task force on 17 June,
Aaron Ward
screened her on her voyage back to San Diego.
[1]
World War II
[
edit
]
After local operations off the west coast,
Aaron Ward
sailed for Hawaii on 30 June 1942 and then to the
Tonga Islands
with TF 18. Assigned to escort duties soon afterwards, she convoyed the oiler
USS
Cimarron
(AO-22)
to
Noumea
. During the course of the voyage she made two sound contacts, one on 5 August and the other the following day, which she developed and attacked with
depth charges
. Although she claimed a probable sinking in each case, neither kill was borne out in postwar accounting. Subsequently assigned to screening duties with forces seeking to cover and resupply
Guadalcanal
,
Aaron Ward
saw the fleet carrier
USS
Wasp
(CV-7)
torpedoed by
I-19
on 15 September 1942.
[1]
Within a month's time,
Aaron Ward
was earmarked for a shore bombardment mission on 17 October. She stood into
Lunga Roads
to lie to and await the arrival of a
Marine
liaison officer who would designate targets for the ship. Before she could embark passengers, though, she spotted five enemy bombers approaching from the west. These attacked
Aaron Ward
but ran into a heavy antiaircraft barrage from both the ship and marine guns on shore. The destroyer went ahead at
flank speed
when she spotted the attackers, to carry out evasive maneuvers and avoid the falling bombs, radically swinging to the right or left as the occasion demanded. Three bombs splashed 100 to 300 yards (91 to 274 m) astern of the ship. The Marines claimed two of the five attackers destroyed, while the ship and the Marines shared a third kill.
[1]
The action over, the destroyer embarked
Martin Clemens
, the former British consular representative on Guadalcanal,
Major
C. M. Nees, USMC, and
Corporal
R. M. Howard, USMC, a photographer, and got underway soon afterwards, reaching her target area within 40 minutes. For three hours,
Aaron Ward
shelled Japanese shore positions, her targets ranging from a gun emplacement to ammunition dumps; fires, smoke, and explosions marked her visit as she quit the area. Reaching Lunga Roads, she disembarked her passengers and after going on alert for a Japanese air raid that failed to materialize, cleared
Lengo Channel
and rejoined her task force.
[1]
Three days later, while again performing screening operations,
Aaron Ward
saw the
cruiser
Chester
take a torpedo hit on 20 October from
I-176
. The destroyer went to the aid of the stricken cruiser and dropped a full depth charge pattern on
Chester
'
s assailant, but did not record a kill. She then escorted the damaged cruiser to
Espiritu Santo
.
[1]
Ten days after this,
Aaron Ward
carried out another bombardment of Japanese positions on Guadalcanal, this time in company with the
light cruiser
Atlanta
,
flagship
of Rear Admiral
Norman Scott
, and destroyers
Benham
,
Fletcher
, and
Lardner
. Arriving off Lunga Point at 0520 on 30 October, the task group stood in, and
Atlanta
embarked a liaison officer from
Major General
Alexander A. Vandegrift
, Commander of the
1st Marine Division
, 20 minutes later.
[1]
Steaming to its designated area, the task group reached its destination within an hour's time, and
Atlanta
opened fire.
Aaron Ward
followed suit soon afterwards; eventually, she expended 711 rounds of 5-inch ammunition. Pausing briefly to investigate a reported submarine in the vicinity,
Aaron Ward
then cleared the area.
[1]
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 13 November 1942
[
edit
]
Aaron Ward
screened
transports
unloading men and material off Guadalcanal on 11 and 12 November, shooting down one enemy plane and damaging two others on the former day and two more planes off Lunga Point on the latter.
[1]
The Allies learned that the Japanese were sending a large force to disrupt air operations based at
Henderson Field
and land reinforcements for the Japanese forces on the island. The resulting
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
proved to be the climactic engagement of the
Guadalcanal campaign
.
On the evening of 12 November,
Aaron Ward
retired with her task force ? five cruisers and eight destroyers under Rear Admiral
Daniel J. Callaghan
? in an eastward direction, escorting the transports out of what would become known after the battle as "
Ironbottom Sound
". Later, the force reversed course and stood back through Lengo Channel. At about 0125 on 13 November, the American ships which possessed
radar
picked up numerous contacts on their screens ? the "Volunteer Attack Force" under Rear Admiral
Hiroaki Abe
, which consisted of
battleships
Hiei
and
Kirishima
, the light cruiser
Nagara
, and 14 destroyers.
[1]
Aaron Ward
, leading the four destroyers bringing up the rear of Callaghan's column, ranged in on the Japanese ships, opening fire soon afterwards on a target she took to be a battleship. A short time later, after the ship had fired approximately ten salvos, she saw that the cruisers ahead of her had apparently changed course;
Aaron Ward
observed two torpedoes pass beneath her.
[1]
An instant later,
Barton
blew up, torpedoed by
Amatsukaze
.
Aaron Ward
, with the waters clear ahead of her, surged ahead once more. She prepared to fire torpedoes at a target to port, but did not because she sighted a ship which she took to be
San Francisco
1,500 yards (1,400 m) away. Observing what she took to be
Sterett
heading directly toward her port side,
Aaron Ward
put her rudder over hard to port to avoid a collision.
[1]
A short time later, the destroyer commenced firing on an enemy ship, and hurled some 25 salvos in her direction; her target may have been
Akatsuki
, which did blow up and sink, with very heavy loss of life.
[2]
Changing course to bear on a new target in the melee,
Aaron Ward
managed to get off four salvos on director control until a Japanese shell put the director out of action and forced the destroyer's gunners to rely on local control.
[1]
In the minutes that followed,
Aaron Ward
received eight more direct hits; unable to identify friend from foe and certain that the enemy had surely established her American character, the destroyer then stood out to clear the area. She lost steering control at 0225, and, steering with her engines, attempted to come to the right. Seeing no more firing after 0230, when the battle apparently ended,
Aaron Ward
went dead in the water at 0235, her forward engine room flooded with salt water and her feed water gone.
[1]
Using a gasoline pump, the destroyer's crew managed to pump salt water into the tanks and light the boilers off. At 0500,
Aaron Ward
moved slowly ahead, bound for
Sealark Channel
; ten minutes later, American
motor torpedo boats
closed, and the destroyer signaled them to ask
Tulagi
for a tug. She kept up her crawling pace for only a half-hour before going dead in the water again.
[1]
Thirty minutes after she had slowed to a stop,
Aaron Ward
spotted the Japanese battleship
Hiei
steaming slowly in circles between
Savo
and
Florida Islands
. Also nearby, nearer to Guadalcanal, lay
Atlanta
,
Portland
,
Cushing
and
Monssen
, all damaged, and the destroyers both burning. The destroyer
Y?dachi
'
s presence in the vicinity proved to be her own undoing:
Portland
summarily sank her.
[1]
Aaron Ward
, perhaps prompted to do so with more urgency due to
Hiei
'
s proximity, got underway at 0618, and two minutes later greeted
tug
Bobolink
, which had arrived to take the destroyer in tow. Before the towline could be rigged,
Hiei
spotted
Aaron Ward
and opened fire with her heavy guns. Four two-gun salvos were laid, the third of which straddled the crippled destroyer. However, planes sent from
Henderson Field
began attacking
Hiei
, distracting her from further fire.
[1]
Losing power again at 0635,
Aaron Ward
was taken in tow by
Bobolink
, and the ships began moving toward safety. The tug turned the tow over to a local
patrol boat
at 0650, and the destroyer anchored in Tulagi harbor near
Makambo Island
at 0830. The nine direct hits she had received resulted in 15 men dead and 57 wounded. After receiving temporary repairs locally,
Aaron Ward
sailed for Hawaii soon afterwards, reaching
Pearl Harbor
on 20 December 1942 for permanent repairs.
[1]
The Aaron Ward gave another fine example of the fighting spirit of the men of our destroyer force. Though hit nine times by both major and medium caliber shells which caused extensive damage she nevertheless avoided total destruction by the apparently superhuman efforts of all hands. The superb performance of the engineers' force in effecting temporary repairs so that the ship could move away from under the guns of the enemy battle ship largely contributed to saving the ship.
The destroyer rejoined the fleet on 6 February 1943 and soon resumed escort work. During one stint with a small convoy on 20 March, she aided in driving off attacking Japanese planes. On 7 April, she had escorted
USS
Ward
(APD-16)
and three
tank landing craft
from the
Russell Islands
to Savo. Not expecting to arrive until 1400, the destroyer went ahead at 25 knots (46 km/h) to provide USS
Ward
and the three LCTs with air cover until they reached Tulagi. At about noon, the destroyer received notification of an impending air raid at Guadalcanal.
[1]
Sinking
[
edit
]
As the ships neared their destination,
Aaron Ward
received orders at about 1330 to leave her convoy to cover the
tank landing ship
LST-449
off
Togoma Point
, Guadalcanal. (One of the passengers on
LST-449
was then
Lieutenant (junior grade)
John F. Kennedy
, later to become President of the United States, on his way to take command of
PT-109
.
[4]
) Joining
LST-449
at 1419, the destroyer directed her to follow her movements and zigzag at the approach of enemy aircraft. While the LST maneuvered to conform to
Aaron Ward
'
s movements,
Lieutenant Commander
Frederick J. Becton
,
commanding officer
of
Aaron Ward
, planned to retire to the eastward through Lengo Channel, as other cargo ships and escorting ships were doing upon receipt of the air raid warning from Guadalcanal.
[1]
Sighting a dogfight over Savo Island,
Aaron Ward
tracked a closer group of Japanese planes heading south over Tulagi; while swinging to starboard, the ship suddenly sighted three enemy planes coming out of the sun. Surging ahead to flank speed and putting her rudder over hard to port,
Aaron Ward
opened fire with her
20 mm
and
40 mm
guns, followed shortly afterwards by her
5-inch
battery. Bombs from the first three planes struck on or near the ship, and the mining effect of the near-misses proved devastating; the first bomb was a near miss, which tore holes in the side of the ship, allowing the forward fire room to take water rapidly; the second struck home in the engine room, causing a loss of all electrical power on the 5 inch and 40 mm mounts. Shifting to local control, however, the gunners kept up the fire. A third bomb splashed close aboard, holing her port side, near the after engine room. Having lost power to her rudder, the ship continued to swing to port as another trio of dive bombers loosed their loads on the now-helpless destroyer. While none of these bombs hit the ship, two landed very near her port side. Twenty men died, 59 were wounded, and seven went missing.
[1]
Despite the best efforts of her determined crew, and the assistance of
Ortolan
and
Vireo
, the destroyer settled lower in the water. When it became evident that the battle to save
Aaron Ward
was being lost,
Ortolan
and
Vireo
attempted to beach her on a shoal near Tinete Point of
Nggela Sule
. At 21:35, however,
Aaron Ward
sank, stern-first, in 40
fathoms
(70 m) of water, only 600 yards (550 m) from shoal water.
[1]
Discovery
[
edit
]
9°10′30″S
160°12′0″E
/
9.17500°S 160.20000°E
/
-9.17500; 160.20000
On 4 September 1994, divers located the wreck of
Aaron Ward
. The first
dive
to the wreck was made on 25 September 1994. Because of the depth, divers were limited to about 15 minutes at the wreck before beginning their return to the surface.
[3]
Awards
[
edit
]
Aaron Ward
was awarded four
battle stars
for her
World War II
service.
[1]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
-
This article incorporates text from the
public domain
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
. The entry can be found
here
.
External links
[
edit
]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in April 1943
|
---|
Shipwrecks
|
- 1 Apr:
Lubiana
- 2 Apr:
Melbourne Star
,
U-124
- 5 Apr:
U-167
,
U-635
- 6 Apr:
Blitar
,
U-632
- 7 Apr:
USS
Aaron Ward
,
HMNZS
Moa
,
Ro-34
,
U-644
- 8 Apr:
USS
Kanawha
,
U-733
- 9 Apr:
Isonami
- 10 Apr:
Trieste
- 11 Apr:
HMS
Beverley
- 14 Apr:
Van Heemskerk
,
U-526
- 15 Apr:
Archimede
- 16 Apr:
Giacomo Medici
,
HMS
Pakenham
- 17 Apr:
Naiade
,
U-175
- 18 Apr:
Empire Bruce
,
HMS
Regent
- 21 Apr:
Flora Alberta
,
HMS
Splendid
- 22 Apr:
USS
Grenadier
- 23 Apr:
Patrol Boat No. 39
,
U-189
,
U-191
,
U-602
- 24 Apr:
El Estero
,
HMS
Sahib
,
U-710
- 25 Apr:
U-203
- 26 Apr:
Limerick
- 27 Apr:
U-174
- 28 Apr:
Kamakura Maru
- 29 Apr:
U-332
,
Wollongbar
- 30 Apr:
Leone Pancaldo
,
U-227
- Unknown date:
USS
Pickerel
,
U-376
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