Gleaves-class destroyer
|
History
|
United States
|
Name
| Nicholson
|
Builder
| Boston Navy Yard
|
Laid down
| 1 November 1939
|
Launched
| 31 May 1940
|
Commissioned
| 3 June 1941
|
Decommissioned
| 15 January 1951
|
Honors and
awards
| 10 battle stars
|
Fate
|
- Transferred to
Italy
,
- 15 January 1951
|
Stricken
| 22 January 1951
|
Italy
|
Name
| Aviere
|
Acquired
| 15 January 1951
|
Stricken
| 1975
|
Fate
| Sunk as a target, 1975
|
General characteristics
|
Class and type
| |
Displacement
| 1,630 tons
|
Length
| 348 ft 4 in (106.17 m)
|
Beam
| 36 ft 1 in (11.00 m)
|
Draft
| 13 ft 2 in (4.01 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
| 16 officers, 260 enlisted
|
Armament
| |
USS
Nicholson
(DD-442)
, a
Gleaves
-class
destroyer
, was the third ship of the
United States Navy
to be named for the Nicholson family, which was prominent in the early history of the Navy. The destroyer saw service during
World War II
in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific theaters. Following the war, the ship was placed in reserve and used as a training ship. In 1951, the destroyer was transferred to Italy and renamed
Aviere
. In service with the
Marina Militare
until 1975,
Aviere
was sunk as a target ship in 1975.
Construction and career
[
edit
]
Nicholson
was
laid down
on 1 November 1939 by
Boston Naval Shipyard
. The ship was
launched
on 31 May 1940; sponsored by Mrs. S. A. Bathriek, a great-granddaughter of
Samuel Nicholson
(1743?1811). The destroyer was
commissioned
on 3 June 1941.
After a shakedown cruise in the eastern Atlantic,
Nicholson
escorted
convoys
through the
U-boat
-infested
North Atlantic
first from
Boston
to
Newfoundland
and then to
Scotland
and
England
until fall 1942. In a brief training period off the
Virginia
coast, she prepared for the
Casablanca invasion
, but a turbine casualty prevented her participation in the initial landings. She arrived four days later, 12 November, to assist in the consolidation of the beachhead and to patrol. She took part in the
Bizerte campaign
and the
initial assaults on Salerno
, coming under heavy air attack from the
Luftwaffe
at both
Bizerte
and
Salerno
.
Convoys escorted
[
edit
]
Convoy
|
Escort Group
|
Dates
|
Notes
|
HX 160
|
|
17?25 Nov 1941
[1]
|
from
Newfoundland
to
Iceland
prior to US declaration of war
|
ON 41
|
|
4?10 Dec 1941
[2]
|
from Iceland to Newfoundland; war declared during convoy
|
HX 173
|
|
3?10 Feb 1942
[1]
|
from Newfoundland to Iceland
|
ON 67
|
|
19?28 Feb 1942
[2]
|
from Iceland to Newfoundland
|
AT 17
|
|
1?12 July 1942
[3]
|
troopships from
New York City
to
Firth of Clyde
|
AT 18
|
|
6?17 Aug 1942
[3]
|
troopships from New York City to Firth of Clyde
|
Pacific service
[
edit
]
After five months in the Mediterranean,
Nicholson
returned to the United States for overhaul in preparation for
Pacific
deployment, for which she sailed from Boston early in January 1944. When she reached
New Guinea
in February, she was assigned to escort
LSTs
in the
Cape Gloucester
campaign, already under way.
Throughout the long
New Guinea campaign
, a matter of successive assaults on coastal points and nearby islands,
Nicholson
gave gunfire support to troops ashore. She had similar duty in the
Admiralties
; when, during the conquest of
Seeadler Harbor
, she was assigned to draw fire from an enemy battery on
Hauwei Island
. Here she was hit by a 4-inch (102 mm) shell which struck in No. 2 ammunition handling room, killing three and wounding four. She eliminated the enemy position.
In August 1944
Nicholson
joined the
3rd Fleet
in the
Marshalls
. She screened
fast carriers
in raids on the
Bonins
,
Formosa
, and the
Philippines
, supporting the
invasion of the Palaus
and the neutralization of
Yap
. Returning to the Philippines, her group assisted the
7th Fleet
during the
invasion of Leyte
and the decisive
Battle for Leyte Gulf
, from which
Nicholson
sailed for a
Seattle
overhaul.
Returning to the western Pacific in February 1945,
Nicholson
escorted ships passing between
Guam
and
Ulithi
, and arrived off
Okinawa
for its invasion late in March. Serving in the exposed
radar picket
line,
Nicholson
came through untouched by
kamikazes
, but rescued survivors from stricken destroyers
Little
and
Morrison
.
Rejoining the 3rd Fleet for the final air operations against the Japanese home islands,
Nicholson
was off
Honsh?
at the war's end. She entered
Sagami Wan
on 29 August and
Tokyo Bay
on 15 September. Returning to
San Diego
on 6 November, she sailed for
Panama
and
Charleston, South Carolina
, arriving on 23 November to join the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet
. She
decommissioned
on 26 February 1946 and was assigned as a Naval Reserve
training ship
in the 3d Naval District on 30 November 1948.
Nicholson
received 10
battle stars
for World War II service.
Post-war service
[
edit
]
While serving as reserve training ship at the
Brooklyn Navy Yard
, Nicholson served as the backdrop for the big-screen musical
On the Town
starring Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Vera Ellen, Ann Miller and Betty Garret. The ship was shown in the beginning of the movie and also in the last scene.
Nicholson
was recommissioned on 17 July 1950, then decommissioned once more and transferred to the
Italian Navy
15 January 1951.
Aviere (D 554)
[
edit
]
Nicholson
was sold to the Italian Navy 15 January 1951 and renamed
Aviere
. She was converted to an experimental gun ship in 1970. She was stricken and sunk as a target in 1975.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"HX convoys"
. Andrew Hague Convoy Database
. Retrieved
2011-06-19
.
- ^
a
b
"ON convoys"
. Andrew Hague Convoy Database
. Retrieved
2011-06-19
.
- ^
a
b
"AT convoys"
. Andrew Hague Convoy Database
. Retrieved
2011-06-20
.
External links
[
edit
]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1975
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Shipwrecks
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Other incidents
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