Fletcher-class destroyer
USS
Smalley
(DD-565), underway, c. the mid-1950s
|
History
|
United States
|
Namesake
| Anthony A. Smalley
|
Builder
| Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation
|
Laid down
| 14 February 1943
|
Launched
| 27 October 1943
|
Commissioned
| 31 March 1944
|
Decommissioned
| 30 September 1957
|
Stricken
| 1 April 1965
|
Fate
| Sold for scrap, 4 January 1966
|
General characteristics
|
Class and type
| Fletcher
-class
destroyer
|
Displacement
| 2,050 tons
|
Length
| 376 ft 6 in (114.7 m)
|
Beam
| 39 ft 8 in (12.1 m)
|
Draft
| 17 ft 9 in (5.4 m)
|
Propulsion
|
- 60,000 shp (45 MW);
- 2 propellers
|
Speed
| 38
knots
(70 km/h; 44 mph)
|
Range
|
- 6,500
nmi.
(12,000 km)
- at 15 kt
|
Complement
| 319
|
Armament
| |
USS
Smalley
(DD-565)
, was a
Fletcher
-class
destroyer
of the
United States Navy
.
Namesake
[
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]
Anthony A. Smalley was born in
Massachusetts
in 1836. He was commissioned Acting Master on 27 March 1862 for service during the
American Civil War
; but he subsequently became ill and his appointment was revoked on 1 September 1863. When his health permitted, Smalley applied for reinstatement, and he was commissioned Acting
Ensign
on 1 December 1863. He served in the
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron
on board
USS
Pequot
and distinguished himself during the
Second Battle of Fort Fisher
. In the attack, Smalley was in command of an 18-man detachment from the
Pequot
which was responsible for digging trenches for the assault on the fort. He and his men also participated in the charge on the fort. Letters of commendation from his commanding officer praised his bravery and coolness while building the trenches under fire and while leading his men in the charge. Smalley was honorably discharged from the Navy on 3 August 1865. He died in Boston, Massachusetts on 24 January 1894.
Construction and commissioning
[
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]
Smalley
was laid down on 14 February 1943 by the
Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation
,
Seattle, Wash.
;
launched
on 27 October 1943, sponsored by Miss Lina A. Mayo; and
commissioned
on 31 March 1944.
History
[
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]
Following shakedown, the ship and one destroyer got underway on 7 June 1944 to escort three troop transports to Hawaii. The convoy arrived at
Pearl Harbor
on 11 July 1944. On the 28th, the ship's complement manned the rail for
President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
when he steamed into Pearl Harbor on board the
cruiser
USS
Baltimore
(CA-68)
.
On 8 August,
Smalley
sailed for the
Aleutians
. On 21 November 1944, the destroyer fired on buildings, tents, machine gun emplacements, and an airstrip on
Matsuwa
Island in the
Japanese
Kurils
. In the bombardment, she fired 466 rounds. She later made three more similar bombardment missions during her Aleutian tour. On 18 April 1945,
Smalley
received orders back to
Hawaii
.
On 11 May, she joined
USS
Rowe
(DD-564)
and
USS
Stoddard
(DD-566)
in screening
aircraft carrier
USS
Ticonderoga
(CV-14)
to
Ulithi
Atoll. A week later, planes from
Ticonderoga
struck
Taroa
Island. During this raid,
Smalley
rescued a crewman from a downed
torpedo plane
.
On 4 June 1945,
Smalley
arrived off
Okinawa
to help the Allied struggle for that bitterly contested island.
Smalley
was assigned close support
radar picket
duty. Her duty was twofold: antisubmarine patrolling and air defense of the transport area. Following this mission, she participated in the final assault on the Japanese home islands by offensive surface sweeps, control of
Combat Air Patrol
, reconnaissance missions, and shore bombardment. Her final shore bombardment occurred on 23 July 1945 when she shelled
Chichi-jima
.
Smalley
returned to the United States in October 1945; and, a little over two years later, in January 1947, she was decommissioned. The ship was placed in the United States
Atlantic Reserve Fleet
at the
Charleston Naval Shipyard
.
The
Korean War
prompted the recommissioning of
Smalley
on 3 July 1951. After refresher training at
Guantanamo Bay
,
Smalley
sailed to
Newport, R.I.
, arriving at her new
homeport
on 10 December 1951.
Smalley
spent all of 1952 on additional training coupled with maintenance and calibration of equipment; and, after a yard period in
Boston
in the spring of 1953, she sailed on 19 May for
Korea
. On 2 July,
Smalley
entered the Korean Combat Zone acting as plane guard for
USS
Princeton
(CV-37)
.
Smalley
continued operating with TF 77 as the carriers of the force carried out the famous "
Cherokee
" strikes until the signing of the armistice on 27 July 1953.
Smalley
remained in the former combat zone until early November. She performed such diverse tasks as ferrying 110
Marines
from
Sasebo
,
Japan
, to
Pusan
, Korea, and assisting a
South Korean
fishing vessel in distress. In the latter case, she took on board the vessel's 29 men.
Smalley
departed the Far East in November 1953 and returned to Newport on 15 January 1954. Her route homeward included calls at
Hong Kong
,
Singapore
,
Ceylon
,
Saudi Arabia
,
Aden
,
Port Said
,
Piraeus
,
Cannes
, and
Gibraltar
.
Smalley
remained home ported in Newport, Rhode Island, until July 1955 when she got under-way for a northern
Europe
and a
Mediterranean
cruise. She visited
England
,
Denmark
,
Finland
,
Scotland
,
Spain
,
France
, and
Turkey
and worked with units of both the
Danish
and the
British Fleets
.
Smalley
sailed for home on 15 November and arrived in Newport on the 28th.
The year 1956 saw a cruise in
Caribbean
waters followed by a yard period. Then, in 1957,
Smalley
left Newport on what was to be her last operational assignment: a cruise with the Mideast Force showing the flag in ports along the eastern coast of
Africa
and along the shores of the
Persian Gulf
. En route to her new assignment,
Smalley
visited
Sierra Leone
,
Cape Town
, and
Mombasa
(
Kenya
) before arriving at
Karachi
,
Pakistan
, on 10 February. Following two return trips to
Bahrain
in the Persian Gulf, she departed the area in April and, after calling once again at Mombasa, Cape Town,
Freetown
, and Sierra Leone,
Smalley
returned home. On 12 June,
Smalley
went into dry dock at the Charleston Naval Shipyard; and, on 23 August 1957,
Smalley
departed her home port for the
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
. She was decommissioned there and entered the United States Atlantic Reserve Fleet where she remained until she was struck from the
Navy list
on 1 April 1965 and sold to the
Norfolk Shipbuilding
and Drydock Corporation.
Smalley
was awarded three
battle stars
for her
World War II
operations and one star for her
Korean War
service.
References
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External links
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]