Fletcher class survivors

[ReiAyanami]

I can't find a thread about them, so I guess we can make one for all four that survive.

 

I'm also sure they don't need much introduction, but anyway

http://en.wikipedia....class_destroyer

 

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Description

 

The Fletcher class (named for Admiral Frank F. Fletcher) was the largest class of destroyer ordered, and was also one of the most successful and popular with the destroyer men themselves.[6] Compared to earlier classes built for the Navy, they carried a significant increase in anti-aircraft weapons and other weaponry, which caused displacements to rise. Their flush deck construction added structural strength, although it did make them rather cramped.

Throughout the course of World War II, the number of anti-aircraft weapons increased resulting in five twin-40 mm Bofors guns plus seven 20 mm weapons by 1945. Fifty-one were further modified beginning in 1945, replacing the forward torpedo tubes and midships 40 mm twin Bofors with quad mounts for a total of 14 barrels, and the seven 20 mm singles with six 20 mm twins. Three (Pringle, Stevens, Halford) were built (six planned) with aircraft catapults, resulting in the deletion of one 5-inch mount and the after set of torpedo tubes. This alteration was not a success in service and was not repeated. The three destroyers were later converted to the normal Fletcher-class configuration.

Nineteen were lost during World War II; six more were damaged and not repaired. Postwar, the remainder were decommissioned and put into reserve.

With the outbreak of the Korean War many were returned to active duty. During this time 39 were refitted, reducing their overall main armament and the number of torpedo tubes. A new ahead-throwing weapon called Weapon Alpha was installed in many of the ships. Others carried trainable Hedgehogs.

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Design

 

The Fletcher-class destroyer was the first generation of destroyers to be designed after the series of Naval Treaties, that had limited ship designs heretofore. The growth in the design was in part answer to the question that always dogged U.S. Navy designs, that being the ranges required by the Pacific Ocean. They were also to carry no less than five 5 in (127 mm) guns and ten deck-mounted torpedo tubes on the centerline, allowing them to meet any foreign design on equal terms. Compared to earlier designs, the Fletchers were large, allowing them to absorb the addition of two 40mm Bofors quadruple mount AA guns as well as six 20mm Oerlikon dual AA gun positions. This addition to the AA suite required the deletion of the forward quintuple torpedo mount, a change was under the April 4, 1945 anti-kamikaze program.

They also were much less top heavy than the previous classes, allowing them to take on additional equipment and weapons without major redesign. They had the fortune of catching American production at the right moment becoming "the" destroyer design, and only Fletcher-class derivatives, the Sumner and Gearing classes, would follow it. 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. The design parameters were in the form of the armaments desired of the next destroyer. As such the questions of how many guns, torpedoes, and depth charges were seen as desirable and further asked at what point would the design grow large enough to become a torpedo target instead of a torpedo delivery system. The answer that came back was five 5 in (127 mm) dual purpose guns, twelve torpedoes, and twenty eight depth charges would be ideal, while the idea of returning to the 1500 ton designs of the past was seen as undesirable. Speed requirements varied from 35 to 38 kn (40 to 44 mph; 65 to 70 km/h), and shortcomings in the earlier Sims class, which were top heavy and needed lead ballast to correct it, caused the Fletcher design to be widened by 18 in (46 cm) in the beam. No design can be perfect and the Fletchers were no exception. As with other previous U.S. flush deck destroyer designs, seagoing performance suffered to a degree. This was mitigated somewhat due to deployment in the Pacific. The class featured enclosed air-case boilers and 80kW of power available by emergency diesel generators.

Four ships have been preserved as museum ships:

USS Cassin Young, in Boston, Massachusetts

USS The Sullivans, in Buffalo, New York

USS Kidd, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

A/T  Velos ex USS Charrette in Faliro, Greece

 

So here I start with A/T Velos ex USS Charrette

 

http://en.wikipedia....rrette_(DD-581)

 

 

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World War II

Charrette cleared New York 20 September 1943 to escort Monterey to Pacific service. Arriving at Pearl Harbor 9 October, Charrette took part in training exercises until 10 November, when she put to sea with Task Force 50 (TF 50), for air raids on Japanese bases in the Marshalls. These strikes neutralized enemy air opposition to the landings at Makin and on Tarawa which followed. On 26 November, Charrette joined the screen of the task group assigned to air-cover operations over Makin and Tarawa themselves, providing protection to the assault shipping and support for the Marines ashore. Twelve days later, the destroyer screened battleships in a pounding bombardment on Nauru, then rejoined the aircraft carriers sailing on to Efate. From this base Charrette sailed on 21 December to screen the carriers as they launched strikes against Kavieng, New Ireland, during the three days preceding the assault on Cape Gloucester 26 December. Continuing north, the group arrived at Funafuti 21 January 1944 to prepare for the operations against the Marshall Islands.

 

1944

From 23 January to 5 February 1944, Charrette screened the carriers in a series of strikes on Kwajalein and Eniwetok. On the night of 4–5 February, Charrette left her screening station to investigate a radar contact reported by one of the battleships. After tracking the contact to 3,200 yards (2,900 m), she opened fire on the target, a submarine which dived at once. Charrette pressed home a depth charge attack, then used her radar to coach Fair in for the sinking of what was probably I-175, the first Japanese submarine to be sunk by the "hedgehog" anti-submarine mortar.[1] Next day, Charrette moored in newly-won Majuro Lagoon.

 

The destroyer sailed 12 February 1944 for the first of the series of massive raids through which the great Japanese base at Truk was eventually sealed off from effective contribution to the Pacific war. After screening the carriers into position for their strikes, Charrette joined Task Group 50.9 (TG 50.9) in a sweep around the island on 17 February to catch Japanese shipping fleeing the air attacks on their base. Katori, Maikaze, and a submarine chaser were sent to the bottom by TG 50.9, which rejoined the carriers next day.

After screening an oiler group to Majuro, Charrette sailed on for a brief overhaul at Pearl Harbor until 15 March 1944, when she put out to rejoin the carriers for attacks on Japanese ships which had retreated from Truk to the Palaus, a necessary preliminary to the New Guinea operation. A mighty force was assembled at Majuro for this bold thrust deep into Japanese-held waters, which sailed on 22 March. Charrette joined in beating off a Japanese air attack on 28 March, and continued her protective screening through the strikes of 30 March and 1 April. The carriers returned to Majuro 6 April, and sailed 7 days later to strike at airfields and defenses on New Guinea itself and to provide direct support to the landings at Humboldt Bay 22 April. After replenishing at Manus, Charrette sailed on with the carriers to screen strikes against Truk 29 April, and to guard the force's battleships as they pounded a bombardment at Ponape 1 May.

Charrette's next contribution came in the lengthy Marianas operation, for which she sailed 6 June 1944. She supported the carriers in their strikes on Guam, Saipan, and Rota 11 through 14 June, then turned north for strikes against the aircraft massed on Iwo Jima for attacks against the American landings on Saipan. As the carriers came into position on 15 June, scouting aircraft spotted a 1,900-ton freighter, and Charrette, with Boyd sped to sink the Japanese ship, recovering 112 survivors. After successful strikes, Charrette's group wheeled south to concentrate with the Fast Carrier Task Force (then TF 58) to meet the Japanese naval force known to be coming out. The great air Battle of the Philippine Sea broke on the morning of 19 June, and Charrette continued her screening, antiaircraft firing, and plane guard duties throughout the 2 days of action that broke the back of Japanese naval aviation. On the night of 20 June, she participated in the memorable night recovery of the last strikes, flashing beacon lights, and rescuing aviators forced to ditch by lack of gasoline. On 21 June, the carrier force steamed back to cover the invasion forces in the Marianas, hurling strike after strike at Guam, Rota, and later the bases in the Pagan Islands and on Chichi Jima. Charrette fired in the bombardment of Chichi Jima 5 August, then returned to Eniwetok for training operations.

Charrette sailed from Eniwetok 29 August 1944 for the air strikes of early September against targets in the Palaus and the Philippines which paved the way for the invasion of Peleliu and marked the beginning of the return to the Philippines. In direct preparation for the invasion of Leyte, the carrier task force sailed again on 4 October for strikes designed to neutralize Japanese airfields on Okinawa, Northern Luzon, and Formosa during the assaults in the Philippines. On 12 October began the most important part of these strikes, against Formosa, which provoked return attacks by Japanese aircraft on the carrier forces. Charrette aided in splashing attackers and driving off the raids during which Canberra and Houston were hit. Charrette joined the screen which guarded the cripples during their slow retreat from enemy air range, then rejoined her carrier group for the dash north to intercept the approaching Japanese force. Thus she began her part in the epic Battle for Leyte Gulf, the decisive action which resulted in the end of the Imperial Japanese Navy as an effective fighting force. The carriers she guarded launched strikes at the Japanese northern force in the action termed the Battle off Cape Engaño, sinking four Japanese carriers and a destroyer on 25 October.

Charrette replenished at Ulithi 29 October to 2 November 1944, then joined the screen of the fast carriers for strikes on Luzon airfields early in November, which sharply reduced enemy air opposition at the Leyte beachhead. Charrette returned to Manus 30 November to prepare for the Lingayen Gulf operation.

[edit]1945

Sailing 2 January 1945, Charrette joined the screen of the group which protected and supported the landings at Lingayen from 4 to 18 January, then guarded the approach and withdrawal of reinforcement convoys into Lingayen Gulf. She left the Philippines 2 February, and on 25 February arrived at Puget Sound Navy Yard for overhaul. She returned to action waters in June, beginning a month of support for the Borneo operations, followed by patrol duty in the Netherlands East Indies. On 2 August, she and Conner made contact with a ship which they tracked through the night, finding in the morning that it was the hospital ship Tachibana Maru. A boarding party from Charrette found much ordnance and other contraband and able-bodied troops, who were made prisoners of war. Charrette and Conner brought their prize into Morotai 6 August.

Charrette cleared Morotai 13 August 1945 to call at Subic Bay before reporting at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, in September for duty escorting ships loaded with occupation troops, equipment, and supplies for Chinese ports. She sailed from Shanghai 12 December for San Francisco, California which she reached 30 December. Charrette was placed in commission in reserve at San Diego 4 March 1946, and out of commission in reserve 15 January 1947. On 16 June 1959 she was transferred to Greece.

 

Charrette received 13 battle stars for World War II service.

 

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The ship was accepted by Commander G. Moralis, RHN, on 16 July 1959 in Long Beach, California, and arrived in Greece on 15 October 1959.[2] She served in the Hellenic Navy as HHMS/HNS Velos (D-16) (Greek: Βέλος, "Arrow"). Velos took part in almost every Greek and NATO exercise and actively participated in the crises with Turkey of the years 1964, 1967, 1974 (Cyprus crisis) and 1987.

 

Mutiny

On 25 May 1973, Velos, under the command of Nikolaos Pappas, while participating in a NATO exercise and in order to protest against the dictatorship in Greece, anchored at Fiumicino, Italy, refusing to return to Greece.

When in patrol with other NATO vessels between Italy and Sardinia (85 nautical miles (157 km) SW of Rome) at midday on 25 May 1973 the captain and the officers had learned by radio that naval officers had been arrested and tortured in Greece. Commander Pappas was a member of a group of democratic officers, loyal to their oath to obey the Constitution and planning to act against the junta. Pappas knew the arrested officers opposed the junta and realised there was no further hope for a movement inside Greece. He decided to act alone to motivate global public opinion.

Pappas mustered the crew on the stern and announced his decision, which was received with enthusiasm. Pappas signaled his intentions to the commander of the squadron and NATO Headquarters, quoting the preamble of the North Atlantic Treaty (founding treaty for NATO) which declares that "all governments ... are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law". Leaving formation, he sailed for Rome.

 

Preservation

In 1994 the Hellenic Navy General Staff declared her a Museum of the Struggle against the Dictatorship. The ship, then anchored at Poros Naval Base, was transferred on 14 December 2000 to Salamis Naval Base for maintenance and restoration work in order to be converted into a visitable naval museum. Since 26 June 2002 she has been anchored in the Park of Maritime Tradition at Faliron near Athens. Velos is regarded as still in commission.

 

 

[Ariecho]

Nice pictures (+1)

[Carrier_Enterprise]

Fletchers are so sexy! <3 :Smile_smile:

[Mermaid_Witch]

The Sullivans is sitting next to the last remaining Cleveland-class cruiser as well.  Doesn't really look like one, though.

[__seVer__]

i saw that one in boston, alot bigger than pictured :D

[flyingtaco]

the mexican navy, until ast year or somewhere around there still had USS John Rogers, the last round bridge Fletcher anywhere. then they scrapped it in secret when the preservation group could not come up with funds.... which is a shame because it appeared to be largely unmodified.

[tomcat0870]

I have toured the USS Kidd numerous times and she is a beautiful DD. If yall ever get the chance to go see it, i would go it's worth it.