USSGleaves

History
United States
Name	Gleaves
Namesake	Albert Gleaves
Builder	Bath Iron Works
Laid down	16 May 1938
Launched	9 December 1939
Commissioned	14 June 1940
Decommissioned	8 May 1946
Stricken	1 November 1969
Fate	Sold 29 June 1972 and broken up for scrap
General characteristics
Class and type	Gleaves-classdestroyer
Displacement	1,630 tons
Length	348 ft 3 in (106.15 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	37.4 knots (69 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	5 ×5 in (127 mm)DPguns, 6 ×.50 cal (12.7 mm)guns, 10 ×21 in (533 mm)torpedo tubes, 2 ×depth chargetracks

Gleavesleaves the building ways, 9 December 1939

USSGleaves(DD-423)was the lead ship of theGleavesclassofdestroyers.She is the only ship of theUnited States Navyto be named forAdmiralAlbert Gleaves,who is credited with improving the accuracy and precision of torpedoes and other naval arms.

Gleaveswaslaunchedby theBath Iron Works,Bath, Maine,9 December 1939, sponsored jointly by Miss Evelina Gleaves Van Metre and Miss Clotilda Florence Cohen, granddaughters of Admiral Gleaves; andcommissioned14 June 1940, atBoston Navy Yard.

World War II

Atlantic convoys

Departing for shakedown training soon after commissioning,Gleavesoperated off the Atlantic coast and in Caribbean waters until returning to Boston 19 March 1941 to prepare for convoy duty. She departed Newport on her first voyage 23 June 1941. and saw her convoy arrive safely atIceland.After patrolling in Icelandic waters for a time, she returned to Boston 23 July.

Subsequently,Gleavesmade four other convoy voyages to Iceland,Ireland,andNorth Africaprotecting the vital flow of supplies to the European Theater. As the pace of German submarine attacks increased, she made more and more attacks onU-boats,but recorded no confirmed kills. On 11–12 May 1942, despite the efforts ofGleavesand the other escort vessels, seven ships of the convoyONS 92were lost in two separate attacks bya large wolfpack.

Convoys escorted

Convoy	Escort Group	Dates	Notes
	Task force 19	1–7 July 1941	occupation of Iceland prior to US declaration of war
ON 18		24 Sept-2 Oct 1941	fromIcelandtoNewfoundlandprior to US declaration of war
HX 154		12-19 Oct 1941	from Newfoundland to Iceland prior to US declaration of war
ON 30		2-9 November 1941	from Iceland to Newfoundland prior to US declaration of war
HX 164		10-19 December 1941	from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 49		27 December-5 January 1942	from Iceland to Newfoundland
HX 171		22-30 January 1942	from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 62		7-13 February 1942	from Iceland to Newfoundland
HX 178	MOEF group A3	6–16 March 1942	from Newfoundland toNorthern Ireland
ON 79	MOEF group A3	24 March-3 April 1942	from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 185	MOEF group A3	18–26 April 1942	from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 92	MOEF group A3	7–18 May 1942	from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
AT 18		6-17 August 1942	troopships fromNew York CitytoFirth of Clyde

European invasions

After returning to Boston 31 March 1942,Gleavesdeparted 10 May for participation in theAllied landings in Sicily.After engaging in support and convoy operations in the battle zone,GleavesandPlunkettaccepted the surrender of the Italian garrison on the island ofUstica5 August 1943, and later landed occupation troops on the island. She also drove off a group of five enemyE-boatsattempting to attack shipping in the harbor ofPalermo,Sicily.

As Allied preparations for the invasion of Italy reached a climax,Gleavesbombarded the Italian mainland. In September 1943 she helped clear the way for theSalernolanding forces. Following the assault,Gleavesconvoyed shipping in the Mediterranean area in support of the drive north from Salerno.

When German air and land forces combined in a determined attempt to stop the landings atAnzioin January 1944,Gleaveswas again on hand to lend decisive gunfire support and antiaircraft cover. In May of that year she attempted to search out and destroy theGerman submarineU-616but other ships of the group sank the U-boat. Survivors from the sunken U-boat were picked up byGleaves17 May.

USSGleaveslaying a smoke screen off Southern France, 18 August 1944.HMSDidocan be seen behind her.

Gleavesnext took part in the invasion of southern France in August 1944. She escorted theRangersin their initial landings; bombarded shore installations in support of the main assault; and screened heavier units of the fleet off shore.

On 1 October,Army Cubpilots discoveredGerman MAS boatsin the harbor atSan Remo, Italy.A determined bombardment in the face of heavy return fire brought about the destruction of at least three of those craft and demolished the boat repair facilities and other harbor installations around the port.Gleavesalso found time to destroy at least one88 mm (3 in) batterywhich had proven a hazard during the bombardment. The following day, assisted by aircraft fromUSSBrooklyn,she bombarded shore establishments, battery positions and shipping in the harbor ofOneglia, Italy,obtaining hits on two large enemy cargo ships, destroying one coast defense battery and one anti-aircraft battery near the harbor. During that actionGleavesreceived some of the few battle scars of her career when an 88-millimeter shell landed close aboard and perforated her hull with shrapnel splinters.

During the night, while patrolling off San Remo,Gleaves'radar spotted three enemy vessels moving down the coast. Unassisted she drove in at them in spite of reported mine fields and succeed at destroying one, driving the other two to shelter. Later during that night the remaining two were again detected trying to reach San Remo. Again,Gleaveswent into the attack and this time destroyed a second vessel in the group and drove the third back toGenoa,probably in a damaged condition.

While returning to her station off San Remo she went to battle stations for the third time that night as she was made the object of an attack by at least five suicide-mannedexplosive motor boats.Judicious application of gun-fire,depth chargesand violent maneuvering at maximum speed brought her safely through that attack, leaving four of the craft sunk in her wake. The following morning, upon returning to the area she captured the fifth boat intact with two boat operators aboard. Insofar as it is known, that was the first craft of that type captured from the Germans and it provided valuable tactical information to the Allied forces in the area.

In December 1944,Gleaveswas assigned as fire support ship near Allied positions on the Franco-Italian frontier, and performed this duty until sailing for the United States in February 1945. After a period of outfitting at New York and training activities in the Caribbean, she departed 30 June 1945 fromGuantanamo Bay, Cuba,for the Pacific, arriving atPearl Harbor4 August. While completing her training period in Hawaiian waters, the war came to an abrupt end. However,Gleavesproceeded westward with the outbound occupation convoys and participated in the occupation ofNagasakiin September 1945. She was then engaged in convoy work and commended for her outstanding rescue and salvage work following the typhoon which swept through the Philippine Sea on 29 September 1945.

Post war

An original oil painting of USSGleaves

Early in the evening of 23 NovemberSSAdabelle Lykes,en route fromShanghaitoSan Franciscowith 2000 service men and women embarked, discovered a case ofsmallpoxaboard. Her supply of vaccine would not suffice to inoculate all the 2000 men and women aboard. A call for help went out to the naval forces in the area. Four destroyers lay in the harbor atAdak,the nearest base to the position ofAdabelle Lykes.One had a mission already assigned, the others were undergoing long deferred repairs. Of these,Gleaves,reported that she could have all vital equipment ready in three hours. At 02:30 on 24 November, she left her berth and sped on her way at 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph).

At 13:00 on 25 November, her radar detectedAdabelle Lykesand by 14:00 a line was passed between the two ships which were heaving and tossing in the stormy seas. The vaccine and a supply ofpenicillinfor the stricken men went aboard.

Her duty in the North Pacific terminated,Gleavestransported 300 veterans from theAleutian IslandstoSeattle,Washington, on"Magic-Carpet" duty,arriving 10 December 1945. She then moved to San Francisco and on 2 January 1946 departed forCharleston, South CarolinaAt Charleston, where she arrived 18 January 1946,Gleavesdecommissioned 8 May 1946, and was placed in reserve atPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania She was later moved to theReserve FleetatOrange, Texas,where she remained through 1967.Gleaveswas stricken from the naval register on 1 November 1969 and sold 29 June 1972 and broken up for scrap.

Awards

Gleavesreceived fivebattle starson the European-African-Middle Eastern Area Service Medal for participating in the following operations:

1 Star/Sicillian occupation – 9 to 15 July 1943 and 28 July to 17 August 1943

1 Star/Salerno landings – 9 to 21 September 1943

1 Star/west Coast of Italy Operations – 1944 Anzio-Nettuno advanced landings – 22 to 28 January 1944

1 Star/Anti-Submarine assessment – Mediterranean – 14 Many 1944

1 Star/Invasion of Southern France – 15 August to 25 September 1944

References

This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.The entry can be foundhere.

External links

• history.navy.mil: USSGleaves
• navsource.org: USSGleavesPhoto Gallery
• Researcher@Large: Booklet of General plans circa 1941
• hazegray.org: USSGleaves