USSRemey
 USSRemey(DD-688), at sea,c.1951
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Remey |
| Namesake | George C. Remey |
| Builder | Bath Iron Works |
| Laid down | 22 March 1943 |
| Launched | 25 July 1943 |
| Commissioned | 30 September 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 30 December 1963 |
| Stricken | 1 December 1974 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 10 June 1976 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Fletcher-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 2,050 tons |
| Length | 376.4 ft (114.7 m) |
| Beam | 39.6 ft (12.1 m) |
| Draft | 13.8 ft (4.2 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 38 knots (70 km/h; 44 mph) |
| Range | 6,500nautical miles(12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 329 |
| Armament |
|
USSRemey(DD-688)was aFletcher-classdestroyerof theUnited States Navy,named forRear AdmiralGeorge C. Remey(1841–1928).
Remeywas laid down on 22 March 1943 by theBath Iron WorksCorp.,Bath, Maine;launchedon 25 July 1943; sponsored by Miss Angelica G. Remey, daughter of Rear Admiral Remey; andcommissionedon 30 September 1943.
Service history
[edit]World War II
[edit]RemeydepartedBoston5 December 1943 asflagshipofDestroyer Squadron 54(DesRon 54), and headed for thePacific.Escorting heavier ships en route, she transited thePanama Canalat mid-month and arrived atSan Diego, Californiato report for duty in the5th Amphibious Forceon the 20th.
Marshall Islands
[edit]Training with the4th Marine Divisionfollowed, and on 13 January 1944, she sailed west, screeningTask Force 53(TF 53), the Northern Attack Force for theinvasion of the Marshalls.From 29 January, whenWotjewas bombarded, until 5 February, whenRemeystruck an uncharted reef, she screened the transports and Carrier Division 22 (CarDiv 22) and provided gunfire support for the troops fightingfor Kwajalein.On the 6th, she got underway forMajuro,thence proceeded toPearl Harborfor repairs.
Mariana Islands
[edit]Following repairs,Remeycompleted an escort run for theUSS Intrepid (CV-11)toSan Franciscoand back, then screenedBataanto Majuro. There, from 9 to 29 April 1944, she escortedsubmarinesin and out of the area. Returning to Pearl Harbor on 4 May, she escortedaircraft carrierson exercises inHawaiianwaters and on the 31st got underway for theMariana Islands.Stopping en route at Kwajalein, she arrived offSaipanon 14 June and with Fire Support Unit I commenced firing on the island. Closing to 4,000 yards (3,700 m),Remeywas straddled by shore battery fire, but her return fire destroyed two of the offending batteries. The next morning, while screeningTennesseeoffTinian,she destroyed three more guns. In the afternoon, she shelled Saipan and throughout that day and the next continued counterbattery fire. On 17 June, she provided gunfire support for the troopson Saipan,then on 18 June returned to thebattleshipsand remained with them through the aerial attacks of theBattle of the Philippine Sea.On 22 June, she resumed shore bombardment duties and shelled enemy troop concentrations and supply dumps. Through June–July, she remained in the area, continuing her support for operations on Saipan and extending it to ground forces fightingon Tinianafter 24 July.
On 8 August, the destroyer got underway for theMarshall Islands,thence steamed to theSolomon IslandswhereTF 32rehearsed for the assault on thePalau Islands.A month later, she sailed for those islands. Arriving on 15 August, she bombardedBabelthuap,then on 16–17 August showered her shells onAngaur.On 23 August, she sailed south and on 27 August anchored inSeeadler Harborto prepare for the invasion of thePhilippines.
Philippines
[edit]
Departing forLeyteon 11 October 1944,Remeypassed the northern tip ofDinagat Islandon the night of 19/20 October. In the morning, she screened her charges,landing craft,to the assault area, then took up station in lowerSurigao Strait.Through the 24th, she continued her anti-small boat and antiaircraft patrols, then prepared to meet an enemy surface force reported standingtoward the southern entrance to Surigao Strait.
Rear AdmiralJesse B. Oldendorfdeployed his force ofcruisers,battleships, and destroyers for what was to be the last engagement of abattleline.CaptainJesse B. Coward,Commander, DesRon 54, divided his squadron into eastern and western groups to launchtorpedoattacks against the Japanese as they steamed through the Strait toward defeat under the guns of the battleline.
Reports from thePT boatsshadowing the Japanese were slow in coming, but at 0211 on 25 October,Remey,leading the eastern attack unit, moved south.McGowanandMelvinfollowed in attack disposition. At about 0235, radar contact was established. The attackers, despite navigational difficulties, began to close on their targets. Just before 0300,Remeywas illuminated briefly by an enemy searchlight. At 0300, the three destroyers of the eastern group fired their torpedoes, launching 27 "fish" in less than 2 minutes. Powder flashes on two of her torpedoes showedRemey's position and again she was spotlighted. Straddled by 6 inch shells, she commenced making more smoke and weaving through it to make her way back up the Dinagat coast to the post-attack rendezvous point offHibuson Island,whence the force witnessed the battleline's barrage.
The next dayRemeyretired fromLeyte Gulf.On the 30th, she anchored inHumboldt Bay.During November, she escorted reinforcements to Leyte, and in December joined CarDiv 22 for operations in theSulu Seain support of the landings onMindoro.Back in theNew Guinea-Admiralty Islandsarea at the end of the month, she departedManus Islandon 2 January 1945, and on the 11th arrived offLuzonwith reinforcements for the assault forces landed on theLingayenbeaches 2 days earlier. She departed on the 15th, and 8 days later arrived atUlithiwhere she joined theFast Carrier Task Force(then5th Fleet's TF 58, later3rd Fleet's TF 38).
Bombardment of Japan
[edit]On 10 February 1945, she sortied with Task Group 58.5 (TG 58.5) and, steaming north, screened that group as its planes flew night fighter cover for the task force and conducted night harassment strikes against the enemy in theTokyoarea and then overIwo Jima.Remeysupported operations in theVolcanoandBonin Islandsuntil 9 March, then got underway for Ulithi and a 2-day rest. On the 14th, she screened the sortie of TG 58.4, then sailed with that group as it struck enemy installations, shipping and troop concentrations on and aroundKyūshūand theRyūkyū Islands.On 1 April, the group covered theassault on Okinawa'sHagushibeaches, then remained in the area until 11 May as ground forces pushed across Japan's last bastion protecting her home islands. Replenished at Ulithi, the ships, now designated TG 38.4, were back off Okinawa before the end of the month. On 8 June,Remeyjoined TG 30.4 for the bombardment ofOkino Daito,returned to TG 38.4 the next day, retiring to Leyte on the 11th.
By 1 July, the carriers were again ready to strike at the Japanese home islands. On the 10th sorties were flown against Tokyo and, on the 13th-14th, against northernHonshūandHokkaidō.On the night of 14/15 July,Remeyparticipated in the bombardmentofMuroran.On the 16th, she screened the carriers as further strikes were launched against Honshū, then returned to the bombardment group as it shelledHitachi.On the 18th, she rejoined TG 38.4, then shifted to TG 38.3 for screening duties as planes were sent againstShikokuand Kyūshū, concentrating onKobe,20th-22nd. Further strikes against the southern islands followed, but by 30 July, the Tokyo andNagoyaareas were again the targets. Weather conditions, including atyphoon,delayed further offensive action until 9 August, when Honshū was again hit.
Detached the following day,Remey,with others of her squadron, proceeded to theKuril Islandswhere she joined TF 92 in an anti-shipping sweep in theSea of Okhotskon the 11th, then headed forAdak Islanden route to a shipyard overhaul on the west coast. At Adak on the 14th, she received word of the Japanese surrender and orders to rejoin TF 92 for occupation duty in theOminatoarea. Departing theAleutian Islandsat the end of August, she remained in Japanese waters until 15 September when she got underway for San Francisco.
Arriving on 1 October 1945, she shifted to San Diego in December. In commission, in reserve from January,Remeydecommissioned on 10 December 1946 and was berthed at San Diego until ordered activated with the outbreak of hostilities inKorea.
Post-War
[edit]Recommissioned on 14 November 1951,Remeydeparted the west coast on 15 February 1952 and on the 28th reported for duty with theAtlantic Fleet.Homeported atNewport,she added strength to the2nd Fleetas it sent destroyers to the Far East to supportU.N. Forcesin Korea. For the next year and a half,Remeyoperated in the western Atlantic and in theCaribbean.Then, in the fall (September–December) of 1953, deployed briefly to European waters for joint operations with theRoyal Navyfollowed by6th Fleetexercises in theMediterranean.Six months after her return to Newport, she sailed for the western Pacific and summer operations with the7th Fleet.Between June and September, she ranged from Korea andJapanto the Philippines and departed the latter forSuez24 September, completing her round-the-world cruise on 28 November.
Remeyremained in the western Atlantic through 1955 and, in the spring of 1956, as tension in the eastern Mediterranean fromCyprusto Suez, again heightened, rejoined the 6th Fleet. From 31 March to 12 May, asBritish troopsprepared to withdraw from Suez, she cruised theRed Sea-Persian Gulfareas. Then, at the end of the month, the destroyer returned to Newport for 5 months of type training andASWevaluation exercises. In July,Egyptnationalized theSuez Canal.By the end of the month, financial retaliations had been imposed by western Europe. Despite various peace plans proposed in August and September, war broke out in late October. To the north, civil unrest continued in Cyprus, flared inPoland,and flamed throughHungary.On 6 November,Remeysteamed back to the Mediterranean to assume patrol duties which continued until afterIsraeliforces withdrew from theSinai Peninsulain late January 1957.
Through the spring of 1958,Remeyremained on the east coast. During the summer, she conducted exercises in the North Atlantic and theNorth Sea.Returning in August, she participated in further ASW evaluation tests, then, in October, assumed duties as schoolship for the Destroyer Force'sAfloat Engineering School.
Detached at the end of the year,Remeyshifted herhomeporttoNew York Cityand commenced duty as flagship of Reserve Escort Squadron 2 (later, Reserve Destroyer Squadron 2). A unit of the Selected Reserve antisubmarine program, her crew was recalled to active duty and she rejoined the active fleet, assigned to Destroyer Division 201, after the closing of theEastandWest Berlinborder in mid-August 1961. During December of that year and January 1962, she cruised in the North Sea, returning to Newport in February and resuming reserve training duties at New York in August. In September 1963, she steamed toPhiladelphiawhere the ship was decommissioned on 30 December 1963, and was berthed as a unit of theAtlantic Reserve Fleet.
Remeywas stricken from theNaval Vessel Registeron 1 December 1974. She was sold on 10 June 1976 and broken up for scrap.
Awards
[edit]Remeyearned 10battle starsduringWorld War II.
References
[edit]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.The entry can be foundhere.
