USSThomason
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Laid down | 5 June 1943 |
| Launched | 23 August 1943 |
| Commissioned | 10 December 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 22 May 1946 |
| Stricken | 30 June 1968 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 30 June 1969 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 306 ft (93 m) |
| Beam | 37 ft (11.3 m) |
| Draft | 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 23.6knots(44 km/h) |
| Range |
|
| Complement | 15 officers, 198 men |
| Armament |
|
USSThomason(DE-203)was aBuckley-classdestroyer escortin service with theUnited States Navyfrom 1943 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1969.
History
[edit]USSThomasonwas named in honor ofMarineRaiderSergeantClyde A. Thomason(1914–1942), the first Marine to be awarded theMedal of Honorin World War II – posthumously, for heroism during theMakin Island raid.
Thomasonwas laid down on 5 June 1943 at theCharleston Navy Yard;launchedon 23 August 1943; sponsored by Miss Sara Jeanette Thomason; andcommissionedon 10 December 1943.
Pacific War
[edit]The destroyer escort held shakedown training in theBermudaarea and performedconvoyescort duty along the east coast fromNewport, R.I.,toPanama.She transited thePanama Canalon 21 March 1944 and headed for theNew Hebrides.The ship called atGalapagos,theSociety Islands,andSamoabefore arriving atEspiritu Santoon 18 April. She joined theU.S. 3d Fleetand, in addition to performingantisubmarine dutyinIndispensable Straitwhich separatesGuadalcanalandMalaitaIslands, escorted ships to Guadalcanal.
On 26 May, she arrived atCape Cretinto join theU.S. 7th Fleetfor operations along the coast ofNew Guinea.On 3 June, the ship got underway forWakdeand arrived there the following week. On the 13th, her gunners helpedArmyantiaircraftunits repel an enemy air attack. Six days later, she took Army artillery observers along the coast toSarmiwhere she shelled enemy emplacements and an air strip. The ship operated from Wakde until 7 August when she shifted her base of operations toNoemfoor,Schouten Islands.In early September, she returned to Espiritu Santo for an overhaul.
On 4 October, DE-203 stood out to sea to rendezvous with twoammunition shipsto escort them to thePalaus.She remained atKossol Passagefor a month, serving as harbor entrance control ship before returning toHollandia.On 6 November, the destroyer got underway forMaffin Bay.Two days later,ThomasonandNeuendorf(DE-200) bombarded Sarmi and targets along the bay. With the aid of Army spotting planes, the two ships set fire to enemy storehouses and several other buildings.
Thomasonheaded for thePhilippineson 9 November in the screen of a large convoy of landing craft and supply ships. She arrived inLeyte Gulfon the 15th and sailed the same day with a convoy bound for Hollandia. The destroyer escort then conducted intensive antiaircraft and antisubmarine training atMios Woendiand landing exercises atAitapewithattack transportsthat were scheduled to participate in theinvasion of Lingayen Gulf.
On 28 December 1944, the destroyer escort sortied forLuzonwith Task Group 78.1 (TG 78.1), theSan FabianAttack Force. En route to the Philippines, she was detached to accompany twofuel oil tankerswho were scheduled to refuel the escort ships ofTask Force79 (TF 79), which was also en route toLingayen Gulf.
Thomasonbegan antisubmarine patrols inMangarin Bay,offMindoroon 7 January 1945. One month later, she andNeuendorfbegan antisubmarine patrol duty off the west coast of Luzon. At 22:22 on 7 February,Thomason's SL surfaceradarmade a contact at a range of 14 miles (26 km), which was thought to be a small boat. She closed the range and challenged the craft with a flashing light. There was no answer, and surface radar lost contact. However,sonarsoon made an underwater contact.
The escort made ahedgehogrun but did not fire because she was going too fast. She made another run and fired a pattern of hedgehogs. On both runs, a large submerged mass, outlined byphosphorescence,was seen moving through the water at a depth of between 25 and 50 feet. Four to six of the hedgehogs detonated almost simultaneously, and contact with the target was lost. A heavyoil slick,250 yards in diameter, rose to the surface. The two ships patrolled until late in the morning, in an expanding search pattern, but never regained contact with the Japanesesubmarine.Ro-55had been sunk in over 800 fathoms (4,800 ft; 1,500 m) of water.
Thomasonreturned to Mangarin Bay where she resumed antisubmarine patrols. On the 24th, she rescued four airmen who had bailed out of their burningB-24 Liberatorbomber.From March through August, the ship was engaged in antisubmarine patrols and escort duty between various Philippine ports, Palau, and Hollandia. On 15 August 1945, the Japanese surrendered to theAllies.In September, she escorted two convoys fromLuzontoOkinawa.
Decommissioning and fate
[edit]On 4 October,Thomasonstood out ofSubic Bayand headed for the United States. She called atSan Francisco,California on the 27th and moved toSan Diegofor inactivation.Thomasonwas decommissioned on 22 May 1946 and struck from theNavy liston 30 June 1968. On 30 June 1969, she was sold to the National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island,Long Beach, Calif.,for scrap.
Thomasonreceived threebattle starsforWorld War IIservice.
References
[edit]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.The entry can be foundhere.
External links
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