USSTurner(DD-648)

For other ships with the same name, seeUSS Turner.

Undated photo of USSTurneron the East River in New York City near theWilliamsburg Bridge
History
United States
Name	USSTurner
Namesake	Daniel Turner
Builder	Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
Laid down	16 November 1942
Launched	28 February 1943
Commissioned	15 April 1943
Fate	Sank, 3 January 1944
Stricken	8 April 1944
General characteristics
Class and type	Gleaves-classdestroyer
Displacement	1,630 long tons (1,656 t)
Length	348 ft 3 in (106.15 m)
Beam	36 ft 1 in (11.00 m)
Draft	11 ft 10 in (3.61 m)
Installed power	50,000shp(37,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 × geared turbines 4 × boilers 2 × shafts
Speed	37.4kn(43.0 mph; 69.3 km/h)
Range	6,500nmi(7,500 mi; 12,000 km) at 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h)
Complement	16 officers, 260 enlisted
Armament	4 ×5 in (127 mm)/38 calDPguns 4 ×40 mm (1.6 in)guns 7 ×20 mm (0.79 in)AA guns 5 × 21 in (533 mm)torpedo tubes(5Mark 15 torpedoes) 6 ×depth charge projectors 2 × depth charge tracks

USSTurner(DD-648),was aGleaves-classdestroyerof theUnited States Navy.She was commissioned on 15 April 1943 and sank after suffering internal explosions on 3 January 1944.

Service history

Commission

Turnerwas named for CaptainDaniel Turnerand waslaid downon 16 November 1942 atKearny, New Jersey,by theFederal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.andlaunchedon 28 February 1943; sponsored by Mrs.Louis E. Denfeld.The ship wascommissionedon 15 April 1943 at theNew York Navy Yard.

Convoy duty

Turnercompleted outfitting at theNew York Navy Yardand then conducted shakedown and antisubmarine warfare training out ofCasco Bay,Maineuntil early June. On the 9th, she returned to New York to prepare for her first assignment: a three-day training cruise with the newly commissionedaircraft carrierBunker Hill.Returning to New York on 22 June, she departed again the next day on her first real wartime assignment, service in the screen of a transatlanticconvoy UGS 11.First, she sailed with a portion of that convoy toNorfolk, Virginia,arriving that same day. On 24 June, the convoy departedHampton Roadsand shaped a course eastward across the Atlantic. After an uneventful voyage, she escorted her convoy into port atCasablanca,French Morocco,on 18 July. She departed with returnconvoy GUS 10on 23 July and arrived back in New York on 9 August. Later that month, she was in the screen of aconvoytoGuantanamo Bay, Cuba,making a brief stop at Hampton Roads along the way. On the return trip, she rendezvoused with theBritishcarrierHMSVictoriousand accompanied her to Norfolk.

Anti-submarine duty

During the first two weeks of September,Turnerconductedanti-submarine warfare(ASW) training at Casco Bay, Maine, and then returned to New York to prepare for her second transatlantic voyage. On 21 September, the destroyer headed south to Norfolk. She arrived there on 23 September and, the following day, headed out across the Atlantic with her convoy. After an 18-day passage, during which she made onedepth chargeattack on a sound contact,Turnerarrived at Casablanca on 12 October. Four days later, she departed again and headed forGibraltarto join another convoy. The warship reached the strategic base on 17 October and, after two days in port, stood out to join the screen ofconvoy GUS 18.

On the night of 23 October,Turnerwas acting as an advance ASW escort for the convoy when she picked up an unidentified surface contact on herSG radar.At 19:43, about 11 minutes after the initial radar contact,Turner's lookouts made visual contact with what proved to be aGermansubmarinerunning on the surface,decksawash,at about 500 yd (460 m) distance. Almost simultaneously,Turnerturned hard to starboard and opened fire with her 5-inch (127 mm),Bofors,andOerlikonguns. During the next few seconds, the destroyer scored one 5 in (127 mm) hit on theU-boat'sconning toweras well as several 40- and 20-millimeter hits there and elsewhere. The submarine began to dive immediately and deprivedTurnerof any opportunity to ram her. However, while the U-boat made her dive,Turnerbegan a depth-charge attack. She fired two charges from her port K-gun battery, and both appeared to hit the water just above the submerged U-boat. Then, as the destroyer swung around above the U-boat,Turnerrolled a single depth charge off herstern.Soon after the three depth charges exploded,Turnercrewmen heard a fourth explosion, the shock from which caused the destroyer to lose power to her SG andSD radars,to the main battery, and to her sound gear. It took her at least 15 minutes to restore power entirely.

Meanwhile, she began a search for evidence to corroborate a sinking or regain contact with the target. At about 20:17, she picked up another contact on the SG radar — located about 1,600 yd (1,500 m) off theportbeam.Turnercame left and headed toward the contact. Not long thereafter, her bridge watch sighted an object lying low in the water. Those witnesses definitely identified the object as a submarine which appeared to be sinking by the stern. Unfortunately,Turnerhad to break contact with the object in order to avoid a collision with another of the convoy's escorts. By the time she was able to resume her search, the object had disappeared.Turnerand thedestroyer escortSturtevantremained in the area and conducted further searches for the submarine or for proof of her sinking but failed in both instances. All that can be said is she probably heavily damaged an enemy submarine and may have sunk her. No conclusive evidence exists to support the latter conclusion. The attacked sub was notU-190.

Destruction

On 24 October, the two escorts rejoined the convoy, and the crossing continued peacefully. When the convoy divided itself into two segments according to destination on 4 November,Turnertook station as one of the escorts for the Norfolk-bound portion. Two days later, she saw her charges safely into port and then departed to return to New York where she arrived on 7 November.

USSTurneroff Sandy Hook on 3 January 1944.

Following ten days in port, the warship conducted ASW exercises briefly atCasco Baybefore returning to Norfolk to join another transatlantic convoy. She departed Norfolk with her third and final convoy on 23 November and saw the convoy safely across the Atlantic. On 1 January 1944, near the end of the return voyage, that convoy split into two parts according to destination asTurner's previous one had done.Turnerjoined the New York-bound contingent and shaped a course for that port. She arrived offAmbrose Lightlate on 2 January and anchored.

Early the following morning, the destroyer suffered a series of shattering internal explosions. By 06:50, she took on a 16°starboardlist;and explosions, mostly in the ammunition stowage areas, continued to stagger the stricken destroyer. Then, at about 07:50, a singularly violent explosion caused her to capsize and sink. The tip of her bow remained above water until about 08:27 when she disappeared completely taking with her 15 officers and 123 men.

After nearby ships picked up the survivors of the sunken destroyer, the injured were taken to the hospital atSandy Hook, New Jersey.AUnited States Coast GuardSikorsky HNS-1flown by Lieutenant CommanderFrank A. Erickson— the first use of ahelicopterin a life-saving role — flew two cases ofblood plasma,lashed to the helicopter's floats, from New York to Sandy Hook. The plasma saved the lives of many ofTurner's injured crewmen.Turner's name was stricken from theNaval Vessel Registeron 8 April 1944.

Awards

• American Campaign Medal
• European-African-Middle EasternCampaign Medal withbattle star
• World War II Victory Medal

References

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

External links

• Investigation of USS Turner 23 January 1944
• navsource.org: USSTurner
• hazegray.org: USSTurner
• Survivors accounts of sinking
• Roll of Honor
• Maritimequest USSTurnerDD-648 Photo Gallery
• Maritimequest USSTurnerDD-648 Fact Sheet
• Scuba Diving - New Jersey & Long Island New York- Detailed description of the wreck and full account of the loss incident from assisting vessel USS Swasey (DE-248)Archived2015-02-23 at theWayback Machine
• WWII mystery: Are 'missing' sailors actually in NY cemetery?