USSGwin(DD-433)

For other ships with the same name, seeUSS Gwin.

USSGwinunderway in 1941
History
United States
Name	Gwin
Namesake	William Gwin
Builder	Boston Navy Yard
Laid down	1 June 1939
Launched	25 May 1940
Commissioned	15 January 1941
Honours and awards	5 ×battle stars
Fate	Sunk atBattle of Kolombangara,13 July 1943
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	11 ft 10 in (3.61 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 ×20 mmAA guns, 6 ×.50 cal (12.7 mm)guns, 10 ×21 in (533 mm)torpedo tubes, 2 ×depth chargetracks

USSGwin(DD-433),aGleaves-classdestroyer,was the third ship of theUnited States Navyto be named forLieutenant CommanderWilliam Gwin,anAmerican Civil Warofficer who commanded river boats againstConfederateforces inAlabama.

Gwinwaslaunchedon 25 May 1940 by theBoston Navy Yard;sponsored by Mrs. Jesse T. Lippincott, second cousin of Lt.Comdr. Gwin. The destroyer wascommissionedat Boston on 15 January 1941.Gwinwas sunk by a torpedo launched by a Japanese destroyer during theBattle of Kolombangarain theSolomon Islands Campaignin July 1943.

Service history

Gwincompletedshakedown trainingon 20 April 1941 and underwent final alterations in the Boston Navy Yard before conducting a neutrality patrol throughout theCaribbean Sea.On 28 September 1941 she assumed identical service in the North Atlantic from her base atHvalfjörður,Iceland.At the beginning of February 1942, she returned to the Eastern Seaboard through thePanama CanaltoSan Francisco, California.

Service in the Pacific Theatre

USSGwin,alongside USSHornetduring the Doolittle Raid 1942

On 3 April 1942Gwinstood out ofSan Francisco Bayas a unit of the escort for theaircraft carrierHornet,which carried 16ArmyB-25 bombersto be launched in abombing raid on Tokyo.AdmiralWilliam F. Halseyin carrierEnterpriserendezvoused with the task force offMidway,andGeneralJimmy Doolittle's famed raiders launched the morning of 18 April when some 600 miles east ofTokyo.The task force made a rapid retirement toPearl Harbor,then sped south 30 April 1942, hoping to assist carriersYorktownandLe xing tonin theBattle of the Coral Sea.That battle concluded before the task force arrived, andGwinreturned to Pearl Harbor on 21 May for day and night preparations to meet the Japanese in the crucialbattle for Midway Atoll.

Battle of Midway

Gwindeparted Pearl Harbor 23 May 1942 withMarinereinforcements for Midway and returned to port 1 June. Two days later she raced to join theFast Carrier Task Forcesearching for the approaching Japanese fleet off Midway. The battle was all but concluded by the time she arrived on the scene on 5 June 1942. Four large Japanese aircraft carriers and acruiserrested on the bottom of the sea along with some 250 enemy planes and their crews.Gwinsent a salvage party to assist in attempts to save carrierYorktown,heavily damaged by two bomb and twotorpedohits in the Battle of Midway. As attempts continued 6 June 1942, a Japanese submarine rockedYorktownwith torpedo hits and sank the destroyerHammannwhich was secured alongside the carrier. The salvage party had to abandonYorktownand surviving men were rescued from the sea, The carrier capsized and sank the morning of 7 June 1942.Gwincarried 102 survivors of the two ships to Pearl Harbor, arriving 10 June 1942.

Guadalcanal

Gwindeparted Pearl Harbor 15 July 1942 to operate in the screen of fast carriers who pounded Japanese installations, troop concentrations and supply dumps asMarinesinvaded Guadalcanalin theSolomonson 7 August 1942. In the following monthsGwinconvoyed supply and troop reinforcements toGuadalcanal.Joining a cruiser–destroyertask force,she patrolled "the Slot"of water between the chain of Solomon Islands to intercept the"Tokyo Express"runs of supply, troop and warships supporting Japanese bases in the Solomons.

On 13 November 1942,Gwinand three other destroyers formed withbattleshipsSouth DakotaandWashingtonto intercept an enemy bombardment–transport force approaching the Solomons. The following night the task group found the enemy offSavo Island:the battleshipKirishima,four cruisers, 11 destroyers, and four transports, TheNaval Battle of Guadalcanalwas intensely fought.Gwinfound herself in a gun duel between thelight cruiserNagaraand two Japanese destroyers (AyanamiandUranami), versus the four American destroyers. She took a shell hit in her engine room. Another shell struck her fantail and enemy torpedoes began to boil around the destroyers.

Though shaken by explodingdepth charges,Gwincontinued to fire at the enemy as long as any remained within range. In a short time the other three American destroyers were out of action; two sinking andBenhamsurviving with her bow partially destroyed.Gwinattempted to escort the nose-lessBenhamtoEspiritu Santo,New Hebrides Islands.But when all hope was lost, survivors transferred toGwinwho sankBenham's abandoned hulk with gunfire. The survivors were landed 20 November atNouméa,New Caledonia,andGwinwas routed onward to Hawaii, thence to theMare Island Navy Yard,arriving 19 December 1942.

Later action in the Solomons

Having been overhauled,Gwinreturned to the Southwest Pacific on 7 April 1943 to escort troop reinforcements and supplies throughout the Solomons. On 30 June she served with the massive amphibious assault force converging onNew Georgiaunder the leadership ofRear AdmiralRichmond K. Turner.She supported the landings of 30 June on the north coast ofRendova Island,5 miles (8.0 km) acrossBlanche ChannelfromMunda.Immediately after the first wave of troops hit Rendova Beach, Munda Island shore batteries opened fire on the four destroyers patrolling Blanche Channel.Gwinwas straddled by the first salvo. A moment later a shell exploded on her main deck aft, killing three men, wounding seven and stopping her after engine. The half-dozen enemy shore batteries were soon silenced asGwinlaid down an effective heavysmoke screento protect the unloading transports. When aerial raiders appeared, her gunners shot down three. Rendova Island was soon in American possession. It served as an importantmotor torpedo boatbase to harass Japanese barge lines and a base for air support in the Solomons.

Sinking

See also:Battle of Kolombangara

Gwinescorted a reinforcement echelon from Guadalcanal to Rendova, then raced to the "Slot" 7 July to rescue 87 survivors of cruiserHelena,lost in theBattle of Kula Gulf.She then joined a cruiser–destroyer task force under Rear AdmiralWalden L. Ainsworthto head off a formidable "Tokyo Express" force headed through the Solomon Islands to land troops atVila.TheBattle of Kolombangarawas joined in the early hours of 13 July and Japanese light cruiserJintsuquickly slid to the bottom, the victim of smothering gunfire and torpedo hits. However, four Japanese destroyers, waiting for a calculated moment when Ainsworth's formation would turn, launched 31 torpedoes at the American formation. Hisflagship,Honolulu,cruiserSt. LouisandGwin,maneuvering to bring their main batteries to bear on the enemy, turned right into the path of the"long lance" torpedoes.Both cruisers received damaging hits but survived.Gwinreceived a torpedo hit amidships in her engine room and exploded. The destroyerRalph Talbottook offGwin's crew after their damage control efforts failed and she had to bescuttled.Two officers and 59 men perished with the destroyer.

Gwinreceived fivebattle starsfor service inWorld War II.

Bibliography

• Brown, David.Warship Losses of World War Two.Arms and Armour, London, 1990.ISBN0-85368-802-8.
• Lundgren, Robert (2008). "Question 39/43: Loss of HIJMSKirishima".Warship International.XLV(4): 291–296.ISSN0043-0374.

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

External links

• USSGwinwebsiteatDestroyer History Foundation
• Naval History and Heritage Command: USSGwin
• navsource.org: USSGwin
• hazegray.org: USSGwin
• Roll of Honor