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USSOsborne

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For a ship with a similar name, seeUSS Ozbourn.

USSOsborne(DD-295)
USS Osborne underway in the Hudson River, off New York City, during the 1920s.
USSOsborneunderway in the Hudson River, during the 1920s.
History
United States
NamesakeWeedon Osborne
BuilderBethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation,Squantum Victory Yard
Laid down23 September 1919
Launched29 December 1919
Commissioned17 May 1920
Decommissioned1 May 1930
Stricken22 October 1930
Fate
  • Sold 17 January 1931
  • Converted intocargo shipMatagalpa
  • Burned 26 June 1942; not repaired
  • Scuttled 6 September 1947
General characteristics
Class and typeClemson-classdestroyer
Displacement1,190 tons
Length314 ft (96 m)
Beam31 ft 8 in (9.65 m)
Draft9 ft 4 in (2.84 m)
Propulsion
  • 26,500 shp (19,800 kW)
  • geared turbines,
  • 2 screws
Speed35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range4,900 nmi (9,100 km; 5,600 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement120 officers and enlisted
Armament
NotesShips were stripped to hulks before being rebuilt for commercial service with two new Ingersoll-Rand Diesel engines and all other systems.

USSOsborne(DD-295)was aClemson-classdestroyerin theUnited States NavyfollowingWorld War I.She was named forWeedon Osborne.[1]

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Osbornewaslaid down23 September 1919 atBethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation,Squantum, Massachusetts;launched 29 December 1919; co-sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth Osborne Fisher, sister ofLtjgW. E. Osborne and Mrs. C. H. Cox; and commissioned 17 May 1920.[1]

Commissioned into a peacetime navy curtailed by a retrenchingCongress,the undermanned four-stacker departedBoston, Massachusetts25 June to joinDESRON3,Atlantic Fleet.The limited coastal operations of 1920 were supplemented by 2 months of fleet exercises and battle problems offCubaduring the first quarter of 1921. Whether operating out ofCharleston, South Carolina,her normal base of operations, or out of theBrooklynorPhiladelphia Navy YardsOsborneregularly steamed southward early each year for these competitive exercises and large scale tactical maneuvers. These useful testing periods brought a familiarization not only with theCaribbeanarea but also thePacificcoast ofPanama.Under the new command ofRaymond A. Spruance,Osbornesteamed from Boston 18 June 1925, to "show the flag" on an extensive year-long cruise in the western half of theMediterranean Seaand along thewestern Europeancoastline.[1]

On 20 September 1929 entered thePhiladelphia Navy Yardfor inactivation.Osbornedecommissioned 1 May 1930 with her crew transferring to the newly recommissionedUSSTaylor(DD-94).In accordance with the agreements reached at theLondon Naval Disarmament Conference of 1930,she was struck from theNavy List22 October 1930 and sold for scrap 17 January 1931.[1]

Commercial service

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The ship was sold toStandard Fruit Companyof New Orleans where she was gutted to her hull and fitted with two new deck houses, electrical plant and other ship service plants and with dual 750 hp (560 kW) Ingersoll-Rand Diesel engines by Todd Dry Dock and Construction Company. With the new nameMatagalpaand four holds capable of carrying a total of 25,000 banana stems between Central America and New Orleans the Standard Fruit & Steamship Company operatedbanana boatoperated until the eve of World War II. The ship was surveyed and taken by the Navy under abare boat charteruntil the urgent need to resupply the Philippines as Japanese forces took Manila resulted in their being taken over by the United States Army.[2]

U.S. Army service

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On 22 February 1942General MacArthurhad requested direct support from Honolulu rather than Australia as it was lacking in resources. Within a day a very high level study of the situation concluded three old ex destroyers converted into fast commercial fruit carriers, now namedMasaya,MatagalpaandTeapa,[Note 1]and recently taken over under bare boat charter by theWar Departmentwith intentions to use them as inter-island transports would be suited to that supply requirement. Under urgent Presidential orders to support the forces in Bataan and Corregidor the Army began to prepare the ships to run the Japanese blockade of the Philippines. Cargoes were shipped to New Orleans for the three ships. They were originally due to sail on 28 February 1942 but difficulties, including securingnaval gun crewsto put on the ships, delayed sailing.Masayasailed on 2 March 1942,Matagalpaon 11 March andTeapaon 18 March. While the situation in the Philippines became desperate the three ships were forced to stop in Los Angeles for repair. On 13 April General MacArthur reported blockade running was "useless," but the War Department decided to make the attempt. The ships were reloaded withMatagalpaloaded forMindanaoand arriving in Honolulu on 8 May 1942, too late to relieve Corregidor.Matagalpaand the other ships intended for supply of the Philippines, were diverted to Australia.[3][4]

Fate

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On 26 June 1942Matagalpaburned at her berth inSydney,Australia,as over one hundred firefighters worked to unload gasoline drums and fight the fire.Matagalpawas not repaired and was scuttled in the "disposal area" off Sydney on 6 September 1947.[5][6]

Notes

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  1. ^It is unclear from cited references currently in Wikipedia whetherTeapawas ex-Putnamor ex-Worden.Four ships were converted to banana boat service of which three became fast Army transports. Weight of other references, in specialist forums and inAttempts to Supply The Philippines by Sea: 1942by Charles Dana Gibson and E. Kay Gibson clearly havePutnambecomingTeapa.

References

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  1. ^abcd"Osborne".Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.Naval History and Heritage Command.Retrieved2 February2015.
  2. ^Fetterly, Don."The Saga of SSMasaya".Pacific Wrecks.Archived fromthe originalon 23 October 2013.Retrieved20 February2012.
  3. ^Masterson, Dr. James R. (October 1949).U. S. Army Transportation in the Southwest Pacific Area 1941-1947.Transportation Unit, Historical Division Special Staff, U. S. Army. pp. 29–31.
  4. ^Morton, Louis (1993).United States Army In World War II The War In The Pacific The Fall Of The Philippines.Washington, D. C.: Center Of Military History United States Army. p. 398.
  5. ^Dunn, Peter."U.S. Army Transport MVMatagalpaIn Australian Waters During WWII ".US Army Units In Australia During WW2.Australia @ War.Retrieved18 February2012.
  6. ^"USSOsborne(DD-295) ".NavSource Naval History.Retrieved20 February2012.

Bibliography

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  • Rau, William M. (1990). "Question 47/88".Warship International.XXVII(4): 423.ISSN0043-0374.
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