USS Capps

	USS Capps (DD-550) in September 1945
History
United States
Name	Capps
Namesake	Washington L. Capps
Builder	Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation, Chickasaw, Alabama
Laid down	12 June 1941
Launched	31 May 1942
Commissioned	23 June 1943
Decommissioned	15 January 1947
Stricken	1 October 1972
Fate	Transferred to Spain, 15 May 1957
Spain
Name	Lepanto
Namesake	Battle of Lepanto
Acquired	15 May 1957
Stricken	31 December 1985
Fate	Scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type	Fletcher-class destroyer; Lepanto-class destroyer;
Displacement	2,050 tons
Length	376 ft 6 in (114.76 m)
Beam	39 ft 8 in (12.09 m)
Draft	17 ft 9 in (5.41 m)
Propulsion	60,000 shp (45,000 kW);; 2 propellers;
Speed	35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range	6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	273
Armament	5 × single 5 in (127 mm)/38 guns; 5 × twin AA guns; 7 × single 20 mm (0.8 in) AA guns; 2 × quintuple 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 6 × single depth charge throwers; 2 × depth charge racks;

USS Capps (DD-550), a

Rear Admiral Washington L. Capps

(1864–1935).

Capps was

Atlantic Fleet

.

British Home Fleet. In a mixed task force of American and other Allied ships, led by the aircraft carrier Ranger, Capps stood out of Scapa Flow 3 October to cross the Arctic Circle for the first raid on German shipping at Norway's port of Bodø, where coal and iron ore were loaded for Germany. Ships and docks were left burning and sinking, and Capps returned to Scapa Flow unscathed by German air attack. On 7 October, Capps sailed with three other destroyers in a dash to Gibraltar, from which they escorted two British battleships and two aircraft carriers back to Scapa Flow. Thus augmented, the Home Fleet, with Capps in company, swept into northern waters from 29 October to 8 November to guard the movement of a convoy for Murmansk, and to hunt for the German battleships Tirpitz and Scharnhorst

.

Capps was detached at Scapa Flow 22 November 1943 and sailed to

underwater demolition teams for the invasion of Iwo Jima

, for which she sailed 14 February.

Arriving off Iwo Jima 16 February 1945, Capps fired in the intensive preinvasion bombardment. Her underwater demolition teams were skillfully landed and began their work of preparing the beaches for assault, and Capps remained on the firing line for 3 weeks, hurling more than 2,600 five-inch projectiles into the caves and hillsides of the tenaciously defended island. Her antiaircraft guns fought off almost nightly air attacks and bombing raids, and each night almost constant illumination fire was thrown up to prevent surprise attacks ashore.

With only 8 days of resupply behind her, Capps sailed in the screen of

Long Beach 15 January 1947, and was loaned to Spain

under the Military Assistance Program 15 May 1957.