USS Cassin Young
USS Cassin Young underway on 14 January 1958
| |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | Cassin Young |
Namesake | Cassin Young |
Builder | Bethlehem Shipbuilding |
Laid down | 18 March 1943 |
Launched | 12 September 1943 |
Sponsored by | Mrs. Eleanor Young |
Commissioned | 31 December 1943 |
Decommissioned | 28 May 1946 |
Recommissioned | 8 September 1951 |
Decommissioned | 29 April 1960 |
Stricken | 1 December 1974 |
Identification |
|
Honours and awards | See Awards |
Status | Museum ship at the former Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts. |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Fletcher-class destroyer |
Displacement | 2,050 tons |
Length | 376.4 ft (114.7 m) |
Beam | 39.6 ft (12.1 m) |
Draft | 13.8 ft (4.2 m) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 36.5 knots (67.6 km/h; 42.0 mph) |
Range | 6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement | 325 |
Armament |
|
Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts | |
Coordinates | 42°22′20″N 71°03′16″W / 42.37222°N 71.05444°W |
Built | 1943 |
Architect | Bethlehem Steel Corp. |
NRHP reference No. | 86000084[1] |
Added to NRHP | 14 January 1986 |
USS Cassin Young (DD-793) is a
Cassin Young (DD-793) was
After serving in World War II, including the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the Battle of Okinawa, Cassin Young was decommissioned, but was reactivated during the Korean War and continued in active service until 1960. She is preserved today as a memorial ship, berthed at Boston Navy Yard in Massachusetts, across from the USS Constitution. She was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986 as one of only four surviving Fletcher-class destroyers still afloat.
The USS Cassin Young can now be visited seasonally free of charge in the Boston Navy Yard at Boston National Historical Park.
Service history
1944
Cassin Young arrived at
She returned to
Between 29 August and 2 October 1944, Cassin Young guarded the carriers of Task Group 38.3 as strikes were flown from their decks to hit targets on
On 18 October 1944, TF 38 took position east of Luzon to launch strikes immobilizing enemy air fields there in preparation for the
1945
Cassin Young continued operations in support of the Leyte conquest, as her carriers continued to range widely, striking at enemy bases on Okinawa, Formosa, and Luzon. With Ulithi as her base, the destroyer screened carriers during the January 1945
Okinawa
Cassin Young returned to Ulithi, where she was attached to Task Force 54 (TF 54) for the
12 April Kamikaze damage
On 12 April, a massive wave of kamikazes came in at midday. Cassin Young's accurate gunfire had aided in shooting down five aircraft, but a sixth crashed high-up into her foremast, exploding in midair only 50 feet (15 m) from the ship. Surprisingly only one man was killed, TM3cT Robert Dean "Bobby" Moore, 19, of Enid, Oklahoma. 58 were wounded, many seriously. Cassin Young, although damaged, made it to
29 July Kamikaze strike
As the kamikaze attacks continued, Cassin Young had respite only during two brief convoy escort voyages to the Marianas. On 28 July, her group was again a prime target for the Japanese, with one destroyer sunk and another badly damaged by kamikazes. During the engagement, Cassin Young assisted in shooting down two enemy aircraft, and rescued survivors from the sunken ship. The next day, she was struck for the second time, when a low-flying aircraft hit her starboard side, striking her fire control room. A tremendous explosion amidships was followed by fire, but the crew managed to restore power to one engine, get the flames under control, and had the ship underway for the safety of Kerama Retto within 20 minutes. Twenty-two men were killed and 45 wounded. For her determined service and gallantry in the Okinawa radar picket line she was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation.
1946
Cassin Young cleared
1951–1960
Recommissioned 8 September 1951, she cleared San Diego on 4 January 1952 for her new home port,
1974–present
Cassin Young was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 December 1974. The US Navy has permanently loaned Cassin Young to the National Park Service, to be preserved as a floating memorial ship berthed at the Boston Navy Yard, part of the Boston National Historical Park (BNHP) in Boston, Massachusetts, across from Constitution. She arrived on 15 June 1978 and was opened to the public in 1981. The ship is maintained and operated by the National Park Service[4] and Cassin Young Volunteers.[5] She was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986, as a well-preserved example of the Fletcher-class destroyer, the most numerous class of destroyer produced by the United States during World War II.[1][6]
In late July 2010, Cassin Young closed to the public in preparation for dry-docking. On 9 August 2010, she was moved into Historic Dry Dock #1 in BNHP for the first time in 30 years for some much needed repairs to her hull. On 4 September 2012, the ship was closed to the public to allow contractors to make final repairs to the hull. She returned to her position at Pier 1 on 14 May 2013. On 4 June 2013, she was moved to the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina in East Boston while repairs were made to her berth in Charlestown.[citation needed] By September 2013, she had returned to her museum berth.
Three other Fletcher-class ships are preserved as memorials:
- USS The Sullivans (DD-537) at Buffalo, New York
- USS Kidd (DD-661) at Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Greek destroyer Velos (D16), former USS Charrette (DD-581), at Thessaloniki, Greece
Awards
- Navy Unit Commendation
- battle stars
- World War II Victory Medal
- Navy Occupation Medalwith "EUROPE" clasp
- China Service Medal
- National Defense Service Medal
- Korean Service Medal
- Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
- Korean Presidential Unit Citation
- Philippine Liberation Medal with two stars
- United Nations Service Medal
- Korean War Service Medal
Gallery
-
In dry dock December 2012
-
Bow with anchors aweigh
-
"Battery 51" (most forward 5"/38 gun turret)
-
Batteries "51" and "52" (Note Mk 25 fire control radar atop turret)
-
DESRON 30 emblem on forward stack; note torpedoes aft of AA guns
-
40 mm Bofors AA guns
-
Bell and lifebuoy
-
Awards
-
Batteries "54" and "55" (aft most 5"/38 gun turret)
-
Inside a Mark 12 5"/38 caliber gun turret
-
Depth charges
-
Operating room
-
Office
-
Repair Locker (for Damage Control)
-
Galley
See also
- Boston National Historical Park
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Boston
- National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Boston, Massachusetts
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 9 July 2010.
- ISBN 1840650826.
- ISBN 1840650826.
- ^ a b c "USS Cassin Young". 2012-10-03. National Park Service.
- ^ "USS Cassin Young Volunteers". Retrieved 3 October 2012.
- ^ "NHL nomination for USS Cassin Young (destroyer)". National Park Service. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
Bibliography
- O'Neill, Richard (1999). Suicide Squads: The Men and Machines of World War II Special Operations. Salamander. OCLC 43341827.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
External links
- DD 793: USS Cassin Young
- Photo gallery of USS Cassin Young at NavSource Naval History
- hazegray.org: USS Cassin Young
- Historic Naval Ships Association: USS Cassin Young (DD-793)