USS Champlin (DD-601)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS Champlin.
USS Champlin (DD-601) at Boston in November 1942
History
United States
NameUSS Champlin (DD-601)
NamesakeStephen Champlin
BuilderFore River Shipyard
Launched25 July 1942
Commissioned12 September 1942
Decommissioned31 January 1947
FateSold for scrap, 8 May 1972
General characteristics
Class and typeBenson-class destroyer
Displacement1,620 tons
Length347 ft 9 in (105.99 m)
Beam36 ft 1 in (11.00 m)
Draught17 ft 4 in (5.28 m)
Speed38
Complement252
Armament4 x
21 inch (533 mm)
tt.

USS Champlin (DD-601) was a

Benson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the second ship named for Stephen Champlin
.

Champlin was launched 25 July 1942 by

Bethlehem Steel Company, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts
; sponsored by Mrs. A. C. Brendel; and commissioned 12 September 1942.

Service history

Operations

After escorting a convoy to

Boston, Massachusetts
15 April was without incident.

Champlin sailed from New York 1 May 1943 with convoy UGS.4, composed primarily of

Camerina
, so successfully that the enemy there surrendered.

Champlin left Sicily guarding a convoy for Oran and New York, arriving 4 August 1943. She made four more

Casco Bay, Maine, in March 1944, Champlin was ordered out on a submarine hunt, joining an all-day operation 7 April. At 1632, she made contact and dropped deep-set depth charges, driving the submarine to the surface. Immediately, her guns opened fire and started a fire. Champlin rammed the stern of the submarine, and U-856 sank at position 40°18′N 62°18′W / 40.300°N 62.300°W / 40.300; -62.300. Champlin's commanding officer, Commander John J. Shaffer III, was wounded by shrapnel during the attack and died the next morning despite emergency surgery.[1]

After repairs to her bow, damaged in the ramming, Champlin left New York 21 April 1944 with a convoy for Oran. On 15 May, she reported at

Var River near Nice upon Army request on 24 August, and a week later left the area to guard merchantmen bound for Oran. She continued to New York, escorting a division of battleships
, and began a program of training and plane guard operations which lasted through the remainder of 1944.

Atlantic convoy escort

On 6 January 1945, Champlin returned to Atlantic convoy escort, sailing for Oran. On 30 January, she cleared Oran to rendezvous with the group bringing President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Malta, where he was to enplane for the Yalta Conference. She later escorted this same group back into the Atlantic, and on 20 February returned to Gibraltar for patrol and convoy escort duty in the western Mediterranean. On 22 April, she departed Oran for New York and preparations for deployment to the Pacific Ocean.

Champlin passed through the

San Diego, California
21 to 24 November, then sailed for the east coast.

Reserve status

Champlin was placed in commission in reserve at Charleston, South Carolina 28 March 1946, and out of commission in reserve 31 January 1947. She was sold 8 May 1972 and scrapped.

Awards

Champlin received six

battle stars
for World War II service.

References

  1. ^ "JOHN J. SHAFFER, III, CDR, USN". Retrieved 2020-10-02.

Public Domain This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

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