USS Grayson

History
United States
Name	Grayson
Namesake	Cary Travers Grayson
Builder	Charleston Navy Yard
Laid down	17 July 1939
Launched	7 August 1940
Commissioned	14 February 1941
Decommissioned	4 February 1947
Stricken	1 June 1972
Fate	Sold 12 June 1974; and broken up for scrap;
General characteristics
Class and type	Gleaves-class destroyer
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	4 × DP guns,; 6 × 0.5 in (12.7 mm) guns,; 6 × 20 mm AA guns,; 10 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes,; 2 × depth charge tracks;

USS Grayson (DD-435), a

Cary Travers Grayson, who served as personal physician and aide to President Woodrow Wilson during World War I. He also served as chairman of the American Red Cross

from 1935 until his death on 15 February 1938.

Grayson was

launched on 7 August 1940; sponsored by Mrs Alice Gertrude Gordon Grayson Harrison (Mrs George Leslie Harrison), widow of Rear Admiral Grayson. The ship was commissioned

on 14 February 1941.

Service history

After shakedown along the New England coast and in Chesapeake Bay, Grayson joined Destroyer Division 22 (DesDiv 22) of the Atlantic Fleet. On 28 August she became the flagship of Destroyer Squadron 11 (DesRon 11) operating in the Caribbean out of Guantanamo Bay. She reported for neutrality patrol in the North Atlantic waters between Newfoundland and Iceland on 26 October.

After ten months patrolling and escorting

B-25 raid on Tokyo

on 18 April.

The task group sailed into Pearl Harbor on 25 April. Grayson departed almost immediately for repairs in California, before returning to the Pacific war.

Guadalcanal

Grayson sailed from Pearl Harbor 15 July to escort Enterprise and Hornet. Reaching Guadalcanal via Tongatapu on 7 August 1942, the carriers launched their aircraft to cover the landings there and then operated in the area to block Japanese reinforcements. As they manoeuvred off Guadalcanal, Enterprise was hit by Japanese bombs on 24 August in an action lasting half an hour which saw Grayson claim two Japanese aircraft and damage a third. The task group then dispersed, with Enterprise returning to Pearl Harbor for repairs. Grayson joined Task Force 11 (TF 11), built around Saratoga under Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. On the 25 August, Grayson sighted a Japanese submarine on the surface the next day and after expending her entire supply of 46 depth charges, in five attacks, the destroyer saw air bubbles and oil rise to the surface.

She remained around Guadalcanal escorting

radar picket ship. On 18 October she picked up 75 survivors from the destroyer Meredith, which had been sunk by an aerial torpedo

on 16 October, and helped escort the barge Vireo.

Kolombangara

Returning to Pearl Harbor on 15 April 1943 for overhaul, Grayson continued on to the United States for further repairs and then made to

Puget Sound Navy Yard

16 December for overhaul.

1944

Grayson returned to the Pacific, putting in at

Noemfoor Island

on 2 July, prior to the invasion landings.

On 1 September 1944 Grayson joined TG 38, for airstrikes on the

Okinawa and the Philippines and on 15 October she rescued 194 men from the damaged cruiser Houston

.

From Ulithi, Grayson sailed to

Saipan

, where on 3 November she took up radar picket and lifeguard duty. Finally Grayson was ordered home, reaching Seattle on 9 June 1945.

End of World War II and fate

Grayson returned to Pearl Harbor 1 September 1945, the day of the signing of the Articles of Surrender in Tokyo Bay. After a brief training period, she sailed for the United States, transiting the Panama Canal 8 October, she put in at Charleston, South Carolina, 16 October. Eleven days later she hosted over 5,000 visitors on Navy Day. Grayson remained at Charleston until decommissioned, 4 February 1947, and was placed in reserve. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1972, sold 12 June 1974 and broken up for scrap.

Grayson received 13

battle stars

for World War II service.

References

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