USS Halligan
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History | |
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Name | USS Halligan |
Namesake | John Halligan, Jr. |
Builder | Boston Navy Yard |
Laid down | 9 November 1942 |
Launched | 19 March 1943 |
Commissioned | 19 August 1943 |
Stricken | 28 April 1945 |
Fate | Lost to mine, 26 March 1945 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Fletcher-class destroyer |
Displacement | 2,050 tons |
Length | 376 ft 6 in (114.7 m) |
Beam | 39 ft 8 in (12.1 m) |
Draft | 17 ft 9 in (5.4 m) |
Propulsion | 60,000 shp (45 MW); 2 propellers |
Speed | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
Range | 6500 nmi. (12,000 km) at 15 kt |
Complement | 273 |
Armament |
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USS Halligan (DD-584) was a
Halligan was laid down 9 November 1942 by
World War II
After shakedown off
1944
Assigned to duty in the Pacific, Halligan departed Charleston 21 December, reached
Halligan next joined the screening group for
After a period at Pearl Harbor, Halligan departed 15 September for
1945
Halligan's next assignment was supporting the invasion of Luzon at Lingayen Gulf. Operating as part of Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf's powerful support forces, she departed the Palaus 1 January 1945, transited Surigao Strait 3 January, and steamed through the Sulu Sea bound for the western coast of Luzon. Penetrating deep into enemy-held territory, the fleet was subjected to extensive kamikaze attacks. Ommaney Bay was severely hit 4 January; and after her survivors were rescued, the burning carrier was sunk by torpedoes fired by Burns. The following day Japanese planes resumed their attacks; despite withering anti-aircraft fire which shot down most of the attackers, suicide planes damaged several ships during an afternoon attack. Halligan shot down one kamikaze 5 January, then sent rescue and repair parties to assist damaged Stafford.
Arriving off Lingayen Gulf 7 January, Halligan screened escort carriers and patrolled in search of enemy submarines during the important Lingayen landings 9 January. She remained off the Luzon coast until 17 January when she sailed for Leyte as part of the screen for six escort carriers. Arriving Leyte Gulf 22 January, she sailed for Ulithi the next day and arrived 25 January to prepare for the invasion of Iwo Jima.
Assigned duty as fire support and shore bombardment ship, Halligan departed Ulithi 10 February; and, after conducting simulated shore bombardment at
Halligan closed to within 2,700 yards (2.5 km) of the shore of Iwo Jima 19 February; and, as the first wave of
One of the last destroyers to return from the Iwo Jima operation, Halligan arrived Ulithi in mid-March. She was soon underway again, this time as part of
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/USS_Halligan_%28DD-584%29_sunk_off_Tokashiki_in_1945.jpg/220px-USS_Halligan_%28DD-584%29_sunk_off_Tokashiki_in_1945.jpg)
Halligan continued her offshore patrols on 26 March. At about 18:35 a tremendous explosion rocked the ship, sending smoke and debris 200 feet (61 m) in the air. The destroyer had hit a moored mine head on, exploding the forward magazines and blowing off the forward section of the ship including the bridge, back to the forward stack. PC-1128 and USS LSM(R)-194 arrived soon after the explosion to aid survivors. Ensign Richard L. Gardner, the senior surviving officer who was uninjured, organized rescue parties and directed the evacuation of the living to waiting rescue vessels. Finally, he gave the order to abandon ship as the smoking hulk drifted helplessly.
USS PC-584 was one of the rescue vessels, saving approximately 80 men from the stricken destroyer. The commander of that vessel, Cecil N. Smith, was awarded the Silver Star for his role in the rescue effort.
Halligan lost half of her crew of 300 in the disaster, and only 2 of her 21 officers survived. The abandoned destroyer drifted aground on Tokashiki, a small island west of Okinawa, the following day. There the hulk was further battered by pounding surf and enemy shore batteries. Her name was struck from the Navy List 28 April 1945, and in 1957 her hulk was donated to the government of the Ryukyu Islands.
Halligan received six
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.