USS Heywood L. Edwards

	USS Heywood L. Edwards off Boston on 5 April 1944
History
United States
Name	Heywood L. Edwards
Namesake	Heywood L. Edwards
Builder	Boston Navy Yard
Laid down	4 July 1943
Launched	6 October 1943
Sponsored by	Mrs. Louise S. Edwards
Commissioned	26 January 1944
Decommissioned	1 July 1946
Stricken	18 March 1974
Identification	Callsign: NUVG; ; Hull number: DD-663;
Honours and; awards	See Awards
Fate	Transferred to Japan, 10 March 1959
Japan
Name	Ariake; (ありあけ);
Namesake	Ariake (1934)
Acquired	10 March 1959
Commissioned	10 March 1959
Decommissioned	1974
Stricken	1974
Identification	Hull number: DD-183
Fate	Scrapped, 1976
General characteristics
Class and type	Fletcher-class destroyer; Ariake-class destroyer;
Displacement	2,050 long tons (2,083 t)
Length	376 ft 6 in (114.76 m)
Beam	39 ft 8 in (12.09 m)
Draft	13 ft 9 in (4.19 m)
Propulsion	60,000 shp (45 MW); 2 propellers;
Speed	35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range	6,500 nmi (12,000 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Complement	319
Armament	5 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber guns; 4 × 40 mm AA guns; 4 × 20 mm AA guns; 10 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 6 × depth charge projectors; 2 × depth charge tracks;
Service record
Part of:	United States Pacific Fleet (1944-1946); Pacific Reserve Fleet (1946-1959); Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (1959-1974);
Operations:	Battle of Saipan (1944); Battle of Tinian (1944); Battle of Peleliu (1944); Philippines campaign, 1944-45; Battle of Surigao Strait (1944); Battle of Luzon (1945); Battle of Iwo Jima (1945); Battle of Okinawa (1945);
Awards:	7 battle stars; Navy Unit Commendation;

USS Heywood L. Edwards (DD-663) was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named after Lieutenant Commander Heywood L. Edwards (1905–1941), captain of the destroyer USS Reuben James, the first U.S. Navy ship sunk in World War II. Following the war, the ship was transferred to Japan and renamed Ariake. The ship served with the Japanese until 1974 and was scrapped in 1976.

Construction and career

Heywood L. Edwards was

launched by Boston Navy Yard on 6 October 1943, sponsored by Mrs Louise S. Edwards, mother of Lt. Comdr. Edwards. The ship was commissioned

on 26 January 1944.

Service in the United States Navy

Marianas and Palaus

Heywood L. Edwards conducted her shakedown beginning 25 February off

Marianas with Heywood L. Edwards acting as screening unit for the transport group and during the initial landings on Saipan on 15 June the destroyer took up patrol station to seaward of the invasion beaches. From 21–30 June she approached the beaches to deliver fire support for the advancing Marines and continued that duty until 2 July. Edwards then joined the cruiser USS Montpelier for the bombardment of Tinian, as part of the Marianas campaign

.

The destroyer returned to her gunfire support role off

Eniwetok

.

Heywood L. Edwards took part in the

star shell

engaged with her main guns. By dawn, she claimed 14 of the barges, aided by landing craft and helped prevent the landing of Japanese troops.

Philippines

Heywood L. Edwards proceeded to

Battle of Surigao Strait

.

As Oldendorf's deployed forces waited at the end of

bow of the cruisers in search of any remaining enemy vessels, patrolled the eastern entrance to the strait for a day, then returned to take up station in Leyte Gulf

.

With the Allied victory complete at sea, Heywood L. Edwards remained in the invasion area until 25 November, patrolling and protecting the shipping building up in the gulf. She arrived at Manus for a rest and repair period on 29 November, sailing on 15 December for training exercises in the

Palau Islands. She departed on 1 January with Oldendorf's group for the second phase of the Philippine invasion, at Lingayen Gulf. Engaging kamikaze suicide aircraft as they sailed, the ships arrived Lingayen Gulf 6 January where Edwards claimed two of these aircraft. She then took up her fire support duties for UDT teams and with the landings, 9 January covered troops on the beachhead and fired at shore targets. She continued these assignments and convoy escort until 22 January, when she departed for Ulithi

.

Iwo Jima and Okinawa

B-29 operations against the mainland of Japan. Heywood L. Edwards participated in landing rehearsals 12–14 February 1945 and screened the fleet during the pre-invasion bombardment. During the landings on Iwo Jima she provided naval gunfire support

from the 19–27 February, when she sailed for Saipan.

Heywood L. Edwards returned to Ulithi and joined

Okinawa on 30 March, shelled an airfield ashore that afternoon and on 1 April joined in the bombardment of the assault areas. During the next weeks of fighting ashore, naval forces effectively sealed off the island from any reinforcement and supported the troops with gunfire. Edwards and the other vessels fought off air attacks. When destroyer Longshaw ran aground on a reef 18 May, Heywood L. Edwards knocked out shore batteries which had fired on the ship. She then continued performing fire support and radar picket

duties off Okinawa until 28 July, when she sailed for Leyte Gulf.

The destroyer departed Leyte on 2 August and after a time at Saipan and Eniwetok she got underway again on 29 August. Sailing toward Japan, Heywood L. Edwards covered the initial occupation of the

Pacific Reserve Fleet

.

Service in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force

Heywood L. Edwards was brought out of reserve in 1959 and along with her sister ship Richard P. Leary was loaned to Japan under the Military Assistance Program. She served in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as JDS Ariake (DD-183) until 1974.

Ariake was broken up for scrap in 1976.

Awards

Heywood L. Edwards received seven

battle stars for her service in World War II and a Navy Unit Commendation

for her outstanding part in the great amphibious operations of 1944–45.

References

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