USS Hoel (DD-533)
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History | |
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Name | Hoel |
Namesake | William R. Hoel |
Builder | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, San Francisco, California |
Laid down | 4 June 1942 |
Launched | 19 December 1942 |
Commissioned | 19 July 1943 |
Honours and awards | Presidential Unit Citation, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, 5 Battle Stars |
Fate | Sunk 25 October 1944, Battle off Samar |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Fletcher-class destroyer |
Displacement |
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Length | 376 ft 6 in (114.76 m) |
Beam | 39 ft 8 in (12.1 m) |
Draft | 17 ft 9 in (5.4 m) |
Installed power | 60,000 shp (45,000 kW) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 38 knots (70 km/h; 44 mph) |
Range | 6,500 nmi (7,500 mi; 12,000 km) @ 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) |
Complement | 273 |
Sensors and processing systems | QC series sonar |
Armament |
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![]() | This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (September 2022) ) |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/USS_Hoel_%28DD-533%29_at_sea%2C_10_August_1944.jpg/220px-USS_Hoel_%28DD-533%29_at_sea%2C_10_August_1944.jpg)
USS Hoel (DD-533) was a
Design and characteristics
The Fletcher-class destroyers were designed, beginning in October 1939, to be large enough to adequately carry the armament of the preceding Gleaves-class destroyers.[1][2] From January 1940 to the end of World War II, 175 Fletcher-class destroyers were built.[3]
As a Fletcher-class, Hoel
Hoel's armor measured 0.75 inches (19 mm) thick on its sides and 0.5 inches (13 mm) on the deck over its machinery. Her primary armament consisted of a
Construction and service history
Hoel was
Hoel sailed from San Francisco Bay 16 August 1943 for shakedown training in operating areas out of
Hoel sortied from Pearl Harbor with her group 10 November 1943 and guarded her "baby flattops" as their aircraft pounded
When the escort carriers cleared the area at night 27 November 1943, Hoel joined the screen protecting Abemama Group l which was unloading on
Hoel with fleet units of the
When Task Forces 51 and 53 dissolved and their ships reverted to Task Force 51, Hoel was assigned to Fire Support Section 3, Task Unit 51.17.3 (TU 51.17.3) of the
Hoel, in company with three other destroyers of DesRon 47 reported to Commander
Hoel then patrolled south and east of Cape Botiangen, New Hanover Island, where her guns destroyed an enemy warehouse 26 March 1944, and, the next day, captured documents which contained valuable information from a 4-foot (1.2 m) outrigger canoe. That night she made four depth charge runs on an underwater sound contact with unknown results. She returned to Purvis Bay on 8 April 1944 to screen a convoy carrying troops and supplies to Emirau Island.
Upon her return to Purvis Bay 14 April 1944, Hoel reported for duty to Rear Admiral
Taffy 3
After replenishing at
Dawn of 25 October 1944 found "Taffy 3" steaming northeast of Samar operating as the Northern Air Support Group. "Taffy 2" was in the central position patrolling off the entrance to
The only chance for survival of the little group of American "Jeep" carriers and "tin cans" lay in running to the east long enough to launch what aircraft could be readied before fleeing to the south hoping that aid would arrive before their complete destruction. While the carriers launched all available aircraft to attack their numerous Japanese adversaries and then formed a rough circle as they turned toward Leyte Gulf, Hoel and her fellow destroyers Johnston and Heermann, worked feverishly to lay down a smoke screen to hide their "baby flattops" from the overwhelmingly superior enemy ships. At 07:06, when a providential rain squall helped to hide his carriers, Admiral Clifton Sprague boldly ordered his destroyers to attack the Japanese with torpedoes. Hoel instantly obeyed this order by heading straight for the nearest enemy battleship, Kongō, then 18,000 yards (16,000 m) away. When she had closed to 14,000 yards (13,000 m) she opened fire as she continued her race toward Kongō's 14-inch (356 mm) guns. A hit on her bridge which knocked out all voice radio communication did not deflect her from her course toward the enemy until she had launched a half salvo of torpedoes at a range of 9,000 yards (8,200 m). Although Hoel's torpedoes all failed to strike their target, they caused Kongō to lose ground in her pursuit of the carriers by forcing her to turn sharply left and to continue to move away from her quarry until they had run their course. Minutes later Hoel suffered hits which knocked out three of her guns, stopped her port engine, and deprived her of her Mark-37 fire control director, FD radar, and Bridge steering control.
Undaunted, Hoel turned to engage what her crew believed to be a column of enemy heavy cruisers which were actually the battleships Haruna and Yamato. When she had closed to within 6,000 yards (5,500 m) of the leading ship, identified as Haguro but more likelyYamato, or possibly Haruna. As Hoel came closer and closer to the Japanese ships, Yamato fired at Hoel with her 5-inch guns, while Haruna targeted Hoel with her secondary batteries, and Hoel returned fire, getting into a gun duel with the largest and most powerful battleship ever made. Hoel struck Yamato with a 5 inch shell, and it's unclear if Yamato scored any hits, or if Hoel made any hits on Haruna. The destroyer launched a half-salvo of torpedoes which ran "hot, straight and normal." This time her crew was rewarded by the sight of large columns of water alongside their target, seemingly signifying hits. This observation may have been illusory, as neither Haruna nor Haguro received torpedo damage and explosions may have been near miss bombs from the constant air attacks. Track charts of the battle indicate the most likely target of this attack was actually Kurita's flagship Yamato, which, alongside torpedoes from the Heerman, was forced to turn north to evade these torpedoes, taking Kurita away from the battle at a critical moment and causing him to lose control of his forces, and forcing the Japanese center force's most effective warship, Yamato, out of the battle for an extended period of time.
Hoel now found herself crippled and surrounded by enemies. Kongō was only 8,000 yards (7,300 m) off her port beam, and the heavy cruiser column was some 7,000 yards (6,400 m) off her port quarter. To make things worse, battleship Yamato, returning from an evasive maneuver, possibly targeted Hoel with her secondary guns (although it is unclear whether Yamato targeted Hoel or Johnston with her 6.1-inch guns). During the next hour the ship rendered her final service by drawing enemy fire to herself and away from the carriers. In the process of fishtailing and chasing salvos she peppered them with her two remaining guns. Finally, at 08:30, after withstanding over 40 hits, an 8-inch (203 mm) shell stilled her last working engine. With her engine room under water, her No. 1 magazine ablaze, and the ship listing heavily to port and settling by the stern, Hoel's captain, Commander Leon S. Kintberger, ordered his crew to "prepare to abandon ship." The Japanese continued to fire at the doomed ship as her surviving officers and men went over the side and only stopped at 08:55 when Hoel rolled over and sank.
Only 86 of Hoel's complement survived; 253 officers and men died with their ship, at least 40 of them dying in the water while awaiting rescue. Commander Kintberger described the courageous devotion to duty of the men of the Hoel in a seaman's epitaph to the action: "Fully cognizant of the inevitable result of engaging such vastly superior forces, these men performed their assigned duties coolly and efficiently until their ship was shot from under them."
Awards and Memorials
In addition to the
The William E. Taylor Division of the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps is named after Watertender 2nd Class William E. Taylor, a native of Wilmington, Delaware, who died on the USS Hoel. The division is based out of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
Notes
- ^ Friedman 1982, p. 111.
- ^ McComb 2010, p. 5.
- ^ McComb 2010, pp. 5, 10.
- ^ McComb 2010, p. 46.
- ^ a b DANFS: Hoel (DD-533).
- ^ Gardiner & Chesneau 1980, p. 130.
- ^ Friedman 1982, p. 412.
References
- Harry, Stephanie. "Hoel I (DD-533)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
Books
- ISBN 9780870217333.
- Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9780870219139.
- ISBN 9780553802573.
- McComb, Dave (2010). US Destroyers 1942–45: Wartime Classes. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781846034442.
External links
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