USS John W. Weeks

USS John W. Weeks performing a highline transfer
History
United States
Name	John W. Weeks
Namesake	John Wingate Weeks
Builder	Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
Laid down	17 January 1944
Launched	21 May 1944
Commissioned	21 July 1944
Decommissioned	12 August 1970
Stricken	12 August 1970
Fate	Sunk as target off Virginia 19 November 1970
General characteristics
Class and type	Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer
Displacement	2,200 tons
Length	376 ft 6 in (114.76 m)
Beam	40 ft (12 m)
Draft	15 ft 8 in (4.78 m)
Propulsion	60,000 shp (45,000 kW) 2 propellers
Speed	34 kn (63 km/h; 39 mph)
Range	6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	336
Armament	6 × 5 in (130 mm) /38 cal guns, 12 × 40 mm AA guns, 11 × 20 mm AA guns, 10 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes , 6 × depth charge projectors, 2 × depth charge tracks

USS John W. Weeks (DD-701), an

The destroyer again sailed with the carriers on 11 February, and conducted strikes on Tokyo on 16–17 February, in preinvasion support of the Allied attack on Iwo Jima. After inflicting considerable damage to Japanese air power, John W. Weeks steamed toward Iwo Jima to give direct support to Marines fighting for the island. Later that month, the carriers renewed their attacks on the enemy's home islands. Heavy raids during March continued to cripple the enemy's power, and the destroyer received credit for two assists as five enemy planes were splashed while attempting a raid on the Task Force.

When D-day for the

For the remainder of the war, John W. Weeks participated in the final assault on the Empire Islands, engaging in radar picket duty, shore bombardment, rescue missions and the antishipping sweep off Tokyo Bay. Following the cessation of hostilities, she steamed into Tokyo Bay on 8 September to begin escort operations with the occupation forces. She continued escort duty until 30 December, when she sailed for home, arriving San Francisco on 20 January 1946. The destroyer arrived Norfolk, Virginia on 19 February and following repairs she was inactivated on 26 April.

One year later, on 17 May 1947, she sailed once again and commenced Naval Reserve training cruises until mid-1949. On 6 September of that year, she sailed for Europe, returning on 8 February 1950. John W. Weeks

1950s

At the beginning of the Korean War, President Harry S. Truman ordered American forces into action to take up the challenge. John W. Weeks recommissioned on 24 October 1950 and commenced training cruises in the Atlantic and Caribbean. During her European cruise in January 1952, she participated in the attempt to save ill-fated Flying Enterprise, which foundered and sank in a 90-mile (140 km) gale on 10 January 1952. The destroyer returned to Norfolk on 6 February to engage in coastal operations and a midshipmen European cruise.

John W. Weeks sailed on an around the world cruise on 3 November 1953, and while in the Far East she operated with units of the 7th Fleet off the coast of Korea. She completed the cruise when she returned via the Mediterranean arriving Norfolk on 4 June 1954. From 1954 to 1963 the destroyer operated with the Atlantic Fleet and during this period made five Mediterranean cruises and two NATO exercises.

The destroyer was operating with the

On 9 March 1960, John W. Weeks, in company with the destroyer Ault, transited the Bosporus; and the two became the first U.S. warships to enter the Black Sea since 1945. On the same cruise she rendezvoused with Triton at the end of the nuclear-powered submarine's cruise round the world.

After returning to Norfolk, the destroyer visited the Caribbean and the New England coast on midshipman training at sea. In the fall she deployed to the Mediterranean and returned to Norfolk, Virginia on 3 March 1962. Midshipman training in the summer and exercise out of Norfolk kept the ship in fighting trim and ready for action.

In October, the presence of Soviet offensive missiles in Cuba prompted President

Late in the summer, the destroyer was on the Gemini 5 recovery team. For the remainder of the year, she operated out of Norfolk in the Caribbean and along the Atlantic Coast. She continued ASW exercises in the Caribbean until returning to Norfolk on 3 February 1966. After serving as sonar school ship at Key West during March and April, the veteran destroyer departed Norfolk 16 May for European waters.

Steaming with DesRon 2, John W. Weeks spent the next 3 months cruising the western coast of Europe from Norway to France. She took part in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercises, and during Operation "Straight Laced," a simulated invasion of the Norwegian coast, she operated with British and West German ships. While carrying out ASW duty during this exercise, she made the only simulated submarine kill in the operation on 19 August. Departing Derry, Northern Ireland on 24 August, she returned to Norfolk on 2 September. During the remainder of the year she served as school ship at Key West and joined in ASW exercises along the Atlantic Coast and in the Caribbean.

John W. Weeks continued this duty until early in July 1967 when she departed Norfolk for deployment in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Steaming via San Juan, Puerto Rico, and

The destroyer departed from Norfolk, Virginia in January 1969 for duty off the coast of Vietnam. She operated with four aircraft carriers while there. She returned home in September 1969.

Decommissioning and disposal

She was

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

External links

• "John W Weeks Association"
• navsource.org: USS John W. Weeks
• hazegray.org: USS John W. Weeks

37°10.9′N 73°45.6′W / 37.1817°N 73.7600°W / 37.1817; -73.7600