USS Kalk (DD-611)

History
United States
Name	USS Kalk (DD-611)
Namesake	Stanton Frederick Kalk
Builder	Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, San Francisco, California
Laid down	30 June 1941
Launched	18 July 1942
Commissioned	17 October 1942
Decommissioned	3 May 1946
Stricken	June 1968
Fate	Sunk as a target in March 1969
General characteristics
Class and type	Benson-class destroyer
Displacement	1,620 tons
Length	348 ft 4 in (106.17 m)
Beam	36 ft 1 in (11.00 m)
Draught	11 ft 9 in (3.58 m)
Speed	37.5 knots (69.5 km/h)
Complement	258
Armament	4 x 21 inch (533 mm) tt, 6 dcp., 2 dct.

USS Kalk (DD-611) was a

Lieutenant Stanton Frederick Kalk

.

Kalk was laid down 30 June 1941 by the

San Francisco, California

; launched 18 July 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Flora Stanton Kalk, mother of Lieutenant Kalk; and commissioned 17 October.

Service history

Following shakedown along the

Amchitka Island. On the 16th, she embarked 185 survivors of Arthur Middleton and Worden

which had foundered in an Arctic storm. She transported them to Adak, then continued intermittent patrols until she sailed 26 February for home, arriving San Francisco 4 March.

After repairs, Kalk steamed from San Francisco 7 April and proceeded via the

Boston

, she arrived Norfolk 29 December and then sailed 2 January 1944 for the Pacific.

She departed

Schouten Islands

.

After providing fire support during the invasion of

Humboldt Bay. While on patrol 12 June off the southern coast of Biak, an enemy plane dived out of the sun and released a bomb which struck abaft her forward stack at the base of her starboard torpedo tubes

. As Kalk's 20 mm gunfire downed the attacker, the bomb exploded the air flasks of her torpedoes, destroying several 20 mm guns, showering her crew with shrapnel, and damaging her superstructure amidships. Though suffering 70 casualties, her crew rallied to save the destroyer. Firefighters extinguished each blaze; and, while other hands tended the wounded, volunteers detached the warheads from torpedoes scattered about the deck.

The only Allied ship seriously damaged in more than 2 weeks of repeated air attacks at and near Biak, Kalk retired to Hollandia, New Guinea, for emergency repairs and sailed 20 June via the Admiralties and Pearl Harbor for the United States. Reaching San Francisco 31 July, she received complete repairs and underwent alteration at Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

Then the destroyer departed 26 October for Pearl Harbor, arriving 1 November. On 12 November she headed via

Eniwetok to Ulithi

, Western Carolines, where she arrived 26 November to resume her duty in the western Pacific.

For more than 8 months Kalk operated out of Ulithi on anti-submarine warfare patrols screening sea logistics forces during offensive operations from

Okinawa. From 16 to 23 December she patrolled northeast of Luzon during replenishment of the 3rd Fleet. Sailing from Ulithi 29 December, she screened supply units which supported TF 38 during the crucial Lingayen Gulf

operations on western Luzon. She continued this duty until returning to Ulithi 27 January 1945.

As a unit of DesDiv 38, Kalk rendezvoused with TG 50.8 on 18 February for refueling and replenishment operations of TF 58 during the campaign on

Ryūkyū waters of Japanese shipping and aircraft in preparation for the invasion of Okinawa 1 April. From then to the end of the war, Kalk operated with the 5th and 3rd Fleets off the Ryūkyūs as escort, plane guard, and ASW screen. Concerned primarily with screening supply ships between Ulithi and Okinawa, she destroyed numerous Japanese mines during patrols. While steaming for Okinawa 5 June with logistic support group TG 30.8, she passed through a raging typhoon

with destructive winds of more than 90 knots. Suffering only minor damage, Kalk continued screening patrols. When the war ended 15 August, she was steaming from Okinawa to Ulithi.

Departing Ulithi 20 August, Kalk sailed via

Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Orange, Texas. Kalk was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register

in June 1968. She was sunk as a target in March 1969.

Awards

Kalk received eight

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.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

v t e Benson-class destroyers
United States Navy	Benson Mayo Madison Lansdale Hilary P. Jones Charles F. Hughes Laffey Woodworth Farenholt Bailey Bancroft Barton Boyle Champlin Meade Murphy Parker Caldwell Coghlan Frazier Gansevoort Gillespie Hobby Kalk Kendrick Laub MacKenzie McLanahan Nields Ordronaux
Republic of China Navy	Lo Yang (ex-Benson) Han Yang (ex-Hilary P. Jones)
Marina Militare	Artigliere (ex-Woodworth)
Preceded by: Sims class Followed by: Gleaves class
List of destroyers of the United States Navy