USS Lea
_laying_smoke_screen_c1921.jpeg) USS Lea (DD-118) laying a smoke screen in 1921
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Lea |
| Namesake | Edward Lea |
| Builder | William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia |
| Yard number | 455 |
| Laid down | 18 September 1917 |
| Launched | 29 April 1918 |
| Commissioned | 2 October 1918 |
| Decommissioned | 22 June 1922 |
| Recommissioned | 1 May 1930 |
| Decommissioned | 7 April 1937 |
| Recommissioned | 30 September 1939 |
| Decommissioned | 20 July 1945 |
| Stricken | 13 August 1945 |
| Fate | Sold, 30 November 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Wickes-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 1,165 tons |
| Length | 314 ft 4 in (95.8 m) |
| Beam | 30 ft 11 in (9.4 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 0 in (2.7 m) |
| Speed | 35 knots (65 km/h) |
| Complement | 133 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USS Lea (DD-118) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I and World War II. She was named in honor of Edward Lea, a US Navy officer killed during the American Civil War.
Lea was
Service history
After service in the
World War II
For the first 21⁄2 years of U.S. participation in the war, Lea had convoy escort duty in the North Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea, and along the eastern seaboard, hazarded by peak U-boat activity and dangerous weather conditions. She rescued survivors from stricken merchant ships as well as fighting off submarines and joining in several successful attacks.
The first of her many wartime rescues at sea came in February 1942, when she took on board the crew of Soviet merchant vessel Dvinoles, abandoned after collision damage. Later that month, 24 February, came a daylong battle with submarines when Lea and fellow escorts again and again dashed out from their convoy screen to keep down attacking U-boats which had sunk four of the merchantmen.
Between 22 April 1943 and 30 May, Lea joined the hunter-killer group formed around the escort carrier Bogue in the first mission of such a group. On 21 May and 22 May, Bogue's aircraft became the first to engage a wolfpack attempting to rendezvous for a mass attack on a convoy. So successful were their six attacks in protecting the convoy that the group was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation in which Lea shared.
Convoys escorted
| Convoy | Escort Group | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| task force 19 | 1–7 July 1941[1] | occupation of Iceland prior to US declaration of war | |
| HX 153 | 7–13 Oct 1941[2] | from Newfoundland to Iceland prior to US declaration of war | |
ON 28
|
25–30 Oct 1941[3] | from Iceland to Newfoundland prior to US declaration of war | |
| HX 161 | 23 Nov-3 Dec 1941[2] | from Newfoundland to Iceland prior to US declaration of war | |
| HX 173 | 3–10 Feb 1942[2] | from Newfoundland to Iceland | |
| ON 67 | 19–28 Feb 1942[3] | from Iceland to Newfoundland |
Auxiliary service
On 31 December 1943, Lea was five days out of
Awards
- Presidential Unit Citation
- Victory Medal with "DESTROYER" clasp
- American Defense Service Medal with "FLEET" clasp and "A" device
- battle stars
- European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medalwith one battle star
- World War II Victory Medal
As of 2013, no other ships in the United States Navy have borne this name.
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- ^ Morison, Samuel Eliot (1975). The Battle of the Atlantic September 1939 – May 1943. Little, Brown and Company. pp. 74–79.
- ^ a b c "HX convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ a b "ON convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
