USS Maddox (DD-731)
26°08′55″N 81°46′30″W / 26.1484805°N 81.7748860°W
USS Maddox underway in the early 1960s
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | Maddox |
Namesake | William A. T. Maddox |
Builder | Bath Iron Works |
Laid down | 28 October 1943 |
Launched | 19 March 1944 |
Sponsored by | Mrs. Harry H. Wilhoit |
Commissioned | 2 June 1944 |
Decommissioned | 1972 |
Stricken | 2 July 1972 |
Identification |
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Fate | Sold to Taiwan in 1973 |
Badge | |
Taiwan | |
Name |
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Namesake | Po Yang |
Acquired | 6 July 1972 |
Commissioned | 6 July 1972 |
Identification | Hull number: DD-10 |
Reclassified |
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Decommissioned | 30 June 1984 |
Stricken | 1985 |
Fate | Scrapped, 1985 |
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 |
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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 officers and men |
Armament |
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USS Maddox (DD-731), was an
Maddox screened the ships of the
After 1953, she alternated operations along the west coast of the United States and in Hawaiian waters, with regular deployments to the western Pacific with the Seventh Fleet. Maddox departed Long Beach 13 March 1964. At first steaming with fast carrier groups in the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea, she headed south 18 May and established patrol off the coast of South Vietnam. During August she was involved in a skirmish with North Vietnamese torpedo boats, the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which led to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and increased U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
Construction and career
She was
World War II
Following shakedown and antisubmarine exercises, Maddox departed
On 8 July, Maddox sailed from Leyte to participate in the operations of the third Fleet off the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. From 10 July until the cessation of offensive action 15 August, she provided screening, picket, and shore bombardment services.
Following the Japanese surrender, Maddox continued to patrol off Japan until departing
Korean War
Returning to San Diego 24 March 1947, she operated for the next three years off the west coast conducting reserve training cruises, serving as a training ship in antisubmarine warfare and gunnery and participating in maneuvers with the 1st Task Fleet.
On 1 May 1950, Maddox departed San Diego for the Far East, arriving Hong Kong 26 June, the day after the commencement of hostilities in
Maddox returned to Korea 7 September and assumed coastal blockade and bombardment duties. She continued this assignment, which included a diversionary bombardment of
In June Maddox returned to San Diego, arriving on 26 June, to stay only one month before departing for her new home port of Long Beach. After local operations and overhaul, Maddox again sailed for the Far East on 2 February 1953. As on her second Korean deployment, the destroyer again guarded the fast carriers along the eastern coast of Korea; participated in shore bombardments, this time as far north as Hungnam, and served, for a two-week period, in the Taiwan Patrol Force. After completing her 1953 Korean tour on 12 August she departed for Long Beach, arriving on 30 August.
1954–1964
Maddox operated off the west coast until the next spring. (Maddox is featured in the Hollywood film Return from the Sea, released by Allied Artists in 1954.)[1] On 4 May 1954, she sailed for duty with the 7th Fleet. On this tour, which lasted until 5 December, she took part in antisubmarine warfare tactics and attack carrier exercises off Kyushu, Korea, and Luzon as well as operating with the Taiwan Patrol Force.
From 14 June 1955 through 2 March 1962, Maddox completed six additional cruises to the Far East. These cruises included combined defense exercises with the forces of other
Having operated off the west coast for two years, from March 1962, Maddox departed Long Beach 13 March 1964 for another tour with the 7th Fleet. At first steaming with fast carrier groups in the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea, she headed south 18 May and established patrol off the coast of South Vietnam.
Gulf of Tonkin incident
On 31 July 1964 she commenced her first leg of a
On 4 August, another DESOTO patrol off the North Vietnamese coast was launched by Maddox and USS Turner Joy, in order to "show the flag" after the first incident. This time their orders indicated that the ships were to close to no more than 11 miles (18 km) from the coast of North Vietnam.[11] During an evening and early morning of rough weather and heavy seas, the destroyers received radar, sonar, and radio signals that they believed signaled another attack by the North Vietnamese navy. For some two hours the ships fired on radar targets and maneuvered vigorously amid electronic and visual reports of enemies. At 0127 Washington time, Herrick sent a cable in which he admitted that the attack may never have happened and that there may actually have been no North Vietnamese craft in the area: "Review of action makes many reported contacts and torpedoes fired appear doubtful. Freak weather effects on radar and overeager sonarmen may have accounted for many reports. No actual visual sightings by Maddox. Suggest complete evaluation before any further action taken." Since then, numerous accounts have supported the theory that there was no attack on 4 August at all, including North Vietnamese military commander Võ Nguyên Giáp, who in 1995 admitted 2 August attack but asserted that the 4 August attack had never occurred.
Vietnam War
After arrival at Long Beach, Maddox remained in a leave and upkeep status until mid‑January 1965, then conducted training exercises and repairs in preparation for her next WestPac deployment. She departed Long Beach on 10 July and commenced operating with the fast carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin in early August. For the next four months, Maddox alternated duty with the carriers with gunfire support missions off the coast of South Vietnam. At the end of November she sailed for home, arriving at Long Beach 16 December.
After conducting upkeep and local exercises off the California coast, summer 1966 saw her engaged in a training cruise for midshipmen which included a trip to Pearl Harbor. Maddox departed California 20 November for another deployment with the 7th Fleet, sailing by way of Pearl Harbor, Midway, Guam, and Taiwan.
After a successful tour consisting primarily of providing gunfire support, interrupted by a visit to
Maddox received four battle stars for World War II service, and six for Korean service.
On 6 July 1972 she was transferred to Taiwan, commissioned into the Republic of China Navy, and renamed ROCS Po Yang (DD-10) and served with the Naval Weapons school.
Her number was later changed to DD-928.[12]
Changed again to DD-910 in 1979.[12]
In mid-1980s, her number was changed to DDG-910.[12]
The ship was decommissioned on 30 June 1984 and scrapped in 1985.[12]
Currently, the ship's bell sits at the Museum of Military Memorabilia in Naples, Florida.[13]
Awards
- Combat Action Ribbon
- Navy Unit Citation
- battle stars
- World War II Victory Medal
- Navy Occupation Medalwith "ASIA" clasp
- China Service Medal
- National Defense Service Medal with star
- Korean Service Medal with six battle stars
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
- Vietnam Service Medal with three campaign stars
- Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
- Korean Presidential Unit Citation
- United Nations Korea Medal
- Philippine Liberation Medal with star
- Korean War Service Medal
- Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
References
- ^ "Return from the Sea". IMDb.
- ^ Moise, p. 70, 78
- ^ Moise, p. 71
- ^ Moise, p. 51
- ^ McLaughlin, Mike."Anatomy of a Crisis Archived 7 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine" American Heritage, March 2004.
- ^ Moise, p. 78
- ^ a b Moise, p. 79
- ^ Moise, p. 70
- ISBN 978-0-385-51445-3.
- ^ Moise, p. 82
- ^ "Pentagon Papers". Archived from the original on 2 March 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- ^ a b c d "鄱陽軍艦 鄱陽沿革史". nmda.teldap.tw. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ^ "How Goes It Jan 2015" (PDF). www.ussmaddox.org.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- Moise, Edwin E. Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War. 1996; The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-2300-7.
External links
- Chronology of Events 30/31 July Through August 1964 – National Security Archive at George Washington University
- The Gulf of Tonkin Incident, 40 Years Later; Flawed Intelligence and the Decision for War in Vietnam – National Security Archive at George Washington University
- navsource.org: USS Maddox
- hazegray.org: USS Maddox
- ussmaddox.org: USS Maddox Association