USS Maddox (DD-731)

Coordinates: 26°08′55″N 81°46′30″W / 26.1484805°N 81.7748860°W / 26.1484805; -81.7748860
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other ships with the same name, see USS Maddox.

26°08′55″N 81°46′30″W / 26.1484805°N 81.7748860°W / 26.1484805; -81.7748860

USS Maddox (DD-731)
USS Maddox underway in the early 1960s
History
United States
NameMaddox
NamesakeWilliam A. T. Maddox
BuilderBath Iron Works
Laid down28 October 1943
Launched19 March 1944
Sponsored byMrs. Harry H. Wilhoit
Commissioned2 June 1944
Decommissioned1972
Stricken2 July 1972
Identification
FateSold to Taiwan in 1973
Badge
Taiwan
Name
  • Po Yang
  • (鄱陽)
NamesakePo Yang
Acquired6 July 1972
Commissioned6 July 1972
IdentificationHull number: DD-10
Reclassified
  • DD-928
  • DD-910, 1979
  • DDG-910, mid-1980s
Decommissioned30 June 1984
Stricken1985
FateScrapped, 1985
General characteristics
Class and typeAllen M. Sumner-class destroyer
Displacement2,200 tons
Length376 ft 6 in (114.76 m)
Beam40 ft (12 m)
Draft15 ft 8 in (4.78 m)
Propulsion
  • 60,000 shp (45,000 kW);
  • 2 propellers
Speed34 kn (63 km/h; 39 mph)
Range6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement336 officers and men
Armament

USS Maddox (DD-731), was an

Captain William A. T. Maddox of the United States Marine Corps
.

Maddox screened the ships of the

Okinawa and operated with the 7th Fleet in support of United Nations Forces during the Korean War. Maddox participated in the Blockade of Wonsan
, an 861-day siege and bombardment of the city.

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

launched on 19 March 1944 by Mrs. Harry H. Wilhoit, granddaughter of Captain Maddox, and commissioned
on 2 June 1944.

Service in the United States Navy

World War II

Following shakedown and antisubmarine exercises, Maddox departed

Formosa. Hit by a kamikaze off Formosa on 21 January 1945, Maddox headed for Ulithi for repairs. Departing on 14 March, the destroyer steamed off the Japanese home islands where she was on picket station during the air strikes on Kyushu and southern Honshu. She proceeded to Okinawa on 23 March to provide support for preinvasion strikes, remaining on duty there after the invasion date of 1 April. For almost three months, until 13 June 1945, Maddox continued to provide support for this campaign in the form of shore bombardment and carrier screening for raids on Kyushu and Shikoku
.

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

Jinsen
in Korea.

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

Communist Chinese
invasion of Taiwan.

Maddox returned to Korea 7 September and assumed coastal blockade and bombardment duties. She continued this assignment, which included a diversionary bombardment of

Samchok coordinated with the Inchon landings
on 15 September, until departing for the United States early in January 1951. Arriving at San Diego on 31 January 1951, she served as a training ship and underwent overhaul before departing 1 December 1951 for her second Korean duty. Through February 1952, she screened carriers off the east coast of Korea and provided shore bombardment support for the U.N. land forces. During March she operated with the Taiwan Patrol Force, returning to Korea in April. From 16 April through 17 May she participated in the siege of Wonsan, following which she resumed screening duties for fast carriers.

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

Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces
.

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

Main article: Gulf of Tonkin incident

On 31 July 1964 she commenced her first leg of a

F-8 Crusaders from an aircraft carrier in the region, USS Ticonderoga, arrived on the scene and attacked the three torpedo boats. The combination of fire from Maddox and the F-8s severely damaged all three boats, and forced them to retreat to the bases from which they came. Several NVN sailors were wounded, and four were killed. No US sailors were killed or wounded, and Maddox did not sustain serious damage, save for a single bullet hole from a machine gun;[9] one of the four Crusaders sustained some 14.5 mm machine gun fire hits, as a large portion of its left wing was "missing",[10]
but managed to return to Ticonderoga.

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.

Maddox underway in 1964

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

Naval Reserve Force. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
on 2 July 1972.

Maddox received four battle stars for World War II service, and six for Korean service.

Service in the Republic of China Navy

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

References

  1. ^ "Return from the Sea". IMDb.
  2. ^ Moise, p. 70, 78
  3. ^ Moise, p. 71
  4. ^ Moise, p. 51
  5. ^ McLaughlin, Mike."Anatomy of a Crisis Archived 7 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine" American Heritage, March 2004.
  6. ^ Moise, p. 78
  7. ^ a b Moise, p. 79
  8. ^ Moise, p. 70
  9. ISBN 978-0-385-51445-3
    .
  10. ^ Moise, p. 82
  11. ^ "Pentagon Papers". Archived from the original on 2 March 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  12. ^ a b c d "鄱陽軍艦 鄱陽沿革史". nmda.teldap.tw. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  13. ^ "How Goes It Jan 2015" (PDF). www.ussmaddox.org.

External links

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