USS Mullany (DD-528)
23°12′15″N 120°12′39″E / 23.2042572°N 120.2108276°E
USS Mullany underway on 6 April 1962
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | Mullany |
Namesake | James Robert Madison Mullany |
Builder | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation |
Laid down | 15 January 1942 |
Launched | 10 October 1942 |
Sponsored by | Mrs Elton W. Grenfell |
Commissioned | 23 April 1943 |
Decommissioned | 14 February 1946 |
Recommissioned | 8 March 1951 |
Decommissioned | 6 October 1971 |
Renamed | from Beatty |
Stricken | 6 October 1971 |
Identification |
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Motto |
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Honours and awards | See Awards |
Fate | Transferred to Taiwan, 6 October 1971 |
Badge | |
History | |
Taiwan | |
Name |
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Namesake | Chin Yang |
Acquired | 6 October 1971 |
Commissioned | 6 October 1971 |
Reclassified |
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Decommissioned | 16 July 1988 |
Stricken | 16 July 1999 |
Identification | Hull number: DD-9 |
Fate | Sunk as artificial reef, 1 November 2001 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Fletcher-class destroyer |
Displacement | 2,050 tons |
Length | 376 ft 6 in (114.76 m) |
Beam | 39 ft 8 in (12.09 m) |
Draft | 17 ft 9 in (5.41 m) |
Propulsion | 60,000 shp (45 MW); 2 propellers |
Speed | 35 kn (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
Range | 6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) @ 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement | 336 |
Armament |
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USS Mullany (DD-528), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Rear Admiral James Robert Madison Mullany (1818–1887).
Construction and career
Mullany was originally Beatty (DD-528) but was renamed on 28 May 1941. Laid down 15 January 1942 by
After shakedown and training off
Screening 7th Fleet flagship USS Wasatch (AGC-9) during the invasion of Leyte Gulf, Mullany fired to help drive off nine separate enemy air attacks from 20 to 29 October, then sailed for overhaul at San Francisco. After training near Hawaii in January 1945, she joined Task Force 54 (TF 54) for the invasion of Iwo Jima, to which she escorted troop transports. After firing in the preinvasion bombardment, she supported troops landing and fighting ashore, hitting caves and machinegun nests on Mount Suribachi 19 February.
While on anti-submarine picket duty guarding the Okinawa invasion force on 6 April 1945, Mullany opened fire on a Japanese kamikaze plane at 17:45. A few seconds later the fighter was smoking from numerous hits, but somehow managed to stay together. Skipper Comdr. Albert O. Momm ordered the ship to turn out of the kamikaze's path, but couldn't get out of the way in time. The plane slammed into the aft deckhouse. Before damage control parties could remove all the wounded from the twisted metal and exploding ammunition, the ship's depth charges exploded. In the next 20 minutes three more enemy aircraft attacked stricken Mullany. Her forward gunners downed two and drove the other away.
An hour later, Momm received a report that the bulkhead of one of the aft magazines was hot and an explosion was apparently imminent. Many of the ship's officers had seen the disastrous consequences of a magazine explosion, and at 18:29 Momm gave the order to abandon ship. USS Gherardi (DMS-30) stood by to take on survivors while her rescue and assistance team continued to spray water on Mullany. The USS Execute (AM-232) rescued 70 members of the Mullany crew from the water. The Execute then came alongside and helped fight the fires. In the next hours USS Purdy (DD-734) came alongside the burning ship and extinguished the flames. Since the expected explosion had been prevented by punctured fuel and water tanks flooding the compartments above the hot magazine, Commander Momm took a skeleton crew back aboard at 23:00. After the fires were extinguished the Execute attempted a tow using her sweep gear. At first the Mullany was in tow at low speed. With an increase in speed the sweep cable snapped and the tow attempt was discontinued. The Mullany crew then succeeded in lighting off one boiler, and Mullany limped off on one shaft for Pearl Harbor and San Francisco, arriving 29 May. Courage and determination had saved their ship, but 21 of her crew were killed, nine missing, and 36 wounded.
Completely repaired, Mullany put to sea 25 September for the
Recommissioned 8 March 1951, Mullany rejoined the Atlantic Fleet and by January 1954 had made three deployments to the
With her squadron,
Veteran Mullany returned to combat during her ninth cruise to the coast of Asia, screening carrier
In February 1968, she once again deployed to the Western Pacific. On 24 April 1968 the positions of the
Based in Long Beach, Mullany spent the next two years steaming up and down the West Coast as a reserve training ship. By 1971, Mullany was the oldest destroyer on active service. She was decommissioned and stricken from the
Service in the Republic of China
On 9 December 1969, the ship underwent an overhaul and Wujin No. 1 special shipyard at the No. 1 Naval Shipyard. the original
Transferred to the Republic of China Navy 6 October 1971, the ship was renamed Chin-yang (慶陽).
In December 1974, the ship began the installation of the Hsiung Feng II missile at the Navy's No. 1 Shipyard. The Installation was completed in May 1975.[2]
On April 2, 1975, at 10:10 a.m. DDG-909 successfully launched the first Surface-to-Air missile in ROC Navy history, and that marks the missile era for the ROC Navy. DDG-909 Chin-Yang was in service of ROC Navy for 26 years and through 20 Commanding Officers. The mission was patrolling the Taiwan Strait and surrounding waters to convoy offshore-islands-support-and-supply, task flotilla and various missions. She played an important role on the Navy force built-up and fleet combat readiness, secure the safety of Taiwan Strait and Maritime communications.
The ship's weapon system was gradually modified and In January 1976, her number was changed to DD-947.[2]
Later on 1 October 1979, her number was changed to DD-909.[2]
The ship was later modified by Wujin No. 1 to become a missile destroyer, DDG-909.[2]
She was stricken 16 July 1999 and sunk as an artificial reef on 1 November 2001.[2]
The ship's anchor and propeller is on display at Mantou Military History Park, Tainan.[3] One of her gun, the other anchor and propeller is on display at the Yuanzhiluxiuxian Park, Tainan.[4] Another 5-inch gun has been moved aboard the museum ship USS Sarsfield with her anchor and propeller is located in Dayuan.[5]
Awards
Mullany received seven
References
- ^ "Command Chronology for period 1 April to 30 April 1968" (PDF). Headquarters 1st Battalion, 26th Marines. 11 May 1968. p. 63. Retrieved 25 April 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b c d e f "慶陽軍艦". homepage.ntu.edu.tw. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
- ^ "Blair and Kate's 旅遊與美食: 麻豆軍史公園". Blair and Kate's 旅遊與美食. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
- ^ "Blair and Kate's 旅遊與美食: 南化水庫軍史公園(源之旅休閒公園)". Blair and Kate's 旅遊與美食. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
- ^ "Blair and Kate's 旅遊與美食: 大園圳頭軍史公園". Blair and Kate's 旅遊與美食. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.