USS Nelson
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History | |
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Name | Nelson |
Namesake | Charles P. Nelson |
Builder | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company |
Laid down | 7 May 1942 |
Launched | 15 September 1942 |
Commissioned | 26 November 1942 |
Decommissioned | January 1947 |
Stricken | 1 March 1968 |
Fate |
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General characteristics | |
Class and type | Gleaves-class destroyer |
Displacement | 1,630 tons |
Length | 348 ft 3 in (106.15 m) |
Beam | 36 ft 1 in (11.00 m) |
Draft | 11 ft 10 in (3.61 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 37.4 knots (69 km/h) |
Range | 6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
Complement | 16 officers, 260 enlisted |
Armament |
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USS Nelson (DD-623), a
.Nelson was
Service history
After
Invasion of Sicily, 1943
Upon completion of a short training period at Norfolk, Virginia, Nelson got underway 7 June to take part in the invasion of Sicily. During the crossing she screened the cruiser Boise, arriving at Algiers on 20 June. Serving as flagship for Commander Task Force 81 (TF 81) during the Sicily operation, Nelson was assigned duty with the central part of the Western Task Force. This group was to land assault troops on beachheads near Gela, Sicily, to expand the captured area, and to seize the nearby airfield at Ponte Olivo.
At 02:46 on 10 July the first assault waves hit the Gela beaches. Plunging in through the breakers, the shock troops encountered light opposition. But furious gunfire raked the follow-up waves. Caught in the blue-white glare of searchlights, landing craft were subjected to intense fire, and LCIs took direct hits.
At 03:00 Nelson commenced
German dive bombers buzzed in on a surprise attack from the northeast at 17:33 on 12 July, dropping bombs and making strafing runs. Nelson splashed one plane at 17:42 and an hour later departed in convoy for Algiers, North Africa.
Returning to the battle area on 17 July, she took up
Nelson returned to New York on 22 August, where Lt. Comdr. Thomas D. McGrath relieved Lt. Comdr. Riker of command on 3 September. The ship was assigned to North Atlantic convoy runs for the winter. This duty took the destroyer to Belfast, Northern Ireland three times and to Greenock Bay, Scotland, and Gibraltar once each.
Invasion of Normandy, 1944
In May 1944 Nelson steamed to England to stage for the coming
The next day she steamed into position No. 13 on the "Dixie Line" as part of the anti-submarine and
Nelson was anchored in position 13 the night of 12 June. Thus far her only contact with the enemy had been in the form of a glide bomb which had exploded harmlessly off the starboard quarter during her first night in the area. At 01:05 on 13 June she made a radar contact, challenged the contact by flashing light, and opened fire. The target slowed, turned away, and split into three distinct blips. The destroyer had loosed ten salvos when a torpedo struck her just aft the No. 4 gun mount blowing off the stern and No. 4 mount. Maloy stood by to transfer personnel, and Nelson was taken in tow. Twenty-four of her crew were killed or missing and nine wounded. After emergency repairs at Derry, Northern Ireland, where her #2 turret and torpedo tubes were removed as a weight saving/stability measure, the destroyer was towed to Boston where she received a new stern.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/USS_Nelson_623_2.jpg/300px-USS_Nelson_623_2.jpg)
Extensive repairs completed 23 November 1944, Nelson returned to Atlantic patrol duty. During December she steamed to Plymouth, England, conducting anti-submarine patrol en route. She departed New York late in February 1945 on a convoy run to Oran, Algeria, returning 31 March.
Throughout April and May Nelson served as plane guard and screen for the
Nelson earned two
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
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