USS O'Brien (DD-415)

	O'Brien c. 1940
History
United States
Name	USS O'Brien
Builder	Boston Navy Yard
Laid down	31 May 1938
Launched	20 February 1939
Commissioned	2 March 1940
Honors and; awards	American Defense Service Medal ("Fleet" clasp); Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1 star); World War II Victory Medal;
Fate	Torpedoed by I-19 15 September 1942, foundered on 19 October 1942
General characteristics
Class and type	Sims-class destroyer
Displacement	1,570 long tons (1,600 t) (std); 2,211 long tons (2,246 t) (full);
Length	348 ft, 3¼ in, (106.15 m)
Beam	36 ft, 1 in (11 m)
Draft	13 ft, 4.5 in (4.07 m)
Propulsion	High-pressure super-heated boilers, geared turbines with twin screws, 50,000 horsepower
Speed	35 knots
Range	3,660 nautical miles at 20 kt (6,780 km at 37 km/h)
Complement	192 (10 officers/182 enlisted)
Armament	5 × 5 inch/38, in single mounts; 4 × .50 caliber/90, in single mounts; 8 × 21 inch torpedo tubes in two quadruple mounts; 2 × depth charge track, 10 depth charges;

USS O'Brien (DD-415) was a World War II-era Sims-class destroyer in the service of the United States Navy, named in honor of Captain Jeremiah O'Brien and his five brothers, Gideon, John, William, Dennis and Joseph, who captured HMS Margaretta on 12 June 1775 during the American Revolution.

O’Brien was laid down at

drydock, along with the destroyers Walke, Lansdale, and Madison

, the christening and commissioning ceremonies were combined.

Service history

Following her commissioning, O'Brien operated along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

World War II

After drydocking and repairs during the fall of 1941, O'Brien left

San Francisco, California

, on 31 January.

O'Brien steamed with a convoy for the

Mare Island Navy Yard, the destroyer steamed out again on 20 February, bound for Pearl Harbor

. There Commander Destroyer Division 4 shifted his flag to O’Brien on 5 March 1942.

After operating out of Pearl Harbor and patrolling the Hawaiian

Naval Air Station at Palmyra Atoll, and then steamed out on 18 April with the destroyers Flusser and Mugford. The destroyer then joined convoys from San Diego and San Francisco to escort them to American Samoa, arriving at Pago Pago

on 28 April.

O'Brien was retained at Pago Pago for local escort work. On 26 May, she supported the occupation of

Free French, and then she joined the auxiliary vessel Procyon on 19 June for the return voyage to Pearl Harbor. Operating out of Pearl Harbor, the ship performed escort duty and acted as patrol and plane guard. She got underway on 17 August with Task Force 17 (TF 17) to reinforce the South Pacific Force, screening the tanker Guadalupe

.

Sinking

While escorting a convoy of

Task Forces 17 and 18 were attacked by the Japanese submarine I-19 on 15 September 1942. The aircraft carrier Wasp was sunk, and the battleship North Carolina and O’Brien were damaged by a spread of six torpedoes

from the submarine.

At 1452, O’Brien sighted smoke coming from Wasp. As a member of the aircraft carrier

ASW

screen, she made an emergency turn to the right. At about 1454, while accelerating and swinging right, her lookouts spotted a torpedo two points forward of the port beam, 1,000 yards (910 m) away. This torpedo then missed O'Brien close astern, but while her crew's attention was concentrated on it, another torpedo hit her port bow.

This explosion did little obvious damage, but it set up severe structural stresses throughout the framework of O'Brien. She was able to proceed under her own power, and on 16 September she reached

Noumea, New Caledonia, for further repairs by the repair ship Argonne. Then, she steamed out on 10 October, bound for San Francisco Bay

.

O'Brien made it to Suva in Fiji on 13 October, and then steamed out once more on 16 October. The rate of leakage of seawater into O'Brien continued to increase, and on 18 October it was necessary for O’Brien to head for the nearest anchorage. Large amounts of topside weights were jettisoned, and preparations were made for abandoning the ship, but her captain still thought that she could be taken intact to Pago Pago. However, at about 0600 on 19 October, her bottom suddenly split open considerably, and her forward and after hull portions began to work independently. At 0630, all hands except for a small salvage crew abandoned, but half an hour later O'Brien was abandoned entirely. Just before 0800 she descended beneath the waves, and after steaming nearly 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km) since she had been torpedoed. All members of her crew were saved.

Awards

USS O'Brien earned one

battle star

during World War II.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

13°30′S 171°18′W / 13.500°S 171.300°W / -13.500; -171.300

v t e Sims-class destroyers
Sims Hughes Anderson Hammann Mustin Russell O'Brien Walke Morris Roe Wainwright Buck
Preceded by: Benham class Followed by: Benson class
List of destroyers of the United States Navy

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in September 1942
Shipwrecks	1 Sep: U-756 2 Sep: U-222 3 Sep: U-162, U-705 4 Sep: Kashino, Kaimei Maru 5 Sep: USS Gregory, USS Little 6 Sep: Anshun 7 Sep: HMCS Raccoon 8 Sep: USS YP-74 9 Sep: USCGC Muskeget, YP-346 10 Sep: American Leader, Arno 11 Sep: HMCS Charlottetown, Empire Dawn, Yayoi 12 Sep: Hektoria, RMS Laconia, U-88 13 Sep: Empire Beaumont, Oliver Ellsworth, Oregonian, Stalingrad 14 Sep: Atheltemplar, HMS Coventry, Mary Luckenbach, HMCS Ottawa, HMS Sikh, U-589 15 Sep: U-261, USS Wasp 16 Sep: HMS Talisman, U-457 17 Sep: Mae 19 Sep: USS O'Brien 20 Sep: Empire Hartebeeste 21 Sep: U-446 22 Sep: RFA Gray Ranger 23 Sep: HMAS Siesta 24 Sep: Antinous 25 Sep: Empire Bell, HMS Somali, U-253, HMAS Voyager 26 Sep: I-33, HMS Veteran 27 Sep: Stephen Hopkins, Stier, U-165 30 Sep: Empire Avocet
Other incidents	2 Sep: U-626 3 Sep: USS Wakefield 8 Sep: USS Wakefield 10 Sep: Kuroshio Maru 13 Sep: USS S-31 15 Sep: USS O'Brien 20 Sep: HMS Somali 23 Sep: HMAS Voyager 28 Sep: USS Snapper
1941 1942 1943 August 1942 October 1942