USS Palmer
_underway_at_high_speed,_circa_in_late_1918_(NH_1038).jpg) USS Palmer underway, at high speed, probably during sea trials
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Palmer |
| Namesake | James Shedden Palmer |
| Builder | Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts |
| Laid down | 29 May 1918 |
| Launched | 18 August 1918 |
| Commissioned | 22 November 1918 |
| Decommissioned | 31 May 1922 |
| Recommissioned | 7 August 1940 |
| Fate | Sunk in battle, 7 January 1945 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Wickes-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 1,191 long tons (1,210 t) |
| Length | 314 ft 5 in (95.83 m) |
| Beam | 31 ft 8 in (9.65 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 2 in (2.79 m) |
| Propulsion | Steam turbines |
| Speed | 35 kn (40 mph; 65 km/h) |
| Complement | 122 officers and enlisted |
| Armament | 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes |
USS Palmer (DD-161) was a Wickes-class destroyer of the United States Navy, later converted to a minesweeper and reclassified as DMS-5. She was named for Rear Admiral James Shedden Palmer USN (1810–1867).
Palmer was
Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts. The ship was launched on 18 August 1918, sponsored by Mrs. Robert C. Hilliard, and commissioned
on 22 November 1918.
Service history
Assigned to the
San Diego on 31 May 1922. There she was in reserve until recommissioning on 7 August 1940. Converted to a minesweeper with the designation DMS–5 on 19 November, she returned to the Atlantic and joined Mine Division 19 (MinDiv 19) out of Norfolk, Virginia for escort duty in the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. She sortied on 24 October 1942, screening Task Force 34 (TF 34) to the invasion of North Africa, arriving on 7 November off Fedala, where she made an exploratory sweep before taking station in the anti-submarine screen. The next day, Palmer seized the French trawler Joseph Elise, and engaged an enemy shore battery
.
Palmer served on patrol and escort off
transports, then made escort voyages to Pearl Harbor and Majuro
.
Preceding the invasion force by two days, Palmer arrived off
Eniwetok caused her to miss the Battle of the Philippine Sea
, but she returned to Saipan for screening duties from 22 June–8 July.
Palmer arrived off
Battle for Leyte Gulf
.
Fate
Replenished, Palmer cleared Manus on 23 December for
port low-pressure turbine. She began recovering sweeping gear and left formation to make repairs. At 18:40, a Japanese twin-engine bomber flew low overhead and dropped two bombs, which hit portside.[1] A huge fire, threatening the magazines, billowed skyward, and Palmer sank in six minutes. Of her crew, two were killed, 38 wounded, and 26 missing in action.[1]
Awards
Palmer received five battle stars for World War II service.
As of 2021[update], no other ship in the US Navy has been named Palmer.
References
- ^ ISBN 9781781593134.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
- NavSource.org DD-161
- Naval Historical Center Archived 2008-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in January 1945 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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