USS Shaw (DD-373)
USS Shaw (DD-373), September 1938
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History | |
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United States | |
Namesake | Captain John Shaw |
Builder | Philadelphia Naval Shipyard |
Laid down | 1 October 1934 |
Launched | 28 October 1935 |
Commissioned | 18 September 1936 |
Decommissioned | 2 October 1945 |
Stricken | 4 October 1945 |
Fate | Scrapped July 1946 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Mahan-class destroyer |
Displacement | 1,450 long tons (1,470 t) |
Length | 341.3 ft (104.0 m) |
Beam | 34.7 ft (10.6 m) |
Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m) |
Speed | 35 knots (40 mph; 65 km/h) |
Complement | 204 officers and crew |
Armament |
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USS Shaw (DD-373) was a
Shaw sustained major damage from several bomb hits by Japanese forces during the
Shaw was decommissioned in October 1945 and sold for scrap in July 1946.
History
Shaw was laid down on 1 October 1934 at the
Following commissioning, Shaw remained at Philadelphia until April 1937, when she crossed the Atlantic on her shakedown cruise. Returning to Philadelphia on 18 June, she commenced a year of yard work to correct deficiencies before completing acceptance trials in June 1938. Shaw conducted training exercises in the Atlantic for the remainder of the year. She then transited to the Pacific and underwent overhaul at Mare Island from 8 January to 4 April 1939.
Shaw remained on the West Coast until April 1940, participating in various exercises and providing services to
Back in the Hawaiian area by mid-February 1941, Shaw operated in those waters until November, when she entered the Navy Yard at Pearl Harbor for repairs, drydocking in YFD-2.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On 7 December, Shaw was still in auxiliary floating drydock YFD-2, receiving adjustments to her depth charge mechanisms. During the Japanese attack, she took three hits – two bombs through the forward machine gun platform, and one through the port wing of the bridge. Fires spread through the ship. By 0925, all fire-fighting facilities were exhausted, and the order to abandon ship was given. Efforts to flood the dock were only partially successful, and shortly after 0930, her forward magazine exploded.
Temporary repairs were made at Pearl Harbor during December 1941 and January 1942. On 9 February, Shaw steamed towards
Further service in World War II
For the next two months, she escorted convoys between the West Coast and Hawaii. In mid-October, as a unit of a carrier force centered on the Enterprise, Shaw departed from Pearl Harbor and steamed westwardly. Meeting with a carrier force centered on Hornet, the two carrier groups united as Task Force 61, and then moved north of the Santa Cruz Islands to intercept enemy forces headed to attack Guadalcanal.
By mid-morning on the 26th, both carrier groups were under attack. As an accompanying ship, Porter, stopped to pick up survivors from a downed torpedo plane, she was torpedoed. Shaw went to Porter's assistance. Half an hour later, she was ordered to take off Porter's crew and sink the disabled destroyer. Periscope sightings followed by depth charge attacks delayed execution of the mission. By noon, however, the transfer was completed. An hour later, Porter was gone, and Shaw left the scene to rejoin the task force.
Two days later, Shaw headed for the New Hebrides, where she commenced escorting ships moving men and supplies to Guadalcanal. She continued that duty through November and December and into January 1943. On 10 January, while entering Nouméa Harbor, New Caledonia, Shaw ran aground on Sournois Reef. She was freed on the 15th, but extensive damage to her hull, propellers, and sound gear necessitated temporary repairs at Nouméa – followed by lengthy repairs and rearmament at Pearl Harbor, which took through September.
On 6 October, Shaw headed west again, reaching Nouméa on the 18th and
On 25 December, Shaw escorted units engaged in the assault against
Shaw returned to Pearl Harbor on the 10th, joined the 5th Fleet there, and steamed toward the Marshall Islands on the 15th. She got underway from the Marshalls on 11 June with TF-52 to engage in the assault on Saipan Island. Four days later, the attack began. For the next three and one-half weeks, the destroyer rotated between screening and "call fire" support duties of the Marines on shore. In mid-July, Shaw was back in the Marshall Islands. On the 18th, Shaw got underway to return to the Mariana Islands accompanying the Guam assault forces. During the action that followed, Shaw performed escort and patrol duties.
Shaw departed the Marianas on 23 September. Following a tender repair availability at
In early April, Shaw operated in the Visayas, setting two Japanese barges on fire off Bohol on 2 April. Damaged soon thereafter on an uncharted pinnacle, she underwent temporary repairs. On the 25th, she steamed toward the United States West Coast. Shaw arrived at San Francisco on 19 May. Repairs and upgrades to her systems continued into August. The work was completed on the 20th. Shaw then departed for the East Coast of the United States. Upon her arrival at Philadelphia, the warship was routed to New York City for deactivation. Decommissioned on 2 October 1945, her name was stricken from the Navy List two days later. Her hull was scrapped in July 1946.
Shaw earned 11 battle stars 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.
Further reading
- Sweatt, Greg. "USS Shaw: A Ship too Tough to Die!" Archived 2007-12-09 at the Wayback Machine Sea Classics, March 2006.