USS Thorn (DD-647)
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | Thorn |
Namesake | Jonathan Thorn |
Builder | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company |
Laid down | 15 November 1942 |
Launched | 28 February 1943 |
Commissioned | 1 April 1943 |
Decommissioned | 6 May 1946 |
Stricken | 1 July 1971 |
Fate | Sunk as target, 22 August 1974 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Gleaves-class destroyer |
Displacement | 1,630 tons (standard) |
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 |
|
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 Thorn (DD-647), a Gleaves-class destroyer, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for Jonathan Thorn.
Thorn was
Service history
Atlantic service, May 1943 – January 1944
Following
On 3 January 1944, the day after Thorn arrived back in
Southwest Pacific service, February – September 1944
Late in January, Thorn sailed for the Pacific and transited the Panama Canal on 29 January. Ordered to report to relieve DesRon 1 in New Guinea waters, the destroyer and her sisters of Destroyer Division 37 (DesDiv 37) headed for the southwest Pacific. Thorn was detoured to Guadalcanal and Rendova Islands to escort a detached oiler group. She finally arrived at Milne Bay, New Guinea, on 29 February.
Thorn moved directly from there to
On 10 April — while making a practice torpedo run during preparations for forthcoming Allied
After completing her overhaul at the
Philippines service, October – December 1944
Detached from escort duty at the end of September, Thorn joined the
As Allied
During the fierce
On the evening of 25 October, Thorn's division received orders to lie-to off
Ordered to
Off Japan, January – October 1945
During the carrier strikes on Lingayen in early January 1945 and the subsequent carrier raids on Japanese shipping in the South China Sea, Thorn escorted a fast oiler group for replenishment evolutions with the aircraft carriers. While returning to the Carolines, via Leyte Gulf and the Mindoro Strait, Thorn rescued the crew of a downed TBM and the pilot of a crashed fighter before arriving at Ulithi on 27 January. The destroyer again screened oilers during the operations against Iwo Jima and also entered waters near the strategic island to screen heavy fire support units. On 21 February, Thorn and Ute learned that the escort carrier Bismarck Sea had been struck by two Japanese kamikazes, and they rushed to aid the stricken ship. However, when they searched the scene the escort carrier had already gone to the bottom.
Two days in Ulithi followed the ship's return, and, on 13 March, Thorn reformed with the
contact and observed an oil slick after the last drop. They conducted a retirement search before rejoining the formation on 26 March, but could not verify that the contact had actually been a submarine.Thorn subsequently conducted four escort missions with the replenishment group, escorting oilers into
The destroyer then spent two weeks at Ulithi, replenishing for further operations with the logistics support group. She rejoined the oilers and supply ships at sea on 28 May. On 5 June, Thorn rode out her second major typhoon, steaming through the eye of the storm at 05:30. Two days later, she joined a group of four damaged escort aircraft carriers which were retiring to Guam.
On 4 July, soon after screening the CVEs out of the "front lines" for repairs, Thorn resumed work with the replenishment and support group and continued screening and supporting it through the surrender of Japan. During this period, she sank seven drifting mines.
Following Japan's surrender, Thorn steamed off
Streaming her homeward-bound pennant, Thorn, in company with DesRon 19, steamed out of Tokyo Bay on 8 October and joined the battleships
Reserve and disposal
Thorn lay in reserve through the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Struck from the
Thorn received seven
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- ^ DANFS says the ex-Thorn "was sunk by aircraft from USS America in November 1973." NavSource says, "Sunk as target by aircraft from CV-60 off Florida August 22 1974."
- ^ History of the USS Thorn. USS Thorn Association.
External links