USS Wilson

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the Lafayette-class submarine, see
USS Woodrow Wilson (SSBN-624)
.
History
United States
NameWilson
NamesakeCharles Wilson
Builder
Puget Sound Navy Yard
Laid down22 March 1937
Launched12 April 1939
Commissioned5 July 1939
Decommissioned29 August 1946
Stricken5 April 1948
FateSunk off
Kwajalein
on 8 March 1948, after atomic testing
General characteristics
Class and typeBenham-class destroyer
Displacement2,250 tons (full)
Length340 ft 9 in (103.86 m)
Beam35 ft 6 in (10.82 m)
Draft12 ft 10 in (3.91 m)
Propulsion
  • 50,000 shp (37,000 kW)
  • Westinghouse
    geared turbines
  • 2 propellers
Speed38.5 knots (71.3 km/h; 44.3 mph)
Range6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement251 officers and enlisted
Armament

USS Wilson (DD-408), was a Benham-class destroyer of the United States Navy.

Namesake

Charles Wilson was born in 1836 in

Island No. 10 to New Madrid. During the passage, Wilson, knee-deep in water and exposed to Confederate
gunfire stood on the bow of the gunboat as he took soundings and called out the depths of the river, enabling Carondelet to make the passage safely. His soundings were the only significant guide for the gunboat as it threaded its way through the tortuous channel. Walke's running the gauntlet turned out to be a crucial factor in the Union's capture of Island No. 10 and its later operations to the south.

Later that year, Wilson also served during the capture of Confederate batteries opposite

Fort Pillow on the 10th, in the First Battle of Memphis on June 6, and in the action with the Confederate ram CSS Arkansas on 15 July. On 24 January 1863, Walke officially commended Wilson "for the distinguished service." Wilson eventually attained the rank of boatswain
.

History

Wilson was laid down on 22 March 1937 at

Rear Admiral Edward B. Fenner, the Commandant
of the 13th Naval District; and commissioned on 5 July 1939.

Wilson operated along the west coasts of the United States, Central and South America into April 1940, when she went to the

Fleet Problem XXI. In June 1941, after a year mainly spent in the Hawaiian area, Wilson was transferred to the Atlantic. In the last half of that year, and first months of 1942, she served an escort for major fleet units off the U.S. east coast and, in March–May 1942, steamed across the ocean to Iceland and the British Isles
.

Wilson returned to the Pacific as part of a task group centered on the aircraft carrier Wasp, and accompanied it to the south Pacific in July 1942. Early in the next month, she provided bombardment and anti-aircraft services to the invasion force during landings at Guadalcanal and Tulagi. While in that area on 9 August, Wilson engaged Japanese cruisers during the Battle of Savo Island, and later rescued survivors of the sunken cruisers Quincy, Astoria and Vincennes.

Following a west coast overhaul, Wilson was back off Guadalcanal in January 1943, in time for the last weeks of the fighting there. She subsequently participated in landings on the Russell Islands, bombarded enemy positions on New Georgia and escorted shipping in and around the Solomon Islands. In November 1943, the destroyer screened U.S. aircraft carriers during strikes on Rabaul and Nauru and was similarly employed during attacks on the Marshall and Caroline Islands in January and February 1944.

In June and July 1944, Wilson served with the carrier task forces during the

Okinawa, she was hit by a kamikaze, which cost the lives of five of her crewmen and left an unexploded bomb in her after hull. Soon repaired, she served in the Okinawa area until June and operated out of Saipan
until the war ended in August.

Wilson was employed on occupation duty until December 1945, when she returned to the U.S. west coast. In May of the next year, she was assigned to

Kwajalein
on 8 March 1948.

Honors

Wilson received 11

battle stars
for her service 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

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