USS Young (DD-580)
Mare Island Navy Yard, California , 26 July 1945
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Young |
| Namesake | Lucien Young |
| Builder | Consolidated Steel Corporation |
| Laid down | 7 May 1942 |
| Launched | 15 October 1942 |
| Commissioned | 31 July 1943 |
| Decommissioned | January 1947 |
| Stricken | 1 May 1968 |
| Fate | Sunk as a target, 6 March 1970 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Fletcher-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 2,050 tons |
| Length | 376 ft 6 in (114.8 m) |
| Beam | 39 ft 8 in (12.1 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft 9 in (5.4 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range | 6,500 nmi (12,038 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Complement | 273 |
| Armament |
|
USS Young (DD-580), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy of that name. She was the first to be named for Rear Admiral Lucien Young (1852–1912).
Young was
launched on 15 October 1942, sponsored by Mrs. J. M. Schelling and commissioned
on 31 July 1943.
Service history
1943
Following a shakedown cruise in the
Pacific Fleet. She arrived in Pearl Harbor early in December and received orders assigning her to the small U.S. 9th Fleet in the northmost Pacific Ocean. USS Young remained at Pearl Harbor for several weeks, and she then headed for the Aleutian Islands
, where she arrived in mid-January 1944.
1944
The arrival of USS Young in
Paramushiro
on the 26th. Otherwise, her only enemy during the first eight months of 1944 proved to be the foul Aleutians weather.
During September, she returned to the United States for an overhaul. Upon completing repairs, the destroyer departed
Leyte Island
on 18 November in the midst of an enemy air attack on the invasion fleet. She and her colleagues in the convoy screen combined to splash three of the attacking aircraft.
On 19 December, Young departed Leyte with 10 other destroyers in the screen of the first
LSTs
had to be abandoned, but Juan de Fuca continued on and reached Mindoro safely with the convoy on 22 December. During the return voyage, enemy planes returned to harass the convoy but failed to inflict damage. During the approach to and the retirement from Mindoro, Young claimed a total of five unassisted splashes and two assists.
1945
USS Young's first
Lingayen Gulf
itself. The assault went off practically unopposed, in an example of the new Japanese tactics of fighting an amphibious force inland with conventional infantry tactics rather than trying to smash the landing at the beach. Since the American troops encountered no real resistance until they had advanced inland well beyond the range of destroyer guns, Young and her accompanying warships had little to do at Lingayen Gulf.
That pattern repeated itself at Zambales later in the month when Young, in reconnoitering the landing area, encountered a small boat embarking a Filipino guerrilla lieutenant who informed the destroyer that the area had already been secured by his forces. The Zambales landing went off without a shot being fired.
During operations around
Mariveles occupation force on 14 February. Two days later, she participated in the reduction and capture of the source of those boats—Corregidor. She bombarded "The Rock" before the assault and then helped silence enemy batteries on Caballo Island when they opened up on the landing craft. Later that morning, she threaded her way through mine
-infested waters to provide gunfire support for the troops taking the island fortress.
During the following weeks, USS Young conducted patrols out of Subic Bay. In April, she supported one of the
Mare Island Navy Yard
.
Late in July, USS Young completed her post-overhaul trials and, early in August, she headed back toward Pearl Harbor. However, by the time of her arrival, hostilities had already ceased. Instead of continuing westwards, she began operations in the
Harry Truman
reviewed the assembled ships.
Young remained in New York until 1 November when she steamed towards
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.
External links
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in November 1944 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1970 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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