_off_the_San_Francisco_Naval_Shipyard_on_31_January_1956_(7575289).jpg) USSDiachenko (APD-123) in January 1956 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSAlex Diachenko until 1 March 1945, then USSDiachenko |
| Namesake | Alex M. Diachenko (1919-1943), aUnited States Navysailor andSilver Star recipient |
| Builder | Bethlehem Steel Company,Quincy, Massachusetts |
| Laid down | 18 July 1944 |
| Launched | 15 August 1944 |
| Sponsored by | Mary Diachenko |
| Commissioned | 8 December 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 30 September 1959 |
| Recommissioned | 1961 |
| Decommissioned | 30 July 1969 |
| Recommissioned | 1 November 1971 |
| Renamed | From USSAlex Diachenko to USSDiachenko 1 March 1945 |
| Reclassified |
|
| Stricken | 15 September 1974 |
| Honors & awards |
|
| Fate | Sold for scrap on 1 June 1975 |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 1,400 tons |
| Length | 306 ft (93 m) |
| Beam | 37 ft (11 m) |
| Draft | 12 ft 7 in (4 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 23.6 knots (43.7 km/h) |
| Endurance | 6,000 nautical miles @ 12 knots (11,000 km @ 22 km/h) |
| Troops | 12 officers, 150 enlisted |
| Complement | 12-15 officers, 192-192 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USSDiachenko (APD-123), ex-USSAlex Diachenko, ex-DE-690, laterLPR-123, was aCrosley-classhigh speed transport in commission from 1944 to 1959 and from 1961 to 1969. She served in theUnited States Navy during World War II, theCold War, theKorean War, and theVietnam War.
Alex Maxwell Diachenko was born on 21 March 1919 inHartford, Connecticut. He enlisted in the Navy on 24 September 1940. On 10 March 1943, his shipUSS Eberle apprehended theGermanblockade runnerKarin in theSouth Atlantic. Watertender Second Class Diachenko was one of the boarding party sent to seize the ship. These men lost their lives when scuttling charges exploded. He was posthumously awarded theSilver Star.
Diachenko was laid down asRudderow classdestroyer escortAlex Diachenko (DE-690) by the Bethlehem Steel Company inQuincy, Massachusetts. She was redesignated as aCrosley-classhigh-speed transport while under construction. She was launched on 15 August 1944 with Miss Mary Diachenko as sponsor,[1] and commissioned as USSAlex Diachenko (APD-123) on 8 December 1944.[2]
Alex Diachenko entered service in the final year of World War II, and was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. She sailed fromNorfolk, Virginia,Virginia, on 31 January 1945, stopping atSan Diego,Pearl Harbor,Eniwetok, andUlithi—being renamed USSDiachenko on 1 March 1945 while on her voyage—before arriving atLeyte on 21 March. She transported troops during thereoccupation of the Philippines. She landed soldiers atLegaspi, Philippines on 1 April and Police Harbor on 17 April. She arrived atMorotai, Indonesia on 7 May and transportedAustralian soldiers for the upcominginvasion atBrunei Bay,Borneo. She returned to Morotai, and on 26 June she set sail to land troops in the assault ofBalikpapan, Indonesia on 1 July.[3]
With the end of the war the following month,Diachenko spent the next several months transporting soldiers throughout the region until 17 March 1946 when she set sail for the United States. She arrived atSan Pedro, California on 25 April 1946. She carried out operations across theNorth Pacific Ocean from her homeport in San Diego for the next few years until hostilities broke out in Korea.[3]
Diachenko set sail for the United States naval base atSasebo, Japan, on 30 June 1950, five days after the North Koreans crossed the38th parallel. She supported theUnited Nationsforces from her base in Sasebo, often transporting an underwater demolition team making beach surveys and conducting reconnaissance. She returned to the United States on 9 May 1951 for an overhaul. During her second tour of duty, from 10 March to 5 December 1952,Diachenko carried an underwater demolition team on reconnaissance missions and raids atWonsan, North Korea. She participated in the bombardment and blockade of the Korean coast from Wonsan toChongjin, North Korea. She set sail for the United States on 5 December 1952 for an overhaul.[3]
After hostilities ended,Diachenko returned to Japan on 22 August 1953 with the 2nd Marine Reconnaissance Unit, delivering them toNagoya. She spent the remainder of the year participating in amphibious exercises in Japanese waters. She served as a station ship inHong Kong from 27 February to 6 March 1954 before returning to San Diego on 7 May.Diachenko sailed from San Diego on 31 March 1955, arriving atYokosuka, Japan, on 19 April. On 3 May, she reported toHai Phong,French Indochina, where she served as flagship for the Evacuation Unit Commander duringOperation Passage to Freedom, carrying refugees out of Communist North Vietnam and intoSouth Vietnam. She returned to San Diego on 30 September 1955.[3]
Diachenko left San Diego on 28 August 1956, and headed to Yokosuka, Japan, where she picked up an underwater demolition team. She then picked up a Marine reconnaissance company atOkinawa and sailed them toThailand, where they trained their Thai counterparts. She also participated in amphibious exercises and landings atIwo Jima, Okinawa, andLuzon. She returned to San Diego on 26 August 1957 to train reserves and operate with underwater demolition teams.[3]
Diachenko returned to the West Pacific on 12 June 1958 and operated out of Okinawa andSubic Bay, Luzon, and in Japanese waters. On 23 August, she dropped off 6LCVPs atDjakarta,Java. She conducted exercises with Chinese Nationalist forces atTaiwan from 1 to 10 September. Upon her return to San Diego,Diachenko resumed local operations until she was placed into thereserve fleet on 1 April 1959. She was decommissioned on 30 June 1959.[3]
Diachenko was recommissioned in 1961. She served in Vietnam for three years, from 18 July 1965 to 12 August 1968. She played a role in the defense of South Vietnam and phases two, four, and five of the American counteroffensive. She also participated in theTet Offensive in 1968. With the war winding down,Diachenko returned to San Diego where she was reclassified as an amphibious transport, small, (LPR-123) on 1 January 1969. She was decommissioned on 30 July 1969 and transferred to the reserve fleet.
Diachenko was recommissioned on 1 November 1971.
Diachenko was stricken from theNaval Vessel Register on 15 September 1974, and sold for scrapping on 1 June 1975.[2]
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