_-_19-N-17364.jpg) USS Henley (DD-391) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Namesake | Robert Henley |
| Builder | Mare Island Navy Yard |
| Laid down | 28 October 1935 |
| Launched | 12 January 1937 |
| Commissioned | 14 August 1937 |
| Fate | Sunk 3 October 1943 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Bagley-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 2,245 tons (full), 1,500 tons (light) |
| Length | 341 ft 8 in (104.14 m) |
| Beam | 35 ft 6 in (10.82 m) |
| Draft |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 38.5knots (71.3 km/h; 44.3 mph) |
| Range | 6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement | 158 (248 wartime) |
| Armament |
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USSHenley (DD-391), aBagley-classdestroyer, was the second ship of theUnited States Navy to be named forCaptainRobert Henley, an officer in the United States Navy during theQuasi-War with France, theWar of 1812 and theSecond Barbary War.
The secondHenley (DD-391) was launched 12 January 1937 by theMare Island Navy Yard,Vallejo, California; sponsored by Miss Beryl Henley Joslin, a collateral descendant of Captain Robert Henley; and commissioned 14 August 1937.
After shakedown in the Pacific and Hawaiian waters,Henley joined the Pacific Battle Force, Destroyer Division 11, at San Diego 12 September 1938. She departed San Diego 14 April 1941 to join the Fleet atPearl Harbor. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941,Henley was moored in East Loch with battle stations manned, a green sailor having soundedgeneral quarters instead ofquarters for muster. This fortunate mistake gaveHenley under the command ofLieutenant Francis Edward Fleck Jr., the opportunity to fire the first destroyer shots as the initial wave of enemy planes swooped in. A bomb exploded 150 yards off her port bow as she slipped her chain from the buoy, and, as she cleared, she received a signal that a submarine was in the harbor.Henley maneuvered through the smoke, fire, and confusion and sped out of the channel. Her gunners shot down one dive bomber with her .50 cal. guns and shared credit for another. Conned by Fleck—both her commanding officer and executive officer were ashore when the attack began—Henley droppeddepth charges on a sonar contact, possibly amidget submarine, outside the harbor, and continued to blaze away at the enemy with her guns. In the following weeksHenley operated with the task forces to reinforceWake Island and conducted patrol for the protection of Midway and convoy lanes.
Henley carried out convoy and antisubmarine duty, primarily in Australian waters. On 11 May 1942 she rescued the survivors ofNeosho andSims, sunk during theBattle of the Coral Sea. She departed for Wellington 22 July 1942 to escort transports toGuadalcanal. As American forces stormed ashore in the Solomons 7 August,Henley patrolled on an ASW station, coming under fire from enemy planes but suffering no casualties and assisting in shooting down two in the process. As the fierce struggle for Guadalcanal raged, the destroyer remained in the area to screen ships bringing up supplies and reinforcements until 29 August.Henley then set course south, and remained in Australian and New Guinea waters until September 1943 on plane guard, convoy duty, and antisubmarine patrol.
When Australian troops established a beachhead atFinschafen, New Guinea, 21 September 1943,Henley formed a part of their protective screen. Attacked by 10 Japanese torpedo bombers, she claimed to have shot down 3 and assisted in downing 3 others in a fierce half-hour engagement. However, the valiant ship's wartime career, begun in the chaos at Pearl Harbor, was drawing to a close. On 3 October 1943Henley was steaming withReid andSmith on an offensive sweep off Finschafen when her skipper sighted two torpedoes fired by the submarineRo-108 heading for her. Split-second maneuvering permittedHenley to evade those two torpedoes; but a third was immediately sighted, closing too fast and too near to be avoided.Henley was struck on the port side, with the torpedo exploding in the number 1 fire-room, destroying her boilers, breaking her keel, and displacing her bow about 30 degrees from the longitudinal axis of the ship.
At 18:29, with all her crew having abandoned ship,Henley went down, stern first. Her companion destroyers searched for the sub, then returned to rescueHenley's survivors, who had lashed their life-rafts together and were using flashlights as signals. Eighteen officers and 225 men were rescued, with 1 officer and 14 men missing.
Henley earned fourbattle stars for her participation in World War II.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1938 | |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in October 1943 | |
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