_underway_in_1957.JPG) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Namesake | Roger N. Stembel |
| Builder | Bath Iron Works |
| Laid down | 21 December 1942 |
| Launched | 8 May 1943 |
| Commissioned | 16 July 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 27 May 1958 |
| Stricken | 1 September 1975 |
| Fate | Loaned toArgentina, 7 August 1961 |
| History | |
 Argentina | |
| Name | ARARosales (D-22) |
| Namesake | Leonardo Rosales |
| Acquired | 7 August 1961 |
| Stricken | 1982 |
| Fate | Scrapped 1982 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Fletcher-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 2,050 tons |
| Length | 376 ft 6 in (114.7 m) |
| Beam | 39 ft 8 in (12.1 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft 9 in (5.4 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 35knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range |
|
| Complement | 329 |
| Armament |
|
USSStembel (DD-644) was aFletcher-classdestroyer in service with theUnited States Navy from 1942 to 1947 and from 1951 to 1958. In 1961, she was transferred toArgentina where she served as ARARosales (D-22). She was scrapped in 1982.
USSStembel (DD-644) was named forRear AdmiralRoger N. Stembel (1810–1900), who served in theCivil War. She was laid down on 21 December 1942 by theBath Iron Works,Bath, Maine;launched on 8 May 1943; sponsored by Miss Mary G. Helfenstein; andcommissioned on 16 July 1943.
Stembel conducted sea trials in theCasco Bay area and held her shakedown cruise inBermuda waters from 11 August to 25 August. After a post-shakedown overhaul, she got underway on 2 October forSan Juan, Puerto Rico, viaNorfolk. Upon her arrival, she was assigned to a group of warships which sailed forMorocco on the 8th and arrived atCasablanca on 15 October. Three days later, she began a long journey toHawaii, viaTrinidad, thePanama Canal Zone, andSan Diego.
The destroyer arrived atPearl Harbor on 11 November and was overhauled during December 1943. On 16 January 1944, she sortied with theFast Carrier Task Force (then called TF 58, while it was part of5th Fleet; at other times it was3rd Fleet's TF 38) to support air strikes against theMarshall Islands which began on 29 January. On 17 February and 18 February, thecarriers launched raids againstTruk, the powerfulJapanese base in theCaroline Islands, before the task force returned to Pearl Harbor. On 10 March,Stembel headed for theSouth Pacific. She joined aconvoy oftank landing ships (LSTs) in theSolomon Islands and escorted it toAitape,New Guinea. She bombarded the landing area there prior to the landing on 22 April and then supported the troops ashore until 25 April. The destroyer escorted empty LSTs toCape Sudest and returned to Aitape with a resupply convoy.
In May,Stembel was attached to the5th Fleet and designatedflagship of LST Flotilla 16 for theinvasion of Guam. The flotilla sortied fromEniwetok on 15 July and was standing off theAsan Beaches on the morning of 21 July.Stembel bombarded the shore until the assault waves headed for the beach, and then she acted as the communication and traffic control center for landing ships. She remained off Asan until 1 August when she sailed for Hawaii.
Stembel arrived at Pearl Harbor on 11 August for tender availability and amphibious training exercises. She sortied with Task Group 33.7 (TG 33.7) (Tractor Group "Able") forManus via Eniwetok. The task group arrived atSeeadler Harbor on 4 October to make final preparations for the invasion of thePhilippine Islands. It sortied on 11 October and enteredLeyte Gulf on 19 October. The next morning,Stembel was 4,000 yards off the beaches atDulag,Leyte, protecting the landing ships and smaller craft against aircraft andsubmarines. She sailed on 25 October for New Guinea, screening empty transports, and returned to Leyte with a resupply convoy on 18 November.Stembel next proceeded to Manus, joined theescort carrier group of TF 77, and sailed for thePalau Islands. On 10 December, she sortied with TG 77.12 for the western Philippines, entering theSulu Sea on 13 December.Stembel provided antiaircraft and fire support for the assault onMindoro until sailing for Leyte Gulf on 26 December 1944.
_underway_c1944.jpg)
Stembel stood out ofSan Pedro Bay on 4 January 1945 in the Lingayen Attack Force. The next day, she was ordered to join the escort carrier group. On the 8th, the group was attacked by Japanesekamikaze planes andKitkun Bay (CVE-71) was holed at the waterline. The destroyer went alongside and removed over 360 men from the disabled carrier. The men were returned toKitkun Bay the next day as she was proceeding under her own steam, andStembel began patrolling the entrance toLingayen Gulf. On 11 January she and four other destroyers were ordered to destroy enemy shipping inSan Fernando Harbor. After sinking a 50-foot tugger, an inter-island oiler, and damaging a cargo ship, she withdrew to bombard the town ofRosario the next day.
Stembel sailed for San Pedro on 21 January and thence proceeded toUlithi. She sortied from there on 10 February in the screen of the Amphibious Support Force for theinvasion of the Volcano Islands. After staging offSaipan, the DD arrived offIwo Jima on 16 February where she screenedminesweepers, conducted night harassment fire, bombarded the beaches for the troops as they landed, and then supported them with call fire until 7 March. After making voyage repairs at UlithiStembel joined the fast carriers and sortied, on 14 March, for an area east ofKyūshū. Air strikes were flown against that island on 18 March; and, on 19 March, against Kyūshū airfields as well as against shipping atKure andKobe,Honshū.Stembel rescued two men from a downed plane fromWasp (CV-18) on 18 March and splashed an enemy aircraft the next day.
Stembel saved a pilot fromHancock (CV-19) on 26 March and another three days later. Her task group was operating between 60 and 100 miles (100–160 km) east ofOkinawa as they launched pre-invasion air strikes against that chain of islands. The ship was forced to return to Ulithi on 11 April for repairs and then rejoined the fast carriers southeast of Okinawa on 21 April.Bunker Hill (CV-17) was hit and severely damaged on the morning of 11 May, andStembel moved close aboard to aid in extinguishing the carrier's fires. She sailed forSan Pedro, P.I., viaGuam, for a tender overhaul on 27 May.
Stembel sortied from San Pedro on 1 July with TF 38 and operated with the fast carriers in Japanese home waters until 1 September. The destroyer and other fleet surface ships bombardedKamaishi, Honshū, on 14 July and again on 9 August. On 29 and 30 July, they shelled targets atHamamatsu, Honshū. On 1 September, the destroyer was detached from the fast carriers and sailed for the United States, arriving atPort Angeles, Wash., on 13 September. She was given a preinactivation overhaul atPuget Sound Naval Shipyard in November and then steamed down the coast to San Diego. She was decommissioned on 31 May 1946 and attached to thePacific Reserve Fleet.
Stembel joined the active fleet again on 9 November 1951. After refitting, sea trials, and a shakedown cruise, the destroyer stood out of San Diego on 21 June 1952 en route to theKorean War Zone. From 26 July to 2 November,Stembel served with carrier TF 77 in support ofUnited Nations Forces. She served as plane guard forBoxer (CVA-21), assistedIowa (BB-61) in bombardingKojo andWonsan, and patrolled theTaiwan Strait. She returned to San Diego on 5 January 1953, and remained on the west coast until 16 May when she again deployed toKorean waters where she served until 8 December.
Stembel deployed to the western Pacific from 17 June to 24 October 1954, 17 May to 15 November 1955, 9 July to 19 December 1956, and from 8 July to 22 December 1957. On 3 February 1958, the ship reported toLong Beach for inactivation. She was decommissioned on 27 May 1958 and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet.Stembel was stricken from the USNaval Vessel Register on 1 September 1975.
Contrary to what has appeared here before, the Stembel was not used in the 1959Jerry Lewis film,Don't Give Up The Ship. The film ship was USSVammen (DE-644).[citation needed]
_in_1962.jpg)
Stembel was loaned to the Republic ofArgentina on 7 August 1961 under the Military Assistance Program and served theArgentine Navy asARARosales (D-22).Rosales was stricken and broken up for scrap in 1982.
Stembel received ninebattle stars forWorld War II service and three for service during theKorean War.
Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with nine battle star
29 Jan 44 - 8 Feb 44P26-2; Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls
16 Feb 44 - 17 Feb 44P27-1; Truk attack
21 Apr 44 - 25 Apr 44P40; Hollandia operation (Aitape Humbolt Bay-Tanahmerah Bay)
21 Jul 44- 1 Aug 44P29-7; Capture and occupation of Guam
20 Oct 44P31-1; Leyte landings
18 Nov 44P31-1; Leyte landings
9 Jan 45P32-2; Lingayen Gulf landing
16 Feb 45 - 7 Mar 45P33-1; Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima
17 Mar 45 - 2 Jun 45P34-2; 5th and 3d Fleet raids in support of Okinawa Gunto operation
10 Jul 45 - 15 Aug 45P35 3d Fleet operations against Japan 5
China Service Medal 19-24 Jul 52
Navy Occupation with asia Clasp 2-3 Sep 45
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
