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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSCaldwell (DD-605) |
| Namesake | James R. Caldwell |
| Builder | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation,San Francisco,California |
| Launched | 15 January 1942 |
| Commissioned | 10 June 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 24 April 1946 |
| Stricken | 1 May 1965 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap on 4 November 1966 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Benson-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 1,620 tons |
| Length | 348 ft 2 in (106.12 m) |
| Beam | 36 ft 1 in (11.00 m) |
| Draught | 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) |
| Speed | 36.5 |
| Complement | 276 |
| Armament | 5 x5 in (130 mm)/38 guns, 10 x21 inch (533 mm) ntt. |
USSCaldwell (DD-605) was aBenson-classdestroyer in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. She was named forJames R. Caldwell.
Caldwell was launched 15 January 1942 byBethlehem Steel Corporation,San Francisco, California; sponsored by Miss A. Caldwell; and commissioned 10 June 1942,Lieutenant CommanderJ. F. Newman, Jr., in command.
On 11 September 1942,Caldwell turned her bow northward from San Francisco and joined the screen of anAleutians-bound convoy. For the next 9 months the destroyer battled foul weather as she shepherded shipping and cruised with TG 8.6 in unrewarded search for the enemy inAlaskan waters. Her guns pounded Attu twice in preparation for the assault which would recapture that American outpost. When soldiers of the 17th and 32d Infantry stormed ashore on 11 May 1943, they were covered to the southward byCaldwell and the other ships of TG 16.6. WithAttu taken, the destroyer returned to convoy escort;Caldwell sailed in the screen of the force which carried reinforcements toKiska, Alaska on 16 August 1943, the day after thefirst landings on that rugged island.
Caldwell left the fog, mists, and cold of the Aleutians behind in September 1943, and steamed south to join TF 15 for the 18 September air strikes which destroyed half of the enemy airplanes onTarawa. Action followed thick and fast for the next month as the destroyer joined TF 14, the largest fast carrier force yet organized, in blastingWake Island.Caldwell bombardedPeale and Wake Islands and screenedaircraft carriers launching air attacks against those islets.
The destroyer's next mission found her coveringLSTs in the followup to the invasion ofMakin,Gilbert Islands. Her charges safely delivered on 21 November,Caldwell took station on antisubmarine and air defense patrol for the next week. A well-earned rest came in the form of duty escorting a San Francisco-bound convoy. After a brief overhaul, the destroyer returned to action with TF 52 in the invasion ofKwajalein andMajuro 31 January 1944. During the continual maneuvering, characteristic of carrier task forces,Caldwell andWhite Plains collided; the destroyer remained with the task force another week, then returned to Pearl Harbor for repairs. At sea again,Caldwell joined TF 58 in thePalau-Yap-Ulithi-Woleai raids (30 March-1 April); strikes on New Guinea in support of Army landings on that island (22–24 April); and theTruk-Satawan-Ponape raids (29 April-1 May). She remained on patrol in the Marshall Islands until mid-August when she sailed to Pearl Harbor for much-needed upkeep.
Caldwell's next assignment sent her by way of Ulithi andManus to screen convoys supplying the forces which had landed in thePhilippines. On 11 December,Caldwell had a near miss with akamikaze,[1] and the next day, while escorting landing craft to Ormoc Bay, she bore the brunt of the air attack. Hit on the bridge simultaneously by akamikaze and fragments from a two-bomb straddle, the destroyer suffered 33 killed and 40 wounded including the commanding officer. Despite the heavy damage,Caldwell's after guns continued to fire on enemy planes, while her damage control parties saved the ship.
Temporary repairs made at San Pedro Bay, Philippines, fittedCaldwell for the voyage to San Francisco where she was again put in fighting trim. April 1945 saw the destroyer once more in her familiar role as convoy escort, this time in support of the invasion ofTarakan,Borneo.Caldwell bombarded Tarakan (11–12 May), then moved to cover the minesweeping operations off Brunei Bay. Here, on 27 June, she detonated an influence-type mine, but escaped with moderate damage and no casualties. After temporary repairs atVictoria, Australia, she sailed to San Pedro Bay, P.I., for final repairs. She was there when hostilities ended. Escort of landing craft convoys toOkinawa andLeyte followed in September and October 1945. After a visit toTokyo Bay,Caldwell returned to the States; she was placed out of commission in reserve atCharleston, South Carolina, on 24 April 1946. She was struck 1 May 1965 and sold for scrap on 4 November 1966.
Caldwell received eightbattle stars for service in World War II.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere. United States Navy | |
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 Republic of China Navy | |
 Marina Militare |
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