_underway_off_the_Mare_Island_Naval_Shipyard%2c_California_(USA)%2c_on_30_September_1944_(19-N-73206).jpg) USS Dyson (DD-572) at Sea 09-30-1944 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSDyson (DD-572) |
| Namesake | Charles W. Dyson |
| Builder | Consolidated Steel Corporation,Orange, Texas |
| Laid down | 25 June 1941 |
| Launched | 15 April 1942 |
| Commissioned | 30 December 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 31 March 1947 |
| Stricken | 1 October 1974 |
| Fate | Transferred toWest German Navy, 17 February 1960 |
| History | |
 West Germany | |
| Name | Zerstörer 5 (D179) |
| Acquired | 17 February 1960 |
| Stricken | 1982 |
| Fate | Transferred toGreece for parts, February 1982 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | |
| Displacement | 2,050 long tons (2,080 t) |
| Length | 376 ft 6 in (114.76 m) |
| Beam | 39 ft 8 in (12.09 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft 9 in (5.41 m) |
| Propulsion | 60,000 shp (45 MW) ; 2 propellers |
| Speed | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range | 6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 329 |
| Armament |
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USSDyson (DD-572) was aFletcher-classdestroyer of theUnited States Navy. She was named forRear AdmiralCharles W. Dyson (1861–1930).
Dyson waslaunched 15 April 1942 byConsolidated Steel Corporation,Orange, Tex., sponsored by Mrs. Charles Dyson, widow of Rear Admiral Dyson; andcommissioned 30 December 1942,CommanderRoy Alexander Gano in command.
After escort and screening duty along the east coast and to theCaribbean,Dyson sailed fromNew York 14 May 1943 for thePacific. She joined Task Force 36 (TF 36) atNouméa, and served from this base andEspiritu Santo in support of the consolidation of theSolomons, patrolling, and escortingconvoys. In August she began operating in the Solomons themselves. On the night of 3/4 September in company withPringle she intercepted and sank two barges and damaged another betweenChoiseul andKolombangara while patrolling to blockJapanese movements by water. Later that month on a similar sweep, she fired on an unidentified ship which burned and disappeared from sight.
Returning to Espiritu Santo in October 1943,Dyson with the other ships of the famedDestroyer Squadron 23 (DesRon 23) sailed to cover the landings atCape Torokina,Bougainville, and on 1 November made an attack on airfields in theBuka-Monis area and theShortland Islands to deny their use by the Japanese to attack the Allied landings. That night in theBattle of Empress Augusta Bay, TF 39 intercepted and turned back a Japanese force sailing to attack the transports in the bay. The torpedo attacks and gunfire ofDyson and the other destroyers were a significant factor in sinking a Japanesecruiser and destroyer, and damaging four other enemy ships.
Dyson saw action in the bombardment ofBuka Airdrome 17 November, and on the night of 24/25 November, took part in the classic destroyer action, theBattle of Cape St. George in whichCaptainArleigh Burke's destroyers sank three Japanese destroyers and severely damaged two more which were attempting to evacuate aviation personnel from the doomed Buka area toNew Britain. The "Little Beavers" of Destroyer Squadron 23 won this striking victory without a casualty.
Dyson remained in the Solomons until March 1944. She continued to harass the coast of Bougainville and patrol the shipping lanes toRabaul to prevent Japanese reinforcements from reaching the northern Solomons. In February she joined the support force for the invasion ofGreen Island, then made two sweeps offNew Ireland hunting Japanese shipping and bombardingKavieng. On the second of these, on 22 February the destroyers sank two cargo vessels, a destroyer-minelayer, a patrol craft and two barges, andDyson captured 31 of the 73 prisoners of war taken fromClaudia Maru. On 23 February she pounded shore targets onDuke of York Island, and in March joined TF 31 to cover theinvasion of Emirau.
Dyson joinedTF 58 25 March 1944 and screened thefast carriers during the raids onPalau,Yap,Ulithi andWoleai of 30 March to 1 April; theHollandia operations from 21 to 23 April; and the strikes onTruk,Satawan andPonape from 29 April to 1 May. After replenishing atMajuro, she sortied with TF 58 again in June for preinvasion strikes onSaipan andPagan and diversionary raids on theBonins, screened the carriers during theBattle of the Philippine Sea, then began direct participation in the capture of theMarianas. She hunted Japanese shipping offGuam andRota, bombarded gun emplacements and fired on barges.
After a west coast overhaul,Dyson joinedTF 38 at Ulithi in November and took part in the strikes onLuzon,Formosa, theChina coast, and theNansei Shoto coordinated with thebattle for Leyte and theinvasion of Luzon.
Reporting to TF 78 for duty in February 1945, she escorted convoys fromSan Pedro Bay toSubic Bay and patrolled and bombarded troop concentrations in the capture ofCorregidor. WhenSaunter was damaged by amine 26 February,Dyson took off her wounded and aided in the salvage operations. The destroyer continued to serve in thePhilippines, taking part in the landings onPanay,Negros, andMindanao Islands.
On 16 May 1945,Dyson arrived atOkinawa for patrol,radar picket, local escort, and air-sea rescue duty until the end of the war. She sailed for the States 10 September, arriving atWashington, D.C., 17 October. Two days laterSecretary of the Navy,James V. Forrestal presented Destroyer Squadron 23 with thePresidential Unit Citation for their outstanding performance in action in the Solomons in 1943–44.
Reporting to theNaval Base at Charleston, South Carolina,Dyson furnished electrical power for a group of decommissioned destroyers until placed out of commission in reserve 31 March 1947. On 17 February 1960,Dyson was lent to theFederal Republic of Germany.
The ship served in theBundesmarine asZerstörer 5 (D-179).Zerstörer 5 was stricken and transferred toGreece February 1982, where she was cannibalized to provide spare parts for other ships.
In addition to her Presidential Unit Citation,Dyson received 11battle stars for World War II service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
