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_underway_in_June_1943.jpg) USSGuest | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Guest |
| Namesake | John Guest |
| Builder | Boston Navy Yard |
| Laid down | 27 September 1941 |
| Launched | 20 February 1942 |
| Commissioned | 15 December 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 4 June 1946 |
| Stricken | 1 August 1973 |
| Fate | Transferred toBrazil, 5 June 1959 |
| History | |
 Brazil | |
| Name | Para (D27) |
| Acquired | 5 June 1959 |
| Stricken | 1978 |
| Fate | Sunk as target 23 February 1983 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & 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 | 60,000 shp (45 MW); 2 propellers |
| Speed | 35knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range | 6500nmi. (12,000 km) at 15 kt |
| Complement | 336 |
| Armament |
|
USSGuest (DD-472), aFletcher-classdestroyer, was a ship of theUnited States Navy named for CommodoreJohn Guest (1822–1879).Guest waslaunched 20 February 1942 by theBoston Naval Shipyard; sponsored by Mrs. Ann Guest Walsh, granddaughter of Com. Guest;commissioned 15 December 1942, CommanderHenry Crommelin in command, and saw service in thePacific Theater during World War II.Guest decommissioned in 1946 and was transferred on loan to the Brazilian Navy in 1959, where she served asPará (D27). She was stricken in 1979 and was sunk as a target ship in 1983.
After shakedown training atGuantanamo Bay,Guest made a cruise toTrinidad withaircraft carrierIndependence (CVL-22). This was followed by aconvoy escort voyage fromNew York toCasablanca and return toBoston (28 April – 31 May 1943). She departed Boston 20 July for brief training inHawaiian waters, then joined the3rd Fleet 28 August atEfate,New Hebrides Islands. After an offensive sweep to theSanta Cruz Islands and several escort missions toNouméa,New Caledonia, she departed Efate 28 October forinvasion of Bougainville. She guarded transports during the initial landings 1 November assisting in shooting down two enemy bombers. In the following months she escorted troop and logistic convoys fromGuadalcanal toCape Torokina, twice driving off bombers andtorpedo planes which attacked her convoy. She silenced Japanese coastal defense guns atMotupene Point,Bougainville, 4 December 1943, and bombarded theSaba River area 25 January 1944.
Guest protected transports landing theMarine Raiders onGreen Island 31 January 1944. As the Raiders reembarked the next morning, she made twodepth charge attacks on a divingsubmarine.Hudson (DD-475) followed up this attack to complete the kill of the 1,400-ton Japanese submarineI-171.Guest again screened transports during invasion of theGreen Islands 15 February 1944. She bombardedKavieng,New Ireland 25 February, and theSanba River area on Bougainville 17 March. She rescued the crew ofPT-63 on the latter date. In a case of mistaken identity on 17 March motor torpedo boat PT-283 was sunk by friendly fire from destroyer Guest (DD-472), in the Solomons, near Choseul Island. Her 5-inch gunfire destroyed the grounded Japanese freighterMeisyo Maru 30 April to the east ofNemto Island. After amphibious assault training in the New Hebrides, she departed fromRoi, in theMarshall Islands, 10 June 1944 for theinvasion and capture of the Mariana Islands.
Guest poured gunfire ahead of troopslanding on Saipan 15 June 1944, then helped repel four massive air raids against AdmiralMarc Mitscher'sFast Carrier Task Force in theBattle of the Philippine Sea. She also conducted pre-invasion bombardment ofGuam and gave direct gunfire support to thelandings on Guam 21 July 1944. She remained on bombardment support and patrol stations until 9 August, then sailed for amphibious warfare exercises in theSolomons.
Guest departedPurvis Bay, Solomon Islands, 6 September 1944. A unit of Rear AdmiralJesse Oldendorf's Western Fire Support group, she bombardedAngaur in thePalau Islands 12 September 1944. The following day she rescued 7 officers and 45 men of destroyerPerry (DMS-17), which hit amine and sank off Angaur.Guest departed the area 25 September and enteredSan Francisco Bay 25 October 1944 for overhaul.
Overhaul was followed by training in Hawaiian waters until 27 January 1945 when she departed with a task group bound via theMarianas forIwo Jima. Her 5-inch guns blasted that island during theinitial invasion 19 February 1945. She continued gunfire support until 28 February when she sailed to join the screen ofescort carriers inSan Pedro Bay,Philippine Islands.
Guest departed San Pedro Bay 27 March to guard escort carriers giving direct support to theinvasion of Okinawa. Detached 9 May, she was assigned to antiaircraft defense station in the Okinawas western transport area. The night of 25 May akamikaze suicide plane glanced off her mast and crashed alongside to portside, causing damage to the stack. She remained on antiaircraft defense station until 1 July 1945. She was then routed viaUlithi and theMarshalls in the screen of escort carriers bound toAdak, Alaska, thence toOminato, Japan. After plane guard duty with carriers along the coast ofHonshū, she returned via Adak to thePuget Sound Naval Shipyard 15 November 1945.
Guest decommissioned atSan Diego 4 June 1946 and remained in reserve until transferred 5 June 1959 on loan to the government of Brazil.
The ship served in theBrazilian Navy asPará (D27). She was stricken in 1979. After decommissioning she was used during 1982 and 1983 as a target ship for gunnery andtorpedo practice and forExocet MM 38anti-ship missiles launched by theBrazilian frigate Niterói. On 23 February 1983, she was sunk by two torpedoes fired by the BraziliansubmarineCeará (S 14) in theAtlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil approximately 80nautical miles (148 km) south ofCabo Frio lighthouse.[1][2]
Guest received eightbattle stars for service inWorld War II.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1983 | |
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