 USSMacdonough, 27 April 1937 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Macdonough (DD-351) |
| Namesake | Thomas Macdonough |
| Builder | Boston Navy Yard |
| Laid down | 15 May 1933 |
| Launched | 22 August 1934 |
| Commissioned | 15 March 1935 |
| Decommissioned | 22 October 1945 |
| Stricken | 1 November 1945 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 20 December 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Farragut-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 1,395 tons |
| Length | 341 ft 4 in (104.04 m) |
| Beam | 34 ft 3 in (10.44 m) |
| Draft | 15 ft 6 in (4.72 m) |
| Propulsion | Curtis geared turbines, twin screws; 21,400 shaft hp each |
| Speed | 36 kn (67 km/h) |
| Range | 6500 nmi at 12 knots (12,000 km at 22 km/h) |
| Complement | 160 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
The thirdUSSMacdonough (DD-351) was aFarragut-classdestroyer in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. She was named forThomas Macdonough.
Macdonough was laid down 15 May 1933 by theBoston Navy Yard; launched 22 August 1934; sponsored by Miss Rose Shaler Macdonough, granddaughter ofCommodore Thomas Macdonough; and commissioned 15 March 1935.
Following an extensive shakedown cruise toEurope and westernSouth America,Macdonough joined thePacific Fleet and operated out ofSan Diego, California until 12 October 1939. She then shifted to a new home port,Pearl Harbor, as part ofDestroyer Squadron 1. In port 7 December 1941 during theattack on Pearl Harbor,Macdonough downed one of theJapanese attack planes before heading out to sea to join others in the search for the Japanese task force. For the next 3½ months, the destroyer performed scouting assignments southwest ofOahu. Before returning to Pearl Harbor to escort convoys to and from west coast ports, she steamed as far asNew Guinea, supporting airstrikes onBougainville,Salamaua, andLae.
Macdonough returned to the western Pacific to prepare for theGuadalcanal invasion. Operating withSaratoga, she provided cover for the landings onGuadalcanal andTulagi, 7 August 1942. She remained in the area, taking part in theBattle of Savo Island and fighting aircraft and shipping during the landing of reinforcements on the island. At the end of September, she commenced escort work between New Guinea,Espiritu Santo, and Pearl Harbor until reporting toMare Island, 22 December, for overhaul.
Macdonough next steamed north for the assault and occupation ofAttu Island in theAleutian Islands. Arriving atAdak, Alaska, 16 April 1943, the destroyer patrolled northeast of Attu until the assault. On 10 May, while maneuvering in heavy weather to guard the attack transports, she collided withSicard and was forced to retire under tow. The ship remained in the repairs dock at Mare Island until 23 September, when she prepared to get underway for theGilbert Islands. Arriving for the invasion ofMakin Island, 20 November, she acted as control vessel for the landing craft, and following the completion of that phase of the operation, entered the lagoon to bombard Japanese installations. On 23 November Makin was declared secure andMacdonough returned to Pearl Harbor.
_at_sea_in_January_1943.jpg)
In January 1944, she joined the Northern Attack Force staging for the assault on theMarshall Islands. As the primary fighter director ship for the initial transport group,Macdonough at first operated offKwajalein Atoll. On 29 January, she proceeded toWotje Atoll and participated in the shore bombardment there until returning to Kwajalein on the 31st for the occupation ofRoi andNamur Islands. The destroyer then took up radar picket duties until proceeding on toEniwetok Atoll.
On 21 and 22 February,Macdonough shelled Japanese positions onParry Island at the deep entrance to Eniwetok lagoon. A month later, she was a reference and rendezvous ship for carrier TF 58, then striking thePalau Islands. Continuing her varied pace, she was atHollandia,New Guinea, by 21 April, providing fire support for the landings there. Then, at the end of the mouth she steamed eastward to take up radar picket duty south ofTruk. During this assignment,Macdonough, with thelight aircraft carrierUSS Monterey (CVL-26) and destroyerUSS Stephen Potter (DD-538), sank the Japanese submarineRo-45 on 30 April 1944.
On 4 May, the destroyer arrived atMajuro to join the forces gathering for the invasion of theMarianas. Departing the Marshalls 6 June,Macdonough operated with the fast carrier force during theSaipan invasion. She performed screening and picket duties and was part of the bombardment group firing on Japanese installations on the west side of the Island. She next took part in theBattle of the Philippine Sea, 19 to 20 June, firing at the few enemy planes which got through the combat air patrol. Ordered toGuam, she covered underwater demolition teams reconnoitering the beaches and provided harassing fire to prevent repairs to beach defenses on the island. On 21 July, the destroyer patrolled the waters off Guam to protect the assault craft from enemy submarines, continuing that role until departing for Hawaii 10 August.
After a brief stay at Pearl Harbor,Macdonough departed for theAdmiralty Islands. She arrived atManus on 15 September and commenced escort duties. On 14 October, she accompanied troop transports toLeyte and remained through theBattle of Leyte Gulf, 24 to 25 October. She then steamed back to Manus for another convoy to Leyte, 3 November, and upon her return toPhilippine waters patrolledLeyte Gulf and the southernSurigao Strait area. The next mouth,Macdonough resumed escort duty. Operating out ofUlithi, she guarded fleet oilers on their refueling runs in the Philippine,Formosa, andSouth China Sea areas. In January 1945, the destroyer sailed forPuget Sound and a 3-month overhaul period. Returning to Ulithi, she was assigned to radar picket station off that island until 5 July, when she resumed screening convoys. For the remainder of the war, she protected Allied shipping between Ulithi andOkinawa.
At Guam when hostilities ended,Macdonough soon received orders to return to the United States. She arrived at San Diego 3 September, continuing on the next week to theNew York Navy Yard, where she decommissioned 22 October 1945. On 20 December 1946, she was sold to George H. Nutman ofBrooklyn, New York.
Macdonough received 13battle stars for World War II service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in May 1943 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
|
| Other incidents |
|
