USSRadford (DD-446)
History
United States
Name	Radford
Namesake	Rear AdmiralWilliam Radford
Builder	Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
Laid down	2 October 1941
Launched	3 May 1942
Commissioned	22 July 1942
Decommissioned	17 January 1946
Recommissioned	17 October 1949
Decommissioned	10 November 1969
Stricken	10 November 1969
Motto	HUK King
Fate	Sold October 1970 for scrap
General characteristics
Class & type	Fletcher-classdestroyer
Displacement	2,050 tons
Length	376 ft 5 in (114.73 m)
Beam	39 ft 7 in (12.07 m)
Draft	17 ft 9 in (5.41 m)
Propulsion	60,000 shp (45,000 kW) geared turbines; 2 propellers
Speed	38knots (70 km/h; 44 mph)
Range	6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	329 officers and enlisted
Armament	5 × singleMk 12 5 in (127 mm)/38 guns 5 × twin40 mm (1.6 in) BoforsAA guns 7 × single20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon AA guns 2 × quintuple 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes 6 × singledepth charge throwers 2 × depth charge racks FRAM II modifications: 2 × 5 in/38 cal. guns, 1 Mark 108 ASW rocket launcher, 6 × Mark 44 18 in ASW torpedo tubes, 2 xHedgehog projectors, 2 x Mark 14 21 in torpedo tubes, 2 ×.50 cal (12.7 mm) gunsM2machineguns

USSRadford (DD-446), named forRear AdmiralWilliam Radford, was aFletcher-classdestroyer in theUnited States Navy. Entering service in 1942 duringWorld War II the ship also saw action during theKorean War and theVietnam War. The ship was removed from service in 1969 and sold forscrap in 1970.

Radford waslaid down by theFederal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company atKearny, New Jersey on 2 October 1941 and waslaunched on 3 May 1942 by Radford's granddaughter Edith (Mrs.François E. Matthes). The destroyer wascommissioned on 22 July 1942.

Radford participated in theBattle of Kula Gulf and theBattle of Kolombangara in July 1943. She engaged in an offensive sweep against theTokyo Express, and receivedPresidential Unit Citation for the rescue of 468 survivors from thecruiserUSS Helena, which had been sunk at Kula Gulf.Radford depth charged and sank theJapanese submarine I-19, which had previously sunk destroyerUSS O'Brien and the aircraft carrierUSS Wasp,^[1] on 25 November 1943. The destroyer was damaged by a Japanesemine while supporting the liberation ofLuzon in December 1944 and received a Presidential Unit Citation from the Philippine government. The ship wasdecommissioned on the 17th of January 1946 and placed in reserve atSan Francisco.

Radford was recommissioned on 17 October 1949, and operated with theUnited States Seventh Fleet in support ofUnited Nations Forces during theKorean War. Following the armistice in 1953, she alternated operations along the west coast and in Hawaiian waters with annual deployments to the western Pacific with the Seventh Fleet. In 1960,Radford underwent an extensiveFleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM II) overhaul at thePearl Harbor Navy Yard.

On 3 March 1965,Radford, in company with other units of Destroyer Division 252, departedPearl Harbor on short notice to augment destroyer forces for the rapidly expanding naval commitments in the South China Sea. In October and DecemberRadford served as an alternate recovery ship inProject Gemini and participated inSea Dragon andMarket Time operations, patrolled on search and rescue duties and carried outnaval gunfire support (NGFS) missions during the Vietnam War from 1965 through 1969.

Her eleventh WestPac tour began on 5 July 1966. During this period, she participated in anti-submarine operations, escortedaircraft carriers in theGulf of Tonkin, had two tours of duty on NGFS missions, a turn on theTaiwan patrol, served as forward picket for the Seventh Fleet units operating in the South China Sea and escortedPresidentLyndon B. Johnson's support units to Malaysia during his tour of southeast Asia. DesDiv 252 returned to Pearl Harbor on 16 December 1966.

Radford was decommissioned at San Francisco just months after returning from her 1969 WestPac tour. She was stricken from theNaval Vessel Register on 10 November 1969, and sold for scrap in October 1970, but not before she fought one last battle on her own. She broke away from thetug that was towing her fromVallejo, California to thePortland, Oregon scrap yard, and took them on a 34-mile (55 km), all day chase toward theOregon coast.

Radford received twelvebattle stars and two Presidential Unit Citations for World War II service, five battle stars for the Korean War, four for the Vietnam War, and theArmed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

The USSRadford National Naval Museum was a collection of memorabilia about the ship that was located inNewcomerstown, Ohio.^[2] The museum closed in 2011^[3] and its contents were moved to theUSSOrleck Naval Museum that is located inJacksonville, Florida. Exhibits include photos, uniforms, and displays about the ship and her service.

• USSRadford website atDestroyer History Foundation
• USS Radford National Naval Museum
• NavSource: USSRadford
• hazegray.org: USSRadfordArchived 4 September 2007 at theWayback Machine

• World War II destroyers of the United States
• Cold War destroyers of the United States
• Korean War destroyers of the United States
• Vietnam War destroyers of the United States
• Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey
• Defunct museums in Ohio
• 1942 ships
• Fletcher-class destroyers of the United States Navy
• Museum ships in Ohio

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Use dmy dates from July 2019