USS Farragut (DD-348)

Figure 1: USS Farragut (DD-348) Photographic reproduction of a painting by Walter L. Greene, depicting the ship as first completed, circa the mid-1930s. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Farragut in harbor, circa 1935. Note that her hull number was then painted low on the hull, just above the boot topping. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: The USS Balch (DD-363) appears to be coming alongside of another ship with USS Aylwin (DD-355), USS Monaghan (DD-354), USS Farragut (DD-348) and another unidentified destroyer in San Diego circa 1936. Courtesy Darryl Baker. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: Destroyer Squadron Twenty (DesRon 20), five of the squadron's ships moored together, circa 1936. The destroyers are (from left to right): USS Dewey (DD-349), USS Farragut (DD-348), USS Worden (DD-352), USS Hull (DD-350) and USS Aylwin (DD-355). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Farragut (DD-348) underway during maneuvers staged for Movietone News, off San Diego, California, 14 September 1936. She is being overflown by five patrol planes. That at left is a PBY-1 of Patrol Squadron Eleven-F (VP-11F). The other four are P2Ys of Patrol Squadron Seven-F (VP-7F). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Farragut leading a column of Destroyer Squadron Twenty ships during maneuvers staged for Movietone News, off San Diego, California, 14 September 1936. The next ship astern is USS Aylwin (DD-355). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Farragut (DD-348) at sea, December 1943. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS Farragut underway off the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, 29 September 1944. Her camouflage scheme is Measure 31, Design 3d. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after the famous Civil War Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, the 1,365-ton USS Farragut (DD-348) was the lead ship in a class of eight destroyers and was built by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 15 March 1934 and was sponsored by Mrs. James Roosevelt, the daughter-in-law of President Franklin Roosevelt. Farragut was commissioned on 18 June 1934 and was the first US Navy destroyer built in more than a decade. The ship was approximately 341 feet long and 34 feet wide, and had a top speed of 37 knots and a crew of 160 officers and men. Farragut was armed with five 5-inch guns, eight 21-inch torpedo tubes and depth charges. Additional anti-aircraft guns were added during World War II.

Farragut was based at Norfolk, Virginia, during her shakedown cruise but was transferred to the Pacific in the spring of 1935. She was based at San Diego, California, and took part in numerous fleet training exercises. In October 1939, Farragut was sent to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and was stationed there until the Japanese attacked the naval base on 7 December 1941. Farragut was slightly damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor and, following the attack, was assigned to patrol and escort operations between Hawaii and California.

On 15 April 1942, Farragut was attached to the USS Lexington (CV-2) task force as it left Pearl Harbor to rendezvous with the USS Yorktown (CV-5) task force. Once these task forces united, they headed for the Coral Sea off the coast of Australia. From 4 to 8 May 1942, all of these ships fought the Battle of the Coral Sea, which was the first major carrier confrontation between the United States and Japan. Although the battle was basically a tie in terms of tonnage sunk, the Battle of the Coral Sea was a major American tactical victory because it stopped the Japanese advance in the South Pacific and it saved both Australia and New Zealand from invasion. During the battle, Farragut provided anti-aircraft fire support for the other ships in the task force.

Farragut remained in the South Pacific area until the end of 1942. In August she escorted aircraft carriers for the invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi and took part in the Battle for the Eastern Solomon Islands. For the remainder of the Guadalcanal Campaign, Farragut was primarily assigned to patrol and escort duties. She was sent back to California in February 1943 for an overhaul. In April, Farragut was sent to Alaska to take part in the invasions of Attu and Kiska in May and August. After that she participated in the invasions of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, from November 1943 to February 1944. Farragut then was sent south to support the landings on the north shore of New Guinea before returning to the central Pacific to take part in the invasions of Saipan and Guam. She also participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944.

Toward the end of 1944, Farragut escorted oil tankers that were needed by the fleet in the Western Pacific. Although she successfully completed numerous escort missions throughout the rest of the war in the Pacific, Farragut also was assigned to radar picket duty during the Battle for Okinawa in April and May 1945. Shortly after this battle ended, Farragut was sent back to the United States. She arrived at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York, on 25 September 1945. Farragut was decommissioned almost a month later on 23 October and was finally sold for scrapping on 14 August 1947.

Farragut took part in most of the major battles in the Pacific and received 14 battle stars for her service during World War II. Certainly, Admiral Farragut would have been proud that his namesake had such an active and notable wartime career.

USS California/USS San Diego

Figure 1: USS California (Armored Cruiser No. 6) photographed circa 1908. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: Commissioning of the USS California (ACR-6) at Mare Island Navy Yard on 1 August 1907. Courtesy Darryl Baker. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Ohio (BB-12), USS California (ACR-6) and USS South Dakota (ACR-9), between May and July 1908 at Mare Island Navy Yard. The cruisers are moored next to the yard's coal sheds. Note the coal handling equipment installed by the Brown Hoisting Machinery Company in 1904, seen above the coal sheds. Courtesy Darryl Baker. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: Stern view of USS California (ACR-6) in San Diego harbor circa 1909. Courtesy Darryl Baker. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS California (ACR-6) in San Diego harbor circa 1910-1914. Photographed by the Arcade View Company. Courtesy of Captain Don Fink, 1983. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS San Diego (ACR-6) Off Guaymas, Mexico, 26 December 1915. Photographed by Hopkins. Note Christmas tree mounted on her forecastle. Collection of Thomas P. Naughton, 1973. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: Starboard forward quarter view of the USS San Diego (ACR-6) in Mare Island channel on May 4, 1916. U.S. Navy Photo. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS San Diego (ACR-6) - Painting by Francis Muller, 1920. It depicts the ship sinking off Fire Island, New York, after she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-156, 19 July 1918. Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C., U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

The USS California (Armored Cruiser 6) was a 13,680-ton Pennsylvania class armored cruiser that was built at the Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California, and was commissioned on 1 August 1907. She was approximately 503 feet long and 69 feet wide, and had a top speed of 22 knots and a crew of 830 officers and men. California was armed with four 8-inch guns, fourteen 6-inch guns, eighteen 3-inch guns, and two 18-inch torpedo tubes.

After California was commissioned, she spent 10 years serving in the Pacific. She was assigned to the Second Division, Pacific Fleet, and took part in the naval review at San Francisco in May 1908 for the Secretary of the Navy. California cruised the coasts of Hawaii and Samoa in the fall of 1908 and spent a great deal of time patrolling off the West Coast of the United States. In March 1912, California was sent to the US Asiatic Station in the Far East, but in August she was sent to Nicaragua to protect American lives and property during that country’s political unrest. She then resumed patrolling America’s West Coast but was on constant alert to steam towards Mexico because of the frequent rebellions plaguing that country.

On 1 September 1914, the USS California was renamed San Diego to free up her name for a battleship that was being constructed. San Diego often served as the flagship for the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet, but a boiler explosion sent her to the Mare island Navy Yard in California for repairs during the summer of 1915. San Diego resumed her role as flagship in the fall. On 12 February 1917, she was put into reserve status until the start of America’s involvement in World War I.

San Diego was re-commissioned on 7 April 1917 and was the flagship for the Commander, Patrol Force, Pacific Fleet, until 18 July, when she was ordered to join the Atlantic Fleet. She reached Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 4 August and was assigned to Cruiser Division 2. San Diego eventually became the flagship of the Commander, Cruiser Force, Atlantic, and she functioned in this role until 19 September 1917.

San Diego’s next mission was to escort merchant convoys for the first part of their journey to Europe from the United States. San Diego was based at Tompkinsville, New York, and at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and she protected Allied merchant ships from German U-boats until the convoy could be handed off to other escorts in the mid-Atlantic. But on 19 July 1918, while steaming from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to New York City, San Diego was torpedoed by U-156 just to the southeast of Fire Island, New York. The cruiser sank in 28 minutes with the loss of six lives. Although several smaller American naval vessels were sunk during World War I, the USS San Diego was the only major US warship lost during that conflict.

USS Mahan (DD-364)

Figure 1: USS Mahan (DD-364) underway at sea, circa 1938. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Mahan underway at sea, circa 1938. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Mahan off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 28 April 1942. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Mahan (DD-364) maneuvers near another destroyer and a battleship during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942 (USN Photo No 80-G-30169). Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: Guadalcanal Campaign, 1942-43. USS South Dakota (BB 57) and two destroyers alongside USS Prometheus (AR 3) for repairs, probably at Noumea, New Caledonia, in November 1942. The inboard destroyer, with the distorted bow, is probably USS Mahan (DD 364), which was damaged in a collision with South Dakota at the close of the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on 27 October 1942. South Dakota received damage in both that battle and in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 15 November 1942. The other destroyer may be USS Lamson (DD 367). Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives (USN Photo 80-G-36088). Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Mahan off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 21 June 1944. Her camouflage design is Measure 31, Design 23d. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after the famous naval historian and strategist Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914), the 1,450-ton USS Mahan (DD-364) was the lead ship in a class of 16 destroyers. Built at the United Dry Dock Company, Staten Island, New York, Mahan was launched on 15 October 1935 (sponsored by Kathleen H. Mahan, great-granddaughter of Rear Admiral Mahan) and was commissioned on 18 September 1936. The ship was approximately 341 feet long and 34 feet wide, and had a top speed of 35 knots and a crew of 204 officers and men. Mahan was initially armed with five 5-inch guns, 12 21-inch torpedo tubes and depth charges, but this changed during World War II with the addition of several anti-aircraft guns.

After the ship was commissioned, Mahan went on its shakedown cruise to the Caribbean and South America. Mahan remained in the Atlantic until July 1937, when she was sent to the Pacific. After arriving on the West Coast in mid-August, she participated in fleet training operations off southern California before being sent to her new base at Pearl Harbor. Until December 1941, Mahan made periodic visits to the West Coast and took part in numerous training exercises and patrols off the coast of Hawaii.

When Pearl Harbor was attacked on 7 December 1941, Mahan was at sea as part of the USS Lexington (CV-2) Task Force. These ships were ordered to search for the Japanese ships that attacked Pearl Harbor but were unable to locate them. Mahan returned to Pearl Harbor on 12 December. Over the next ten months, Mahan was assigned to escort and patrol duties between Hawaii and the West Coast.

By mid-October 1942, the Mahan was sent south to take part in the battle for Guadalcanal. While en route to Guadalcanal, Mahan conducted raids against Japanese patrol boats near the Gilbert Islands. Later that same month, Mahan fought in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands and its bow was seriously damaged in a collision with the battleship South Dakota. After temporary repairs were made at Noumea, New Caledonia, Mahan was sent to Pearl Harbor for more permanent repairs and to have a whole new bow attached to the ship.

Mahan was sent back to the South Pacific on 9 January 1943 and escorted convoys between the New Hebrides, New Caledonia and the Fiji Islands. She was transferred to the Seventh Fleet to take part in operations off New Guinea in July. She was in continuous action for the next three months and participated in the landings at Nassau Bay on 9 August, bombarded Finschhafen on 22 and 23 August, and escorted the landing force at Lae on 4 to 8 September. From October to November, Mahan patrolled around New Guinea while based at Buna. In December, she bombarded Japanese installations on New Britain and provided fire support for landings at Cape Gloucester. On 28 February 1944, Mahan also provided gunfire support for the seizure of Los Negros Island in the Admiralties.

After more than two years of steady combat operations, Mahan was sent to San Francisco for a major overhaul in the spring of 1944. In July she was sent back to Pearl Harbor and participated in naval exercises until 15 August. She returned to New Guinea on 20 October 1944 and escorted convoys between Hollandia and Leyte in the Philippines. She began antisubmarine patrol duties off Leyte at the end of November.

Mahan then took part in the landings at Ormoc Bay, Leyte, and on 7 December 1944, while on picket duty protecting the invasion zone, she was attacked by several Japanese aircraft. Although she shot down three of the attacking planes, three other suicide aircraft managed to get through the ship’s antiaircraft fire and all three crashed into the destroyer. Fires quickly spread out of control throughout the Mahan and the order to “abandon ship” was given. What was left of the Mahan’s crew jumped into the water and was rescued by nearby vessels. An hour later, the destroyer’s burnt-out hulk had to be sunk by another American destroyer. It was a tragic end to a destroyer that had certainly seen its share of action. Mahan received five battle stars for its service in World War II.

USS Lamson (DD-367)

Figure 1: USS Lamson (DD-367) off the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, 2 April 1945. Note that her waist torpedo tubes have been removed and a pair of 40mm quad gun mounts fitted to increase the ship's anti-aircraft firepower. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Lamson (DD-367) anchored off Yorktown, Virginia, on 19 April 1939. Courtesy of the Mariners Museum, Newport News, Virginia. Ted Stone Collection. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: Navy Photo 3090-44, broadside (Port) view of USS Lamson off Mare Island on 24 May 1944. She was in overhaul at Mare Island from 18 March until 29 May 1944. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: Navy Photo 3089-44, broadside (starboard) view of USS Lamson off Mare Island on 24 May 1944. She was in overhaul at Mare Island from 18 March until 29 May 1944. The ship is painted in camouflage Measure 32, Design 23d. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: Navy Photo 3092-44, bow on view of USS Lamson in the Mare Island channel on 24 May 1944. She was in overhaul at Mare Island from 18 March until 29 May 1944. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Lamson afire off Ormoc, Leyte, on 7 December 1944, after she was hit by a Kamikaze. The tug assisting with firefighting is probably USS ATR-31 (USN Photo No 80-G-290898). Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: The ship's bell of the USS Lamson as it currently (as of 21 October 2004) hangs on the Quarterdeck of the Naval & Marine Corps Reserve Center, Des Moines, Iowa. Lamson was named in honor of Iowa native and Naval Academy graduate Roswell Hawkes Lamson, a Civil War hero. Courtesy David Johnston. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after the naval Civil War hero Roswell Hawkes Lamson, the USS Lamson (DD-367) was a 1,500-ton Mahan class destroyer built at the Bath Iron Works Corporation, Bath, Maine, and was commissioned 21 October 1936. She was approximately 341 feet long and 34 feet wide, and had a top speed of 36.5 knots and a crew of 158 officers and men. Lamson was armed with five 5-inch guns, depth charges and twelve 21-inch torpedo tubes. During World War II additional anti-aircraft armament was added as well.

Lamson was sent to the Pacific in June 1937 and stayed there for the rest of her career. She was initially based in San Diego, California, but was transferred to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in October 1939. Lamson remained there for the next two years and was patrolling off the Hawaiian coast when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.

In January 1942, Lamson was sent to the South Pacific for patrol and escort duties. She performed these missions throughout 1942 and 1943, and took part in several combat operations. Most notably, Lamson participated in the Battle of Tassafaronga off the coast of Guadalcanal in November of 1942 and bombarded shore targets along the coast of New Guinea from mid-1943 to early 1944.

After being sent back to the United States for an overhaul at Mare Island, California, in August 1944, Lamson was sent to the central Pacific where she joined the Seventh Fleet in late October. She escorted ships to Leyte, in the Philippines, where there was intense fighting between US and Japanese forces. On 7 December 1944, while supporting the American landings at Ormoc Bay, a Japanese suicide plane seriously damaged Lamson. Although 25 men were killed and 54 were injured when the plane hit the ship and exploded, Lamson withstood the damage and was able to steam back to the United States for repairs under her own power.

After being repaired, Lamson was sent back to the central Pacific and was assigned to patrol and air-sea rescue duties from May 1945 until the end of the war in August. In early September she took part in the surrender of the Bonin Islands and then spent almost two months assisting in the occupation of Japan. Lamson arrived back on the West Coast in late November 1945 and remained inactive for the next few months. She was then selected to be a target ship for “Operation Crossroads,” the atomic bomb test that took place at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Lamson arrived at Bikini Atoll in May 1946 and sank as a result of the atomic bomb explosion on 2 July 1946 (known as “Able Day”). Lamson had a distinguished naval career and received five battle stars for her part in World War II.

Many warships, after ending their useful service lives, are sunk as targets. Lamson, though, was one of approximately 90 ships that were used as targets in Operation Crossroads, which was the first nuclear test conducted by the United States after World War II. The lessons learned from this test taught the US Navy a great deal about the effects of a nuclear blast on warships. So even in death Lamson was able to make a contribution to naval warfare.