USS Houston (CL-81)

Figure 1: USS Houston (CL-81) being prepared for launching, at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company shipyard, Newport News, Virginia, 16 June 1943. She was launched on 19 June. Courtesy of James Russell, 1972. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: Launching of USS Houston (CL-81) at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company shipyard, Newport News, Virginia, 19 June 1943. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Houston (CL-81) off the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 11 January 1944. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Houston (CL-81) off the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 11 January 1944. Her camouflage pattern is Measure 32, Design 1d. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Houston (CL-81) off the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 11 January 1944. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Houston (CL-81) off Norfolk, Virginia, 12 January 1944. She is painted in camouflage pattern Measure 32, Design 1d. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: Vertical photograph of USS Houston (CL-81) underway off Norfolk, Virginia, 12 January 1944. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS Houston (CL-81) underway at sea, 3 April 1944. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: USS Houston (CL-81) view looking aft, showing damage to the ship's stern area resulting from a torpedo hit amidships received off Formosa on 14 October 1944. This photo was taken while Houston was under tow, but prior to the second torpedo hit on 16 October. Note OS2U floatplane that had been jarred off the port catapult, breaking its wing on impact with the aircraft crane. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: USS Houston (CL-81) burial at sea for crewmen killed when the ship was torpedoed off Formosa on 14 October 1944. Photographed while Houston was under tow on 15 October. The following day, 16 October, she was hit in the starboard quarter (just aft of where this view was taken) by another aerial torpedo. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: Task Force 38 raids on Formosa, October 1944. A destroyer alongside the damaged USS Houston (CL-81) on 15 October 1944, removing excess crewmen after she was torpedoed by Japanese aircraft off Formosa. Photographed from USS Boston (CA-69). Note OS2U floatplane on Boston's port catapult. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 12: Japanese aerial torpedo explodes against USS Houston’s starboard quarter, during the afternoon of 16 October 1944. Houston had been torpedoed amidships on 14 October, while off Formosa, and was under tow by USS Pawnee (ATF-74) when enemy torpedo planes hit her again. USS Canberra (CA-70), also torpedoed off Formosa, is under tow in the distance. The original photograph is in the USS Santa Fe (CL-60) "Log," a very large photo album held by the Navy Department Library. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 13: Japanese aerial torpedo hits USS Houston’s starboard quarter, during the afternoon of 16 October 1944. This view shows burning fuel at the base of the torpedo explosion's water column. Houston had been torpedoed amidships on 14 October, while off Formosa, and was under tow by USS Pawnee (ATF-74) when enemy torpedo planes hit her again. USS Canberra (CA-70), also torpedoed off Formosa, is under tow in the distance. The original photograph is in the USS Santa Fe (CL-60) "Log," a very large photo album held by the Navy Department Library. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 14: USS Houston (CL-81) under tow on 17 October 1944, after she had been torpedoed twice by Japanese aircraft during operations off Formosa. The first torpedo hit Houston amidships on 14 October. The second struck the cruiser's starboard quarter while she was under tow on 16 October. Damage from that torpedo is visible in this view. USS Canberra (CA-70), also torpedoed off Formosa, is under tow in the distance. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 15: View of USS Houston’s torpedo-damaged stern, taken while she was under tow toward Ulithi Atoll in October 1944. Houston was hit by two Japanese aerial torpedoes during operations off Formosa. The first struck her amidships on 14 October and the second hit her starboard quarter on 16 October. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 16: View looking aft showing damage to USS Houston (CL-81) stern area resulting from a torpedo hit in the starboard quarter received off Formosa on 16 October 1944. Houston had previously been torpedoed, amidships, on 14 October and was being towed out of the area when hit by the second torpedo. Note missing aircraft hangar cover and broken aircraft crane, with severe distortion of structure to starboard. The ship's number three 6-inch triple gun turret is in the middle of the view. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 17: USS Canberra (CA-70) under tow toward Ulithi Atoll after she was torpedoed while operating off Okinawa. USS Houston (CL-81), also torpedoed and under tow, is in the right background. Canberra was hit amidships on 13 October 1944. Houston was torpedoed twice, amidships on 14 October and aft on 16 October. The tugs may be USS Munsee (ATF-107), which towed Canberra, and USS Pawnee (ATF-74). Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 18: USS Houston (CL-81) alongside USS Hector (AR-7) at Ulithi Atoll, 1 November 1944. She was under repair after being hit by two Japanese aerial torpedoes on 14 and 16 October, during operations off Formosa. An LCM is passing by in the foreground. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 19: USS Houston (CL-81) damage to the ship's hull, amidships, from a Japanese aerial torpedo hit received off Formosa on 14 October 1944. The torpedo struck the ship on her bottom, inboard of the starboard bilge keel, while she was in a turn, producing the inward displacement of bottom plating seen here. Photographed in a floating drydock at Ulithi Atoll while Houston was under repair, circa November 1944. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 20: USS Houston (CL-81) damage to the ship's starboard quarter, resulting from a Japanese aerial torpedo hit received off Formosa on 16 October 1944. Photographed in a floating drydock at Ulithi Atoll, circa November 1944. The upper part of the torpedo hole had been partially patched when this view was made. Note Houston's propellers and badly distorted rudder. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 21: Damage to USS Houston's aircraft hangar from a torpedo hit in her starboard quarter received off Formosa on 16 October 1944. View looks through the blown-open hangar hatch in the direction of the torpedo's impact point, showing men working in the damaged area. Photographed circa 27 October 1944, after Houston had been towed to Ulithi Atoll. Note broken aircraft crane at right, flooding into the hangar, and greatly distorted structure. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 22: USS Houston (CL-81) photographed circa January 1945, following temporary repair of torpedo damage received off Formosa in October 1944. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 23: USS Houston (CL-81) holding an "open house" at Lisbon, Portugal, 18 August 1946, during a visit there by units of the 12th Fleet. Taken from the harbor wall by a USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42) photographer. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Collection of Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, USN. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.



USS Houston (CL-81) was a 10,000-ton Cleveland class light cruiser and was the third ship to bear that proud name. Houston was built by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company at Newport News, Virginia, and was commissioned on 20 December 1943. The ship was approximately 610 feet long and 66 feet wide, had a top speed of 33 knots, and had a crew of 992 officers and men. Houston was armed with 12 6-inch guns, 12 5-inch guns, 28 40-mm guns, and 10 20-mm guns, plus four aircraft.

After completing a shakedown cruise in the Caribbean, Houston steamed to the Pacific via the Panama Canal. The cruiser arrived in time to participate in the invasion of the Marianas Islands, which began in mid-June 1944 with the amphibious assault on Saipan. During the Marianas campaign, Houston escorted aircraft carriers and bombarded Japanese shore targets. She also took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which was a major American victory.

In September 1944, Houston’s carrier group participated in the amphibious assault on the Palau Islands as well as in raids on the Philippine Islands. On 12 to 14 October 1944, Houston took part in carrier Task Force 38’s air raids on the Japanese bases on Formosa (now Taiwan). On the evening of 13 October, Japanese aircraft based on Formosa attacked the heavy cruiser USS Canberra (CA-70), causing serious damage to the ship. Although badly damaged, Canberra remained afloat and was being towed to safety. The next evening, on 14 October, Japanese aircraft from Formosa struck Task Force 38 once again. Although Houston’s gunners shot down three of the attacking aircraft, a fourth torpedo bomber managed to slip through the task force’s anti-aircraft defenses. The Japanese torpedo plane dropped its deadly load into the water and after a few moments the torpedo hit Houston directly amidships, just below the turn of the starboard bilge, and severely damaged the ship. The explosion caused major flooding and all four of Houston’s machinery spaces were quickly filled with water, causing the ship to come to a halt. Houston’s commanding officer, Captain W. W. Behrens, initially thought Houston was going to sink and requested that her crew be taken off the ship. But damage control parties managed to stop the flooding and Captain Behrens reversed his order to have his crew removed from the stricken warship. During the remaining hours of darkness on 14 October, Houston managed to rig a tow line with the cruiser USS Boston (CA-69) and the painfully slow process of towing a damaged warship filled with tons of water began.

There were now two crippled American cruisers being towed to safety, Canberra and Houston. The two warships were being escorted by several American cruisers and destroyers and both were being towed to Ulithi atoll in the Caroline Islands for repairs. On 16 October, the fleet tug Pawnee (ATF-74) took over the Houston’s tow line and the fleet tug Munsee (ATF-107) began the task of towing Canberra. But that day, another large group of Japanese aircraft based on Formosa attacked the American warships. American fighters from nearby escort carriers, as well as an enormous amount of anti-aircraft fire from the ships in the task force, shot down many of the Japanese aircraft. Unfortunately, a few Japanese planes managed to survive the American defenses and one torpedo bomber managed to, once again, get close to Houston. The Japanese plane dropped its torpedo and this time the cruiser, while still under tow, was hit on her starboard quarter, creating another major hole in her hull and blowing up her aircraft hangar.

Although Houston was still being towed by Pawnee, the cruiser now had roughly 6,000 tons of water in her ruptured and extremely weakened hull. But Houston’s crew refused to give up. Every available hand on board the ship frantically tried to stop the flooding. With dogged determination and a lot of luck, the crew managed to, once again, stop the flooding and contain it to certain sections of the ship. Houston remained afloat, although barely above water. It took eleven days to tow Houston and Canberra to Ulithi, a trip of more than 1,300 nautical miles. Once there, the two ships underwent extensive temporary repairs which were subsequently continued at Manus in the Admiralty Islands. After two months of hard work, Houston’s holes were patched up, her hull was reinforced, and enough machinery was repaired so that she could steam back to the United States under her own power for permanent repairs. Few US Navy warships operating in the open sea have sustained such massive underwater damage and flooding and remained afloat, let alone make it thousands of miles back to the United States under their own power.

Houston eventually arrived on 24 March 1945 at the New York Navy Yard at Brooklyn, New York, for permanent repairs. The ship received a complete overhaul from March to October 1945. World War II had ended by the time Houston was ready for active duty, but she spent the next two years of post-war service with the Atlantic Fleet, sailing in northern European and Mediterranean waters from April to December 1946 and once again from May to August 1947. USS Houston was decommissioned on 15 December 1947 and was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet until she was stricken from the Navy list on 1 March 1959. This incredibly tough warship was sold for scrapping in June of 1961.

USS Black (DD-666)

Figure 1: USS Black (DD-666) underway in a Pacific harbor, May 1945. Official US Navy Photograph from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Black (DD-666) underway during the early 1950s, probably soon after she was re-commissioned in July 1951. The ship is still essentially in her late World War II configuration. Official US Navy Photograph from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Black (DD-666) at sea following her mid-1950s modernization, in which she lost one 5-inch gun mount and received three 3-inch twin mounts. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Black (DD-666) at sea in January 1962. Official US Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Black (DD-666) steaming at sea, circa 1968. Official US Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: Aitape, New Guinea, Operation, April 1944. Part of Task Force 77 enroute for the Aitape invasion, 21 April 1944. The landings took place on the following day. Photographed from USS Manila Bay (CVE-61). USS Black (DD-666) is at right. A large force of amphibious ships and warships is visible on the horizon. Official US Navy Photograph now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Black (DD-666) refueling at sea from USS Eldorado (AGC-11), 14 November 1960. Note boat cradles on Eldorado's deck, and life jackets worn by her crewmen. Official US Navy Photograph from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS Ajax (AR-6), flagship of Commander Service Squadron Three, with five Seventh Fleet destroyers alongside, circa 1962. The destroyers are (from left to right): USS Ernest G. Small (DDR-838); USS Rupertus (DD-851); USS Trathen (DD-530); USS Cowell (DD-547); and USS Black (DD-666). Official US Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: USS Black (DD-666) crewmen working over the ship's side chipping paint, while she was at the Naval Station, San Diego, California, in November 1968. Note ratguard on the mooring line at left. Photographed by PHCS Herman Schroeder, USN. Official US Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: Insignia of USS Black (DD-666). This emblem was used during World War II. Courtesy of Harrold F. Monning, USS Kidd Association, 1966. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.



Named after Lieutenant Commander Hugh Black (1903-1942), who was killed while in command of USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) when it was sunk by a U-boat off the coast of New Jersey on 28 February 1942, USS Black (DD-666) was a 2,050-ton Fletcher class destroyer that was built by the Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company at Kearny, New Jersey, and was commissioned on 21 May 1943. The ship was approximately 376 feet long and 39 feet wide, had a top speed of 35 knots, and had a crew of 329 officers and men. Black was armed with five 5-inch guns, ten 40-mm guns, seven 20-mm cannons, ten 21-inch torpedo tubes, and depth charges.

After completing her shakedown cruise in the western Atlantic and the Caribbean, Black transited the Panama Canal in mid-November 1943 and joined the US Pacific Fleet. Black participated in combat operations off the Gilbert Islands in November and December 1943. During the fight for the Gilbert Islands, she successfully completed escort and air-sea rescue assignments. In the first seven months of 1944, Black took part in the battles for the Marshall Islands, the Admiralty Islands, northern New Guinea, and the Marianas Islands. She then was part of the invasion of Leyte in the Philippines in October 1944. Her primary assignment was to escort convoys that were reinforcing the Philippines. Throughout all of these amphibious assaults, Black’s primary function was to escort ships (both merchant ships and larger warships) and bombard enemy positions on shore.

After a brief overhaul in the United States, Black returned to the western Pacific in March 1945 and began escorting aircraft carriers on raids against the Japanese home islands. She served as a radar picket ship and carrier escort during the horrific Okinawa campaign and was stationed off that terrible island during the months of April, May, and June 1945. Black survived several Kamikaze attacks during the assault on Okinawa and managed to escape with only minor damage. In July 1945, Black escorted battleships and cruisers during two ship bombardments of the Japanese home islands and on 15 August 1945, the day Japan agreed to surrender, she spent the day fighting off one of the Pacific War’s final Kamikaze attacks. During September and October 1945, Black supported the American occupation of China and Korea and then steamed back to the west coast of the United States, where she was decommissioned in August 1946.

The need for warships during the Korean War brought Black back into commission in July 1951. After serving with the Atlantic Fleet, Black was sent to Korea and remained there from January to August 1953. After returning to the United States, Black was permanently assigned to the Pacific in 1955. For the next fifteen years, Black was attached to the Seventh Fleet, serving as a carrier escort and participating in antisubmarine exercises. Black also patrolled the Taiwan Strait and visited ports throughout the Far East. Beginning in early 1965, Black began regular patrols off the coast of Vietnam. The destroyer participated in operation “Market Time,” the naval blockade of Vietnam, completed numerous coastal patrols and interdiction operations, and provided naval gunfire support for American troops on shore. She also escorted aircraft carriers and acted as a plane guard for the carriers as they launched countless air raids against North Vietnam. USS Black’s final overseas deployment ended in July 1969. She was decommissioned in September of that same year and sold for scrapping in February 1971. After serving this nation for almost 28 years and fighting in three wars, USS Black certainly was a fitting tribute to a commanding officer who was lost in action off the coast of New Jersey on 28 February 1942.

USS Pigeon (Minesweeper No. 47, AM-47, ASR-6)

Figure 1: USS Pigeon (AM-47) in port, 7 July 1919, at about the time she was delivered to the Navy. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Pigeon (AM-47) in Chinese waters, circa the late 1920s, showing modifications made to fit her as a gunboat for use on the Yangtze River. Courtesy of Alfred Cellier, 1977. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Pigeon (AM-47) in a Chinese port, circa the late 1920s, after she had been modified for use as a gunboat on the lower Yangtze River. Courtesy of the US Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland, 1969. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: Minesweepers laid up at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. View taken circa 1922 or somewhat later, showing several minesweepers laid up in reserve at the end of 1010 Dock. Identifiable ships at left include USS Oriole (AM-7) outboard, with USS Pigeon (AM-47) inboard of her. USS Pelican (AM-27) is the outboard ship in the center. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: Submarine USS S-40 (SS-145) alongside USS Pigeon (ASR-6) at Shanghai, China, 1932. Photographed by Gustave J. Freret, Jr., USN. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Pigeon (ASR-6) in Cam Ranh Bay, Indochina, July 1939. Note the Submarine Force "fish" insignia painted on her bow. Photograph from the New York Times Paris Bureau collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Pigeon (ASR-6) undergoing refloating operations after she ran aground during a typhoon at Tsingtao, China, September 1939. Note the short range battle targets hung amidships. Collection of Chief Torpedoman John Vieira, USN (Retired). US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS Pigeon (ASR-6) photographed during salvage operations after she ran aground during a typhoon at Tsingtao, China, September 1939. Collection of Chief Torpedoman John Vieira, USN (Retired). US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: USS Pigeon (ASR-6) on the beach after she ran aground during a typhoon at Tsingtao, China, September 1939. Collection of Chief Torpedoman John Vieira, USN (Retired). US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: USS Pigeon (ASR-6) "high and dry" after she ran aground during a typhoon at Tsingtao, China, September 1939. From the collection of Jack L. Wheat. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: USS Pigeon (ASR-6) "high and dry" after she ran aground during a typhoon at Tsingtao, China, September 1939. From the collection of Jack L. Wheat. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.



USS Pigeon (Minesweeper No. 47) was a 950-ton Lapwing class minesweeper that was built by the Baltimore Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company at Baltimore, Maryland, and was commissioned on 15 July 1919. The ship was approximately 187 feet long and 35 feet wide, had a top speed of 14 knots, and had a crew of 72 officers and men. Pigeon originally was armed with one 11-pounder gun and two machine guns, but this eventually was changed to two 3-inch guns and several machine guns.

Shortly after being commissioned, Pigeon was designated AM-47. The ship was assigned to the US Pacific Fleet and was based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, until she was decommissioned on 25 April 1922. She then was converted into a gunboat and re-commissioned at Pearl Harbor on 13 October 1923. Pigeon left Pearl Harbor on 7 November 1923 and joined the Yangtze River Patrol at Shanghai, China, on 26 November. For approximately five years she was part of that famous patrol group and was assigned to protect American lives and property in one of the most dangerous and politically unstable countries in the world. In September 1928, Pigeon began tending Submarine Division 16 of the US Asiatic Fleet. She eventually was fitted out as a submarine salvage vessel at the Cavite Naval Station, the Philippines, from April to July 1929, and sailed from Manila Bay on 13 July to escort Asiatic Fleet submarines along the Chinese coast. She returned to Manila, the Philippines, on 11 September. The next day, she was re-classified as a submarine rescue vessel and re-designated ASR-6.

Pigeon remained in the Asiatic Fleet throughout the 1930s and into the early 1940s, serving in both China and the Philippines. In late November 1941, tensions grew between the United States and Japan. As Japanese forces gained control of most of the ports along the Chinese coastline, Pigeon was ordered to escort a pair of American shallow-draft river gunboats to the Philippines. Pigeon left Cavite on 28 November 1941 and rendezvoused with the gunboats USS Luzon (PR-7) and USS Oahu (PR-6), along with the minesweeper USS Finch (AM-9), near the Formosa Straits. All four of the ships made it back to the Philippines, although the tiny convoy was constantly being monitored by Japanese ships and aircraft.

Upon hearing of the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Pigeon’s skipper, Lieutenant Commander Richard E. “Spittin’ Dick” Hawes, prepared his small ship for war. Hawes was a true original, working his way up the ranks after entering the Navy as a Fireman in 1917. Hawes earned the Navy Cross for distinguished service in salvaging submarine S-51 in 1926 and Congress made him an officer on 18 February 1929 in recognition of his salvage efforts on submarines S-51 and S-4. Hawes later served on several submarines based at New London, Connecticut; became a Master Diver; joined the staff of Submarine Division Four; and commanded the submarine salvage ship USS Falcon from 1935 to 1938. He took command of Pigeon on 12 February 1940.

After learning of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawes had his ship crammed with supplies and as much salvage and repair equipment as possible. On 10 December 1941, while Pigeon and several other ships were moored at the Cavite Navy Yard, Japanese bombers made a massive attack on the ship yard. Commander Hawes and his men sprang into action, quickly getting up steam and moving away from the dock. Pigeon only possessed two .50-caliber and two .30-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns and, although they put up a spirited defense, they could not reach the high-altitude Japanese bombers. Bombs started crashing all over Cavite and several came close to pulverizing Pigeon. A few bombs exploded off the ship’s stern, but Pigeon managed to avoid them. Suddenly, Commander Hawes noticed that the nearby submarine USS Seadragon (SS-194) was still tied to the dock and had no power to get underway. Flames engulfed most of Cavite, with secondary explosions going off from fuel and ammunition depots. Commander Hawes brought Pigeon’s stern against Seadragon’s stern and rigged a tow line to the immobile submarine. As fire raged along the wharf next to Seadragon, a large fuel tank exploded, spewing burning fuel oil at both Pigeon and Seadragon. Then flames engulfed a nearby torpedo overhaul shop, setting off several torpedo warheads, causing a huge explosion. A large amount of debris and shrapnel shot over both ships. Yet Commander Hawes continued with the rescue operation. After the tow line was rigged, Pigeon managed to pull Seadragon away from the dock stern first and into the nearby channel. Once in the channel, the submarine’s crew managed to plug most of the leaks caused by the nearby explosions and the ship was brought to the submarine tender Canopus (AS-9) for additional repairs. After the repairs were completed, the submarine managed to make it to Java on 16 December 1941. In an interesting footnote to history, Seadragon became one of the most successful submarines in US history, earning 11 battle stars during World War II. As a result of her actions on 10 December 1941 and because of her amazing efforts to save Seadragon, Pigeon was the first warship in World War II to receive the Presidential Unit Citation. Lieutenant Commander Hawes also received his second Navy Cross.

Using guns salvaged from other ships, Pigeon was soon converted into a gunboat while still acting as a salvage ship, tender, and tug. Pigeon’s crew obtained two 3-inch guns from two other severely damaged warships and boiler plates were welded into gun and splinter shields for six .50-caliber machine guns that were placed around the bridge. By the end of the month, Pigeon had assisted several damaged warships, salvaged valuable equipment from a sunken submarine, and transported deck loads of torpedoes to Canopus so that the submarine tender could, in turn, re-arm the remaining submarines of the Asiatic Fleet. Pigeon’s crew made underwater repairs to the submarine USS Porpoise (SS-172), supplied submarine S-36 with fresh water, and towed numerous barges and small craft between Manila, Corregidor, Bataan, and Mariveles in the Philippines. During a Japanese aerial attack on Corregidor, Pigeon’s gunners shot down two Japanese low-flying bombers. The next day, Pigeon’s crew scored once again by shooting down a Japanese observation plane. For all of her amazing efforts, Pigeon received a second Presidential Unit Citation for fighting ability not expected of men in a little support craft.

On 5 January 1942, Lieutenant Commander Hawes turned over command of Pigeon to Lieutenant Commander Frank Alfred Davis. Hawes went on to command two other ships during World War II and was promoted to Captain on 25 March 1945. On 1 December 1952, Hawes was transferred to the retired list and promoted to Rear Admiral. Rear Admiral Hawes died at his home at Thomson, Georgia, on 30 December 1968 at the age of 74. In 1984, the guided missile frigate USS Hawes (FFG-53) was named in his honor.

Under Lieutenant Commander Davis’ command, Pigeon continued to assist other warships, salvaged badly needed fuel oil for the few remaining American warships in the area, and fought off numerous Japanese aircraft (shooting down at least one). On the night of 5 January 1942, the ship even steamed into Japanese-held Sangley Point at Cavite and literally stole a barge filled with submarine mines from the Japanese anchorage there.

In March 1942, Pigeon salvaged and her crew concealed valuable gasoline drums ashore, fuel that was used to keep a submarine and several gunboats in operation. Pigeon towed several barges between Corregidor and Mariveles and she salvaged and repaired the merchant ship S.S. Floricita. In early April, Pigeon’s gunners even dueled with Japanese artillery located along the coastline. Then, after Bataan fell on 9 April 1942, Pigeon continued the fight from the island fortress of Corregidor. She rendezvoused with the submarine USS Snapper (SS-185) one night off Corregidor and was loaded with 46 tons of food and supplies for the beleaguered garrison on that island. Pigeon continued operating from Corregidor until 4 May 1942, when a bomb from a Japanese aircraft hit her starboard quarter. The explosion was too much for the small ship to endure and she sank in eight minutes.

Most of Pigeon’s crew was captured by the Japanese, which in most cases was a fate worse than death. Lieutenant Commander Frank Alfred Davis, though, carried on his fight against the Japanese while placed in the infamous prisoner-of-war camp at Cabanatuan, Philippine Islands. He built and maintained a large underground organization to obtain food and desperately needed medicines for his starving men. He volunteered for command of a firewood detail and despite the constant surveillance of the Japanese guards, succeeded in smuggling into camp tremendous amounts of food and other necessities for his fellow prisoners. His great personal valor and grave concern for others at a great risk to his own life contributed to the welfare and morale of all prisoners on Luzon and saved countless lives. Unfortunately, Lieutenant Commander Davis died on 14 December 1944, probably due to disease and malnutrition. Davis was awarded the Navy Cross for his service on board Pigeon and was posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit for his courageous and dedicated service to his fellow prisoners.

USS Dale (DLG-19, CG-19)

Figure 1: USS Dale (DLG-19) ready for launching, at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation shipyard, Camden, New Jersey, 27 July 1962. She was launched the next day. Official US Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Dale (DLG-19) slides down the ways at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation shipyard, Camden, New Jersey, following christening, 28 July 1962. Official US Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Dale (DLG-19) launching a Terrier guided missile, while steaming off Point Mugu, California, in April 1964. Official US Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Dale (DLG-19) underway in the Yellow Sea, 27 April 1969. Photographed by PH1 J.E. Penner, of USS Enterprise (CVAN-65). Official US Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Dale (DLG-19) off Bath, Maine, following her anti-air warfare modernization, 5 October 1971. Official US Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Dale (DLG-19) off Bath, Maine, on 5 October 1971, following her anti-air warfare modernization. Official US Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Dale (DLG-19) off Bath, Maine, on 5 October 1971, following her anti-air warfare modernization. Bath Iron Works shipyard is at left. Official US Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS Dale (DLG-19) underway off Bath, Maine, following her anti-air warfare modernization, 6 October 1971. Official US Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center.


Figure 9: USS Dale (DLG-19) underway in the Caribbean Sea, July 1972. Official US Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: USS Dale (DLG-19) underway off Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, 5 June 1975. Official US Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: USS Dale (CG-19) anchored in New York Harbor, dressed with flags and manning her rails in recognition of Independence Day, 4 July 1976. Dale was one of the ships present for the US Bicentennial International Naval Review and Operation Sail. Photographed by PHAN Gaudreau. Official US Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 12: USS Dale (CG-19) underway at sea, during the 1980s or early 1990s. Official US Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 13: USS Dale (CG-19) steaming offshore, during the 1980s or early 1990s. Official US Navy Photograph, from the Collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 14: USS Dale (DLG-19) jacket patch of the insignia adopted in 1963. Courtesy of Captain G.F. Swainson, USN, 1969. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.



Named after Commodore Richard Dale (1756-1826), who served in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War and in the newly formed United States Navy in the late 1790s and early 1800s, the 5,670-ton USS Dale (DLG-19) was a Leahy class guided-missile destroyer that was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden, New Jersey, and was commissioned on 23 November 1963 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dale was the fifth US Navy warship to bear this name and was approximately 533 feet long and 53 feet wide, had a top speed of 34 knots, and had a crew of 396 officers and men. The ship was armed with two twin Terrier missile batteries (with a total of 80 missiles), four 3-inch guns, one ASROC missile launcher with eight missiles, and two triple torpedo launchers (with a total of six torpedoes).

After her shakedown cruise, Dale was assigned to the US Pacific Fleet and made five deployments to the western Pacific over the next seven years. From 1965 to 1970, Dale was part of the US Seventh Fleet and participated in numerous operations off the coast of Vietnam, including the rescue of several American pilots that were shot down over the Gulf of Tonkin.

Dale was decommissioned 10 November 1970 and the ship began a major overhaul and modernization program. The work was completed at the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, and the ship was equipped with the Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS) and other improvements that substantially increased Dale’s anti-air and anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Dale was re-commissioned on 11 December 1971 and was assigned to the US Navy’s Atlantic Fleet. Dale spent most of her time with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean and was stationed off the coast of Israel in October 1973 during the Yom Kippur Arab-Israeli War. Initially, the war looked very bad for Israel and events rapidly brought tensions between the United States (which supported Israel) and the Soviet Union (which was allied with the Arab nations) to a boiling point. Dale was on the front lines of that war and would have been one of the first American warships to confront the Soviet fleet in the Mediterranean if events spun out of control. Fortunately, escalation was averted at the last moment when Israel counterattacked and managed to defeat the invading Arab forces.

On 30 June 1975, Dale was reclassified as a guided-missile cruiser (CG-19) and a year later, in July 1976, the ship helped represent the US Navy at the Bicentennial Naval Review in New York Harbor. In mid-1980, during another deployment with the Sixth Fleet, Dale entered the Black Sea and made a rare visit to Romania. During this time, Dale was updated regularly with new weapons systems, such as “Harpoon” surface-to-surface guided missiles and the “Phalanx” gun system in 1981. She also received the New Threat Upgrade combat system enhancements later that decade. During the 1980s, Dale extended some of her Mediterranean deployments by spending more time in the increasingly volatile Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf regions. In April 1986, Dale also took part in a confrontation with Libya, helping to suppress the terrorism that was being sponsored by that country’s leader, Muammar al-Gaddafi. Dale was part of the naval task force that used US carrier aircraft to bomb targets in Tripoli, Libya. The attacks were made in response to a Libyan terrorist bombing of a nightclub in West Berlin, West Germany, which killed one American and injured 40 others. The American air raid on Tripoli caused extensive damage to several buildings, including Colonel Gaddafi’s residential compound, which took a direct hit and killed Hanna Gaddafi, the adopted baby daughter of the Libyan leader.

Dale spent much of the rest of her career on counter-narcotics patrols in the Caribbean as well as on regular deployments with the Sixth Fleet. In 1991, she steamed into the Red Sea to enforce sanctions against Iraq after that nation was defeated in the first Gulf War. Dale performed similar duties from 1993 to 1994 when she supported United Nations Resolutions against Bosnia and Yugoslavia. USS Dale was decommissioned on 27 September 1994 and was eventually sunk as a target in January 2000.

At the bottom of this blog is a painting of the “Ship of the Month,” depicting the first USS Dale, a 566-ton sailing sloop-of-war. Compare that to the guided-missile cruiser USS Dale (CG-19) shown here, and you can see how far the US Navy has come since 1840, when the first Dale was commissioned.