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USS Bache (DD-470)
Encyclopedia
USS Bache (DD/DDE-470), a Fletcher-class
destroyer
, was second ship of the United States Navy
of that name. DD-470 was named for Commander
George M. Bache
.
Bache was launched
7 July 1942 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island, N.Y.; sponsored by Miss Louise Bache, daughter of Commander Bache; and commissioned
14 November 1942, Commander J. N. Opie, III, in command.
to Halifax, Nova Scotia
, and then returned to New York
for her post-shakedown overhaul. On 6 February 1943, she left Norfolk
as escort for . The vessels arrived at Pearl Harbor
4 March 1943. On 10 May, after a training period, Bache departed for the Aleutian Islands. She served in the Aleutian area until December 1943, taking part in the bombardment of Kiska
. After a brief overhaul at Pearl Harbor she joined the 7th Fleet
23 December 1943.
Until 29 October 1944, Bache operated with the 7th Fleet taking part in the bombardment of New Britain
Islands (26 December 1943) Los Negros
, Admiralty Islands
, landings (29 February 1944); bombardment of Ndrillo and Karunia Islands in the Admiralties (4–7 March), bombardment of various assault beaches and targets of opportunity on New Guinea
and adjacent islands (10 April-15 September); bombardment of Leyte Island
Philippine Islands (20 October); and finally, 25 October 1944, as a unit of Task Group 77.3 she took part in the overwhelming victory of Battle of Surigao Strait. On 29 October, Bache departed Leyte en route to the United States for yard overhaul.
Upon completion of her overhaul, she joined the 5th Fleet at Eniwetok 20 February 1945. Between 28 February and 5 March, she provided air support at Iwo Jima
. On 1 April, Bache arrived off Okinawa for screening and picket duty. She suffered slight damage 3 May, when an enemy kamikaze
suicide plane overshot the ship and crashed into the sea. That same day, she went to the aid of the stricken and rescued her crew of 74. Remaining on this vital duty, she helped destroy several enemy planes. On 13 May, several enemy dive-bombers attacked the picket station and one completed a successful kamikaze attack on Bache. The wing of the plane struck near number two stack, catapulting the plane down on the main deck amidships, with its bomb exploding about seven feet above the main deck. Forty-one of the crew were killed and 32 were injured. All steam and electrical power were lost. Fires were brought under control within 20 minutes and she was towed to Kerama Retto
, Okinawa, for temporary repairs.
Bache arrived at New York Navy Yard 13 July 1945 for permanent repairs and then went to Charleston, S.C.
, for inactivation. On 4 February 1946, Bache went out of commission in reserve at Charleston.
In 1950, Bache was converted to an escort destroyer
at Boston Navy Yard
(reclassified DDE-470, 2 January 1951) and recommissioned 1 October 1951. Bache was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, and since that time has made six cruises to the Caribbean
for operations and training exercises and three cruises in the Mediterranean where she operated as a unit of the 6th Fleet.
Bache reverted to DD-470 30 June 1962.
Bache was wrecked on the Island of Rhodes
, Greece
6 February 1968, and scrapped there. Bache was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
on 1 March 1968.
Fletcher class destroyer
The Fletcher class were a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The class was designed in 1939 as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
, was second ship of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
of that name. DD-470 was named for Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
George M. Bache
George M. Bache
George Mifflin Bache was an officer in the United States Navy, fighting on the Union side in the American Civil War and continuing to serve for a decade after the war's end.-Early life and ancestors:...
.
Bache was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
7 July 1942 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island, N.Y.; sponsored by Miss Louise Bache, daughter of Commander Bache; and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
14 November 1942, Commander J. N. Opie, III, in command.
Service history
Reporting to the Atlantic Fleet, she acted as escort to a westbound convoyConvoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
to Halifax, Nova Scotia
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, and then returned to New York
Brooklyn Navy Yard
The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...
for her post-shakedown overhaul. On 6 February 1943, she left Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
as escort for . The vessels arrived at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
4 March 1943. On 10 May, after a training period, Bache departed for the Aleutian Islands. She served in the Aleutian area until December 1943, taking part in the bombardment of Kiska
Kiska
Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...
. After a brief overhaul at Pearl Harbor she joined the 7th Fleet
United States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
23 December 1943.
Until 29 October 1944, Bache operated with the 7th Fleet taking part in the bombardment of New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
Islands (26 December 1943) Los Negros
Los Negros
Los Negros was a criminal organization that was once the armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel and after a switch of alliances, became the armed wing of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. On 2010 it went independent and had been contesting the control of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. It was then the criminal...
, Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
, landings (29 February 1944); bombardment of Ndrillo and Karunia Islands in the Admiralties (4–7 March), bombardment of various assault beaches and targets of opportunity on New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and adjacent islands (10 April-15 September); bombardment of Leyte Island
Leyte Island
Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines.The island measures about 180 km north-south and about 65 km at its widest point. In the north it nearly joins Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 km in some places...
Philippine Islands (20 October); and finally, 25 October 1944, as a unit of Task Group 77.3 she took part in the overwhelming victory of Battle of Surigao Strait. On 29 October, Bache departed Leyte en route to the United States for yard overhaul.
Upon completion of her overhaul, she joined the 5th Fleet at Eniwetok 20 February 1945. Between 28 February and 5 March, she provided air support at Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
. On 1 April, Bache arrived off Okinawa for screening and picket duty. She suffered slight damage 3 May, when an enemy kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
suicide plane overshot the ship and crashed into the sea. That same day, she went to the aid of the stricken and rescued her crew of 74. Remaining on this vital duty, she helped destroy several enemy planes. On 13 May, several enemy dive-bombers attacked the picket station and one completed a successful kamikaze attack on Bache. The wing of the plane struck near number two stack, catapulting the plane down on the main deck amidships, with its bomb exploding about seven feet above the main deck. Forty-one of the crew were killed and 32 were injured. All steam and electrical power were lost. Fires were brought under control within 20 minutes and she was towed to Kerama Retto
Kerama Retto
The are a group of 22 islands located southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Four of the islands are inhabited:,., and. The islands are within Shimajiri District. The Kerama-shotō coral reef is a Ramsar Site....
, Okinawa, for temporary repairs.
Bache arrived at New York Navy Yard 13 July 1945 for permanent repairs and then went to Charleston, S.C.
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, for inactivation. On 4 February 1946, Bache went out of commission in reserve at Charleston.
In 1950, Bache was converted to an escort destroyer
Escort destroyer
A Escort Destroyer is a US Navy post World War II classification for destroyers modified for and assigned to a fleet escort role. These destroyers retained their original hull numbers...
at Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
(reclassified DDE-470, 2 January 1951) and recommissioned 1 October 1951. Bache was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, and since that time has made six cruises to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
for operations and training exercises and three cruises in the Mediterranean where she operated as a unit of the 6th Fleet.
Bache reverted to DD-470 30 June 1962.
Bache was wrecked on the Island of Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
6 February 1968, and scrapped there. Bache was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 1 March 1968.