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USS Blessman (DE-69)
Encyclopedia
USS Blessman (DE-69/APD-48), a 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...
, was named in honor of Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Edward Martin Blessman (1907–1942), who was killed in action in the Pacific on 4 February 1942.
Blessman was laid down on 22 March 1943 at the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, Massachusetts
Hingham, Massachusetts
Hingham is a town in northern Plymouth County on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and suburb in Greater Boston. The United States Census Bureau 2008 estimated population was 22,561...
; launched on 19 June 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Helen Malloy Blessman, widow of Lieutenant Blessman, and commissioned on 19 September 1943, with 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...
J. A. Gillis in command.
Convoy escort, 1943–1944
After fitting out at the Boston Navy YardBoston 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...
and running her acceptance trials in Massachusetts Bay
Massachusetts Bay
The Massachusetts Bay, also called Mass Bay, is one of the largest bays of the Atlantic Ocean which forms the distinctive shape of the coastline of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Its waters extend 65 miles into the Atlantic Ocean. Massachusetts Bay includes the Boston Harbor, Dorchester Bay,...
, Blessman departed Boston on 9 October 1943 for shakedown training. Operating out of Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, the new destroyer escort completed her initial gunnery, anti-submarine, and engineering training early in November. She left Bermuda on the 5th, arrived in Boston on the 8th and began post-shakedown availability.
Leaving Boston again a week later, Blessman reached the New York Navy Yard on the 16th. Assigned to Escort Division (CortDiv) 19, the destroyer escort sailed with a fast troop convoy on 20 November, screening it safely across the Atlantic and into Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, ten days later. Clearing the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
on 8 December, Blessman escorted a westward-bound convoy on the return leg of her maiden voyage and arrived at New York five days before Christmas of 1943. Over the next six months, Blessman made three more round-trip Atlantic crossings escorting convoys, returning from the last of these on 1 May.
Normandy invasion, 1944
Her fifth Atlantic passage proved the most eventful. Clearing New York on 12 May, she arrived at the other end of the "Milk Run" on the 23rd, at Derry. Instead of returning in the screen of a westbound convoy, however, she shifted to BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
on the 27th in company with her sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
s and division mates , , and , and became part of the armada forming for the assault on Normandy. Blessman departed Belfast on 3 June and headed for Baie de la Seine
Baie de la Seine
The Baie de la Seine or Baie de Seine is a bay in northern France.-Geography:It is a wide, rectangular inlet of the English Channel, approximately 100 kilometres by 45 kilometres, bounded in the west by the Cotentin Peninsula, in the south by the Normandy coast and in the east by the estuary of...
, France, escorting the bombardment group of the assault force. Heavy weather compelled the postponement of the invasion of France, but it abated enough to permit the landings to commence on 6 June. Initially, Blessman drew duty screening the amphibious command ship . Then, as "Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
" actually unfolded, Blessman switched to screening to seaward of the invasion force to deal with possible E-boat
E-boat
E-boats was the designation for Motor Torpedo Boats of the German Navy during World War II. It is commonly held that the E stood for Enemy....
attacks.
Mines, however, proved a much greater threat than any posed by enemy aircraft and ships. Attack transport struck one early on 7 June, while proceeding in what had been regarded as a swept channel. By 0805 the stricken auxiliary was taking water badly. Having lost all power, with her rudder stuck "hard left", Susan B. Anthony assumed an eight-degree list to starboard. Blessman gingerly came alongside the doomed, drifting, ship and removed six officers and 38 enlisted men before being ordered away because of the imminent danger of the transport's foundering. Less than an hour later, Blessman sped to the assistance of the mined . After embarking 26 seriously wounded men, the destroyer escort transported them to an LST designated to handle casualties.
Detached from "Overlord" on 12 June, after rounding out her duty screening the invasion force from air attacks and E-boat raids, Blessman reached New York on the 21st. She then escorted a troop convoy to Derry in early July and returned home as an escort for a convoy of transports bearing men wounded in the fighting at Normandy, and brought her sixth round-trip to a conclusion at the end of July.
Conversion to high speed transport, 1944
While en route home, Blessman had received word that she was to be converted to a Charles Lawrence-class high speed transportHigh speed transport
High Speed Transports were converted destroyers and destroyer escorts used to support amphibious operations in World War II and afterward. They received the US Hull classification symbol APD; "AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer....
. Accordingly, she entered the Sullivan Drydock and Repair Corp. yard, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York, on 28 July 1944. She emerged from this major overhaul and alteration period on 25 October 1944, reconfigured to handle four landing boats (LCPL
LCPL
The Landing Craft Personnel was a landing craft used extensively in the Second World War. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by the Eureka Tug-Boat Company of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
) and troops. Redesignated APD-48, Blessman departed New York and headed for a brief shakedown in Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
before continuing on to the Pacific. The warship proceeded to her new theater of war, sailing via the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, and, after touching at San Diego and San Francisco en route, reached Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
on 27 November. 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...
, Blessman embarked Underwater Demolition Team
Underwater Demolition Team
The Underwater Demolition Teams were an elite special-purpose force established by the United States Navy during World War II. They also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War...
(UDT) 15 and resumed her voyage westward on 11 December.
Pacific theater, 1945
She touched at Eniwetok, SaipanSaipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
, and the Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
s, leaving Kossol Roads
Kossol Roads
Kossol Roads, Palau is a large body of reef-enclosed water north of Babeldaob. During World War II, it was used by the United States Navy as the location of a floating resupply and repair base....
on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
1945, bound for Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
. Enemy air attacks began to materialize on 3 January, as the invasion forces neared their objective. American sailors again encountered 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....
s, suicide aircraft that they had first met only weeks before in the invasion of Leyte
Battle of Leyte
The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the invasion and conquest of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American and Filipino guerrilla forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fought against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines led by...
. The attacks continued over the following days, "off and on, day and night".
Invasion of Luzon
Blessmans primary mission off Luzon lay in sending UDTUnderwater Demolition Team
The Underwater Demolition Teams were an elite special-purpose force established by the United States Navy during World War II. They also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War...
15 to assault beaches Green No. 1 and Yellow No. 2, covering the swimmers with her guns while they reconnoitered surf conditions, located underwater obstacles, and determined beach gradients. At 1430 on 7 January 1945, Blessman stood in toward the Lingayen beaches and, by 1436, had all four of her LCPL
LCPL
The Landing Craft Personnel was a landing craft used extensively in the Second World War. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by the Eureka Tug-Boat Company of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
s in the water. The boats shoved off 20 minutes later. Reaching her assigned position off the objective at 1510, Blessman soon commenced firing with her forward 5-inch gun. She maintained covering fire for her UDT until shortly before she recovered her four boats. All LCPLs were on board by 1650, and Blessman then headed to a rendezvous with to transfer UDT-15's commanding officer to that ship with the results of the day's covering the night retirement of TG 77.2.reconnaissance. The transfer went off by 1815, and Blessman took position in the screen.
As that task group returned to the gulf to carry out its assigned shore bombardment mission
Naval gunfire support
Naval gunfire support is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops operating within their range. NGFS is one of a number of disciplines encompassed by the term Naval Fires...
, Blessman returned with it, bringing the commander of UDT-15 back on board that morning at 0800 before the ship received orders to close and to lower a boat. She complied and soon embarked Capt. B. Hall Hanlon, Commander, UDT Pacific Fleet, and two members of his staff. Over the next two days, Blessman served as courier and delivered mail among the ships of TG 77.2, each night taking a station to seaward in the screen of the task force. On 10 January, Blessmans unit had a close encounter with a 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....
when she and other vessels in the screen took an enemy aircraft under fire at 0711. "It finally dove", wrote Blessmans commanding officer, "after circling high above as though trying to make up its mind who to hit", and crashed close aboard a destroyer on the picket line 1800 yards (1,645.9 m) to the east.
Later that afternoon, Blessman, in response to the orders from the task unit commander embarked in Humphreys, sent UDT-15 on a beach reconnaissance mission "from the east flank of Crimson Beach to a point 3000 yards (2,743.2 m) east of that point." Still later, she received orders to report to the commander of Destroyer Division (DesDiv) 120 for escort duty. Accordingly, she moved out, recalling her boats as she did so. A heavy surf prevented the recovery of four of UDT-15's men who finally found temporary shelter on board LST-627 and LSM-11 and who Humphreys later returned to their own ship.
After Capt. Hanlon had returned from , and Blessman had recovered all of her LCPL's, the fast transport departed the area at flank speed
Flank speed
Flank speed is a nautical term referring to a ship's true maximum speed, beyond the speed that can be reached by traveling at full speed. Usually, flank speed is reserved for situations in which a ship finds itself in imminent danger, such as coming under attack by aircraft...
and joined the designated task unit for the passage to Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
, reporting "on station" at 2015. On 13 January, Blessman arrived at Leyte and reported for duty to the Commander, Philippine Sea Frontier
Philippine Sea Frontier
The Philippine Sea Frontier was a United States Navy Sea Frontier active in 1941, and reformed in 1944.On 8 December 1941 it was part of the 16th Naval District, a component of the United States Asiatic Fleet....
. After escorting transports back to Ulithi, the warship rested, reprovisioned, and trained for her next operation that would take her one step nearer to Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
.
Invasion of Iwo Jima
Blessman reported for duty at Ulithi, and in company with other high-speed transports of TG 52.4, on 3 and 6 February 1945, conducted rehearsals for her forthcoming operation - the invasion of Iwo JimaBattle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
. All units of the task force to which Blessman was attached, TF-52, sailed from Ulithi for Saipan on 10 February for further training and rehearsals that were carried out on 12 and 13 February. During these practice evolutions Blessman operated as a screening vessel. Her sonar gear failed on the 11th, but was left inoperative owing to the lack of time to repair the damage.
On 14 February, TF-52, with Blessman among its warships, sailed from Saipan at 0900. Her captain at this point was Lieutenant Phillip LeBoutillier. On the 16th, after the Fire Support Units 1 and 4 had commenced the pre-landing bombardment of Iwo Jima, Blessman was detached from the screen and conducted a close reconnaissance of the beaches while circling the island counter-clockwise.
After screening the heavy ships that evening, Blessman rendezvoused with south of "Hot Rocks," the code name for Iwo Jima, shortly after 0941 on the 17th. She then lowered three of her four boats and sent in UDT
Underwater Demolition Team
The Underwater Demolition Teams were an elite special-purpose force established by the United States Navy during World War II. They also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War...
-15 to reconnoiter beaches and observed small caliber shell splashes around her as she retired to seaward. Upon reaching a point some 8000 yards (7,315.2 m) from the shore, Blessman stood off Beaches Blue 1 and Blue 2 for a little over an hour before standing in and recovering her boats. Despite the heavy opposition reported by UDT-15, only one man (Frank Sumpter) was hit by a bullet – he died of his head wound a few hours later; the covering LCI(G)'s, though, reported sustaining much damage and many casualties. That afternoon, Blessman carried out another beach reconnaissance, recovered all of her boats safely by 1751, and stood out to the command ship . The following day, Feb. 18, she headed for a screening station.
Damaged by bombs
While she was en route, however, an enemy bomber, identified as a "Betty"Mitsubishi G4M
The Mitsubishi G4M 一式陸上攻撃機, 一式陸攻 Isshiki rikujō kōgeki ki, Isshikirikkō was the main twin-engine, land-based bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allies gave the G4M the reporting name Betty...
, came in at 2121, very low over the port quarter, strafing, and scored a direct bomb hit in the high-speed transport's starboard mess hall, above her number one engine room. A second bomb hit her stack, glanced off, and splashed close aboard without exploding. Fire broke out immediately in the mess hall, galley, and troop quarters on the main deck; and the ship lost all power. Heavy smoke forced the abandonment of the number two fire and engine rooms, while a 500-gallon-per-minute portable pump was demolished and all other such pumps were rendered inoperable by the shock. This damage reduced Blessmans crew to bucket brigade
Bucket brigade
A bucket brigade or human chain is a method for transporting items where items are passed from one stationary person to the next.The method was important in firefighting before the advent of hand pumped fire engines, whereby firefighters would pass buckets to each other to extinguish a blaze. A...
s and the use of helmets to keep the blaze from spreading. Her sailors jettisoned topside ammunition aft, and attempted to clear ammunition from clipping rooms and bedding from troop quarters to halt the fire's spread. At 2250, anti-aircraft and small arms ammunition began exploding, forcing the evacuation of wounded to the bow and stern. Meanwhile, bucket brigades kept the fire from spreading to the superstructure deck, confining the blaze to the enclosed spaces on the main deck.
In all, 40 men were killed, including 15 of the UDT
Underwater Demolition Team
The Underwater Demolition Teams were an elite special-purpose force established by the United States Navy during World War II. They also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War...
.
"Just as destruction had come out of the night," wrote Blessmans historian, help appeared as suddenly. Gilmer came alongside at 2310, commenced pouring water on the blaze, and also sent across hoses. Gilmer evacuated the wounded in her boats and on Blessmans rubber rafts. By 0300 on the 19th, the combined efforts of both ships' crewmen brought the fire under control, although some small arms ammunition continued to explode. After transferring all passengers and wounded to Gilmer, Blessman was taken in tow by and headed back to Iwo Jima. Towed around the northern end of Iwo Jima, Blessman buried her dead at sea and then - towed in turn by , LSM-70, and - reached Saipan at 1800 on 24 February and moored alongside . Her historian recorded that, on the voyage to Saipan Blessmans men "...lived more like soldiers than sailors," cooking their meals in a makeshift fireplace on the fantail.
As her chronicler also recorded it, "The repair officers at Saipan" he continued, "thought little of the practicability of restoring the ruined ship." But, as they made their estimates, "Blessmans crew was busy." The rapid strides her sailors made in carrying out repairs caused these experts to revise their estimates accordingly. Made seaworthy enough for the trans-Pacific voyage, Blessman arrived at the Mare Island Navy Yard on 23 April 1945 for permanent repairs. While this work proceeded, the ship was designated as flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
for Underwater Demolition Squadron (UDRon) 1. Clearing Mare Island for Oceanside, California
Oceanside, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Oceanside had a population of 167,086. The population density was 3,961.8 people per square mile...
, on 11 August, to embark Capt. Roy D. Williams, Commander, UDRon 1, the ship reached that port on the 14th and embarked UDT-17. The next day, Capt. Williams hoisted his command pennant on board Blessman.
Post-war activity and decommissioning, 1945–1946
On 16 August, two days after V-J DayVictory over Japan Day
Victory over Japan Day is a name chosen for the day on which the Surrender of Japan occurred, effectively ending World War II, and subsequent anniversaries of that event...
, Blessman sailed for the western Pacific to take part in the occupation of Japan. After stops at Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, Ulithi, Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
, and Okinawa, the fast transport entered Wakanoura Wan, where UDT 17 charted the landing beaches soon to be used by the Army's I Corps to occupy the Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
-Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
area. Five days later, Blessman stood out of Wakanoura Wan and headed for the west coast of the United States. Following a pre-inactivation overhaul, Blessman was placed in reserve on 28 August 1946 in the San Diego group of the Reserve Fleet
United States Navy reserve fleets
The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and sufficiently working as to be reactivated quickly in an...
. She was decommissioned on 15 January 1947.
Transfer to Taiwan, 1967
Blessman was struck from the Navy ListNaval 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 June 1967, and on 3 July was transferred to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
under the sales provisions of the Military Assistance Program. Renamed ROCS Chung Shan (PF-43), the warship remained in active service with the Republic of China Navy
Republic of China Navy
The Republic of China Navy is the maritime branch of the Armed forces of the Republic of China . The ROC Navy's primary mission is to defend ROC territories and the sea lanes that surround Taiwan against a blockade, attack, or possible invasion by forces of the People's Republic of China...
into 1985.