.gif)
USS Henley (DD-762)
Encyclopedia
USS Henley (DD-762), an Allen M. Sumner-class
Allen M. Sumner class destroyer
The Allen M. Sumner class was a group of 58 destroyers built by the United States during World War II. Another twelve ships were completed as destroyer minelayers...
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 the 4th 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...
to be named Henley, was named after Captain Robert Henley (5 January 1783 – 7 October 1828); an officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France, the War of 1812 and the Second Barbary War.
In addition to the 3 destroyers named "USS Henley" (DD-39, DD-391, and DD-762), there was an additional "Henley", USS John D Henley (DD-553) which was named after Captain John D. Henley, a brother of Captain Robert Henley.
The fourth Henley (DD-762) was launched 8 April 1945 by Bethlehem Steel
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
Co., San Francisco; sponsored by Mrs. George S. Wheaton; and commissioned 8 October 1946, 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...
Dwight L. Moody
Dwight L. Moody
Dwight Lyman Moody , also known as D.L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts , the Moody Bible Institute and Moody Publishers.-Early life:Dwight Moody was born in Northfield, Massachusetts to a large...
in command.
History
After shakedown in the Pacific, Henley headed east, reporting to the Sonar School at Key WestKey West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
19 February 1947 for a 5-month tour of duty. She then reported to Norfolk, from which she sailed 28 July for her first Mediterranean cruise, which terminated 1 December at Boston. On her second tour in the Mediterranean, Henley patrolled with other U.N. ships in the summer of 1948 as the Israeli-Arab dispute threatened to erupt into war. After a year of tactical training exercises and fleet maneuvers, Henley decommissioned at Charleston 15 March 1950. Less than 6 months later, with the outbreak of war in Korea, Henley went back in commission, rejoining the active fleet 23 September. Shakedown over, she sailed July 1951 for another tour with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. Henley was detached from this duty and made a cruise to northern European ports, including a journey up the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
to Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
, before returning to Norfolk in February 1952.
In company with Destroyer Division 221, Henley departed Norfolk 25 September 1953 for a world cruise which was to take her 44,000 miles in 218 days. During this period, Henley sailed through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
, participated in the filming of "The Bridges of Toko-Ri" off the Korean and Japanese coasts, operated with the 7th Fleet in Asian waters, and returned to the States 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 the Caribbean. Following years fell into a pattern for Henley as she alternated Mediterranean cruises with anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
and other tactical exercises off the East Coast and in the Caribbean. In 1959 she joined Task Force 47 for the Inland Seas Cruise to the Great Lakes through the newly completed St. Lawrence Seaway. Nearly 75,000 mid-westerners visited this representative of the "salt-water navy" in her 2-month cruise.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
in the fall of 1962 over offensive missiles stationed in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Henley joined the fleet "quarantining" the island. Following this, she then returned to a peacetime pattern of readiness operations.
On 1 October 1964, Henley became a Group I, Naval Reserve training ship assigned to the Anti-Submarine Warfare Component of the Naval Reserve. Following overhaul at Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
, and refresher training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, she began the first of numerous Naval Reserve training cruises out of Norfolk 1 May 1965. Manned by a nucleus crew, she cruised along the Atlantic Coast and into the Caribbean during the next 2 years and provided valuable service as an at-sea training platform for hundreds of Naval Reservists. Into mid-1972 she continued this vital duty both for officers and men of the Naval Reserve and the Nation.