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USS O'Bannon (DD-450)
Encyclopedia
USS O'Bannon (DD/DDE-450), a Fletcher-class
destroyer
, was the second ship of the United States Navy
to be named for Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon
(1784–1850), the Marine Corps'
s "hero of Derna
".
O'Bannon was laid down by Bath Iron Works
Corp. in Bath, Maine
on 3 March 1941, and launched 19 February 1942, sponsored by Mrs. E. F. Kennedy, descendant of Lieutenant O'Bannon. O'Bannon and her sister ship
Nicholas
(DD-449) were the first two Fletchers to be launched. O'Bannon was commissioned at Boston
on 26 June 1942, Commander Edwin R. Wilkinson in command.
and sailed from Boston on 29 August 1942 for the Southwest Pacific, where the long and arduous Guadalcanal campaign
had just begun. For over a year, the Navy—stretched thin to cover its worldwide commitments at a period when new ships were just beginning to join the fleet in any number—was to fight and fight again in the Solomon Islands
in one of the most bitterly contested campaigns of history, wresting air and sea control from the Japan
ese and providing the Marine Corps and the Army
with every possible support as they gained ground inch by inch on the myriad islands. Assigned the Destroyer Squadron 21 (DesRon 21), O'Bannon played a valiant part in these endeavors, winning a Presidential Unit Citation.
Based at Nouméa
, New Caledonia
, O'Bannon first escorted Copahee
(CVE-12) on a run to Guadalcanal
, where on 9 October, twenty Marines flew their F4F Wildcat
s off Copahees decks, desperately needed as reinforcements at beleaguered Henderson Field
. Through the remainder of the month, O'Bannon sailed the New Hebrides
and southern Solomons on escort duty. On 7 November at Nouméa, she joined Rear Admiral
Daniel J. Callaghan
's Support Group, ready to sail with a convoy
carrying critical reinforcements, replacements, food, ammunition, and aviation material.
On the approach to Guadalcanal, O'Bannon sighted and fired on a surfaced enemy submarine
, holding it down while the convoy passed safely. On the afternoon of 12 November, the partially unladen transports were attacked by sixteen enemy torpedo bomber
s; eleven were shot down. O'Bannon fired on four of the enemy planes.
Now came word that the Japanese were moving south in force. Two battleship
s, a light cruiser
, and 14 destroyers were bound to destroy Henderson Field by bombardment, to break up the American reinforcement mission, and to cover reinforcement movements of their own. O'Bannon and the other ships of the Support Force, two heavy
and three light cruiser
s and eight destroyers, confronted the greatly superior enemy early on 13 November in Ironbottom Sound
, so named for the number of ships on both sides sunk there during the Guadalcanal campaign. O'Bannon boldly attacked the Japanese battleship Hiei
, closing so near, the battleship could not depress her main battery far enough to fire on the destroyer. O'Bannons gunfire, in combination with the attacks of the rest of the force, damaged Hiei so badly that she was a sitting duck for the air attack, which sank her the next day.
This first engagement of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
was short but furious; two American light cruisers, in one of which Rear Admiral Norman Scott lost his life, and four destroyers were lost, while two Japanese destroyers were sunk, and Hiei prepared for her doom. Above all, the Japanese were turned back, and Henderson Field was saved from destruction. The importance of this success is illustrated by the fact that the next day, Henderson aviators sank eleven enemy troop transports attempting to reinforce the island.
Through October 1942, O'Bannon protected landings, carried out escort duties from Nouméa and Espiritu Santo
to Guadalcanal and Tulagi
, joined in bombardments at Guadalcanal, Munda
, and Kolombangara
, and shouldered her share of the nightly patrols up "the Slot", guarding against Japanese reinforcements.
Retiring from such a run early 5 April, O'Bannon sighted the Japanese submarine RO-34
on the surface and made to ram it. At the last moment, the officers decided that the sub may be a minelayer
, and the rudder was turned hard to avoid the collision. This action brought the destroyer directly alongside the sub. As the Japanese sailors attempted to man their three-inch deck gun, the O'Bannon deck hands, not having side arms, grabbed potatoes from nearby storage bins and pelted the Japanese with them. Thinking the potatoes were hand grenade
s, the submarine's sailors were too occupied with throwing them away from the sub to fire. This gave the O'Bannon the opportunity to distance itself to fire its guns at the sub and damage the conning tower. Although the sub still managed to submerge, O'Bannon used depth charge
s to finally sink it. During this period, the O'Bannon also splashed at least two enemy aircraft in various attacks.
This duty was tense and demanded the best of men and their ships. In-port time was minimal; a few hours to fuel and reprovision, and the ships were off again. O'Bannon fought in many surface actions. The Battle of Kula Gulf
(6 July), in which O'Bannon fought with three cruisers and three other destroyers against ten Japanese destroyers, swept the enemy from the area, though an American cruiser was lost. A week later, the Battle of Kolombangara
had to be fought in the same waters against a Japanese cruiser, five destroyers and four destroyer escort
s. The same American force sank the Japanese cruiser Jintsu
and turned the smaller ships away, losing none themselves.
For the next two months, O'Bannon spent most of her time in Vella Gulf
, guarding landings, intercepting Japanese troop convoys and their covering escorts, and fighting off air attacks. With the aid of sister destroyers, she sank a number of barge
s, two submarine chaser
s, an armed boat, and a gunboat on various patrols. The climax of operations in the area was the Battle of Vella Lavella
on 6 October, brought on by Japanese attempts to evacuate their troops from that island. With Selfridge
(DD-357) and Chevalier
(DD-451), O'Bannon made the first attack on the evacuation force, a group of nine or ten destroyers and smaller armed craft. The three American ships contacted six enemy destroyers, shrugged at the odds, and raced at 33 knots (61 km/h) to launch torpedo
es and open gunfire. Japanese destroyer Yugumo was turned into a blazing hulk, but both Selfridge and Chevalier took torpedo hits. O'Bannon was close on Chevaliers stern when the latter was struck, and the most radical maneuvers could not keep her from swinging into her sister's side. The enemy retired with three newly arrived American destroyers in pursuit, while O'Bannon guarded her stricken sisters, rescuing the survivors of Chevalier.
. Again, it was escort and bombardment repeatedly until 18 October, when O'Bannon cleared Hollandia
to escort reinforcements for the invasion of Leyte
. The convoy was brought in safely on 24 October, the eve of the Battle for Leyte Gulf. O'Bannon guarded the Northern Transport area and patrolled the entrances to Leyte Gulf
during the battle, coming under air attack. Thus, she played her part in the definitive destruction of the Japanese Navy
.
, serving in the escort or assault force for the long roll call of invasions: Ormoc Bay
, Mindoro
, Lingayen Gulf
, Bataan, Corregidor, Palawan
, Zamboanga
, Cebu
, and Caraboa. Air attacks were frequent in the early period, and O'Bannon splashed several raiders. During the Lingayen offensive on 31 January 1945, O'Bannon, with three other destroyers, attacked and sank an enemy submarine; Japanese records studied after the war indicate it was most likely RO-115. At the end of April and early in May, O'Bannon interrupted her Philippine operations to give fire support at Tarakan
, Borneo
, and cover minesweeping
operations there.
O'Bannon rendezvoused with a group of escort carrier
s off Okinawa on 17 June and guarded them as they struck against Sakashima Gunto. In July, she protected the large carrier
s as they flew strikes on northern Honshū
and Hokkaidō
. With the close of the war, O'Bannon patrolled the coast of Honshū until 27 August, when she joined Nicholas
(DD-449) and Taylor
(DD-468) to escort Missouri
(BB-63) into Tokyo Bay
, by order of Admiral
William Halsey, "because of their valorous fight up the long road from the South Pacific to the very end." There, she patrolled until 1 September. She then sailed to San Francisco and San Diego, where she was decommissioned after overhaul on 21 May 1946.
at Long Beach Naval Shipyard
. She was redesignated DDE-450 on 26 March 1949.
O'Bannon was recommissioned on 19 February 1951 to serve out of Pearl Harbor
. She sailed for her first tour of duty with the United Nations
forces repelling Communist aggression in Korea
on 19 November, and, during the next seven months, she guarded carriers at sea as their air groups struck targets in Korea; served as flagship
for the Wonsan
Element, East Coast Blockade and Escort Group; fired on enemy gun emplacements, road and rail supply routes, ammunition depots, and troop concentrations; and protected convoys moving between Korea and Japan.
A training period out of Pearl Harbor began upon her return home on 20 June 1952, and she took part in U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
operations off Eniwetok. O'Bannon cleared Pearl Harbor late in April 1953 for the Far East, where her primary mission was screening carriers. Thereafter, she served on the Taiwan Patrol and in exercises off Japan and Okinawa.
Between the Korean War
and the Vietnam War
, O'Bannon took her part in the intricately planned schedule that assured the United States that its 7th Fleet is always composed of ships and men whose readiness for any emergency is at its keenest. For O'Bannon, this meant an alternation of roughly six-month deployments to the Far East and periods spent in training operations and necessary overhauls at Pearl Harbor. While in the Far East, she visited ports in Japan
, the Philippines, Taiwan
, Australia
and New Zealand
, with brief, welcome recreation calls at Hong Kong
. She was often in either New Zealand or Australia for the annual commemoration of the Battle of the Coral Sea
, a time of national rejoicing in those countries at which Americans are particularly welcome. She conducted combined operations training with the SEATO allies as well as exercising with Marines at Okinawa and taking part in exercises preparing for any conceviable demand that might be made on the 7th Fleet. While at Pearl Harbor, she often aided in training reservists in addition to her own training and, at various times, sailed down-range for space orbits and missile shots. In the summer and fall of 1962, she took part in atomic tests at Johnston Island.
, portraying the fictitious destroyer USS Cassady.
O'Bannon first closed the coast of Vietnam
during her 1964–65 deployment, when, on 26 December, she left Hong Kong to patrol and conduct hydrographic surveys. Much of her 1966 tour was spent as planeguard for Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), while the carrier's jets struck targets in South
and North Vietnam
to lessen Communist ability to wage war in the South. For a week each in May and June, O'Bannon fired shore bombardments, destroying Vietcong base camps, troop concentrations, and small craft.
The veteran destroyer returned via Yokosuka to Pearl Harbor on 30 July. During operations out of home port, she trained for Apollo
space craft recovery operations in August and was a member of the contingency recovery force for the Gemini 11
space flight early in September. She visited Guam
in the spring of 1967 and returned home early in July to prepare for another Far Eastern deployment.
O'Bannon got under way for Japan on 28 September and reached Yokosuka on 7 October and Subic Bay
on the 15th. She returned to the war zone with Constellation (CVA-64) and operated as plane guard on Yankee Station
through 4 November. After a fortnight's respite at Subic Bay and Hong Kong, O'Bannon sailed to Da Nang
for shore bombardment. She visited Taiwan early in December but returned to the fighting on the 15th to provide gunfire support just south of the DMZ
. Two days later, she helped to rescue the crew of an American plane that had been hit over the DMZ and had managed to crash just off shore. An enemy battery shelled the destroyer during the operation but failed to score. As 1967 ended, O'Bannon was still on the gun line supporting allied ground forces.
On 30 January 1970, O'Bannon was decommissioned in a ceremony at Pearl Harbor (side-by-side with her sister Nicholas, as at their launching) and stricken from the Navy List
. She was sold for scrap on 6 June 1970 and broken up two years later.
O'Bannon received the Presidential Unit Citation and seventeen battle stars for World War II service, more than any other ship except Enterprise
(CV-6). She received three more battle stars for Korean War
service. Nicknamed the "Lucky O", none of her crew were awarded the Purple Heart
.
— Admiral William F. Halsey
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 the 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...
to be named for Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon
Presley O'Bannon
Presley Neville O’Bannon was an officer in the United States Marine Corps, famous for his exploits in the First Barbary War. In recognition of his bravery, he was presented a sword for his part in attempting to restore Prince Hamet Karamanli to his throne at Tripoli...
(1784–1850), the Marine Corps'
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
s "hero of Derna
Battle of Derna
The Battle of Derne was a decisive victory of a mercenary army led by a detachment of United States Marines and soldiers over pirate forces along the Barbary coast nation of Tripoli during the First Barbary War...
".
O'Bannon was laid down by Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, United States. Since its founding in 1884 , BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy...
Corp. in Bath, Maine
Bath, Maine
Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,266. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County. Located on the Kennebec River, Bath is a port of entry with a good harbor. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its...
on 3 March 1941, and launched 19 February 1942, sponsored by Mrs. E. F. Kennedy, descendant of Lieutenant O'Bannon. O'Bannon and 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...
Nicholas
USS Nicholas (DD-449)
USS Nicholas was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy, which served through most of World War II, and for 27 years and two more wars after. She was the second Navy ship to be named for Major Samuel Nicholas....
(DD-449) were the first two Fletchers to be launched. O'Bannon was commissioned at Boston
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...
on 26 June 1942, Commander Edwin R. Wilkinson in command.
1942
O'Bannon briefly trained for war in the CaribbeanCaribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
and sailed from Boston on 29 August 1942 for the Southwest Pacific, where the long and arduous Guadalcanal campaign
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
had just begun. For over a year, the Navy—stretched thin to cover its worldwide commitments at a period when new ships were just beginning to join the fleet in any number—was to fight and fight again in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
in one of the most bitterly contested campaigns of history, wresting air and sea control from the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese and providing the Marine Corps and the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
with every possible support as they gained ground inch by inch on the myriad islands. Assigned the Destroyer Squadron 21 (DesRon 21), O'Bannon played a valiant part in these endeavors, winning a Presidential Unit Citation.
Based at Nouméa
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, O'Bannon first escorted Copahee
USS Copahee (CVE-12)
The USS Copahee was a that served in the United States Navy during World War II. Originally classified AVG-12, was changed to ACV-12, 20 August 1942; CVE-12, 15 July 1943; and CVHE-12, 12 June 1955....
(CVE-12) on a run to Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
, where on 9 October, twenty Marines flew their F4F Wildcat
F4F Wildcat
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service with both the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy in 1940...
s off Copahees decks, desperately needed as reinforcements at beleaguered Henderson Field
Henderson Field (Guadalcanal)
Henderson Field is a former military airfield on Guadacanal, Solomon Islands during World War II. Today it is Honiara International Airport.-Japanese construction:...
. Through the remainder of the month, O'Bannon sailed the New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
and southern Solomons on escort duty. On 7 November at Nouméa, she joined Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Daniel J. Callaghan
Daniel J. Callaghan
Daniel Judson Callaghan was a United States Navy officer who received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. In a career spanning just over 30 years, he served his country in two wars...
's Support Group, ready to sail with a convoy
Convoy
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...
carrying critical reinforcements, replacements, food, ammunition, and aviation material.
On the approach to Guadalcanal, O'Bannon sighted and fired on a surfaced enemy submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, holding it down while the convoy passed safely. On the afternoon of 12 November, the partially unladen transports were attacked by sixteen enemy torpedo bomber
Torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...
s; eleven were shot down. O'Bannon fired on four of the enemy planes.
Now came word that the Japanese were moving south in force. Two battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s, a light cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
, and 14 destroyers were bound to destroy Henderson Field by bombardment, to break up the American reinforcement mission, and to cover reinforcement movements of their own. O'Bannon and the other ships of the Support Force, two heavy
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
and three light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s and eight destroyers, confronted the greatly superior enemy early on 13 November in Ironbottom Sound
Ironbottom Sound
"Ironbottom Sound" is the name given by Allied sailors to Savo Sound, the stretch of water at the southern end of The Slot between Guadalcanal, Savo Island, and Florida Island of the Solomon Islands, because of the dozens of ships and planes that sank there during the Battle of Guadalcanal in...
, so named for the number of ships on both sides sunk there during the Guadalcanal campaign. O'Bannon boldly attacked the Japanese battleship Hiei
Japanese battleship Hiei
was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II. Designed by British naval architect George Thurston, she was the second launched of four s, among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Laid down in 1911 at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Hiei was formally...
, closing so near, the battleship could not depress her main battery far enough to fire on the destroyer. O'Bannons gunfire, in combination with the attacks of the rest of the force, damaged Hiei so badly that she was a sitting duck for the air attack, which sank her the next day.
This first engagement of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, The Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, as the , took place from 12–15 November 1942, and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles...
was short but furious; two American light cruisers, in one of which Rear Admiral Norman Scott lost his life, and four destroyers were lost, while two Japanese destroyers were sunk, and Hiei prepared for her doom. Above all, the Japanese were turned back, and Henderson Field was saved from destruction. The importance of this success is illustrated by the fact that the next day, Henderson aviators sank eleven enemy troop transports attempting to reinforce the island.
Through October 1942, O'Bannon protected landings, carried out escort duties from Nouméa and Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
to Guadalcanal and Tulagi
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
, joined in bombardments at Guadalcanal, Munda
Munda (Solomon Islands)
Munda is the largest settlement on the island of New Georgia in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, and consists of a number of villages...
, and Kolombangara
Kolombangara
Kolombangara is an island in the New Georgia Islands group of the Solomon Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean...
, and shouldered her share of the nightly patrols up "the Slot", guarding against Japanese reinforcements.
1943
Japanese submarine Ro-34
Ro-34 was a Ro-33-class submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Commissioned on May 31, 1937 the submarine saw action for Imperial Japanese forces during the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The submarine was sunk off the Russell Islands in the Solomons with all hands by the United States Navy...
on the surface and made to ram it. At the last moment, the officers decided that the sub may be a minelayer
Minelayer
Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...
, and the rudder was turned hard to avoid the collision. This action brought the destroyer directly alongside the sub. As the Japanese sailors attempted to man their three-inch deck gun, the O'Bannon deck hands, not having side arms, grabbed potatoes from nearby storage bins and pelted the Japanese with them. Thinking the potatoes were hand grenade
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
s, the submarine's sailors were too occupied with throwing them away from the sub to fire. This gave the O'Bannon the opportunity to distance itself to fire its guns at the sub and damage the conning tower. Although the sub still managed to submerge, O'Bannon used depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s to finally sink it. During this period, the O'Bannon also splashed at least two enemy aircraft in various attacks.
This duty was tense and demanded the best of men and their ships. In-port time was minimal; a few hours to fuel and reprovision, and the ships were off again. O'Bannon fought in many surface actions. The Battle of Kula Gulf
Battle of Kula Gulf
The naval Battle of Kula Gulf took place in the early hours of 6 July 1943 during World War II and was between United States and Japanese ships off the coast of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands.-Background:...
(6 July), in which O'Bannon fought with three cruisers and three other destroyers against ten Japanese destroyers, swept the enemy from the area, though an American cruiser was lost. A week later, the Battle of Kolombangara
Battle of Kolombangara
The Battle of Kolombangara was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 12/13 July 1943, off Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands.-Background:...
had to be fought in the same waters against a Japanese cruiser, five destroyers and four destroyer escort
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
s. The same American force sank the Japanese cruiser Jintsu
Japanese cruiser Jintsu
was a Sendai-class light cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy, named after the Jinzū River in the Gifu and Toyama prefectures of central Japan.-Background:...
and turned the smaller ships away, losing none themselves.
For the next two months, O'Bannon spent most of her time in Vella Gulf
Vella Gulf
Vella Gulf is a waterway in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It lies between the islands of Vella Lavella to the northwest, Kolombangara to the southeast, and Ghizo to the south...
, guarding landings, intercepting Japanese troop convoys and their covering escorts, and fighting off air attacks. With the aid of sister destroyers, she sank a number of barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s, two submarine chaser
Submarine chaser
A submarine chaser is a small and fast naval vessel specially intended for anti-submarine warfare. Although similar vessels were designed and used by many nations, this designation was most famously used by ships built by the United States of America...
s, an armed boat, and a gunboat on various patrols. The climax of operations in the area was the Battle of Vella Lavella
Naval Battle of Vella Lavella
The was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on the night of 6 October 1943, near the island of Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands.-Background:...
on 6 October, brought on by Japanese attempts to evacuate their troops from that island. With Selfridge
USS Selfridge (DD-357)
The second USS Selfridge was a in the United States Navy. She named for Rear Admiral Thomas O. Selfridge and his son, Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr...
(DD-357) and Chevalier
USS Chevalier (DD-451)
USS Chevalier , a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant Commander Godfrey Chevalier....
(DD-451), O'Bannon made the first attack on the evacuation force, a group of nine or ten destroyers and smaller armed craft. The three American ships contacted six enemy destroyers, shrugged at the odds, and raced at 33 knots (61 km/h) to launch torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es and open gunfire. Japanese destroyer Yugumo was turned into a blazing hulk, but both Selfridge and Chevalier took torpedo hits. O'Bannon was close on Chevaliers stern when the latter was struck, and the most radical maneuvers could not keep her from swinging into her sister's side. The enemy retired with three newly arrived American destroyers in pursuit, while O'Bannon guarded her stricken sisters, rescuing the survivors of Chevalier.
1944
O'Bannon made battle repairs at Tulagi, then sailed to the west coast for overhaul. By 18 March 1944, she was back in the Solomons, ready for her part in the series of westward-moving amphibious assaults that won New GuineaNew 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...
. Again, it was escort and bombardment repeatedly until 18 October, when O'Bannon cleared Hollandia
Jayapura
Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
to escort reinforcements for 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 convoy was brought in safely on 24 October, the eve of the Battle for Leyte Gulf. O'Bannon guarded the Northern Transport area and patrolled the entrances to Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
during the battle, coming under air attack. Thus, she played her part in the definitive destruction of the Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
.
1945
Through June 1945 O'Bannon operated primarily in the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, serving in the escort or assault force for the long roll call of invasions: Ormoc Bay
Battle of Ormoc Bay
The Battle of Ormoc Bay was a series of air-sea battles between Imperial Japan and the United States in the Camotes Sea in the Philippines between 11 November and 21 December 1944, part of the Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II. The battles resulted from Japanese operations to...
, Mindoro
Battle of Mindoro
The Battle of Mindoro was a battle in World War II between forces of the United States and Japan, in Mindoro Island in the central Philippines, from 13-16 December 1944, during the Philippines campaign....
, Lingayen Gulf
Invasion of Lingayen Gulf
The Liberation of Lingayen Gulf was an Allied amphibious operation in the Philippines during World War II. In the early morning of 9 January 1945, an Allied force commanded by Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf began approaching the shores of Lingayen. U.S...
, Bataan, Corregidor, Palawan
Invasion of Palawan
The Invasion of Palawan fought by U.S. liberation forces against the Japanese from 28 February -22 April 1945, in a series of actions officially designated as Operations Victor I and II, and part of the campaign for the liberation of the Philippines during World War II, was waged to initiate...
, Zamboanga
Zamboanga City
The City of Zamboanga : is a highly urbanized, independent and a chartered city located in Mindanao, Philippines....
, Cebu
Cebu Island
Cebu is an island of the Philippines. It is the main island of Cebu Province at the center of the Visayan Islands, south of Manila.It lies to the east of Negros Island; to the east is Leyte and to the southeast is Bohol Island. It is flanked on both sides by the Cebu Strait and Tañon Strait...
, and Caraboa. Air attacks were frequent in the early period, and O'Bannon splashed several raiders. During the Lingayen offensive on 31 January 1945, O'Bannon, with three other destroyers, attacked and sank an enemy submarine; Japanese records studied after the war indicate it was most likely RO-115. At the end of April and early in May, O'Bannon interrupted her Philippine operations to give fire support at Tarakan
Battle of Tarakan (1945)
The Battle of Tarakan was the first stage in the Borneo campaign of 1945. It began with an amphibious landing by Australian forces on 1 May, code-named Operation Oboe One...
, Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, and cover minesweeping
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
operations there.
O'Bannon rendezvoused with a group of escort carrier
Escort aircraft carrier
The escort aircraft carrier or escort carrier, also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the USN or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft carrier used by the British Royal Navy , the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, and the...
s off Okinawa on 17 June and guarded them as they struck against Sakashima Gunto. In July, she protected the large carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s as they flew strikes on northern Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
and Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
. With the close of the war, O'Bannon patrolled the coast of Honshū until 27 August, when she joined Nicholas
USS Nicholas (DD-449)
USS Nicholas was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy, which served through most of World War II, and for 27 years and two more wars after. She was the second Navy ship to be named for Major Samuel Nicholas....
(DD-449) and Taylor
USS Taylor (DD-468)
USS Taylor was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for Rear Admiral William Rogers Taylor . She was laid down on 28 August 1941 at Bath, Maine, by the Bath Iron Works Corp.; launched on 7 June 1942, sponsored by Mrs. H. A...
(DD-468) to escort Missouri
USS Missouri (BB-63)
|USS Missouri is a United States Navy Iowa-class battleship, and was the fourth ship of the U.S. Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Missouri...
(BB-63) into Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
, by order of Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
William Halsey, "because of their valorous fight up the long road from the South Pacific to the very end." There, she patrolled until 1 September. She then sailed to San Francisco and San Diego, where she was decommissioned after overhaul on 21 May 1946.
1949–1962
Between 17 January 1949 and 10 February 1950, O'Bannon was converted to an escort destroyerEscort 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 Long Beach Naval Shipyard
Long Beach Naval Shipyard
thumb|right|300px|Long Beach Naval Shipyard in 1993The Long Beach Naval Shipyard, which closed in 1997, was located at Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles and approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International Airport.The Long Beach...
. She was redesignated DDE-450 on 26 March 1949.
O'Bannon was recommissioned on 19 February 1951 to serve out of 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...
. She sailed for her first tour of duty with the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
forces repelling Communist aggression in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
on 19 November, and, during the next seven months, she guarded carriers at sea as their air groups struck targets in Korea; served 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 the Wonsan
Wonsan
Wŏnsan is a port city and naval base in southeastern North Korea. It is the capital of Kangwŏn Province. The population of the city is estimated to have been 331,000 in 2000. Notable people from Wŏnsan include Kim Ki Nam, diplomat and Secretary of the Workers' Party.- History :The original name of...
Element, East Coast Blockade and Escort Group; fired on enemy gun emplacements, road and rail supply routes, ammunition depots, and troop concentrations; and protected convoys moving between Korea and Japan.
A training period out of Pearl Harbor began upon her return home on 20 June 1952, and she took part in U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
operations off Eniwetok. O'Bannon cleared Pearl Harbor late in April 1953 for the Far East, where her primary mission was screening carriers. Thereafter, she served on the Taiwan Patrol and in exercises off Japan and Okinawa.
Between the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, O'Bannon took her part in the intricately planned schedule that assured the United States that its 7th Fleet is always composed of ships and men whose readiness for any emergency is at its keenest. For O'Bannon, this meant an alternation of roughly six-month deployments to the Far East and periods spent in training operations and necessary overhauls at Pearl Harbor. While in the Far East, she visited ports in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the Philippines, 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...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, with brief, welcome recreation calls at Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. She was often in either New Zealand or Australia for the annual commemoration of the Battle of the Coral Sea
Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged...
, a time of national rejoicing in those countries at which Americans are particularly welcome. She conducted combined operations training with the SEATO allies as well as exercising with Marines at Okinawa and taking part in exercises preparing for any conceviable demand that might be made on the 7th Fleet. While at Pearl Harbor, she often aided in training reservists in addition to her own training and, at various times, sailed down-range for space orbits and missile shots. In the summer and fall of 1962, she took part in atomic tests at Johnston Island.
1964–1970
In 1964, O'Bannon took part in the 1965 film In Harm's WayIn Harm's Way
In Harm's Way is a 1965 American epic war film produced and directed by Otto Preminger and starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Stanley Holloway, Burgess Meredith, Brandon De Wilde, Jill Haworth, Dana Andrews, and Henry Fonda.It was the last black-and-white...
, portraying the fictitious destroyer USS Cassady.
O'Bannon first closed the coast of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
during her 1964–65 deployment, when, on 26 December, she left Hong Kong to patrol and conduct hydrographic surveys. Much of her 1966 tour was spent as planeguard for Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), while the carrier's jets struck targets in South
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
and North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
to lessen Communist ability to wage war in the South. For a week each in May and June, O'Bannon fired shore bombardments, destroying Vietcong base camps, troop concentrations, and small craft.
The veteran destroyer returned via Yokosuka to Pearl Harbor on 30 July. During operations out of home port, she trained for Apollo
Project Apollo
The Apollo program was the spaceflight effort carried out by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration , that landed the first humans on Earth's Moon. Conceived during the Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Apollo began in earnest after President John F...
space craft recovery operations in August and was a member of the contingency recovery force for the Gemini 11
Gemini 11
Gemini 11 was the ninth manned spaceflight mission of NASA's Project Gemini, which flew from September 12 to 15, 1966. It was the 17th manned American flight and the 25th spaceflight to that time . Astronauts Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr. and Richard F. Gordon, Jr...
space flight early in September. She visited Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
in the spring of 1967 and returned home early in July to prepare for another Far Eastern deployment.
O'Bannon got under way for Japan on 28 September and reached Yokosuka on 7 October and 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...
on the 15th. She returned to the war zone with Constellation (CVA-64) and operated as plane guard on Yankee Station
Yankee Station
Yankee Station was a point in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Vietnam used by the U.S. Navy aircraft carriers of Task Force 77 to launch strikes in the Vietnam War. While its official designation was "Point Yankee," it was universally referred to as Yankee Station...
through 4 November. After a fortnight's respite at Subic Bay and Hong Kong, O'Bannon sailed to Da Nang
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
for shore bombardment. She visited Taiwan early in December but returned to the fighting on the 15th to provide gunfire support just south of the DMZ
Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone
The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone was established as a dividing line between North and South Vietnam as a result of the First Indochina War.During the Second Indochina War , it became important as the battleground demarcation separating North Vietnamese territory from South Vietnamese territory.-...
. Two days later, she helped to rescue the crew of an American plane that had been hit over the DMZ and had managed to crash just off shore. An enemy battery shelled the destroyer during the operation but failed to score. As 1967 ended, O'Bannon was still on the gun line supporting allied ground forces.
On 30 January 1970, O'Bannon was decommissioned in a ceremony at Pearl Harbor (side-by-side with her sister Nicholas, as at their launching) and stricken from the Navy List
Navy List
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....
. She was sold for scrap on 6 June 1970 and broken up two years later.
O'Bannon received the Presidential Unit Citation and seventeen battle stars for World War II service, more than any other ship except Enterprise
USS Enterprise (CV-6)
USS Enterprise , colloquially referred to as the "Big E," was the sixth aircraft carrier of the United States Navy and the seventh U.S. Navy ship to bear the name. Launched in 1936, she was a ship of the Yorktown class, and one of only three American carriers commissioned prior to World War II to...
(CV-6). She received three more battle stars for Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
service. Nicknamed the "Lucky O", none of her crew were awarded the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
.
Quotes
"The history of the Pacific war can never be written without telling the story of the U.S.S. O'Bannon. Time after time the O'Bannon and her gallant little sisters were called upon to turn back the enemy. They never disappointed me."— Admiral William F. Halsey