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USS Robert H. Smith (DM-23)
Encyclopedia
USS Robert H. Smith (DD-735/DM-23) was the lead ship
of her class
of destroyer minelayers in the United States Navy
. She was named for naval officer Robert H. Smith
.
, Bath, Maine
; launched 25 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Robert Holmes Smith; redesignated DM-23 on 19 July 1944; and commissioned 4 August 1944, Commander Henry Farrow in command.
Following shakedown off Bermuda
, the new destroyer minelayer transited the Panama Canal
with a Pacific
-bound convoy 28 November, arriving at San Pedro
9 December and Pearl Harbor
21 December.
. During final amphibious rehearsals off Saipan
, she rescued the crew of a downed B-29. She arrived off Iwo Jima early in the morning of D-day, 19 February 1945. For most of the next 3 weeks, she served on radar picket station 50 miles north of the island, controlling CAP and reporting radar contacts. She also bombarded Japan
ese shore positions and acted as a screening ship for the night retirement formations.
, arriving there 13 March. On 25 March she arrived off Kerama Retto
with a group of minesweepers
. During the pre-assault period, when she was twice attacked by kamikaze
s, Robert H. Smith acted as support ship for minesweepers, as radar picket ship, and as screening ship in night retirement formations. During the landings she screened the transport area; then departed 5 April with a convoy for Guam
. On her return 21 April, she undertook 6 weeks of radar picket duty, undergoing numerous air attacks and downing five planes. On 4 June Robert H. Smith completed her radar picket duty. She spent a few more days screening the Okinawa transport area and supporting the amphibious attack on Iheya Point.
area near Miyako Jima
in the southern Ryukyu Islands
. Air Support was provided by a group of escort carriers with Robert H. Smith acting as primary fighter director ship. The operation lasted until 25 June. The next area to be swept was located in the central part of the East China Sea about 100 miles east of Shanghai
. In that operation the ship acted as radar buoy layer and small craft supply ship, in addition to her fighter director activities.
. However, scarcely a third of the area had been swept when the Japanese offer of surrender was accepted.
to sweep a channel to the occupation ports of Korea
for the 7th Amphibious Corps. It later became the task of Robert H. Smith to lead the transport convoy through that channel on 7 September 1945. The group then proceeded to Sasebo
to clear mines from the sea approaches to the ex-Japanese naval base for transports carrying occupation troops for Kyushu, Japan. After working in the Sasebo area for a few weeks, during which the ship was forced to ride out several typhoons, she joined a group of larger minesweepers in an operation in the Van Diemen Strait just south of Kyushu. She then operated with a minesweeping force in the Yellow Sea, and made a courier run from Sasebo to Kiirun to support minesweepers working in the straits of Formosa, returning to Sasebo by way of Shanghai.
7 February 1946. On 29 January 1947, she was placed out of commission in reserve and attached to the San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet.
She remained a part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet until 1971, when after being surveyed, she was found to be unfit for further service. Robert H. Smith was stricken from the Navy list
26 February 1971.
Robert H. Smith earned five battle stars for World War II
service.
As of 2009, no other ship in the United States Navy has been named Robert H. Smith.
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
of her class
Robert H. Smith class destroyer
The Robert H. Smith class of destroyer minelayers was built by the United States during World War II.These vessels were all originally laid down as Allen M. Sumner class destroyers and converted during construction throughout 1944. In that time the United States produced 12 Robert H. Smith class...
of destroyer minelayers in 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...
. She was named for naval officer Robert H. Smith
Robert H. Smith (naval officer)
Robert Holmes Smith was an officer in the United States Navy during World War II.Born in Harrellsville, North Carolina, Smith graduated from the Naval Academy on 6 June 1919. After duty in various surface ships, he served with the Submarine Service for 17 years...
.
Construction
Robert H. Smith was laid down 10 January 1944 by Bath Iron WorksBath 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...
, 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...
; launched 25 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Robert Holmes Smith; redesignated DM-23 on 19 July 1944; and commissioned 4 August 1944, Commander Henry Farrow in command.
Following shakedown off 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 minelayer transited 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...
with a Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
-bound convoy 28 November, arriving at San Pedro
San Pedro, Los Angeles, California
San Pedro is a port district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area...
9 December and 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...
21 December.
Iwo Jima
On 27 January 1945, Robert H. Smith sailed as escort for a convoy of the 5th Amphibious Corps bound for Iwo JimaIwo 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...
. During final amphibious rehearsals off Saipan
Saipan
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...
, she rescued the crew of a downed B-29. She arrived off Iwo Jima early in the morning of D-day, 19 February 1945. For most of the next 3 weeks, she served on radar picket station 50 miles north of the island, controlling CAP and reporting radar contacts. She also bombarded 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 shore positions and acted as a screening ship for the night retirement formations.
Ulithi
Robert H. Smith departed Iwo Jima 9 March; escorted a group of merchantmen as far as Saipan; and then sailed for UlithiUlithi
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...
, arriving there 13 March. On 25 March she arrived off 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....
with a group of minesweepers
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:...
. During the pre-assault period, when she was twice attacked by 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, Robert H. Smith acted as support ship for minesweepers, as radar picket ship, and as screening ship in night retirement formations. During the landings she screened the transport area; then departed 5 April with a convoy for 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...
. On her return 21 April, she undertook 6 weeks of radar picket duty, undergoing numerous air attacks and downing five planes. On 4 June Robert H. Smith completed her radar picket duty. She spent a few more days screening the Okinawa transport area and supporting the amphibious attack on Iheya Point.
East China Sea
On 13 June Robert H. Smith began a long series of operations supporting minesweeping groups clearing an East China SeaEast China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
area near Miyako Jima
Miyako-jima
Miyakojima is the largest and the most populous island among the Miyako Islands of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It lies approximately 400 kilometres east of Taipei, Taiwan...
in the southern Ryukyu Islands
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
. Air Support was provided by a group of escort carriers with Robert H. Smith acting as primary fighter director ship. The operation lasted until 25 June. The next area to be swept was located in the central part of the East China Sea about 100 miles east of Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. In that operation the ship acted as radar buoy layer and small craft supply ship, in addition to her fighter director activities.
Okinawa
In July, Robert H. Smith departed Okinawa for a large minefield in the northern part of the East China Sea about 100 miles southwest of KyūshūKyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
. However, scarcely a third of the area had been swept when the Japanese offer of surrender was accepted.
Yellow Sea
Robert H. Smith and other ships were suddenly recalled and sent to the Yellow SeaYellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
to sweep a channel to the occupation ports of 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...
for the 7th Amphibious Corps. It later became the task of Robert H. Smith to lead the transport convoy through that channel on 7 September 1945. The group then proceeded to Sasebo
Sasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
to clear mines from the sea approaches to the ex-Japanese naval base for transports carrying occupation troops for Kyushu, Japan. After working in the Sasebo area for a few weeks, during which the ship was forced to ride out several typhoons, she joined a group of larger minesweepers in an operation in the Van Diemen Strait just south of Kyushu. She then operated with a minesweeping force in the Yellow Sea, and made a courier run from Sasebo to Kiirun to support minesweepers working in the straits of Formosa, returning to Sasebo by way of Shanghai.
End of World War II and fate
On 17 January 1946 Robert H. Smith sailed for the United States, reaching San FranciscoSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
7 February 1946. On 29 January 1947, she was placed out of commission in reserve and attached to the San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet.
She remained a part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet until 1971, when after being surveyed, she was found to be unfit for further service. Robert H. Smith was stricken from the Navy list
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...
26 February 1971.
Robert H. Smith earned five battle stars for World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service.
As of 2009, no other ship in the United States Navy has been named Robert H. Smith.
External links
- Photo gallery at navsource.org