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USS Southerland (DD-743)
Encyclopedia
USS Southerland (DD-743), a , was the only 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 William Henry Hudson Southerland
William Henry Hudson Southerland
William Henry Hudson Southerland was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. He commanded several ships in Cuban waters during the Spanish-American War, and later served as Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet....
, an 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"...
.
Southerland (DD-743) was laid down on 27 May 1944 by the 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...
, 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 on 5 October 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Edmund Richardson, daughter of Rear Admiral Southerland; and commissioned on 22 December 1944, 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...
Russell C. Williams in command.
World War II, 1945–1945
Southerland completed shakedown in the BermudaBermuda
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...
area in February 1945 and conducted further exercises into April. On 24 April she rendezvoused with TU 23.16.1 off the New Jersey coast and headed for the Pacific. Arriving 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...
on 15 May, she sailed for 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...
on 28 May. In June, she moved on to Leyte
Leyte Island
Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines.The island measures about 180 km north-south and about 65 km at its widest point. In the north it nearly joins Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 km in some places...
; whence, on 1 July, she sailed with TF 38, the Fast Carrier Task Force
Fast Carrier Task Force
The Fast Carrier Task Force was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II.The Fast Carrier Task Force was known under two designations. The Navy made use of two sets of upper command structures for planning the upcoming operations...
, for the fleet's final raids on 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 home islands. From 10 July until the end of the war, she screened the carriers as their planes flew against military and industrial targets on the Tokyo Plain, in other parts of 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...
, on 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...
, and in the Inland Sea. Twice detached for night shore bombardment missions with TU 34.8.1, she fired on the Hamamatsu area, southern Honshū, on the night of 29 and 30 July, and on Kamaishi, northern Honshū, on 9 and 10 August.
Strikes on the Tokyo Plain scheduled for 15 August were cancelled as hostilities ceased, but the ships continued to cruise off the Japanese coast. On 27 August Southerland anchored in Sagami Wan; and, on 28 August, she moved up to Tokyo. On 30 August she covered the landing of occupation troops at Huttu Saki and Yokosuka. A week later, she completed a mail run to the Ryūkyūs
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...
; then joined TG 35.1 for further occupation duty. She was the first man of war to enter Tokyo Bay at the time of the signing of the surrender documents
Western Pacific, 1946–1949
In January 1946, Southerland sailed for the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Immobilized for a time at San Diego, she departed the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
coast for the Central Pacific in November; and, in February 1947, she continued on to the western Pacific. She arrived at 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...
on 8 February and, through the spring, operated along the China coast, primarily out of Tsingtao. In June, she was in Japanese waters; and, on 21 June, she sailed for home. From June 1948 to February 1949, she again operated in Chinese and Japanese waters. Southerland was redesignated DDR-743 on 18 March 1949.
Korean War, 1950–1953
Southerland was operating in HawaiiHawaii
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...
an waters at the end of June 1950, when the Korean War broke out. In July, she steamed west to Okinawa
Okinawa Island
Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, and is home to Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture. The island has an area of...
; thence proceeded to Japan. On 19 July, she assumed bombardment and patrol duties off the 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...
n coast.
In September, she joined TF 90 and prepared for the assault landings on the west coast of the embattled peninsula at Inchon. Assigned to Fire Support Group 3, Southerland arrived at Inchon on the morning of 15 September and commenced pre-invasion shelling of targets on Wolmi-do island and in the city of Inchon. After the landings, she provided interdiction, illumination, and support fire. On 16 September she was slightly damaged by counterbattery fire; and, on 17 September, she retired from the area.
For the remainder of the year, the destroyer operated with the carriers of TF 77 and ranged the Korean coast from Pusan to 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...
and Ch'ongjin. In January 1951, she steamed south. Into February, she operated with the Taiwan Strait
Taiwan Strait
The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, is a 180-km-wide strait separating Mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast...
patrol; then returned to Japan, whence she sailed for home.
A year later, on 10 February 1952, Southerland was back off Japan. On 14 February, she joined TF 95, the United Nations Blockade and Escort Force, off the west coast of Korea. Carrier escort and coastal patrol duty followed, involving night shore bombardment against enemy transport facilities, boat and troop concentrations, and gun emplacements.
In March, the destroyer conducted ASW exercises off Okinawa; and, in April, as the stalemate in the Panmunjom armistice negotiations continued, she returned to the combat zone. Joining TF 77, she screened carriers, served as plane guard, and participated in shore bombardments - including a combined air/sea strike on Ch'ongjin on Easter Sunday.
On 18 April, Southerland returned to Yokosuka; then steamed to Okinawa for ASW operations. On 11 May, she rejoined TF 77 and, for 28 days, supported the carriers as they struck targets at Ch'ongjin, Wonsan, and other areas. In June, her carrier group shifted to targets inland.
Toward the end of the month, as interservice air strikes hit Communist power sources, Southerland again headed south for Taiwan Strait patrol duty. On 10 July, she rejoined TF 95 off the Korean east coast; and, on the 14th, engaged in a 23-minute duel with seven shore batteries. Taking four direct hits, with eight minor casualties, she made temporary repairs at sea; then continued her patrol. On the 22nd, she put into Sasebo; and, on 10 August, she arrived back in her home port, San Diego.
In mid-April 1953 the ship departed San Diego for her third combat tour off Korea. Until mid-May, and again in June, she patrolled off the Korean coast. On the 27th, she returned to Japan; and, one month later, was assigned to patrol duty along the truce line. On 2 October, she sailed for home.
Pacific Fleet, 1954–1962
After Korea, Southerland alternated duty with the 7th FleetUnited States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
in the western Pacific (WestPac) with training assignments, 1st Fleet operations, and upkeep and overhaul periods. Her Far East deployments included SEATO
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, or Manila Pact, signed in September 1954 in Manila, Philippines. The formal institution of SEATO was established on 19 February...
exercises; Taiwan Strait
Taiwan Strait
The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, is a 180-km-wide strait separating Mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast...
patrols; 7th Fleet exercises; and, during her 1957 and 1958 WestPac tour, relief work. At the end of December 1958, she joined and in providing emergency relief — food, medicine, and trained medical personnel — for survivors of devastating floods in Ceylon; and she continued that work into January 1958.
In the eastern Pacific, she conducted training exercises, participated in 1st Fleet exercises; and, in 1962, joined Joint Task Force 8 for Operation "Dominic"
Operation Dominic I and II
Operation Dominic was a series of 105 nuclear test explosions conducted in 1962 by the United States. Those conducted in the Pacific are sometimes called Dominic I. The blasts in Nevada are known as Dominic II. This test series was scheduled quickly, in order to respond in kind to the Soviet...
, the upper atmosphere nuclear test series at Christmas Island
Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
.
FRAM I overhaul, 1963–1964
In November 1963, Southerland, in WestPac and scheduled to participate in amphibious support exercises, was ordered to Vietnam for brief duty as hostilities there threatened American interests. Soon departing, she returned to California for a 10-month FRAM Mark IFleet Rehabilitation and Modernization
The Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization program of the United States Navy extended the lives of World War II-era destroyers by shifting their mission from a surface attack role to that of a submarine hunter...
, overhaul and conversion at Mare Island. During that period, her superstructure above the main deck was removed; berthing and messing areas were renovated; and her engineering spaces were reconditioned. Electronically modernized, her ASW capability was enhanced by the addition of ASROC
ASROC
ASROC is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed on over 200 USN surface ships, specifically cruisers, destroyers, and frigates...
, an antisubmarine rocket system.
Vietnam, 1964–1971
Work was completed in October 1964. Southerland, redesignated DD-743 on 1 April 1964, then tested her new equipment and conducted training exercises until March 1965. She next headed west to return to Vietnam and her third war in the western Pacific.Departing on 6 March, she joined TF 77 in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
; and, as in Korea, she screened carriers and acted as plane guard
Plane guard
A plane guard is a warship or helicopter tasked to recover the aircrew of planes or helicopters which ditch or crash in the water during aircraft carrier flight operations.-Ships:...
while strikes were flown against Communist targets. After duty with TF 77, she shifted to "Operation Market Time
Operation Market Time
Operation Market Time was the United States Navy’s effort to stop troops and supplies from flowing by sea from North Vietnam to South Vietnam during the Vietnam War...
", for trawler surveillance duty. Briefly detached twice in late June, she provided gunfire support in the I Corps
I Corps (South Vietnam)
The I Corps Tactical Zone was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975. It was one of four corps which the ARVN oversaw. This was the northernmost region of South Vietnam, bordering North Vietnam...
area and destroyed several Viet Cong buildings and communications points.
On 11 September, Southerland arrived back at San Diego. Nine months later, she was underway for another combat tour off Vietnam. On 8 July 1966, she arrived off the embattled coast and, for eleven days, operated with near the Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
. Detached on the 19th for fire support duty, she returned to the carrier on the 28th; and, at the end of the month, retired to 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 7 August, she was again off Vietnam. Until the end of the month, she operated in Tonkin Gulf
Gulf of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin is an arm of the South China Sea, lying off the coast of northeastern Vietnam.-Etymology:The name Tonkin, written "東京" in Hán tự and Đông Kinh in romanised Vietnamese, means "Eastern Capital", and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam...
with . ASW exercises followed; and, in mid-September, she sailed for Japan. At the end of October, she returned to Tonkin Gulf for search and rescue duty.
On 23 November, Southerland completed her Vietnam tour and headed home. In February 1967, she served as ASW School Ship and, in March, as Engineering School Ship. From April to August, she underwent overhaul. In the fall, she conducted refresher training; and, on 28 December, she sailed for WestPac and another tour off Vietnam.
From then until 28 June 1968 and again from 18 March to 3 July 1969, Southerland operated with the 7th Fleet on assignments similar to those in 1965 and 1966. In 1970, she sailed west in mid-June; operated in Japanese waters through the end of July; then steamed south, for Vietnam, on 6 August. There, she again alternated carrier escort and plane guard duties in Tonkin Gulf with fire support activities off the southern coast of the divided country until mid-November. On 1 December, she returned to San Diego.
During the first half of 1971, Southerland spent two periods underway, one in January and one in April. Both were in conjunction with Composite Unit Training Exercises conducted in the southern California (SOCAL) operating area. On 29 June, she got underway from San Diego en route to the western Pacific. She remained in the Far East until 5 December, plane guarding for and visiting such oriental ports as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Subic Bay. After a 17-day passage, Southerland returned to San Diego on 22 December.
Training ship, 1972–1980
On 2 June 1972, the ship entered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard and commenced an overhaul which lasted until 9 November. During the yard work, her main propulsion plant was converted to use navy distillate fuelFuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
.
The destroyer continued her operations out of San Diego along the southern California coast until mid-June 1973. On the 11th, she stood out of San Diego and headed north to Seattle, Washington. There, she embarked naval reservists and shaped a course for the western Pacific, via Adak, Alaska
Adak, Alaska
Adak , formerly Adak Station, is a city in the Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 326. It is the westernmost municipality in the United States and the southernmost city in Alaska. The city is the former location of the Adak Army Base and Adak...
. For the rest of the summer, she participated in Operation "Charger SurfPac 1-73", during which successive complements of reservists received training in 7th Fleet operations and the opportunity to train with elements of friendly foreign navies. The capability of the Naval Reserve to augment the fleet on short notice was demonstrated by the airlift which brought in new groups of reservists at regular intervals once the deployment had begun. Southerland reentered San Diego on 30 August 1973, successfully concluding Operation "Charger SurfPac 1-73." From September through December, she cruised along the west coast, out of San Diego, with naval reservists embarked for training. Through September 1974, Southerland has continued to operate along the west coast out of San Diego, clearing that area only once in late February and early March to visit Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
During her final six months in late 1980 and leading up to the decommissioning, the ship continued her role as a training ship for reservists serving their annual mandatory 2 weeks of active service. By the summer of 1980 the permanent full-time crew had been reduced to approximately 2/3'rds of the normal full-compliment. Training reservists filled out the remaining crew. In August 1980 the USS Southerland made her last foreign port-of-call to Acapulco, Mexico. After a brief stop in Mazatlan for fuel, the Southerland continued on to Acapulco and spent 3 full days at anchor near the mouth of the harbor before returning to port in San Diego. During the fall of 1980 she participated in several naval gunnery and training exercises off of southern San Clemente Island.
Decommissioning in 1981, fate
The USS Southerland DD-743 was decommissioned at 10AM on Thursday, 26 February 1981 during a brief open-to-the-public decommissioning ceremony under mostly grey skies with an on/off again misting fog. The crew had been informed about 6 weeks prior to decommissioning. Several senior officers and enlisted briefly travelled to Washington DC to lobby the Navy on behalf of the crew for their follow-on assignments. The crew was asked to submit their top 3 choices of geographical areas for their next assignments. In most cases one of the three choices ended up as the next duty assignment, in as much as the needs of the Navy allowed and based upon the practicalness of the requests.Immediately after and effective at the end of the decommissioning ceremony, all but about a dozen of the remaining crew was dismissed and began the journey to their next assignments. Those crew that remained behind briefly assisted with the movement of the ship before continuing on with their own orders. The ship was struck from the Navy Vessel Register on 26 February 1981 at the conclusion of the ceremony. A planned transfer to the Ecuadoran Navy fell through due to a fishing rights dispute. Subsequently the ship was ultimately disposed of as a missile testing target and sunk on 2 August 1997 at location: Latitude 34 degrees 57 minutes North x 122 degrees 08 minutes West at 13:49:30 PST time. Witnesses commented as to the remarkable toughness of the 53+ year old ship prior to sinking.
Awards
Southerland earned one battle star during World War IIWorld 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...
; eight during 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 10 during her tours off Vietnam.