Uss Donnell De.56
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USS DONNELL DE.56 By Shanna Hopson, Collections Manager & Interpretation Coordinator The story of USS DONNELL (DE-56) may not have antiaircraft fire," he was posthumously awarded the Arr grabbed headlines, or hamessed the public attention as Medal. other destroyer escorts, like the MENGES or SAMUEL B. ROBERTS. However, she was just as resilient and On 3 1 August 1943, DONNELL sailed from Boston for resourceful. USS DONNELL DE-56 was a Buckley Class trans-Atlantic Convoy Duty. She made safe passage for destroyer escort, powered by a turbine electric drive. Her herself and her convoys for the first four convoys to keel was laid at Bethlehem Shipyard, in Hingham, Londonderry. Her duty was primarily escorting fifty or Massachusetts, on 27 November 1942. She was launched more tankers at a time, while carrying supplies in prepara- on 13 March, sponsored by Mrs. E.R. Donnell, and com- tion for the American invasion of Europe. She and her sis- missioned by Lieutenant Commander Billing on 26 June ter ships stood on guard against the elusive German U- t943. boats constantly. As with every destroyer escort, DONNELL is named On her fifth voyage, DONNELL came into contact after a sailor who lost his life in the service of his country. with the enemy. She was part of CoftDiv 6, convoying with Earl Roe Donnell, Jr. was bom on 3 September 1918, in five other turbo-electric destroyer escorts. They included Temple, Texas. He earned a Master's Degree in USS CHARLES LAWRENCE (DE-53, APD-37), USS Aeronautical Engineering from Cal Tech in 1940. Later DANIELT. GRIFFIN (DE-54,APD-38), USS SIMS (DE- that year, he enlisted in the Naval Resewe on 24 August, 154, APD-5O), USS HOpprNG (DE-155, ApD-51), and and was appointed Aviation Cadet on 6 December, aboard USS REEVES (DE-l56, APD-52). The morning of 3 May USS ENTERPRISE (CV-6). Ensign Donnell was killed in 1944, about 450 miles southwest of Cape Clear, Ireland, DONNELL was conducting an antisubmarine exercise action aboard, during an attack on Marshall Islands on 1 for February 1942. "For his courage in pressing home his their second watch section, plotting team, conning officers, attack in the face of enemy fighter opposition and heavy and sonar personnel. A sonar echo was produced to origi- USS DONNELL DE-56 on 18 April 1944. page 3 nate in the sound gear. The depth charge watch on the fan- DONNELL was crippled, hit in the screws by one of tail was ordered to set a medium depth pattern. the acoustic torpedoes. HOPPING was first to respond to DONNELL, to help the crsw. As HOPPING was steaming Meanwhile, in the sonar shack, distinct echoes were toward DONNELL, the port lookout reported a torpedo heard over the sonar loudspeaker. This new contact was on wake on port bow. Full speed was ordered, steadying on the starboard bow, whereas the drill had been on the port course 000. FXR gear MARK 2 was used and worked per- bow. At 1000, the attack began! Depth charges were set to fectly. This newly-developed gear trailed behind the ship, a medium pattern,250 feet, because of the ddli. They were and created more noise than the ship's propellers. not set to safe because the drill never concluded. "This is Consequently, German Acoustic Torpedoes would be not a drill" was repeated over the lMC several times, but directed to the gear and not to the ship's propellers. the gengral alarm was never sounded to avoid confusion DONNELL s FXR gear was being simulated during the and personnel changing stations. drill, not actually running. In the chaos of the attack, the crew neglected to make the gear operational. If the "dis- Bridge lookouts Ensign Boone, Signalman 3/c Rowe, traction" of the drill hadn't occurred, our story may have and the crew of the number two 3" gun simultaneously played out very differently. spotted the periscope. No wake was noticeable; this indi- cated that the sub was moving slowly. When the periscope HOPPING made five depth charge and hedgehog runs. was spotted, depth charges were set to a shallow depth, and They failed to bring the sub up, but did sight oi1 slicks. ln K-guns changed their range to 200 yards. Ten seconds the meantime, the convoy had to keep moving, for the safe- before the time ofthe first firing order, a torpedo struck the ty of the crews and cargo. They left behind REEVES and stern! The hit blew both depth charge tracks, K-guns 6,7, HOPPING to assist the wounded ship. DONNELL and 8, off the ship. The depth watch disappeared, along remained afloat due to watertight compartmentation. At with the fantail,20 mm guns 9 and 10, the number 3 3" 1300, DONNELL repolted watertight integrity forward of gun, and the gun crews. A f'ew seconds later, the depth frame 124, and they needed medical assistance. REEVES charges that were thrown into the sea exploded, sealing the arrived at 1321 . and effected transfer of a medical officer fate of those crewmembers thrown overboard. When the and, later, medical supplies to DONNELL. The two ships smoke and spray cleared, 20-30 feet of DONNELL's stem kept vigilant guard throughout the night to make sure no was sticking straight up in the air at an angle of about 70 additional harm came to DONNELL. degrees,29 of her crew were killed, and 25 were wounded. The next morning, HOPPING commenced towing operations, which was difficult because DONNELL had a tendency to swing port due to the damage to her stern. Four knots proved to be a manageable speed. She was being towed about 40 degrees off of HOPPING'S port quarter, rolling 25-35. With the exfa swinging, this put an unduly heavy strain on the tows, and eventually the strain broke the tow cable repeatedly. Having to reattach the tow cable multiple times was definitely wearing on the crew. The next moming,5 May, with a wind from the notth- west, a Jib Sail was rigged from the fo'c's'le to counteract the tendency to veer pofi. This meant that the tow spesd could be increased to about 15 knots. and the strain on the two cables was not as severe. On 6 May, the ship was evac- uated by most of her crew. HOPPING took 75 men and REEVES took the 24 wounded aboard. Then, REEVES transferred the most severely wounded to USS ARKANSAS, to get treatment. When they arrived at U.S. Naval Dispensary in Creevagh, Norlhern Ireland, the rest of the injured were admitted for recovery. On the morning of 6 May, DONNELL received repofts that HMS STAR- LING had sunk the U-boat (U-765) believed to be respon- USS DONNELL generating power for Cherbourg. sible for DONNELL's damage, and rescued some of the page 4 survivors. In a report from James J. Durney, the August, she was towed to Cherbourg. France. shere Commanding Officer aboard REEVES, he states that the American troops had pushed Gerrnans out of the ciq . but "morale aboard DONNELL was exceptionally high among not before the enemy had blown up the local power plant. the officers and crew. The Commanding Officer, DONNELL and her turbo electric propulsion supplied Lieutenant Commander Gordon Street, was cool and at al1 electric power to shore installations, before the electric times efficient and effective, and worked so tirelessly and grid and electric power generating stations could be so long as to have gone, in the opinion of my medical offi- returned to service. Tied to the dock, she poured electricity cer, past the exhaustion point." to vital parts of the city. Clearly, she remained undefeated. Towed by REEVES, HOPPING, and HMS SAMSO- In February 1945, DONNELL rstumed to England and RIA, DONNELL arrived in Dunnstaffnage Bay, Scotland, served as barracks in Portland and Plymouth. Then, she on 12 May. Extensive reconstruction was needed to repair was towed back to the United States, arriving at the her verlical stern, so it was decided to cut the stern off, cap Philadelphia Ship Yard on 18 July 1945. The resilient the end, and try to save everything forward. The remainder DONNELL was decommissioned on 23 October 1945, of the ship was still in full operation. and sold for scrap on 29 April 1946. Placed in commission, in reserve at Lisahally, In the face of the enemy, DONNELL survived. She Northern lreland, on 20 Jtne 1944, DONNELL was used was dealt a losing hand and persisted. She lost her screws as an accommodation ship, and reclassified as IX- 182. and still found ways in which to serve her country valianr After serving in Ireland, DONNELL was towed to Iy. Though she lost a third ofher deck, she continued serv- Plymouth, England, to take on passengers and cargo. ing Uncle Sam and protecting all of us, for which we and Though DONNELL's engines worked, without her pro- our children, and their children will remember with grati- pellers she could not be piloted on her own. She would tude. have to be towed to all of her future destinations. In.