- USS Gandy (DE-764)
-
Career (United States) Name: USS Gandy Namesake: Andrew Jackson Gandy Builder: Tampa Shipbuilding Company, Tampa, Florida Laid down: 1 March 1943 Launched: 12 December 1943 Commissioned: 7 February 1944 Decommissioned: 17 June 1946 Struck: 26 March 1951 Honors and
awards:1 battle star (World War II) Fate: Transferred to Italy, 10 January 1951 Career (Italy) Name: Altair (F-591) Acquired: 10 January 1951 Struck: 1971 Fate: Sunk as target ship, 1971 General characteristics Class and type: Cannon-class destroyer escort Displacement: 1,240 long tons (1,260 t) standard
1,620 long tons (1,646 t) fullLength: 306 ft (93 m) o/a
300 ft (91 m) w/lBeam: 36 ft 10 in (11.23 m) Draft: 11 ft 8 in (3.56 m) Propulsion: 4 × GM Mod. 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 6,000 shp (4,474 kW), 2 screws Speed: 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) Range: 10,800 nmi (20,000 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) Complement: 15 officers and 201 enlisted Armament: • 3 × single Mk.22 3"/50 caliber guns
• 1 × twin 40 mm Mk.1 AA gun
• 8 × 20 mm Mk.4 AA guns
• 3 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
• 1 × Hedgehog Mk.10 anti-submarine mortar (144 rounds)
• 8 × Mk.6 depth charge projectors
• 2 × Mk.9 depth charge tracksUSS Gandy (DE-764) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and provided escort service against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.
She was named in honor of Seaman Second Class Andrew Jackson Gandy who gallantly gave his life on board heavy cruiser San Francisco (CA-38) in a heroic gunnery action against Japanese torpedo planes during the Battle of Guadalcanal, 12–13 November 1942. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
Gandy was launched on 12 December 1943 by the Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Tampa, Florida; sponsored by Miss Ruby Gandy, sister of Seaman Gandy; and commissioned at Tampa on 7 February 1944, Lt. Comdr W. A. Sessions in command.
Contents
World War II North Atlantic operations
Gandy, following shakedown training in Bermuda waters, joined Escort Division 22 at New York. After escorting Yukon (AF-9) to Norfolk, Virginia, she departed New York on 15 April 1944 as part of the escort for fast tanker Convoy CU-21 bound for Northern Ireland. The second day of the voyage at 0806, on 16 April, German submarine U-550 torpedoed and sank tanker SS Pan-Pennsylvania. During recovery of survivors by Joyce (DE-317), Gandy and Peterson (DE-152) at 0950, Joyce made sound contact with the U-boat and delivered a depth charge attack. When U-550 surfaced about 600 yards (550 m) on Gandy's starboard bow, Comdr. Sessions ordered "Right full rudder, come to 320, open fire and stand by to ram."
Sinking of German submarine U-550
Gandy headed for the submarine's conning tower but the U-boat's deft maneuvers caused the escort destroyer to hit it 30 feet (9 m) from the stern. Gandy hauled clear, silenced the submarine's machine gun battery with a short burst of gunfire, then observed the Germans abandoning ship. Joyce recovered twelve survivors as Gandy, with nearly four feet of her bow strake gone and several plates buckled, assessed her damage. U-550 was shaken by a muffled explosion and sank. Four of Gandy's men were injured in the fight.
Gandy continued with the convoy which reached Lisahally, Northern Ireland, on 26 April 1944. She returned to New York on 12 May and helped escort nine more convoys safely out of New York to Lisahally and Liverpool by 24 May 1945 when she returned from the last of these voyages.
Transfer to Pacific Theatre operations
After repairs in the New York Naval Shipyard, she sailed on 8 June for brief training in Cuban waters before proceeding to Hawaii. She departed Pearl Harbor on 6 August 1945 en route to the Philippines via the Marshalls and the Carolines, then sailed from Leyte on the 24th in the escort of an occupation force convoy which entered Tokyo Bay on 1 September.
End-of-War activity
Following the formal signing of the surrender of Japan, the next day she escorted a convoy from Okinawa to Yokohama, Japan, and then departed on 16 November to serve the Philippine Sea Frontier on weather patrol between Manila, Samar, and Manicani.
Post-War decommissioning
Gandy departed Samar on 1 February 1946 and reached Norfolk, Virginia, via Hawaii, San Pedro, California, and the Panama Canal, on 26 March 1946. She decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Florida, on 17 June 1946. She was in reserve status until 10 January 1951 when she was transferred to Italy under the Military Assistance Program. She served the Italian Navy under the name of Altair (F-591) until she was stricken and sunk as a target in 1971.
Awards
Gandy received one battle star for service in World War II.
References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
- Photo gallery of USS Gandy (DE-764) at NavSource Naval History
United States Navy CompletedCannon · Christopher · Alger · Thomas · Bostwick · Breeman · Burrows · Brazilian Navy
Free French Naval Forces Other operators Republic of China Navy Hellenic Navy†
Wild Beast classMarina Militare Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Royal Netherlands Navy Bitter · Dubois · Van Amstel · Van Ewijck · Van Zijill · Zeeuw
Peruvian Navy Philippine Navy
Datu Kalantiaw classDatu Kalantiaw (ex-Booth) · Datu Sikatuna (ex-Amick) · Rajah Humabon (ex-Atherton)
Royal Thai Navy Uruguayan Navy † - Classed as destroyers by the Hellenic Navy
Preceded by: Buckley class · Followed by: Edsall class
List of destroyer escorts of the United States NavyCategories:- Cannon class destroyer escorts of the United States Navy
- Ships built in Florida
- 1943 ships
- World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States
- Cannon class destroyer escorts of the Marina Militare
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
USS Gandy (DE 764) — p1 USS Gandy p1 Schiffsdaten Flagge Vereinigte Staaten … Deutsch Wikipedia
Gandy — ist der Name folgender Personen: Ellen Gandy, britische Schwimmerin Harry Gandy (1881–1957), US amerikanischer Politiker John Peter Gandy (1787–1850), britischer Architekt Joseph Gandy (1771–1843), britischer Künstler und Architekt Michael Joseph … Deutsch Wikipedia
USS Kirkpatrick (DE-318) — Career (US) … Wikipedia
USS Peterson (DE-152) — For other ships of the same name, see USS Peterson. Career (US) … Wikipedia
Andrew Jackson Gandy — Seaman Second Class Andrew Jackson Gandy was born 20 October 1924 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.Awarded the Navy CrossHe enlisted 21 February 1942; and gallantly gave his life on board cruiser USS San Francisco (CA 38) in a heroic gunnery action… … Wikipedia
Cannon class destroyer escort — The USS Cannon (DE 99) Class overview Name: Cannon class destroyer escort Operators … Wikipedia
Unterseeboot 550 — The Unterseeboot 550 (U 550) was a Type IX C/40 U boat. She was constructed by Deutsche Werft of Hamburg and was commissioned on 28 July 1943 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Klaus Hänert, (born 2 January 1918; Kriegsmarine Class of… … Wikipedia
Список эскадренных миноносцев США по типам — … Википедия
List of United States Navy ships, G — G Ga* USS G 1 (SS 19 frac12;) * USS G 2 (SS 27) * USS G 3 (SS 31) * USS G 4 (SS 26) * USS G. H. McNeal (SP 312) * USS G. L. Brockenborough (1862) * USS G. W. Blunt (1861) * USS Gabilan (SS 252) * USS Gadsen (AK 182) * USS Gadwall (AM 362) * USS… … Wikipedia
List of World War II topics (U) — # U 571 (film) # U A # U boat Front Clasp # U boat War Badge # U Boote westwärts # U Man # U.S. British Staff Conference (ABC 1) # U.S. 20th Air Base Group # U.S. 5th Interceptor Command # U.S. Army Forces Far East # U.S. Army Forces in the… … Wikipedia