- USS Ludlow (DD-438)
USS "Ludlow" (DD-438), a "Gleaves"-class
destroyer , was the 3rd ship of theUnited States Navy to bear the name. The second and third "Ludlow" ships were named forLieutenant Augustus C. Ludlow , second in command of the USS "Chesapeake". He was, like his captain, mortally wounded in their ship's engagement with HMS "Shannon"1 June 1813 , and died at Halifax, Nova Scotia,13 June ."Ludlow" was laid down
18 December 1939 byBath Iron Works ,Bath, Maine . She was launched11 November 1940 , sponsored by Miss Frances Nicholson Chrystie, a descendant of Lieutenant Ludlow, and commissioned at Boston5 March 1941 ,Lieutenant Commander Claude H. Bennett, Jr., (eldest son of Claude Bennett, General Manager of the world renowedBellevue-Stratford Hotel , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) in command.History
Commissioning
"Ludlow" commissioned at a time when the North
Atlantic saw daily evidence of the struggle of British ships and planes against GermanU-boats . At this time, too, the vitalLend-Lease Act was destined to demonstrate America's concern forGreat Britain 's survival.First tour
Having completed shakedown, "Ludlow" left
Boston in October1941 for Newfoundland andIceland , convoying supplies ultimately destined for the British Isles. The7 December attack on Pearl Harbor , and the declaration of war between Germany and theUnited States soon lengthened "Ludlow"'s convoy runs to include the ports ofDerry ,Liverpool ,Greenoch , andFreetown ,South Africa .Operation TORCH Assigned to Task Force 34 (TF 34) for the invasion of
north Africa , "Ludlow" arrived offCape Fedhala ,French Morocco , late7 November 1942 . Shortly after the first wave of landing craft headed tor shore, "Ludlow" found herself engaging shore batteries, bombers, and a Vichy French naval force comprised of acruiser and twodestroyers . A 6 inch shell struck her forward and straddling shots were falling close aboard when "Augusta" and "Brooklyn" — arrived and helped to dispose of the French ships.Operation HUSKY "Ludlow" returned to
New York to repair battle damage, then conducted training off the coast ofMaine before departing14 January 1943 for the first of three convoy runs toCasablanca . After the third of these, in June, she remained in theMediterranean Sea for the forthcoming invasion ofSicily . With the invasion forces on10 July , Ludlow gave fire support offLicata andPorsa Empedocle . Daily enemy air attacks followed, and on11 August she splashed her first airplane.Participating in the invasion of
Italy on9 September , "Ludlow" led a section of the assault wave through a knownminefield to the bloody landing atSalerno . She and her sister ships were warmly commended by the commanding general ashore for their effective close range fire support. She then served on convoy duty betweenNaples andOran , until11 January 1944 . Returning to the beachheads, she covered Allied troops storming ashore atAnzio 22 January . This Joint American–British operation initially met little opposition, but later in the day the Germans struck with a fierce counterattack. Heavy air attacks marked the following days and, in less than a week, "Ludlow" splashed two bombers one fighter, and three rocketglider bomb s. A 5 inch shell crashed through the torpedo director deck and thepilothouse , causing "Ludlow" to retire, but serious damage was averted when Chief Gunners Mate James D. Johnson located the hot, unexploded shell and managed to get it topside and overboard.Antisubmarine duty
"Ludlow" repaired at New York, then trained along the Atlantic coast and returned to the Mediterranean
20 April for antisubmarine patrols. On19 May , "Ludlow" and "Niblack" depth charged "U-960" to the surface, where "Ludlow"'s main battery sank her. After convoy alignments in the western Mediterranean, "Ludlow" steamed11 August fromPalermo for the invasion of southern France. Following preinvasion bombardment and beachhead screening offFrejus , she joined "Augusta" (CA-31) from 25 to30 August to help overcome the last resistance atMarseilles . While on coastal fire support missions aroundMonaco , she encountered not only floating mines andE-boat s, but also attacks by explosive-laden boats andhuman torpedoes . "Ludlow" captured three operators of these one man diving machines on5 September after a series ofdepth charge attacks. Fire support, convoy and patrol duty continued until23 January 1945 , when "Ludlow" sailed for a month's plane guard duty off the west coast of Africa, returning to Boston on28 February . In April she sailed to England to escort a convoy of LSTs stateside, then prepared for duty in the Pacific.Pacific Theater
Transiting the
Panama Canal 27 June , she reachedPearl Harbor 17 July and began training for operations with the fast carriers. Thesurrender of Japan , however diverted her to the job of escorting ships filled with occupation troops to the home islands of the defeated Empire. She departed Pearl Harbor7 September and arrived atWakayama ,Japan on the 27th. "Ludlow" operated in the Far East until3 November , then sailed for theAleutians where she saw a brief period of "Magic Carpet" duty.Decommissioning
Early in
1946 , "Ludlow" was ordered back to the east coast, and on20 May 1946 she was placed out of commission in reserve at Charleston,South Carolina . After this she was utilized for reserve training. She was placed in commission in reserve on6 June 1960 , and on21 November of the same year she was placed on active status. "Ludlow" decommissioned22 January 1961 and was transferred to theRoyal Hellenic Navy where she was renamed HHMS "Doxa" (D-20).Awards
"Ludlow" received six
battle star s for World War II service.References
External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l33/ludlow-iii.htm history.navy.mil: USS "Ludlow"]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/438.htm navsource.org: USS "Ludlow"]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd438txt.htm hazegray.org: USS "Ludlow"]
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