- USS Cogswell (DD-651)
USS "Cogswell" (DD-651) was a sclass|Fletcher|destroyer in the
United States Navy , serving inWorld War II ,Korean War , andVietnam War . The ship is named in honor ofRear Admiral James Kelsey Cogswell , who served during theSpanish-American War , and CaptainFrancis Cogswell , who served duringWorld War I . She was launched5 June 1943 byBath Iron Works ,Bath, Maine ; cosponsored by Mrs. D. C. Bingham, daughter of Rear Admiral Cogswell, and Mrs. Francis Cogswell, widow of Captain Cogswell; and commissioned17 August 1943 , Commander H. K. Deutermann in command.World War II
"Cogswell" arrived at
Pearl Harbor 9 December 1943 for training, and there joined the screen of mighty carrierTask Force 58 for theMarshall Islands operation. At sea on this duty from16 January 1944 until12 February , when she put in toMajuro , "Cogswell" also bombardedGugewe Island . She continued her screening as the carriers launched raids onTruk on16 February and17 February and on bases in theMarianas Islands on21 February and22 February , then sailed from Majuro toEspiritu Santo to screen carriers providing air cover for the seizure ofEmirau Island from20 March to25 March , and raiding thePalau s,Yap , andWoleai from30 March to1 April .The destroyer returned to Majuro
6 April 1944 , and a week later joined the sortie for theHollandia landings of21 April to24 April , and air raids on Truk,Satawan , and Ponape at the close of the month. Replenishment at Majuro from4 May to6 June preceded "Cogswell"'s assignment to screen carriers during the landings in the Marianas. On16 June , "Cogswell" was temporarily detached to join in the bombardment ofGuam , rejoining her force to guard it during the momentous airBattle of the Philippine Sea on19 June and20 June . She continued her screening in the raids on Palau, Ulithi, Yap,Iwo Jima , andChichi Jima from25 July to5 August , during the last of which she joined in the surface gunfire which sank several ships of aJapan ese convoy earlier badly mauled by carrier aircraft. From11 August to30 August , she replenished atEniwetok .Next at sea from
30 August to27 September 1944 , "Cogswell" sailed in the carrier screen as strikes were hurled at targets in the Palaus andPhilippines during the invasion ofPeleliu . On6 October she sailed from Ulithi for the air strikes onOkinawa and Formosa in preparation for the Leyte landings, and fired protectiveantiaircraft cover for her force during the Formosa air battle of12 October to14 October . After guarding the retirement toward safety of the stricken USS|Canberra|CA-70|6 and USS|Houston|CL-81|2, she rejoined her force for air strikes onLuzon and the Visayans, and screened them during theBattle of Surigao Strait , one phase of the decisiveBattle of Leyte Gulf . She returned to Ulithi30 October , but put to sea 2 days later to return to the Philippines. After USS|Reno|CL-96|2 was damaged by a submarine's torpedo, "Cogswell" guarded her passage to the safety of Ulithi, then returned to screen air strikes on Luzon, the landings onMindoro , and the air attacks on Formosa and theChina coast which neutralized Japanese bases in preparation for and during theLingayen invasion. "Cogswell" screened USS|Ticonderoga|CV-14|2, hit during an air attack, into Ulithi24 January 1945 , and sailed on to the west coast for overhaul.After sailing across the Pacific guarding convoys, "Cogswell" arrived off Okinawa
27 May 1945 for dangerous and demanding duty as radar picket until26 June . Among her crew since the summer of 1944, was future astronaut Ensign Alan B. Shepard, Jr., who was at this time a gunnary officer. Three days later she rejoined the carrierTask Force 38 for the final series of raids against the Japanese home islands until the close of the war. Arriving inSagami Wan 27 August , "Cogswell" pushed on intoTokyo Bay 2 September for the surrender ceremonies. Cogswell was given the homor of being the first USN ship to enter Tokyo Bay before the surrender. She supported the occupation in the Far East through operations in Japanese waters and escort duty toKorea n ports until5 December , when she sailed fromYokosuka forSan Diego ,Boston , andCharleston, South Carolina , where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve30 April 1946 .Post World War II
Recommissioned
7 January 1951 , "Cogswell" served with the Atlantic Fleet withNewport, Rhode Island , as her home port. Between26 August 1952 and February 1953, she cruised to ports of northern Europe while taking part inNATO operations, sailing on for duty with theUS 6th Fleet in theMediterranean . She again cleared Newport10 August 1953 , bound for thePanama Canal and duty off Korea and patrolling in theTaiwan Straits . Continuing westward, she sailed through theSuez Canal , and completed her cruise around the world10 March 1954 .On
15 December 1954 , "Cogswell" arrived in San Diego to join the Pacific Fleet. From that time through 1963, she has alternated tours of duty with theUS 7th Fleet in the Far East with coastwise operations. On her 1955 cruise, she took part in the evacuation of theTachen Islands . She returned to the Far East in 1956 and each succeeding year through 1960. In 1957 "Cogswell" visitedAustralia and theFiji Islands , and in 1958, she took part innuclear weapon s tests atJohnston Island , and patrolled in the Taiwan Straits whenChinese Communist s resumed shelling of the offshore islands and threatened their assault.Fate
"Cogswell" made four deployments to
Southeast Asia during the war in Vietnam. Following her last deployment, "Cogswell" was decommissioned on1 October 1969 and given to theTurkish Navy , where she served as TCG "İzmit" (D 342) until 1981. She was scrapped after her service in the Turkish Navy.Honors
"Cogswell" received nine
battle star s for World War II service.References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c10/cogswell.htm
External links
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/651.htm NavSource.org - DD-651]
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