- USS Drexler (DD-741)
-
Career 
Namesake: Henry Clay Drexler Builder: Bath Iron Works Laid down: 24 April 1944 Launched: 3 September 1944 Commissioned: 14 November 1944 Fate: Sunk by kamikaze[1] 28 May 1945 General characteristics Class and type: Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer Displacement: 2,200 tons Length: 376 ft 6 in (114.8 m) Beam: 40 ft (12.2 m) Draft: 15 ft 8 in (4.8 m) Propulsion: 60,000 shp (45 MW);
2 propellersSpeed: 34 knots (63 km/h) Range: 6500 nmi. (12,000 km) @ 15 kt Complement: 336 Armament: 6 × 5 in./38 guns (12 cm),
12 × 40mm AA guns,
11 × 20mm AA guns,
10 × 21 in. torpedo tubes,
6 × depth charge projectors,
2 × depth charge tracksUSS Drexler (DD-741), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, was named for Ensign Henry Clay Drexler, a Medal of Honor recipient.
The Drexler was launched on 3 September 1944 by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine; sponsored by Mrs. L. A. Drexler, mother of Ensign Drexler; and commissioned on 14 November 1944, Commander R. L. Wilson in command.
Contents
Service history
Sailing from Norfolk on 23 January 1945 to escort Bon Homme Richard to Trinidad, Drexler then sailed on to reach San Diego on 10 February. Three days later she got underway for Pearl Harbor for antiaircraft and shore bombardment exercises until the 23rd, when she sailed on escort duty to Guadalcanal and Ulithi, the staging area for the Okinawa invasion.
Drexler departed Ulithi 27 March 1945 bound for Okinawa and dangerous duty on a radar picket station. On 28 May at 07:00, two kamikazes attacked Drexler and Lowry. The first was downed by the combined fire of the two destroyers and planes from the combat air patrol. The second tried to crash onto Lowry but missed, hitting Drexler instead and cutting off all power and starting large gasoline fires. Despite the heavy damage, she kept firing, aiding in shooting down three planes which attacked immediately after the crash. At 07:03 she was hit by another aircraft, a twin-engined "Frances" P1Y1 bomber, and the "impact rolled her on to her beam ends, causing her to sink in less than 50 seconds"[2] at 27°6′N 127°38′E / 27.1°N 127.633°ECoordinates: 27°6′N 127°38′E / 27.1°N 127.633°E. Because of the speed with which she sank, casualties were heavy: 158 dead and 52 wounded, including the commanding officer.
Awards
Drexler received one battle star for World War II service.
References
- Brown, David. Warship Losses of World War Two. Arms and Armour, London, Great Britain, 1990. ISBN 0-85668-802-8.
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
External links
- history.navy.mil: USS Drexler
- navsource.org: USS Drexler
- hazegray.org: USS Drexler
- [1] Home Port of the U.S.S. Drexler Survivors' Reunion Association (Official website of the Organization)
- Historical Review: U.S.S. Drexler DD-741 - Review of book published by U.S.S. Drexler Survivors' Reunion Association.
- Who Sank the Destroyer Drexler? - Investigation to determine which squadron of kamikaze planes sank Drexler.
- Oral history interview with William Burrows, a seaman on the Drexler, describing the sinking from the Veterans History Project at Central Connecticut State University
Categories:- World War II destroyers of the United States
- United States Navy Pennsylvania-related ships
- Ships built in Maine
- World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean
- 1944 ships
- Allen M. Sumner class destroyers of the United States Navy
- Ships sunk by kamikaze attack
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
