USS Johnston (DD-557)

USS "Johnston" (DD-557) was a World War II-era "Fletcher"-class destroyer in the service of the United States Navy. She was the first Navy ship named after Lieutenant John V. Johnston.

Construction and commissioning

"Johnston" was laid down 6 May 1942 by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., Seattle, Washington; launched 25 March 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Marie S. Klinger, great-niece of her namesake; and commissioned 27 October 1943, Lieutenant Commander Ernest E. Evans in command.

The day "Johnston" was commissioned, Cmdr. Evans made a speech to the crew: "This is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harm's way, and anyone who doesn't want to go along had better get off right now." [http://www.bosamar.com/] Robert Jon Cox. Accessed July 4, 2007.]

World War II service

During the Marshall Islands campaign, "Johnston" bombarded the beaches at Kwajalein 1 February 1944, and made a 5-day bombardment of Eniwetok 17–22 February. She gave direct support to invasion troops there, destroying several pillboxes and taking revetments along the beach under fire. En route to patrol duty in the Solomons 28 March 1944, she bombarded Kapingamarangi Atoll in the Carolines. An observation tower, several blockhouses, pillboxes and dugouts along the beach were shelled. Two days later she came into the mouth of the Maririca River, southeast of Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, Solomon Islands. After laying a heavy barrage into that area, she took up antisubmarine patrol off Bougainville. During this duty 15 May 1944, she depth charged and sank the Japanese submarine "I-176".

After 3 months of patrol in the Solomons, "Johnston" sailed to the Marshall Islands to prepare for the invasion and capture of Guam in the Marianas. On 21 July 1944 she teamed up with that Pearl Harbor "ghost", the battleship "Pennsylvania", to bombard Guam. The destroyer had sent in more than 4,000 rounds of shells by 29 July. Her accurate gunfire shattered the enemy 4 inch battery installations, numerous pillboxes and buildings. "Johnston" next helped protect escort carriers providing air support for the invasion and capture of the Palau Islands.

Now the time had come for General MacArthur's long awaited return to the Philippines. Following replenishment at Seeadler Harbor, Admiralty Islands, she sailed 12 October 1944 to help protect the escort carriers maintaining air supremacy over eastern Leyte and the Gulf, sweeping the enemy off local airfields, giving troops direct support on the landing beaches from 20 October, and even destroying vehicle transport and supply convoys on the roads of Leyte itself. "Johnston" was operating with "Taffy 3" (Escort Carrier Task Unit 77.4.3) comprising Rear Admiral Clifton A. F. “Ziggy” Sprague's flagship "Fanshaw Bay" (CVE-70), five other escort carriers, three destroyers including herself, and four destroyer-escorts. "Taffy 3" was one of the three units of Rear Admiral Thomas L. Sprague's Escort Carrier Task Group 77.4, known by their voice calls as "Taffy 1", "Taffy 2", and "Taffy 3".

Engagement of Taffy 3

The morning of 23 October 1944 American submarines detected and attacked units of the Japanese fleet coming in from the South China Sea toward the precarious Leyte beachhead. The battleship-cruiser-destroyer Southern Force was decimated as it attempted to enter Leyte Gulf via Surigao Strait the night of 24–25 October 1944. The more powerful battleship-cruiser-destroyer Center Force under Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita had been pounded by Admiral “Bull” Halsey’s attack carrier planes and presumably turned back from San Bernardino Strait. Admiral Halsey then raced north with his attack carriers and heavy battleships to engage a decoy Japanese carrier-battleship task force off Cape Engano. This left "Johnston" and her small escort carrier task unit lonely sentinels in north Leyte Gulf, east of Samar and off San Bernadino Strait.

As enemy ships fled the Battle of Surigao Strait at daybreak of 25 October 1944, the powerful Japanese Center Force slipped through San Bernadino Strait and into Leyte Gulf. It steamed along the coast of Samar directly for "Johnston"’s little task unit and the American invasion beachhead at Leyte, hoping to destroy amphibious shipping and American troops on shore.

One of the pilots flying patrol after dawn alert of 25 October 1944 reported the approach of Japanese Center Force. Steaming straight for "Taffy 3" were four battleships (including the "Yamato"), seven cruisers, and at least 12 destroyers. "Johnston"'s gunnery officer later reported, "We felt like little David without a slingshot." In less than a minute, "Johnston" was zigzagging between the six little escort carriers and the Japanese fleet and putting out a smoke screen over a 2,500-yard front to conceal the carriers from the enemy gunners: "Even as we began laying smoke, the Japanese started lobbing shells at us and the "Johnston" had to zigzag between the splashes.... We were the first destroyer to make smoke, the first to start firing, the first to launch a torpedo attack...."http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd557txt.txt]

For the first 20 minutes, "Johnston" was helpless as the enemy cruisers and battleships had her in range. But the destroyer's 5 inch guns could not yet reach them. Not waiting for orders, Commander Ernest E. Evans broke formation, and went on the offensive by ordering "Johnston" to speed directly towards the enemy—first a line of seven destroyers, next one light and three heavy cruisers, then the four battleships. To the east appeared three other cruisers and several destroyers. Amazingly, the enemy gunners did not score a hit on "Johnston".

As soon as range closed to within ten miles, "Johnston" fired her 5 inch battery on the nearest cruiser, "Kumano", scoring damaging hits. About this time, an 8 inch shell landed right off her bow, its red dye splashing the face of "Johnston"’s gunnery officer, Lt. Robert C. Hagen. He mopped the dye from his eyes while remarking, "Looks like somebody's mad at us!" In five furious minutes, "Johnston" pumped over 200 rounds at the enemy, then Cmdr. Evans ordered, "Fire torpedoes!" The destroyer got off ten torpedoes then whipped around to retire behind a heavy smoke screen. When she came out of the smoke a minute later, "Kumano" could be seen burning furiously from a torpedo hit; "Kumano"’s bow had been blown completely off. "Johnston" took three 14 inch shell hits from the battleship "Kongo", followed closely by three 6 inch shells, from either a light cruiser or possibly the "Yamato", hitting the bridge. The hits resulted in the loss of all power to the steering engine, all power to the three 5 inch guns in the after part of the ship and rendered the gyrocompass useless. A rainstorm came up and "Johnston" "ducked into it" for a few minutes of rapid repairs and salvage work. The bridge was abandoned and Commander Evans, who had lost two fingers on his left hand, went to the aft steering column to conn the ship.

At 7:50 a.m., Admiral Sprague ordered destroyers to make a torpedo attack: "small boys attack". But "Johnston" had already expended torpedoes. With one engine, she could not keep up with the others: "But that wasn't Cmdr. Evans' way of fighting: 'We'll go in with the destroyers and provide fire support,' he boomed." As she charged out of blinding smoke, pointed straight at the bridge of USS "Heermann" (DD-532), "All engines back full!" bellowed Cmdr. Evans. "Johnston"'s one engine could hardly do more than slow her down. But "Heerman"’s two engines backed her as well and they missed each other by less than ten feet. There was now so much smoke that Evans ordered no firing unless the gunnery officer could see the target. "At 8:20, there suddenly appeared out of the smoke a 30,000-ton "Kongō"-class battleship, only 7,000 yards off our port beam. I took one look at the unmistakable pagoda mast, muttered, 'I sure as hell can see that!" and opened fire. In 40 seconds we got off 30 rounds, at least 15 of which hit the pagoda superstructure.... The battleship belched a few 14 inchers at us, but, thank God, registered only clean misses."

"Johnston" soon observed the carrier "Gambier Bay" (CVE-73) under fire from an enemy cruiser: "Cmdr. Evans then gave me the most courageous order I've ever heard: 'Commence firing on that cruiser, draw her fire on us and away from "Gambier Bay".'" "Johnston" scored four hits in the slugging match with the heavy cruiser, then broke off as the Japanese destroyer squadron was seen closing rapidly on the American escort carriers. "Johnston" outfought the entire Japanese destroyer squadron, concentrating on the lead ship until the enemy quit, then concentrated on the second destroyer until the remaining enemy units broke off to get out of effective gun range before launching torpedoes, all of which went wild. But then, the cruiser and destroyers opened fire on "Johnston", and right when it was most needed, the damaged remaining engine quit, leaving "Johnston" dead in the water.

Under Attack from all Sides

The enemy ships closed in for an easy kill, pouring fire into the crippled destroyer. "Johnston" took a hit which knocked out one forward gun, damaged another, and her bridge was rendered untenable by fires and explosions resulting from a hit in her 40 mm ready ammunition locker. Evans, who had shifted his command to "Johnston"’s fantail, was yelling orders through an open hatch to men turning her rudder by hand. At one of her batteries, a crewman kept calling "More shells! More shells!" Still the destroyer battled to keep the Japanese destroyers and cruisers from reaching the five surviving American carriers: "We were now in a position where all the gallantry and guts in the world couldn't save us, but we figured that help for the carrier must be on the way, and every minute's delay might count.... By 9:30 we were going dead in the water; even the Japanese couldn't miss us. They made a sort of running semicircle around our ship, shooting at us like a bunch of Indians attacking a prairie schooner. Our lone engine and fire room was knocked out; we lost all power, and even the indomitable skipper knew we were finished. At 9:45 he gave the saddest order a captain can give: 'Abandon Ship.'... At 10:10 "Johnston" rolled over and began to sink. A Japanese destroyer came up to 1,000 yards and pumped a final shot into her to make sure she went down. A survivor saw the Japanese captain salute her as she went down. That was the end of "Johnston"."

From "Johnston's" complement of 327, only 141 were saved. Of 186 lost, about 50 were killed by enemy action, 45 died on rafts from battle injuries; and 92, including Cmdr. Evans, got off the "Johnston" before she sank, but were never heard from again.

Aftermath

The destroyer "Hoel" (DD-533) and destroyer escort "Samuel B. Roberts" (DE-413) also sacrificed themselves to save the escort carriers and to protect the landings at Leyte. Two of four Japanese heavy cruisers were sunk by combined surface and air attacks, and Admiral Clifton Sprague was soon amazed by the sight of the retirement of Kurita's entire fleet. By this time, planes of "Taffy 2" and Taffy 1" and every available unit of the Fleet were headed to assist "Taffy 3". But "Johnston" and her little escort carrier task unit had stopped Admiral Kurita's powerful Center Force in the Battle off Samar, inflicting greater losses than they suffered.

Awards

"Johnston" was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation as a unit of "Taffy 3" (Task Unit 77.4.3). Lt. Cmdr. Ernest E. Evans was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor: "The skipper was a fighting man from the soles of his broad feet to the ends of his straight black hair. He was an Oklahoman and proud of the Indian blood he had in him. We called him—though not to his face—the Chief. The "Johnston" was a fighting ship, but he was the heart and soul of her."

In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, "Johnston" received six battle stars for service in World War II.

ee also

*"The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" by James D. Hornfischer (Bantam, 2004), History Channel program
*"Dogfights" History Channel program "Death of the Japanese Navy"
*Battle off Samar

References

*"Dogfights: Death of the Japanese Navy". History Channel. TV. No writer given.
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/j4/johnston-i.htm

External links

* [http://ww2db.com/ship_spec.php?ship_id=377&list=Destroyers WW2DB: Johnston]
* [http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15561420/site/newsweek/ Dead in the Water] by Evan Thomas
* [http://www.bosamar.com/ The Battle Off Samar - Taffy III at Leyte Gulf website] by Robert Jon Cox
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/557.htm NavSource.org - DD-557]