Jenkins (DD 447) - Naval Cruise Book

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U. S. S. JENKINS is a 2100 ton FIctchcr-class destroyer modified for anti- submarine warfare. Her full wartime complement includes 20 officers and 260 en- listed men. The ship 376.5 feet in length. 39.7 feet abeam, and has a mean draft of 13.5 feet. Full load displacement is 3000 tons. Maximum speed is 34 knots. The ship has one oversized rudder and twin screws, steam driven by four boilers through turbines and gears to develop 30.000 horsepower on each shaft. THE .- HIPS N.AME On 27 November 1941. the keel was Had for the start of construction of the L ' SS JENKINS by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company at Kearny. New Jersey. The ship is named in honor Rear Admiral Thorton A. JENKINS. Admiral JENKINS began his career as a midshipman in 1828. He served in many ships in- cluding coast survey duty where he became interested in the problems of navigation. He commanded a variety of ships in the civil war. and then became Chief of the Bureau of Navigation in 1865. He retired in 1873 and was President of the U.S. .Naval Institute from 1883 to 1885. He died in 1893 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetary. THE . HIP Originally commissioned on 31 July 1942. JENKINS earned Battle Stars in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of war for participating in actions at Algeria. Morocco. Casablanca. Solomon Islands. Guada ' canal. Gilbert Islands. Marshall Island. New Guinea. Leyte. Luzon. Borneo, and Manila Bay Oper- ations. In 1947 JENKINS was placed out of commission, in reserve, and was recommissloncd in 1951 incident to the Korean Conflict. She participated in Korean and Formosan Patrols and did shore bom- bardment in support of U.N. Troops. She returned to Pearl Harbor in 1952 where she has been homeponed ever since. JENKINS received a rehabilitation and modernization overh ' iul in 1960. and in 1964 became the first Hawaiian-based destroyer to receive the DASH anti-submarine helicopter. 2 five inch guns, anti- submarine rocket, and 7.2 inch anti-submarine hedge.hcgs (ahead-thrown weapons).

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The longest cruise began on a rainy twenty-third day of November 1964. With families and friends waving from Hotel Pier as the CINCPACFLT Band struck into A ' oha Oe . with the steady rain changing to a drenching downpour and a firecracker salute going off on the beach, JENKINS left the routine of Pearl Harbor for a challenging role as a member of the Seventh Fleet ' s ready (anti-submarine) Hunter-Killer Group. The transit to the Western Pacific took nine days of the roughest weather we were to see all cruise; the observance of Thanksgiving was put off until Midway, then until Sunday, and then until Yokosuka because of seas so rough that even holding a food tray was difficult. We arrived at our first port, Yokosuka, Japan, on a sunny December Third. With the transit behind us, and a promising schedule ahead, the future looked bright indeed. Little did we realize that there would be five months, Russian submarines and Vietnamese junks, two and one-half million gallons of fuel oil and eighty-three percent underway time before we would see her again.

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COMMANDING OFFICER COMMANDER F. D. RICHARDS, USN C. 0. 4 Mar 1963 - 18 Feb. 1965 Floyd D. RICHARDS was born at Mauchport, Indiana. He entered the U.S. Navy Flight Training Program in August 1942 and was awarded his wings in September 1943. During his career. CDR Richards has been assigned to VF-303. and 81; VBF 97; USS PRINCETON; HAS Mofifett Field; Helicopter Squadron 2; USS TINGEY: Chief U.S. Navy Group Staff, and U.S. Naval postgraduate school. Monterey. CDR Richards is now assigned to Staff Com- mander Naval Force. Japan. COMMANDER R. H. BRADSHAW, USN C. 0. 18 Feb. 1965 — Ray H. BRANDHAW was born in Point Rock, Texas. He graduated from Georgia Technology in 1946 at which time he was commissioned Ensign in the U.S. Navy. He reports as C. O. JENKINS from the staff of Commander Amphibious Group Four. U.S. At:antic Fleet. CDR Brandshaw has served aboard the USS MAJOR; USS FOX; USS LOS ANGELES; USS BLUE; CO. USS PCS 1378; Guided Missile Train- ing Unit 22A. China Lake. California. CDR Brandshaw is a 1962 graduate of the Naval War College. was a feal pleasure to have commanded the USS JENKINS. My sincere Well Done to an outstanding group of Officers and men . F. D. RICHARDS As I write this, we are in the last days of this Westpac cruise. During the past three months, we have spent most of the entire time at sea in our role of e.xciiting the foreign policy of the United States. From the windy seas of the Taiwan Patrol to the tense days and nights off South Vietnam, the JENKINS has met every challenge. This is a wonderful tribute to a truly professional and dedicated crew. It is with pride and pleasure that I say ' Well Done ' . R. H. BRADSHAW